Font name table notes.md

OpenType font name table notes

Provided are the name table record ID and instructions on how to fill it out. Arial is used as an example to show how the names records can be filled. You can see the example records here:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/typography/opentype/spec/namesmp

There are also more exmaples added to the bottom of this file.

Why this document?

I had my fonts compiled using fontmake (version 3.5.1) and one of the weights was not showing up in Microsoft Word font menu in Windows 10. Be aware that fontmake, RF and AFDKO compile the table name records differently and this could change how the fonts show up in MS Word.

Terminolgy

RBIBI

A font set which contains Regular, Bold, Italic and Bold Italic or a subset of these. These fonts are style linked in some apps so when a user hits a Bold or Italic button, the style switches to an appropiate font. A large font family could have multiple RBIBI font sets.

WWS

Stands for Weight, Width, Slope. Any font family that doesn't fit in one RBIBI set or has styles other than what is described in RBIBI category.

TLDR

fontmake

If you're using fontmake and your compiled ufo is not showing up in Micorsoft Word, it's proabably because your fonts don't fit in a RBIBI model. To fix that you need to add a ufo.info.styleMapFamilyName to the font that is not showing up and change the styleMapStyleName to Regular or Italic. You also need to fill the font info attributes openTypeNamePreferredFamilyName and openTypeNamePreferredSubfamilyName. See the below instructions on how to do it.

Name ID reocrds instructions

ID 1 - Font Family name (fontmake: ufo.info.styleMapFamilyName)

• Seperates the Fonts in Microsoft Word Menu
• Any Font Family in ID 1 should only contain max 4 styles which conform to RBIBI. For example, the Font Family name for the Arial Narrow font is Arial Narrow; the Font Family name for the Arial Black font is Arial Black. In such cases (a WWS font family), name ID 16 should also be included with a shared name that reflects the full, typographic family (in this example case the name ID 16 is Arial).
• If any font in a family doesn't fit in RBIBI model, this record should also include the style name and ID 2 set to Regular. Then record ID 16 should only contain the family name and ID 17 should only contain the style name. An example is Source Serif 4 Display ExtraLight in which ID 1 is Source Serif 4 Display ExtraLight and ID 2 is Regular (see the example table at the end of this file).

ID 2 - Font Subfamily name (fontmake: ufo.info.styleMapStyleName)

• For a RBIBI set it should be any of four basic styles: Regular, Italic, Bold, or Bold italic. For example, the Arial Black font has a Font Family name of Arial Black and a Subfamily name of Regular although black is not visually a regular weight.
• If a style name doesn't fit in RBIBI category, the name records ID 16 and ID 17 should be filled.

ID 3 - Unique font identifier (fontmake: ufo.info.openTypeNameUniqueID)

Applications can use this to identify the font. Often a combination of family and style name, version number and year.

ID 4 - Full font name (fontmake: {ID 16/1} {ID 17/2})

• It should be suitable for display in font menus.
• Basically a combination of the family name (name ID 1) and the subfamily name (name ID 2) in a single string. In the format "Family Name Style Name".
• The PostScript Full Name can be completed by adding style attributes in this order: Weight, Width, Slope, Optical Size (Source: Adobe tech note #5088 page)
• Is allowed to have spaces
• Unique in a family and human readable
• Used by Windows and Adobe
• Some systems match the font’s Family Name (ID 1) against the PostScript Full Name for sorting into family groups. Therefore, the PostScript Full Name should start with the Family Name. (Source: Adobe tech note #5088)

ID 5 - Version string

• Release and version information from the font vendor.
• The word ‘Version’ followed by the x.xxx version number.

ID 6 - PostScript name (fontmake: ufo.info.postscriptFontName)

• Maximum length is 127 characters but 63 is safe, 29 is super safe (for legacy old softwares)
• Not allowed to have spaces. The space can be removed and a dash is placed between family name and style name.
• Adobe recommends the following abbreviations for style names. You can abbreviate the last word in the style name and keep the previous ones as it is. See Source Serif on the bottom of this page for an example.

