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Font embedding

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 188.167.26.135 (talk) at 21:39, 15 December 2010 (Font embedding in word processors: This feature does not correctly work in some Word versions). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Font embedding refers to the ability to embed font files into a document. This has been a feature of Portable Document Format (PDF), Microsoft Word for Windows and some other applications for many years. It is controversial because it can potentially allow copyrighted fonts to be freely distributed.

Font embedding in word processors

Microsoft Word for Windows has permitted font embedding in some document formats since Word 97. This feature does not correctly work in some Word versions.[1]

Font embedding on the Web

Currently, Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Opera and Google Chrome support font embedding.

Controversy

The controversy can be mitigated by only embedding the characters required to view the document, but this necessarily prohibits addition of previously unused characters to the document.

Because of the potential for copyright infringement, Internet Explorer only permits embedded fonts that include digital rights management (DRM) protections. The Acid3 test requires font embedding with minimal DRM protections.

  1. ^ "Embedded fonts are not displayed as expected in the documents that are saved as RTF in Word". Retrieved 2010-12-15.