How do you change a TTF font name?

👤 Diwas Poudel 🕒 03 Sep 2023 📁 TECH

Background

You might want more than a specific font for your design or applications. There are several ways to alter, create, and merge fonts of different types. The font you have created deserves its unique name. You likely change the name of the font several times. Thus, this article is coming in handy for you. The article will cover how to rename a TTF font name.

Background
Introduction
Steps to change the TTF font name
OpenType Fonts
Mistakes people make while changing the TTF font name
Conclusion

Introduction

Fonts are of different types. One of them includes the TTF(TrueType Fonts) fonts. TTF fonts are font files with ‘.ttf’ extensions. They are a type of vector graphic. These fonts are made using mathematical equations. Therefore, unlike bitmap fonts, there is no chance of losing the quality of the font when the font size is scaled up. This gives versatility to your project and can be a reliable option for graphics designing. Some of the TTF fonts are Cambria, Algerian, Berlin Sans FB, and so on.

Steps to change the TTF font name

Here, we will be discussing how to change a font name using the FontForge application. FontForge provides a wide variety of options for editing fonts. Therefore, we are using FontForge as our primary tool to change font names.

Step 1: Download FontForge

You will need to download the FontForge application and install it on your device. You can follow the steps below:

Click on this: https://fontforge.org/en-US/.
Click on Windows Install.
Click on Confirm and Download. (You can find it in a rectangular box and might need to scroll a bit.)
Click on Download Release Installer (.exe). (Download will start and wait until it's downloaded.)

Step 2: Install FontForge

Once you have finished downloading FontForge, you now have to install it on your device. You can see the downloaded file in your Downloads directory.

Goto Downloads on File Explorer and double click on FontForge-Windows (the application you just downloaded).
Select the setup language of your choice and click on OK.
Read the information provided and click on Next.
Browse the suitable location to install FontForge on your device and click on Next. (You can let it be on the default location provided.)
Again, click on Next two more times.
Click on Install. (The installation process will start and will be completed within a few seconds.)
Click on Finish.

Step 3: Open the font file desired to rename

Open FontForge
Select the font whose name you want to change. Or simply you can locate the font file, right-click Copy as Path, and paste it on the rectangular box. (Do not forget to remove the double inverted comma “” before clicking OK.)
Click on OK.

Step 4: Go to Font Info

Once you have opened up the font file, you will be able to perform several actions. Here, we are just going to change the font name.

Click on Element on the menu bar.
Click on Font info… (Or simply you can press Ctrl + Shift + F)

A new window will then pop up.

Step 5: Change the name

In the new window, Font Information for, you can change the name of the font, font family name, and name for humans. Then, click on OK.

Step 6: Generate font

Now, you will have to generate a font to change the font name.

Go to File in the Menu bar.
Click on Generate Fonts… (Or simply press Ctrl + Shift + G.) A new window (Generate Fonts) will appear.

fig. File > Generate Fonts
Give the font file name as your choice with the .ttf extension. Also in the drop-down menu choose TrueType. Keep the location where you want to save the file.
Click Generate.

Step 7: Install the font

Locate the font that you just named.
Open the Font file.
Click on Install. The installation will then begin. You will find the font in C:\Windows\Fonts.

This is it. You have now successfully changed the TTF font name. To verify, you can check your new font name in MS Word.

fontname changed successfully — **fig. font name was changed successfully**

If you do not want to download a program and prefer to use it online, there are several tools available. My favorite is glyphrstudio.

Let's look at how to do it using glyphrstudio.

The steps are as follows:

Open glyphrstudio by visiting this link: https://www.glyphrstudio.com/online/

fig. glyphrstudio website
Click on the Load tab.
Click on the Browse for a File button to browse your desired font to rename.

fig. Load your desired fonts
Click on the Import Fonts button.

fig. Click on the 'Import Fonts' button
Click on the hamburger icon at the top right corner
Next click on the font settings option

fig. Click on Font Settings
Under Font Name, give the desired name of the font

fig. Give your desire name to font
Next click on the Export font on the left
Next click on the Export OTF Font button.

fig. Click on the Export OFT Format button

Then your font will have your desired font name as shown below.

Fontname renamed successfully — **fig. Font name renamed successfully**

OpenType Fonts

This method of changing the font name not just works for TTF fonts but also works for OTF (OpenType Fonts) fonts and other file formats as well. OTF fonts are considered to be the successor of TTF fonts. OTF fonts have even more capabilities than TTF fonts. Advanced features like ligatures, small caps, and retro figures are supported by OpenType fonts.

Mistakes people make while changing the TTF font name

Let's look at some of them:

Misspelling the name of the font.
Using special characters in the name of the font.
Using too long font name
Renaming font without backup.

Conclusion

This is one of the easiest ways to change the Font name. Trying to rename a folder from the Fonts directory is not possible. FontForge can assist you to change and modify fonts. You need to be careful using this application. Mishandling this tool can cause serious problems while creating text documents. This article helps you to safely change the name of the TTF font file, when properly followed, using the FontForge application and online sites like glyphrstudio

Article by: Pragyan Bhattarai