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jvraeed5692002-05-03 19:10:39 +0000[diff] [blame^]4<TITLE>TTX/FontTools</TITLE>
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jvraeed5692002-05-03 19:10:39 +0000[diff] [blame^]10<H1>TTX/FontTools</H1>
Just4977da41999-12-18 18:18:09 +0000[diff] [blame]11
jvraeed5692002-05-03 19:10:39 +0000[diff] [blame^]12<A HREF="http://fonttools.sourceforge.net/">TTX/FontTools</A> is a
13suite of tools and libraries for manipulating fonts. It is written in
14Python and has a BSD-style, open-source licence -- see LICENSE.txt.
15It's hosted at <A HREF="http://sourceforge.net/">sourceforge.net</A>.
Just4977da41999-12-18 18:18:09 +0000[diff] [blame]16
17<P>
Juste5ad9c92000-03-15 20:56:20 +0000[diff] [blame]18It currently reads and writes TrueType font files, reads PostScript Type 1 fonts
19and more. It contains two command line programs to convert TrueType fonts to an
20XML based format (called TTX) and back.
21
22<H3>Scope</H3>
23
jvraeed5692002-05-03 19:10:39 +0000[diff] [blame^]24TTX/FontTools' functionality is aimed towards font developers and font tool
25developers. It can of course be used to just access fonts (outlines,
26metrics, etc.) but it is not optimized for that. It will be further
27developed so it can be the core of any font editor. And that's exactly
28what it will be for our upcoming major rewrite of <A
29HREF="http://www.robofog.com/">RoboFog</A>, our (commercial)
30PythonPowered font editor for MacOS.
Juste5ad9c92000-03-15 20:56:20 +0000[diff] [blame]31
32<H3>Installation</H3>
33
34You need the following software to use FontTools:
35
36<UL>
37<LI>
jvr8eb99922002-05-02 08:11:37 +0000[diff] [blame]38 <B>Python</B>. The fresh versions as well as older versions (You need 2.0 or higher) can be obtained here:
jvrf5ccb352001-08-10 08:54:14 +0000[diff] [blame]39 <A HREF="http://www.python.org/download/">http://www.python.org/download/</A>
40 or here:
41 <A HREF="http://sourceforge.net/projects/python/">http://sourceforge.net/projects/python/</A>
Juste5ad9c92000-03-15 20:56:20 +0000[diff] [blame]42
jvrf5ccb352001-08-10 08:54:14 +0000[diff] [blame]43 <P>Windows: grab the Windows installer, run the full install.
44 <BR>Un*x: follow the build instructions.
Juste5ad9c92000-03-15 20:56:20 +0000[diff] [blame]45 <BR>MacOS: grab the installer, run "Easy Install"
Juste5ad9c92000-03-15 20:56:20 +0000[diff] [blame]46<P>
47<LI>
jvrf5ccb352001-08-10 08:54:14 +0000[diff] [blame]48 The <B>Numeric Python</B> extension (you don't need this under MacOS, since it's
49 included in the MacPython installer). Get a fresh version from the download page,
50 linked from here:
51 <A HREF="http://sourceforge.net/projects/numpy/">http://sourceforge.net/projects/numpy/</A>
52 <P>Windows: grab the "Numeric-*.exe" archive, it's an installer. Make sure the
53 Python version in the archive name (eg. "2.1") matches the Python version you have.
54 <BR>Linux/Un*x: get a source archive and run this command from the unpacked directory:
jvrec8ca4b2002-05-03 19:02:26 +0000[diff] [blame]55 <BR><TT>python setup.py install</TT>
Juste5ad9c92000-03-15 20:56:20 +0000[diff] [blame]56<P>
57<LI>
jvrf5ccb352001-08-10 08:54:14 +0000[diff] [blame]58 <B>PyXML</B>, a set of XML tools:
59 <A HREF="http://sourceforge.net/projects/pyxml/">http://sourceforge.net/projects/pyxml/</A>
Juste5ad9c92000-03-15 20:56:20 +0000[diff] [blame]60
jvrf5ccb352001-08-10 08:54:14 +0000[diff] [blame]61 <BR>Installation should be very similar to installing Numeric Python, see above.
Juste5ad9c92000-03-15 20:56:20 +0000[diff] [blame]62
63</UL>
64
65
jvrf5ccb352001-08-10 08:54:14 +0000[diff] [blame]66Now run the "setup.py" script from the FontTools archive. This will install
67all the modules in the right places, as well as tries to compile the one (optional)
68C extension contained in FontTools. (XXX: need precompiled Mac and Windows binaries,
69*or* a way to skip compilation when there's no compiler available.)
Juste5ad9c92000-03-15 20:56:20 +0000[diff] [blame]70
71<P>Additional Mac instructions:
72De-binhex "TTX.rsrc.hqx" by dropping it onto StuffIt expander. (Or use your
73own preferred method)
74The "TTX.py" script included in this archive is the Mac-only main program:
75Drop it onto the "BuildApplet" app inside the Python folder; this will
76produce the TTX applet.
77
78
79<H3>User documentation</H3>
80
jvrec8ca4b2002-05-03 19:02:26 +0000[diff] [blame]81<P>For Unix and DOS there are three command line programs:
Juste5ad9c92000-03-15 20:56:20 +0000[diff] [blame]82<UL>
jvrec8ca4b2002-05-03 19:02:26 +0000[diff] [blame]83 <LI>ttdump -- dumps a TrueType (or OpenType) font file to TTX format.
84 <LI>ttcompile -- compiles a TTX file back into a TTF (or OTF) file.
