RE: Revised WOFF FAQ (action 29)

John,

Thank you very much, the revised FAQ look very good. I'd suggest just a couple of nits to fix the typos:

In part 2: ... it provides a Web-specific a delivery format ...
One 'a' seem to be redundant, probably should say: it provides a Web-specific delivery format ...

In part 14: typo - in "compressed delivery formant" - change to "compressed delivery format".

In part 15: the sentence "Many mobile devices ships with very few fonts ..." should probably be saying " Many mobile devices ship with very few fonts ..."

Note: part 10 would need to be updated as we finalize the text of the spec and publish it as a Candidate Recommendation.

Thank you and regards,
Vlad


> -----Original Message-----
> From: public-webfonts-wg-request@w3.org [mailto:public-webfonts-wg-
> request@w3.org] On Behalf Of John Hudson
> Sent: Tuesday, March 08, 2011 11:34 PM
> To: public-webfonts-wg@w3.org
> Cc: Chris Lilley
> Subject: Revised WOFF FAQ (action 29)
> 
> Dear All,
> 
> Here is the revised revised FAQ text, incorporating feedback received
> on
> the previous draft. I believe this should be close to ready for
> publication, Chris. Vlas suggested that we try to increase the number
> of
> links in the example section (5); I'd be happy to see this added to
> over
> time, but don't feel that I'm the best person to do this as my focus is
> on the plumbing, not what comes out of the tap.
> 
> Sorry these few revisions took so long to accomplish.
> 
> JH
> 
> _____
> 
> This document replaces a temporary FAQ published in July 2010 in
> support
> of the W3C press release regarding initial submission of the WOFF draft
> specification. Given the speed with which WOFF has been embraced by
> both
> font vendors and browser makers, some of the information in this FAQ
> will doubtless become dated very quickly. The core text describing WOFF
> is not expected to change much, but obviously this document can only
> point to some of the early implementers and examples.
> 
> 
> 1. What is WOFF?
> 
> Web Open Font Format (WOFF) is an open delivery format for Web fonts,
> an
> integral part of improving the variety and quality of Web typography.
> Using WOFF files, a Web author can reference a font in CSS, using the
> @font-face syntax, and have it downloaded with the HTML or other Web
> content and used to display text in a reader's browser; WOFF is also
> relevant to locally stored document types using Web standards, such as
> EPUB. The content of the WOFF file may be a font that the author has
> licensed as a WOFF or converted from an appropriately licensed desktop
> format font, or even a font that the author has created.
> 
> Until now, served typography has not been common on the Web due to the
> lack of an interoperable font format; most text on the Web has relied
> on
> a limited number of fonts locally installed on the reader's device, or
> has been represented by images or other approaches that inhibit
> searchability, accessibility and other text operations such as cutting
> and pasting. WOFF provides a compact, open solution to these issues.
> 
> A WOFF file contains a compressed TrueType or OpenType font, and some
> XML metadata. It is helpful to think of a WOFF file as a package
> containing a font, and the metadata as labels on the package,
> indicating
> where the WOFF comes from and where it is meant to go.
> 
> 
> 2. What isn't WOFF?
> 
> WOFF is not a new font format. WOFF does not replace existing font
> formats; rather, it provides a Web-specific a delivery format for
> compressed TrueType or OpenType fonts.
> 
> WOFF is not a desktop installable font format: it is specifically
> intended for Web delivery of fonts associated with particular sites and
> content, and will not be available to the user to install or use with
> other documents.
> 
> 
> 3. What are the general benefits of Web typography?
> 
> * An enhanced typographic palette on the Web
> * Preservation of brand identity through cross-media typographic design
> * More sophisticated typography using advanced layout features such as
> smallcap variants, 'oldstyle' numerals, etc. available in some fonts
> (accessible using CSS3 typographic features)
> * Better internationalisation and more options for typography of
> non-European text
> * Better accessibility than workarounds such as displaying textual
> content as images (text can be recognised and read by text-to-speech
> software; images of text cannot)
> * Better searchability and search engine optimisation than textual
> content as images (text can be searched and indexed; images of text
> cannot)
> 
> 
> 4. What are the specific benefits of WOFF?
> 
> * A single, open and interoperable format for Web served fonts
> * A formally defined and documented W3C Web file format
> * A suite of conformance test tools for WOFF fonts, creators and user
> agents
> * In-format compression for smaller font deliveries and shorter
> download
> times
> * Improved user experience (smaller file sizes means faster page
> loading)
> * Protection of author's font asset investment (fonts cannot be
> 'hotlinked' by other sites)
> * Web font information easily accessible to web authors and users from
> WOFF metadata
> 
> 
> 5. Do you have demos or examples that show WOFF?
> 
> The text of page you are reading is formatted using WOFF (if your
> browser supports it).
> 
> There are several pages by Jonathan Kew and John Daggett of Mozilla,
> and
> by Sylvain Galineau and others of Microsoft, which demonstrate WOFF
