If I create/acquire a font I want to use for my web app - if I install that font on the server - will it render as I expect on the client browser?
Or, is the font rendering dependent on what fonts are installed on the client?
Or, does the client get updated automatically with the font from the server, so it can render properly?
To do what you want to do, you’ll need to use web fonts functionality. It’s not built into Xojo. I offer it as part of my Studio Stable Web Essentials. In the demo, click the “Demos 2” segment (left) then the “Web Fonts” segment (right).
http://www.studiostable.com/webessentials/demonstration
Font conversion and licensing to server web fonts can be pretty sticky with commercial fonts. There are many collections of very beautiful completely free to deploy fonts. Good to familiarize yourself with the licensing landscape before you get too far into designing UI.
OK - I am willing to consider that, but can you educate me on how/where web fonts get rendered?
Fonts are rendered on the client side, it’s why there are only a few “web-safe” fonts because those fonts are pretty common on most OS. However, you can get around this by using something like Google Fonts. It’s pretty much add a line or two that Google gives you then defining where you want to use the Google fonts. Pretty easy and straight forward.
Mark, if you like the fonts Google offers, absolutely go with that. It’s free and easy. What prompted me to add web fonts to Web Essentials was that I fell in love with some very specific fonts for a little project and couldn’t find a Google one that was close enough. YMMV.
It then also allows Google to track visitors to your site… I personally avoid Google fonts for this reason. I’m not helping out. Even removed Google Analytics as it also allows Google to track customers who visit my site.
G+ buttons do the same thing - basically anything that your site has to pull from Google enables Google to track your customers!
I found this article that is a bit dated that describes “web safe” fonts - which suggests these are common to all Mac and PC clients. I am interested in this because I want to leverage Webding symbols for my webapp.
http://www.ampsoft.net/webdesign-l/WindowsMacFonts.html
Does anyone know if this list is still valid? Is there a definitive reference for this?
This discussion also applies to Xplat Desktop apps as well I would assume… Since OSX has font “A” and Win does not, or vice-versa
I have no reason to use non-standard fonts, but I rely on Google Analytics for tracking my users. I need real-time data on visitors to my site without having to roll my own log parsing app. I know some people just hates Google, but I also use them to raise money via Google Ads for a free Hmong text-to-speech web app that I wrote over a decade ago. It is now being used roughly 2000 times per day and without Google, it would be hard for me to keep the site up financially.