DEV Community

ramya Thirunavukkarasu
ramya Thirunavukkarasu

Posted on

How to Convert Vector Letters into OTF (OpenType Font)

What Is OTF?
OTF (OpenType Font)
Supports advanced typography
Works on Windows, macOS, Linux
Is commonly used in design software (Photoshop, Illustrator, Word)
OTF fonts store:
Vector outlines of letters
Spacing information
Font metadata (name, style, author)
1.Create Vector Letters Correctly
Before FontForge, your vectors must be font-ready.
Rules for Vector Letters:
Use SVG or EPS
One letter per file
Paths must be:
Clean (no strokes, only fills)
No background rectangles
2.Create a New Font in FontForge
Open FontForge
Click:
File → New
What you see now:
A grid of empty boxes
Each box = one character (glyph)
For example:
Slot “A” → Capital A
Slot “a” → Small a
This grid is how FontForge maps vector shapes → keyboard characters.
3.Import Vector into a Glyph Slot
Double-click on a letter slot (example: A)
Go to:
File → Import
Select your SVG/EPS file
Now your vector appears inside the glyph editor.
4.Align and Scale the Letter
Inside the glyph window you’ll see lines:

Baseline → where letters sit
Ascender → top limit
Descender → bottom limit
What You Must Do:
Scale the letter to fit naturally
Place it correctly on the baseline
Do NOT touch the top too much
Why means:
Incorrect alignment causes:
Letters floating
Uneven text
Bad line spacing
5.Generate OTF File
Once all letters are imported:
Go to:
File → Generate Fonts
Choose format:
OpenType (CFF)
Name your font
Click Generate

**How to Convert Vector Letters into WOFF (Web Open Font Format)
What Is WOFF?
WOFF (Web Open Font Format) is:
A compressed font format
Designed specifically for websites
Supported by all modern browsers:
Browsers cannot use SVG letters directly
They need WOFF or WOFF2
You do NOT convert SVG → WOFF directly
You convert:
Vector → Font (OTF/TTF) → WOFF
FontForge handles this internally.
1.Generate WOFF Using FontForge
If your font project is already
Go to:
File → Generate Fonts
Select:
Web Open Font Format (WOFF)
Click Generate

Top comments (0)