Full	Short
Black	Blk
Bold	Bd
Book	Bk
Compact	Ct
Compressed	Cm
Condensed	Cn
Demi (prefix)	Dm
Display	Ds
Extended	Ex
Extra (prefix)	X
Heavy	Hv
Inclined	Ic
Italic	It
Kursiv	Ks
Light	Lt
Medium	Md
Narrow	Nr
Nord	Nd
Oblique	Obl
Poster	Po
Regular	Rg
Semi (prefix)	Sm
Slanted	Sl
Super	Su
Thin	Th
Ultra (prefix)	Ult
Upright	Up

ID 16 - Typographic Family name (fontmake: ufo.info.openTypeNamePreferredFamilyName)

• Set this to a unified name for a font family that has multiple RBIBI font sets or has styles that doesn't fit in one RBIBI set. For example for the Arial font family for "Arial Black" and "Arial Narrow" this record is set to Arial even though their ID 1 record is different.

ID 17 - Typographic Subfamily name (fontmake: ufo.info.openTypeNamePreferredSubfamilyName)

• This should contain the style name if ID 16 is filled.
• Basically the record ID 4 minus anything written in ID 16.

ID 18 - Compatible full name (fontmake: ufo.info.openTypeNameCompatibleFullName)

• Macintosh only. Only set if you want to set it differently from ID 4
• Having this value may break cross-platform compatibility

ID 21 - WWS Family Name (fontmake: ufo.info.openTypeNameWWSFamilyName)

• If entry for ID 17 includes a style name other than weight, width or slope; name ID 21 should be filled. Examples of name ID 21: “Minion Pro Caption” and “Minion Pro Display” in which their Name ID 16 is “Minion Pro”.

ID 22 - WWS Subfamily Name (fontmake: ufo.info.openTypeNameWWSSubfamilyName)

• If name ID 21 is filled this should also be filled.
• Basically the record ID 4 minus anything written in ID 21.

ID 25 - Variations PostScript Name Prefix

• If present in a variable font, it may be used as the family prefix in the PostScript Name Generation for Variation Fonts algorithm.

Notes:

• platformID 3 is for windows and is probably the only one that needs to be filled.

• platformID 1 is for Mac and if not present it would not cause problems for Mac apps: fonttools/fonttools#1170 (comment)

• Microsoft Word on Mac version 2011 requires platformID 1 to work: googlefonts/fontmake#360 (comment)

• For a RBIBI font set:

  • OS/2 table: fsSelection field should be set accordingly: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/typography/opentype/spec/os2#fsselection
  • head table: macStyle feild should be set accordingly: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/typography/opentype/spec/head

• If bit 8 of the OS/2 table fsSelection field is set, a WWS Family Name entry should not be needed and should not be included.

• If your target audience frequently use apps that follow a RBIBI model, then a width-weight order may provide more consistency across their applications. But otherwise, a weight-width order is fine and may even be more commonly used in fonts. MicrosoftDocs/typography-issues#324

Examples

Minion Pro

An example that shows how to fill the ID 21 and 22 (source: Microsoft).

Minion Pro Regular

• ID 1: Minion Pro
• ID 2: Regular

Minion Pro Italic

• ID 1: Minion Pro
• ID 2: Italic

Minion Pro Semibold

• ID 1: Minion Pro SmBd
• ID 2: Regular
• ID 16: Minion Pro
• ID 17: Semibold

Minion Pro Semibold Italic

• ID 1: Minion Pro SmBd
• ID 2: Italic
• ID 16: Minion Pro
• ID 17: Semibold Italic

Minion Pro Caption

• ID 1: Minion Pro Capt
• ID 2: Regular
• ID 16: Minion Pro
• ID 17: Caption
• ID 21: Minion Pro Caption
• ID 22: Regular

Minion Pro Semibold Italic Caption

• ID 1: Minion Pro SmBd Capt
• ID 2: Italic
• ID 16: Minion Pro
• ID 17: Semibold Italic Caption
• ID 21: Minion Pro Caption
• ID 22: Semibold Italic

Adobe Calson Pro

source: Microsoft.

