AutoCAD 2006 or 2007 gives the user the option of embedding none, some, or all of the True Type fonts in a DWF file. This option is specified in the DWF6 ePlot pc3 file. The option provides an AutoCAD user with a means to balance "DWF file size" against "ensuring that text appears to the DWF viewer user in the same font as it appeared in AutoCAD."
The DWF6 ePlot pc3 capture font choices include:
None: This creates the smallest possible DWF file. When a DWF file of this kind is viewed, any True Type fonts used by the DWF file that are not present on the viewing system are substituted for a True Type font that is on the system.
All: This option is rarely used. This option embeds all of the True Type fonts used by the DWF file. When AutoCAD embeds a font in a DWF file, only data for the characters actually used gets embedded - not the entire font. For example, data for the characters: "H" "e" "l" "o" "W" "r" "d" "." would be embedded for a DWF file containing the text string "Hello World." The other characters would not be embedded. A variant on the Capture all option is to specify text "as geometry." When the "Capture all as Geometry" option is used, instead of embedding a portion of the font in the DWF file, geometric primitives are written to the DWF file to represent the characters. This ensures that DWF viewer users will not need to have the font already installed and avoids font substitution; however, it also makes the DWF file larger, and text is sometimes less smooth looking. Some fonts are copyright protected and cannot be published in whole or in part, e.g., the Avalon True Type font. In these cases, AutoCAD does not embed the font characters regardless of the pc3 file setting. For these fonts, the "as geometry" method is used when "Capture all" is specified even though "as Geometry" is left unchecked.
Some: It is normally safe to assume that certain True Type fonts will be present on a system. As such, embedding those fonts would only increase the DWF file size with no additional benefit. The AutoCAD default is "Capture some." The AutoCAD list of fonts which are not embedded by default includes:
- Arial
- Arial Black
- Comic Sans MS
- Courier New
- Impact
- Marlett
- Tahoma
- Tahoma Bold
- Times New Roman
- Times New Roman Bold
- Times New Roman Bold Italic
- Times New Roman Italic
- Verdana
- Verdana Bold
- Verdana Bold Italic
- Verdana Italic
- Webdings
- Wingdings
These True Type fonts are normally safe in that DWF recipients will already have them which is why they are not embedded by default. A list of fonts that are installed as part of each Microsoft operating system is available at: http://www.fixarna.com/frontpage/windowsfonts.htm.
A DWF file is device independent. It can be printed on a wide array of devices. It can be viewed on a wide array of systems. The Autodesk DWF Viewer and Autodesk Design Review do what they can to ensure consistency across all of these print and display devices. If a True Type font is used in the DWF file but not found on a system, a suitable font is substituted. If there are cases where an AutoCAD user would find this undesirable, the AutoCAD user has the option to have AutoCAD embed part of the font in the DWF file or represent the characters as geometry so a potentially missing font is not an issue; however, due to the popularity of True Type fonts on Windows systems, the "Capture some" option of the DWF6 ePlot pc3 file is applicable for most situations.
Subscribe