Exporting TTF, OTF and WOFF2 files from Font by Zaweba
Export one style or a whole family from Font by Zaweba as TTF, OTF and WOFF2, with every file checked for tables, overlaps and contour direction first.
A font project becomes a real font at the moment of export. Up to then it's a set of settings and letters inside the app; afterwards it's a file you can install, send to a printer, or put on a website. Font by Zaweba exports three common formats, and it checks the files as it makes them.
You can export one style, the font as it stands, or a whole family. The family is the four-style set of Regular, Bold, Italic and Bold Italic made from your style stack. Either way, the result comes out as TrueType (TTF), OpenType (OTF) and WOFF2 files.
Which file to use where
TTF and OTF are the desktop formats. They're what you install on a computer so that a word processor, a layout program or a drawing app can use the font. Both are widely supported, and in everyday use most people won't notice a difference between them. If a program or a print shop asks for one in particular, give it that one.
WOFF2 is the web format. It's compressed, so it downloads quickly, and it's what browsers expect when a website uses its own font. You wouldn't install a WOFF2 on your computer for typing; you'd put it on your website. If web use is the plan, the web kit is the easier route, since it bundles the WOFF2 files with ready made CSS and a demo page.
The checks, and the warnings list
Before you get your files, Font checks them. The checks cover the font's tables (the internal sections every font file has), overlaps between shapes, and contour direction (the direction in which each outline is drawn, which tells software what is a shape and what is a hole). Problems with any of these can make a font render oddly in some programs or refuse to install.
When the export finishes, the result lists any warnings. Read them. A clean result means the files passed. A warning usually points to a particular glyph, often one that's been heavily edited by hand or one where several effects in the stack combine in an unusual way. Find that glyph in the glyphs grid, look at it in the glyph editor, and fix or revert it, then export again.
Before you export
A little preparation makes the export more useful. Fill in the names and licence in the font settings: family name, designer, version, copyright and the licence you want. These are written into the font files, so they travel with the font wherever it goes. A clear family name matters especially, since it's what people will see in the font menus of their programs.
Look through the glyphs grid with the Edited filter on, to be sure hand edited letters still suit the final style. Check the live preview at small and large sizes. And save the project as a .zfont file, so you can come back and change the font later.
After export
The quickest way to start using a desktop font is Install for me, which installs the font or family for the current user with no administrator prompt. It also offers to replace a version that's already installed, which saves a lot of trouble when you're testing changes. Use in Page installs the family and opens Page by Zaweba, if you have it.
For a quick visual record of the font, a specimen PDF shows it on one page. It's handy for sharing with someone who wants to see the font before installing it.
Habits worth keeping
Bump the version number in the font settings each time you export something you'll use. Fonts with the same name and version can confuse programs that have cached the old one. Keep exported files in a folder named after the font and version, alongside the .zfont project. And keep an eye on the warnings list on every export, not just the first.
Export is the step that turns your design into something other people can use. Font by Zaweba makes it a single action, and the checks mean the files that come out are fit to install and share.