Adobe Caslon Pro Regular

• ID 1: Adobe Caslon Pro
• ID 2: Regular

Adobe Caslon Pro Italic

• ID 1: Adobe Caslon Pro
• ID 2: Italic

Adobe Caslon Pro Semibold

• ID 1: Adobe Caslon Pro
• ID 2: Bold
• ID 16: Adobe Caslon Pro
• ID 17: Semibold

Adobe Caslon Pro Semibold Italic

• ID 1: Adobe Caslon Pro
• ID 2: Bold Italic
• ID 16: Adobe Caslon Pro
• ID 17: Semibold Italic

Adobe Caslon Pro Bold

• ID 1: Adobe Caslon Pro Bold
• ID 2: Regular
• ID 16: Adobe Caslon Pro
• ID 17: Bold

Adobe Caslon Pro Bold Italic

• ID 1: Adobe Caslon Pro Bold
• ID 2: Italic
• ID 16: Adobe Caslon Pro
• ID 17: Bold Italic

Segoe UI

Source: Windows 10.

Font / Name ID	1	2	4	6	16	17
segoeuii.ttf	Segoe UI	Italic	Segoe UI Italic	SegoeUI-Italic	-	-
segoeuiz.ttf	Segoe UI	Bold Italic	Segoe UI Bold Italic	SegoeUI-BoldItalic	-	-
segoeuib.ttf	Segoe UI	Bold	Segoe UI Bold	SegoeUI-Bold	-	-
segoeui.ttf	Segoe UI	Regular	Segoe UI	SegoeUI	-	-
seguibl.ttf	Segoe UI Black	Regular	Segoe UI Black	SegoeUIBlack	Segoe UI	Black
seguibli.ttf	Segoe UI Black	Italic	Segoe UI Black Italic	SegoeUIBlack-Italic	Segoe UI	Black Italic
seguili.ttf	Segoe UI Light	Italic	Segoe UI Light Italic	SegoeUI-LightItalic	Segoe UI	Light Italic
segoeuil.ttf	Segoe UI Light	Regular	Segoe UI Light	SegoeUI-Light	Segoe UI	Light
seguisb.ttf	Segoe UI Semibold	Regular	Segoe UI Semibold	SegoeUI-Semibold	Segoe UI	Semibold
seguisbi.ttf	Segoe UI Semibold	Italic	Segoe UI Semibold Italic	SegoeUI-SemiboldItalic	Segoe UI	Semibold Italic
seguisli.ttf	Segoe UI Semilight	Italic	Segoe UI Semilight Italic	SegoeUI-SemilightItalic	Segoe UI	Semilight Italic
segoeuisl.ttf	Segoe UI Semilight	Regular	Segoe UI Semilight	SegoeUI-Semilight	Segoe UI	Semilight