> fonts. Although they are designed to showcase that company's browser
> (Firefox 3.6+ and IE9 preview 3, respectively), the demos work the same
> with other browsers that support WOFF.
> 
> Some examples of WOFF in action:
> http://ie.microsoft.com/testdrive/Graphics/WebFonts/Default.html
> http://ie.microsoft.com/testdrive/Graphics/MoreWebFonts/Default.html
> http://people.mozilla.org/~jdaggett/webfonts/mplus-test.html
> http://people.mozilla.org/~jdaggett/webfonts/chunkfive-test.html
> 
> 
> 6. I'm a web author. When can I start using WOFF? How do I use it?
> 
> Today! A few lines in your CSS stylesheet link to a WOFF font and
> indicates where on your page to use it. Browsers that don't yet support
> WOFF will use the next available font on your font list, so there is
> graceful fallback. Over time, as new browser versions support WOFF,
> your
> stylesheets will continue to work without any need for you to update or
> edit the CSS code. [Link: Learn more about WOFF implementations.]
> 
> 
> 7. Are there WOFF fonts I can use?
> 
> WOFF fonts are already available from some commercial foundries and Web
> font services, including Ascender, Bitstream, FontShop, Monotype,
> Typekit, Webtype, WebInk, etc.. Free and open source fonts that can be
> served as WOFF files are available from the Open Font Library, SIL Web
> font collection, or FontSquirrel.
> 
> Some commercial foundries will license fonts for Web serving directly
> in
> WOFF format; others may permit or expect authors to create their own
> WOFF files from licensed desktop fonts. Authors should check font
> licenses before creating and serving WOFF files.
> 
> 
> 8. I'm a font creator. How do I make my own WOFF files?
> 
> You can use a font editor that already supports WOFF generation
> directly, like Fontforge. Or, you can use another tool that generates
> TrueType and OpenType fonts, then convert these to WOFF files with a
> utility such as sfnt2woff. If you know how to design a font, you can
> start adding WOFF to your repertoire immediately.
> 
> 
> 9. How long has WOFF been around?
> 
> Nine months elapsed between the first appearance of WOFF and its
> publication as a public Working Draft at W3C in July 2010. However,
> efforts to deploy served fonts on the Web are much older. Half of the
> solution, the CSS @font-face rule, has been a standard for a decade,
> but
> was hampered by the lack of an interoperable font format. Until 2010,
> it
> has been difficult for multiple stakeholders (browser implementers,
> font
> designers, foundries, web designers) to reach a consensus, but W3C has
> been able to bring them to the table. The WebFonts Working Group has
> made swift progress in refining the WOFF specification and developing
> the conformance test suite.
> 
> 
> 10. How close is WOFF to becoming a W3C standard?
> 
> As of 1 February 2011... WOFF has been published on the W3C Standards
> Track; this means that it is on its way to becoming a Royalty-Free
> standard. In November 2010, the WOFF specification was submitted for
> 'last call' comments, and responses to this are now being addressed by
> the Working Group. The conformance test suite, mostly developed by WOFF
> co-inventor Tal Leming, is in an advanced state. Once there are
> implementations that pass the test suite, WOFF will move to being a W3C
> Recommendation (Web Standard).
> 
> 
> 11. How does WOFF relate to other Web formats (HTML, CSS, SVG, ...)?
> 
> CSS and SVG already have ways to point to downloadable fonts, so those
> specifications don't have to change to use WOFF. As implementations
> pick
> up, content will start to refer to WOFF for served fonts.
> 
> 
> 12. Will website visitors have to pay to use fonts?
> 
> No. Website visitors do not pay to read text displayed with WOFF. If
> the
> fonts used are commercial, a license or service fee is paid by the
> content publisher.
> 
> 
> 13. Will downloading fonts slow page loads?
> 
> WOFF compression, especially when combined with font subsetting, means
> that the impact on page load is minimal. Actual download times will
> depend on the individual font contained within the WOFF file.
> 
> Initial testing of WOFF compression on a random selection of some few
> hundred fonts indicated an average compression of about 50%. This
> in-format compression is standard in all WOFF fonts, so content
> providers do not need to go through extra steps (server-side
> compression) to ensure the fastest possible downloads.
> 
> 
> 14. Will WOFF replace other formats?
> 
> WOFF is not expected to replace other, desktop font formats such as
> TrueType, OpenType, Open Font Format, or the Web SVG font format
> (although it may render the latter unnecessary). WOFF provides a
> Web-specific compressed delivery formant. A font vendor may offer the
> same font in OpenType for desktop/print use, and in WOFF for Web use;
> each with the appropriate license.
> 
> 
> 15. Will WOFF work on mobile devices?
> 
> Mobile devices use the same technology stack (HTML, CSS, SVG,
> JavaScript) as desktop devices so the benefits will apply to mobile as
> well. Many mobile devices ships with very few fonts, perhaps making
> WOFF
> even more interesting for those platforms.
> 
> 
> 16. Where can I learn more about WOFF?
> 
> See W3C's page about fonts on the Web as well as the home page of the
> WebFonts Working Group for more information. The current status of
> specifications related to fonts is also available.
> 
> _____

Received on Friday, 11 March 2011 00:39:44 UTC