Re: Downloadable fonts and image replacement

Also sprach Dave Raggett:

 > I am therefore looking for support for direct use of TTF files so 
 > that I don't have to use a special tool for embedded fonts like Weft 
 > [1]. There are plenty of fonts with open licenses that are perfectly 
 > good for most purposes, so a DRM-based solution isn't high on my 
 > wish list.

This is also my experience. There are thousands of TrueType font
families out there. Some examples:

  http://www.fontfreak.com/fonts-g2.htm
  http://www.1001freefonts.com/fonts/pfonts5.htm

Typically, four truetype files are zipped up into a file which --
roughly speaking -- has a size similar to a photograph. Some of the
fonts have legal restrictions that prevent their use, some only cover
the English alphabet, and some are poorly designed. However, there are
also good-looking, freely usable fonts out there. These fonts
represent an untapped resource for typography on the web.

 > Whilst using images for text can be very effective, it prevents 
 > reflow when the window size is reduced, and it is also a pain when 
 > the web page needs to be regularly updated. A widely supported means 
 > to use embeddable fonts with open licenses would be much 
 > appreciated.

That's valuable feedback.

 > The existing @font-face syntax is usable, although I can see
 > that it would be simpler in most cases to just include the
 > URL in the font list set by the font-family property, e.g.
 > 
 >   font-family: "TSCu_Comic", sans-serif;
 > 
 >   font-family: url(TSCu_Comic.ttf), "TSCu_Comic", sans-serif;
 > 
 > Where the first rule will apply in older browsers that don't
 > support the new syntax.

Yes, this could work. UAs should also be able to handle this:

  font-family: "TSCu_Comic", url(TSCu_Comic.zip), sans-serif;

That is, zip files should be uncompressed in the client.

-h&kon
              Håkon Wium Lie                          CTO °þe®ª
howcome@opera.com                  http://people.opera.com/howcome

Received on Tuesday, 25 April 2006 18:12:06 UTC