What is a TTF file
The TTF file extension (True Type Font) was originally created by Apple. However, in addition to Apple devices, TTF is now also used by Microsoft and it is available on Windows computers. The original purpose of the TTF file extension was to provide a font that was dependable for developers because they couldn’t control how the text looked under different scenarios. They needed a font that would have an excellent level of quality whether it was being displayed on a document that was printed or if it was being viewed online. TTF provides this. It works by using a rasterizing program that converts the fonts to a raster image when it is printed or displayed.
True type fonts were originally developed in the early 1990’s, and four different types of fonts were provided: Helvetica, Courier, Pi, and Times New Roman. It was created specifically for use in Mac products and its purpose was to compete against the Type 1 fonts that were available in Adobe’s PostScript. TTFs gave developers control over how their text will display both on the printed page and on a computer screen. Adobe wanted to keep their font only available to Adobe users, but Apple wanted to break the hold Adobe had on proprietary fonts. To do this, they licensed TTFs so they could also be used by Microsoft products.
Here's a small, but not exhaustive list of programs that can open TTF documents:
- CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X7 (Windows)
- Fontforge (Windows, Mac, Linux)
- Microsoft Windows Font Viewer (Windows)
- Apple Font Book (Mac)
