| When a document is
created using TrueType fonts, the actual character information isn't
usually stored in the document. The document just contains references
to a typeface. Therefore if a document is loaded onto a machine which
doesn't have the TrueType fonts installed, substitute fonts are used
in place of the originals. For text only documents, this is usually
no more than a nuisance as the document can still be read using the
substituted typeface.
For documents containing
logos, signatures and symbols substitution is obviously more
of a concern. As a general rule, for all computers that require
the use of a specific custom TrueType font the font should simply
be installed. This will obviously negate the need for any substitution
to take place and will ensure that all documents will display
and print correctly.
There are times
however when a document is required on a computer that may not
have the required fonts installed. In this instance it may be
possible to use a technique called "font embedding" which
as the name suggests will embed a copy of the TrueType font into
the document ensuring that the document will display correctly.
For this technique
to work, both the application and the TrueType font must support
embedding. Initially only Microsoft applications supported embedding,
but recently several other applications have started to offer
the technology. Indeed Microsoft has now released an embedding
development kit so new versions of applications may well offer
support for the technology.
When a TrueType
font is produced the manufacturer will set the level of support
for embedding. There are essentially three levels that the manufacturer
may set.
Not embeddable
If this option is selected then the font will not be
embedded even if the application supports the technology. This
is often the selected option for traditional typefaces from major
type foundries.
Editable
This option allows a font to be embedded in a document,
so that it is temporarily installed on a viewing system when
required. The document can be viewed, edited and printed, but
the font can not be used in other documents on the viewing computer.
Installable
This option is similar to 'Editable' except that the
font is actually fully installed on the viewing system. This
technique can be used for easy distribution of a font within
an organisation, but due to the simplicity of the technique it
is also possible that the font may become installed on systems
where it was not initially intended.
By default all Formula
Solutions custom fonts are produced as 'Editable' which is the
level of embedding that we would always suggest. We can, however,
produce custom fonts with any setting required by the customer.
Although the technique
for using font embedding is application specific it tends to
use a similar approach in all applications. As most applications
that currently support embedding do not allow the user to select
specific fonts, it is usually just a case of setting font embedding
for a document to be either on or off. This selection is typically
made in 'Save' settings or document options. In Microsoft Word
97 for instance, the option to select embedding is accessed via
a dialog box from the Options item in the Tools menu.
When embedding is
selected and the document is saved any TrueType fonts that have
a suitable level of embedding set will be added to the document.
This will increase the document size by approximately the combined
size of the embedded fonts. Whenever the document is then loaded
all fonts not already installed are added so that the document
can be correctly displayed.
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