Core fonts for the Web
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Core fonts for the Web was a project begun by Microsoft in 1996 to make a standard pack of fonts for the Internet. The fonts were designed to:
- Be highly legible on screen;
- Offer a wide range of typographic “timbres” within a small number of typefaces; and
- Support extensive internationalisation.
These design goals and the fonts' broad availability have made them extremely popular with web designers.
While the program has formally ended, the benefits of using broadly available fonts remain; hence, in addition to the original core fonts, newer fonts packaged with Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office increasingly form a new canon of core fonts. Broader web browser adoption of the web fonts specification may ultimately render the notion of core fonts obsolete by allowing the real-time downloading and display of specific fonts.
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[edit] Program termination and software licence agreement issues
The project was terminated in August 2002, allegedly due to frequent EULA violations.[1] However, that same EULA allows redistribution if the packages are kept in their original format and filenames and not used to add value to commercial products. As a result, they are still available for download on third-party websites, though the EULA in question is not.
The EULA referenced below also requires[2] that a copy be applied to transferees, but no EULA is on (for example) the Sourceforge download page at the time of writing, so the legal status of such downloads is questionable. However, a copy of the EULA is obtainable via the FAQ maintained on Microsoft's typography website.[3]
For Windows, the fonts are provided as self-extracting executables; each includes an embedded cabinet file, which can be extracted with appropriate software. This allows the fonts to be used on non-Windows operating systems, so long as they are distributed in original form. For the Macintosh, the files are provided as BinHexed Stuff-It archives.
Even though the fonts are available from SourceForge and other Web sites and are included with Mac OS, Håkon Wium Lie (CTO of Opera Software) cited the cancellation of the project as an example of Microsoft resisting interoperability.[4]
In July 2007, Apple announced that it had renewed its licensing agreement with Microsoft for these fonts.[5]
[edit] Included fonts
[edit] Successors
In Windows Vista and Microsoft Office 2007, Microsoft introduced ClearType Font Collection, which consists of 6 font families: Calibri, Cambria, Candara, Consolas, Constantia, Corbel. Version 1 of the fonts can be found in Microsoft's free Office 2007 viewers and converters, while version 5.00 of the fonts are shipped with Vista.
Cariadings, the only Symbol encoded font in the ClearType Font Collection, was initially announced to be available with Vista,[6] but is unavailable in the final Vista release.[7] The font is available commercially from Ascender for $20.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Microsoft Cuts the Line to Web Core Fonts". 2002-08-13. http://typographica.org/000270.php. Retrieved on 2008-08-04.
- ^ From the font EULA: Reproduction and Distribution. You may reproduce and distribute an unlimited number of copies of the SOFTWARE PRODUCT; provided that each copy shall be a true and complete copy, including all copyright and trademark notices, and shall be accompanied by a copy of this EULA. Copies of the SOFTWARE PRODUCT may not be distributed for profit either on a standalone basis or included as part of your own product.
- ^ FAQ maintained on Microsoft's typography website
- ^ Opera to MS: Get real about interoperability, Mr Gates | The Register
- ^ Mac users’ Internet experience to remain "seamless" thanks to Microsoft - MAC.BLORGE.com
- ^ Microsoft Design Center - Community News
- ^ Where’s the Windings replacement “Cariadings”? - istartedsomething
[edit] External links
- Core fonts download page on Sourceforge
- Former Core fonts for the Web homepage (Courtesy of the Internet Archive)
- Current Core fonts for the Web home page, which no longer provides the fonts themselves.
- Microsoft's TrueType core fonts for Mac and Windows (contains a copy of the EULA, the FAQ, and all the font packages)
- Microsoft's TrueType core fonts for Linux (contains a copy of the EULA, the FAQ, and all the font packages)
- An Initiative started by Andrei Herasimchuk, sends an Open Letter to Adobe in order to improve Web-Typography. Also Designer Jeff Croft proposes the new Windows Vista Typefaces made available in an Open Letter to Apple and Microsoft
- Web Design is 95% Typography (Part 1) and (Part 2) — Two articles on web design and typography that caused controversy.
- ClearType Font Collection
- Typeface Descriptions & Histories
- History/Trends of Web Fonts (1994-2008)