Source Serif 4

source: https://github.com/adobe-fonts/source-serif/releases/tag/4.005R

Font / Name ID	1	2	4	6	16	17
SourceSerif4-Regular.ttf	Source Serif 4	Regular	Source Serif 4	SourceSerif4-Regular	-	-
SourceSerif4-Bold.ttf	Source Serif 4	Bold	Source Serif 4 Bold	SourceSerif4-Bold	-	-
SourceSerif4-BoldIt.ttf	Source Serif 4	Bold Italic	Source Serif 4 Bold Italic	SourceSerif4-BoldIt	-	-
SourceSerif4-It.ttf	Source Serif 4	Italic	Source Serif 4 Italic	SourceSerif4-It	-	-
SourceSerif4Caption-Regular.ttf	Source Serif 4 Caption	Regular	Source Serif 4 Caption	SourceSerif4Caption-Regular	-	-
SourceSerif4Caption-Bold.ttf	Source Serif 4 Caption	Bold	Source Serif 4 Caption Bold	SourceSerif4Caption-Bold	-	-
SourceSerif4Caption-BoldIt.ttf	Source Serif 4 Caption	Bold Italic	Source Serif 4 Caption Bold Italic	SourceSerif4Caption-BoldIt	-	-
SourceSerif4Caption-It.ttf	Source Serif 4 Caption	Italic	Source Serif 4 Caption Italic	SourceSerif4Caption-It	-	-
SourceSerif4Display-Regular.ttf	Source Serif 4 Display	Regular	Source Serif 4 Display	SourceSerif4Display-Regular	-	-
SourceSerif4Display-Bold.ttf	Source Serif 4 Display	Bold	Source Serif 4 Display Bold	SourceSerif4Display-Bold	-	-
SourceSerif4Display-BoldIt.ttf	Source Serif 4 Display	Bold Italic	Source Serif 4 Display Bold Italic	SourceSerif4Display-BoldIt	-	-
SourceSerif4Display-It.ttf	Source Serif 4 Display	Italic	Source Serif 4 Display Italic	SourceSerif4Display-It	-	-
SourceSerif4SmText-Regular.ttf	Source Serif 4 SmText	Regular	Source Serif 4 SmText	SourceSerif4SmText-Regular	-	-
SourceSerif4SmText-Bold.ttf	Source Serif 4 SmText	Bold	Source Serif 4 SmText Bold	SourceSerif4SmText-Bold	-	-
SourceSerif4SmText-BoldIt.ttf	Source Serif 4 SmText	Bold Italic	Source Serif 4 SmText Bold Italic	SourceSerif4SmText-BoldIt	-	-
SourceSerif4SmText-It.ttf	Source Serif 4 SmText	Italic	Source Serif 4 SmText Italic	SourceSerif4SmText-It	-	-
SourceSerif4Subhead-Regular.ttf	Source Serif 4 Subhead	Regular	Source Serif 4 Subhead	SourceSerif4Subhead-Regular	-	-
SourceSerif4Subhead-Bold.ttf	Source Serif 4 Subhead	Bold	Source Serif 4 Subhead Bold	SourceSerif4Subhead-Bold	-	-
SourceSerif4Subhead-BoldIt.ttf	Source Serif 4 Subhead	Bold Italic	Source Serif 4 Subhead Bold Italic	SourceSerif4Subhead-BoldIt	-	-
SourceSerif4Subhead-It.ttf	Source Serif 4 Subhead	Italic	Source Serif 4 Subhead Italic	SourceSerif4Subhead-It	-	-
SourceSerif4-ExtraLight.ttf	Source Serif 4 ExtraLight	Regular	Source Serif 4 ExtraLight	SourceSerif4-ExtraLight	Source Serif 4	ExtraLight
SourceSerif4-ExtraLightIt.ttf	Source Serif 4 ExtraLight	Italic	Source Serif 4 ExtraLight Italic	SourceSerif4-ExtraLightIt	Source Serif 4	ExtraLight Italic
SourceSerif4-Light.ttf	Source Serif 4 Light	Regular	Source Serif 4 Light	SourceSerif4-Light	Source Serif 4	Light
SourceSerif4-LightIt.ttf	Source Serif 4 Light	Italic	Source Serif 4 Light Italic	SourceSerif4-LightIt	Source Serif 4	Light Italic
SourceSerif4-Semibold.ttf	Source Serif 4 Semibold	Regular	Source Serif 4 Semibold	SourceSerif4-Semibold	Source Serif 4	Semibold
SourceSerif4-SemiboldIt.ttf	Source Serif 4 Semibold	Italic	Source Serif 4 Semibold Italic	SourceSerif4-SemiboldIt	Source Serif 4	Semibold Italic
SourceSerif4Caption-Black.ttf	Source Serif 4 Caption Black	Regular	Source Serif 4 Caption Black	SourceSerif4Caption-Black	Source Serif 4 Caption	Black
SourceSerif4Caption-BlackIt.ttf	Source Serif 4 Caption Black	Italic	Source Serif 4 Caption Black Italic	SourceSerif4Caption-BlackIt	Source Serif 4 Caption	Black Italic
SourceSerif4Caption-ExtraLight.ttf	Source Serif 4 Caption ExtraLight	Regular	Source Serif 4 Caption ExtraLight	SourceSerif4Caption-ExtraLight	Source Serif 4 Caption	ExtraLight
SourceSerif4Caption-ExtraLightIt.ttf	Source Serif 4 Caption ExtraLight	Italic	Source Serif 4 Caption ExtraLight Italic	SourceSerif4Caption-ExtraLightIt	Source Serif 4 Caption	ExtraLight Italic
SourceSerif4Caption-Light.ttf	Source Serif 4 Caption Light	Regular	Source Serif 4 Caption Light	SourceSerif4Caption-Light	Source Serif 4 Caption	Light
SourceSerif4Caption-LightIt.ttf	Source Serif 4 Caption Light	Italic	Source Serif 4 Caption Light Italic	SourceSerif4Caption-LightIt	Source Serif 4 Caption	Light Italic
SourceSerif4Caption-Semibold.ttf	Source Serif 4 Caption Semibold	Regular	Source Serif 4 Caption Semibold	SourceSerif4Caption-Semibold	Source Serif 4 Caption	Semibold
