Embedding Type 1 Fonts

When a custom AFP font is used in an AFP document, it might be necessary to generate an equivalent Type 1 outline font. You can configure the transform program to embed this Type 1 outline font in the output PDF file for proper display.

The Type 1 font must be in binary (PFB/PFM) format. If a font is in ASCII (AFM/PFA) format, you must convert it before it can be used with the transform. Type 1 fonts typically consist of a printer font binary (PFB) file and a printer font metrics (PFM) file. The PFB file contains the mathematical descriptions (in the PostScript language) for each character. The PFM file contains the font metrics needed for the characters.

For example, assume a Type 1 font is made up of the files CustFont.pfb and CustFont.pfm. The file extensions of .pfb and .pfm files must be lowercase for the transform to correctly identify these files. The font file name, CustFont must be the same for both the .pfb and .pfm files.

For the transform to use these files, you must specify:

  • Where the files are located.
  • When the files should be substituted for a specific AFP font.

In this section:

  1. File location
    All Type 1 font files that can be used for embedding fonts into the PDF file must be placed into a single directory. This directory is then specified with the PfmPfb_Directory parameter in the transform options file.
  2. Mapping the AFP font to the embedded Type 1 font
    Usually, the embedded Type 1 font name is specified in the alias.fnt font mapping configuration file.
Parent topic: Transform AFP data to PDF