85 <LI>ttlist -- lists minimal info about each table in a font.
Juste5ad9c92000-03-15 20:56:20 +0000[diff] [blame]86</UL>
jvrec8ca4b2002-05-03 19:02:26 +0000[diff] [blame]87They can all work with multiple input files. There are some extra
88options which are explained by the 'usage' text; use the -h option to
89display it. The setup.py script installs them as global tools, the
90source is in the Tools directory.
91
92<P>For MacOS there's a application called TTX. If you drop a TrueType
93file onto it, it will convert it to XML. If you drop an XML file onto
94it, it will convert it back to TrueType. Please read the additional
95README file in the Mac subdirectory, since it behaves quite differently
96than the command line programs described below.
Juste5ad9c92000-03-15 20:56:20 +0000[diff] [blame]97
Juste5ad9c92000-03-15 20:56:20 +0000[diff] [blame]98<P>Adam Twardoch contributed a Windows registry script (ttx_shellext_win32.py) which
99makes the two above tools available under the Right Mouse Button. I haven't tested
100these myself, but I'm very interested in hearing about the results!
101
Juste5ad9c92000-03-15 20:56:20 +0000[diff] [blame]102<H3>Note about glyph names and TrueType GlyphID's</H3>
103
104TrueType fonts use glyph indices (GlyphID's) to refer to glyphs in most places.
105While this is fine in binary form, it is really hard to work with for
106humans. Therefore we use names instead.
107
108<P>The names are derived from what is found in the 'post' table. It is
109possible that different glyphs use the same PS name. If this happens, we
110force the names to be unique by appending "#n" to the name (n being an
111integer number). The original PS names will still be maintained by the
112'post' table, so even though we use a different name internally, we are
113still able to write the 'post' table back in original form. If there is
114no proper 'post' table available, names will be derived from a Unicode
115cmap (if available) in conjuction with the Adobe Glyph List (see fontTools/agl.py).
116
117<P>Because the order in which glyphs are stored inside the TT font is
118important, ttLib maintains an ordered list of glyph names in the font.
119
120<H3>Feedback</H3>
121
jvrf5ccb352001-08-10 08:54:14 +0000[diff] [blame]122Please join the fonttools-discussion mailing list at SourceForge. Subscription
123info can be found if you follow the "Mailing Lists" link at the
124<A HREF="http://sourceforge.net/projects/fonttools/">SourceForge project page</A>.
125You can also email me directly at <A HREF="mailto:just@letterror.com">just@letterror.com</A>.
126
127<P>
128If you want to follow the development of FontTools closely, or would like to
129contribute, you can also subscribe to the fonttools-checkins mailing list.
Juste5ad9c92000-03-15 20:56:20 +0000[diff] [blame]130
131<H3>Anonymous CVS-access</H3>
132
jvrf5ccb352001-08-10 08:54:14 +0000[diff] [blame]133The FontTools sources are also accessible through CVS, see the
134the <A HREF="http://sourceforge.net/projects/fonttools/">SourceForge project
135page</A>. Let me know if you'd like to become a co-developer.
Juste5ad9c92000-03-15 20:56:20 +0000[diff] [blame]136
137<H3>Developer documentation</H3>
138
139Sorry, documentation beyond doc strings in the source code is still on my to-do list...
140Below follows a brief overview of what's there.
141
Just4977da41999-12-18 18:18:09 +0000[diff] [blame]142<P>
143<H3>The library</H3>
144
145Cross-platform
Juste5ad9c92000-03-15 20:56:20 +0000[diff] [blame]146<UL>
147 <LI>fontTools.t1Lib -- Provides a Type 1 font reader. Writing is a planned feature.
148 <LI>fontTools.ttLib -- Extensive TrueType tools. Reads and writes. This is the flagship
149 of FontTools, it's by far the most mature component. Contains a completely modular
150 TTF table converter architecture. See ttLib/tables/table_API_readme.txt.
151 <LI>fontTools.afmLib -- And AFM file reader/writer.
152 <LI>fontTools.cffLib -- Reads CFF fonts. Writing is a planned feature.
153 <LI>fontTools.unicode -- A simple (but large) module that translates
154 Unicode values to their descriptive names. Still Unicode 2.0.
155 <LI>fontTools.agl -- Interface to the Adobe Glyph List: maps unicode values
156 to glyph names and back.
Just4977da41999-12-18 18:18:09 +0000[diff] [blame]157</UL>
158
159Mac-specific
Juste5ad9c92000-03-15 20:56:20 +0000[diff] [blame]160<UL>
161 <LI>fontTools.fondLib -- A reader/writer class for Mac FOND resources.
162 <LI>fontTools.nfntLib -- Reads Mac NFNT bitmap font resources.
Just4977da41999-12-18 18:18:09 +0000[diff] [blame]163</UL>
164
Juste5ad9c92000-03-15 20:56:20 +0000[diff] [blame]165<H3>Thank-you's</H3>
166
167(in alphabetical order)
168Erik van Blokland, Petr van Blokland, Jelle Bosma, Vincent Connare,
169Simon Daniels, Hannes Famira, Greg Hitchcock, Jack Jansen, Antoine Leca,
170Werner Lemberg, Peter Lofting, Dave Opstad, Laurence Penney,
171Guido van Rossum, Adam Twardoch.
172
173<H3>Copyrights</H3>
174
jvrec8ca4b2002-05-03 19:02:26 +0000[diff] [blame]175FontTools/TTX -- 1999-2002 Just van Rossum; Letterror (just@letterror.com)
Just4977da41999-12-18 18:18:09 +0000[diff] [blame]176
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