SourceSerif4Caption-SemiboldIt.ttf	Source Serif 4 Caption Semibold	Italic	Source Serif 4 Caption Semibold Italic	SourceSerif4Caption-SemiboldIt	Source Serif 4 Caption	Semibold Italic
SourceSerif4Display-Black.ttf	Source Serif 4 Display Black	Regular	Source Serif 4 Display Black	SourceSerif4Display-Black	Source Serif 4 Display	Black
SourceSerif4Display-BlackIt.ttf	Source Serif 4 Display Black	Italic	Source Serif 4 Display Black Italic	SourceSerif4Display-BlackIt	Source Serif 4 Display	Black Italic
SourceSerif4Display-ExtraLight.ttf	Source Serif 4 Display ExtraLight	Regular	Source Serif 4 Display ExtraLight	SourceSerif4Display-ExtraLight	Source Serif 4 Display	ExtraLight
SourceSerif4Display-ExtraLightIt.ttf	Source Serif 4 Display ExtraLight	Italic	Source Serif 4 Display ExtraLight Italic	SourceSerif4Display-ExtraLightIt	Source Serif 4 Display	ExtraLight Italic
SourceSerif4Display-Light.ttf	Source Serif 4 Display Light	Regular	Source Serif 4 Display Light	SourceSerif4Display-Light	Source Serif 4 Display	Light
SourceSerif4Display-LightIt.ttf	Source Serif 4 Display Light	Italic	Source Serif 4 Display Light Italic	SourceSerif4Display-LightIt	Source Serif 4 Display	Light Italic
SourceSerif4Display-Semibold.ttf	Source Serif 4 Display Semibold	Regular	Source Serif 4 Display Semibold	SourceSerif4Display-Semibold	Source Serif 4 Display	Semibold
SourceSerif4Display-SemiboldIt.ttf	Source Serif 4 Display Semibold	Italic	Source Serif 4 Display Semibold Italic	SourceSerif4Display-SemiboldIt	Source Serif 4 Display	Semibold Italic
SourceSerif4SmText-Black.ttf	Source Serif 4 SmText Black	Regular	Source Serif 4 SmText Black	SourceSerif4SmText-Black	Source Serif 4 SmText	Black
SourceSerif4SmText-BlackIt.ttf	Source Serif 4 SmText Black	Italic	Source Serif 4 SmText Black Italic	SourceSerif4SmText-BlackIt	Source Serif 4 SmText	Black Italic
SourceSerif4SmText-ExtraLight.ttf	Source Serif 4 SmText ExtraLight	Regular	Source Serif 4 SmText ExtraLight	SourceSerif4SmText-ExtraLight	Source Serif 4 SmText	ExtraLight
SourceSerif4SmText-ExtraLightIt.ttf	Source Serif 4 SmText ExtraLight	Italic	Source Serif 4 SmText ExtraLight Italic	SourceSerif4SmText-ExtraLightIt	Source Serif 4 SmText	ExtraLight Italic
SourceSerif4SmText-Light.ttf	Source Serif 4 SmText Light	Regular	Source Serif 4 SmText Light	SourceSerif4SmText-Light	Source Serif 4 SmText	Light
SourceSerif4SmText-LightIt.ttf	Source Serif 4 SmText Light	Italic	Source Serif 4 SmText Light Italic	SourceSerif4SmText-LightIt	Source Serif 4 SmText	Light Italic
SourceSerif4SmText-Semibold.ttf	Source Serif 4 SmText Semibold	Regular	Source Serif 4 SmText Semibold	SourceSerif4SmText-Semibold	Source Serif 4 SmText	Semibold
SourceSerif4SmText-SemiboldIt.ttf	Source Serif 4 SmText Semibold	Italic	Source Serif 4 SmText Semibold Italic	SourceSerif4SmText-SemiboldIt	Source Serif 4 SmText	Semibold Italic
SourceSerif4Subhead-Black.ttf	Source Serif 4 Subhead Black	Regular	Source Serif 4 Subhead Black	SourceSerif4Subhead-Black	Source Serif 4 Subhead	Black
SourceSerif4Subhead-BlackIt.ttf	Source Serif 4 Subhead Black	Italic	Source Serif 4 Subhead Black Italic	SourceSerif4Subhead-BlackIt	Source Serif 4 Subhead	Black Italic
SourceSerif4Subhead-ExtraLight.ttf	Source Serif 4 Subhead ExtraLight	Regular	Source Serif 4 Subhead ExtraLight	SourceSerif4Subhead-ExtraLight	Source Serif 4 Subhead	ExtraLight
SourceSerif4Subhead-ExtraLightIt.ttf	Source Serif 4 Subhead ExtraLight	Italic	Source Serif 4 Subhead ExtraLight Italic	SourceSerif4Subhead-ExtraLightIt	Source Serif 4 Subhead	ExtraLight Italic
SourceSerif4Subhead-Light.ttf	Source Serif 4 Subhead Light	Regular	Source Serif 4 Subhead Light	SourceSerif4Subhead-Light	Source Serif 4 Subhead	Light
SourceSerif4Subhead-LightIt.ttf	Source Serif 4 Subhead Light	Italic	Source Serif 4 Subhead Light Italic	SourceSerif4Subhead-LightIt	Source Serif 4 Subhead	Light Italic
SourceSerif4Subhead-Semibold.ttf	Source Serif 4 Subhead Semibold	Regular	Source Serif 4 Subhead Semibold	SourceSerif4Subhead-Semibold	Source Serif 4 Subhead	Semibold
SourceSerif4Subhead-SemiboldIt.ttf	Source Serif 4 Subhead Semibold	Italic	Source Serif 4 Subhead Semibold Italic	SourceSerif4Subhead-SemiboldIt	Source Serif 4 Subhead	Semibold Italic

