TrueDoc was an
outline font
A computer font is implemented as a digital data file containing a set of graphically related glyphs. A computer font is designed and created using a font editor. A computer font specifically designed for the computer screen, and not for pri ...
standard Standard may refer to:
Symbols
* Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs
* Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification
Norms, conventions or requirements
* Standard (metrology), an object ...
developed by
Bitstream
A bitstream (or bit stream), also known as binary sequence, is a sequence of bits.
A bytestream is a sequence of bytes. Typically, each byte is an 8-bit quantity, and so the term octet stream is sometimes used interchangeably. An octet may ...
that compactly encodes fonts for use in
web pages through their TrueDoc system.
Embedding
In mathematics, an embedding (or imbedding) is one instance of some mathematical structure contained within another instance, such as a group that is a subgroup.
When some object X is said to be embedded in another object Y, the embedding is giv ...
a typeface in this way has the aim of eliminating graphics sometimes used in headings or other text, and replacing them by standard text, styled via
CSS
Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is a style sheet language used for describing the presentation of a document written in a markup language such as HTML or XML (including XML dialects such as SVG, MathML or XHTML). CSS is a cornerstone t ...
. The font files are made small by use of subsetting (only including the needed characters), and only need to be downloaded once. It is a secure method, in that fonts can only be used for the pages they were intended for, and not on other sites, or in other applications.
TrueDoc was natively supported in
Netscape Navigator 4, but was discontinued in
Netscape Navigator 6 and
Mozilla
Mozilla (stylized as moz://a) is a free software community founded in 1998 by members of Netscape. The Mozilla community uses, develops, spreads and supports Mozilla products, thereby promoting exclusively free software and open standards, w ...
because
Netscape
Netscape Communications Corporation (originally Mosaic Communications Corporation) was an American independent computer services company with headquarters in Mountain View, California and then Dulles, Virginia. Its Netscape web browser was on ...
could not release Bitstream's source code. A WebFont Player plugin was available for
Internet Explorer
Internet Explorer (formerly Microsoft Internet Explorer and Windows Internet Explorer, commonly abbreviated IE or MSIE) is a series of graphical user interface, graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft which was used in the Microsoft Wind ...
, but the technology had to compete against
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation, multinational technology company, technology corporation producing Software, computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at th ...
's
Embedded Open Type fonts natively supported by
Internet Explorer 4
Microsoft Internet Explorer 4 (IE4) is a graphical web browser that Microsoft unveiled in Spring of 1997, and released in September 1997, primarily for Microsoft Windows, but also with versions available for the classic Mac OS, Solaris, and HP-U ...
and up (
Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for ...
versions only). Another impediment was the lack of open-source or free tool to create webfonts in TrueDoc format, whereas Microsoft made available a free
Web Embedding Fonts Tool to create webfonts in their format.
Corel Draw X4 was one of the few graphic design programs with the option of using the TrueDoc system while saving files.
Monotype Imaging
Monotype Imaging Holdings Inc., founded as Lanston Monotype Machine Company in 1887 in Philadelphia by Tolbert Lanston, is an American (historically Anglo-American) company that specializes in digital typesetting and typeface design for use wit ...
, which acquired Bitstream's font business, neither markets the TrueDoc technology nor offers it for sale.
See also
*
Embedded OpenType
*
Web Open Font Format
The Web Open Font Format (WOFF) is a font format for use in web pages.
WOFF files are OpenType or TrueType fonts, with format-specific compression applied and additional XML metadata added.
The two primary goals are first to distinguish font file ...
*
Web typography
Web typography is the use of fonts on the World Wide Web. When HTML was first created, font faces and styles were controlled exclusively by the settings of each web browser. There was no mechanism for individual Web pages to control font display u ...
References
External links
*
*
{{typography-stub
Typesetting
Font formats