TTF

TTF — TrueType Font

TTF (TrueType Font) is the most widely supported font file format on every modern desktop and mobile operating system. Apple and Microsoft jointly designed it so a single font file would render identically on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android. TTF stores each glyph as a set of quadratic Bézier curves plus a small program of hinting instructions that keep type crisp at low pixel sizes. If you have ever installed a font on your computer, you have almost certainly handled a .ttf file.

History

Apple created TrueType in 1991 as a direct counter to Adobe's proprietary Type 1 (PostScript) format, which required a paid licence and dedicated rendering hardware to run well at screen sizes. Microsoft adopted TrueType for Windows 3.1 in 1992, instantly making it the de-facto standard for desktop typography. In 1996 Adobe and Microsoft jointly developed OpenType on top of the TrueType container, extending it with advanced typographic layout features and full Unicode coverage. Three decades later, TrueType is still the baseline format every font tool, every PDF renderer, and every operating system text engine must support — even when you ship a .otf, .woff, or .woff2, the underlying glyph data is usually TrueType outlines wrapped in a different container.

When to use TTF

Convert TTF to other formats

Convert other formats to TTF

Frequently asked questions

Is TTF still used in 2026?

Yes. TTF is the most compatible font format on the planet. Modern web workflows convert TTF to WOFF2 for delivery, but desktop applications, print pipelines, and CAD software all consume .ttf files directly with no extra tooling.

What is the difference between TTF and OTF?

Both formats use the same OpenType container, so the line is blurry. TTF stores glyph outlines as quadratic Bézier curves; OTF more often stores them as cubic Béziers (PostScript-style). OTF files also commonly ship with advanced typographic features like ligatures, stylistic sets, and small caps — features that TTF technically supports but rarely uses.

Can I use TTF directly on the web?

Yes, via the CSS @font-face rule — but it is not optimal. TTF files are uncompressed, so they ship more bytes than they need to. Converting TTF to WOFF2 cuts roughly 70 percent off the file size with no quality loss, which is why every modern site uses WOFF2 instead.