Python script to read the name table from fonts inside a folder and save the result to a csv file.

import os
import sys
import csv
from fontTools.ttLib import TTFont
from fontTools.ttLib.tables._n_a_m_e import NameRecord

"""
Python script to read the name table from fonts inside a folder and save the result to a `csv` file.
"""


def get_name_records(font_path, name_ids):
    records = {}
    try:
        font = TTFont(font_path)
        for name_record in font["name"].names:
            if name_record.nameID in name_ids and name_record.langID == 0x0409:
                value = name_record.toUnicode()
                if name_record.nameID not in records or len(
                    records[name_record.nameID]
                ) < len(value):
                    records[name_record.nameID] = value
    except:
        pass
    return records


def main(folder_path, output_file):
    name_ids = [1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 16, 17, 18, 21, 22]

    with open(output_file, "w", newline="", encoding="utf-8") as csvfile:
        csvwriter = csv.writer(
            csvfile, delimiter="\t", quotechar='"', quoting=csv.QUOTE_MINIMAL
        )
        header = ["Font"] + name_ids
        csvwriter.writerow(header)

        for filename in os.listdir(folder_path):
            if filename.endswith(".ttf") or filename.endswith(".otf"):
                font_path = os.path.join(folder_path, filename)
                records = get_name_records(font_path, name_ids)
                row = [filename]
                for name_id in name_ids:
                    row.append(records.get(name_id, "-"))
                csvwriter.writerow(row)


if __name__ == "__main__":
    if len(sys.argv) < 3:
        print("Usage: python script.py <folder_path> <output_file>")
    else:
        main(sys.argv[1], sys.argv[2])