Get Metadata from TrueType Font Files in Windows Using Python and fontTools Library

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What will you learn?

Discover how to extract metadata from TrueType Font (TTF) files on Windows using Python with the assistance of the fontTools library. Uncover the process of accessing crucial information embedded within TTF font files.

Introduction to the Problem and Solution

Delve into a common task of extracting metadata information from TTF font files, essential for tasks like analyzing fonts, checking licensing information, or understanding font details. By leveraging Python and the fontTools library, we can effortlessly parse and access metadata stored within TTF font files on a Windows platform.

Code

# Import necessary modules from the fontTools library
from fontTools.ttLib import TTFont

# Specify the path to the TTF file for metadata extraction
font_path = "path/to/your/font.ttf"

# Load the TTF file using TTFont
font = TTFont(font_path)

# Accessing metadata properties of the font object
metadata = {
    'Family Name': font['name'].getName(1, 3, 1).toStr(),
    'Style Name': font['name'].getName(2, 3, 1).toStr(),
    'Designer': font['name'].getName(9, 3, 1).toStr(),
    # Add more properties as needed...
}

print(metadata)

# Copyright PHD

Explanation

To implement our solution: – Import essential modules from the fontTools library. – Define the path to your target TTF file. – Load the specified TTF file using TTFont. – Extract desired metadata properties such as Family Name, Style Name, Designer by accessing name table entries within the loaded TTF file. – Process or display these extracted metadata values based on your requirements.

This code snippet illustrates a straightforward approach to retrieve vital information stored in a TrueType Font file on your Windows system.

    How can I install the fontTools library in Python?

    You can easily install fontTools via pip by executing:

    pip install fonttools[ufo,lxml]

# Copyright PHD

    Can I extract data other than designer and style name from a TTF file?

    Certainly! Explore various attributes like Unique ID or Version Number by examining different name table entries within a TTF file as per your needs.

    Is it feasible to modify existing metadata in a TTF file using this method?

    While reading existing data is seamless with fontTools, modifying metadata requires additional steps involving updating specific tables within a glyph’s binary structure.

    …and more FAQs…

    Conclusion

    In conclusion, we have navigated through extracting valuable metadata from TrueType Font (TFF) files efficiently with Python and the robust fontTools library. Understanding these intricacies not only enhances comprehension of typography concepts but also paves way for diverse applications involving fonts analysis and manipulation.

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