addftinfo

addftinfo [options] <fontfile> [<afmfile>]

-d, --dump
    Dump internal font tables for inspection

-e, --embed
    Embed PostScript name table into the font

-n, --name
    Skip modification of the 'name' table

-p, --prefix <PREFIX>
    Add PREFIX to all PostScript names

-r, --replace
    Replace any existing PostScript tables

-s, --post
    Specifically add the 'post' information table

-?, --help
    Display help and exit

addftinfo is a utility from the FreeType font engine project designed to enhance TrueType font files (.ttf or .ttc) by adding essential PostScript-specific metadata. This makes the fonts more compatible with PostScript interpreters like Ghostscript, enabling better rendering and embedding in PDF documents.

The tool primarily modifies the font's SFNT tables: it can add or update the 'post' table (PostScript outlines), 'name' table (font names and metadata), and optionally embed a PostScript name table. It often works in conjunction with an AFM (Adobe Font Metrics) file, which provides glyph widths and kerning data extracted from the font.

Usage is straightforward for converting fonts for TeX systems or legacy PostScript workflows. For example, it processes a TrueType font and an optional AFM input to produce an output font with enriched tables, preserving original glyph data while appending compatibility info. This is crucial for environments lacking native TrueType support.

Installed via the freetype-utils package on most Linux distributions, addftinfo supports embedding, prefixing PS names, and dumping internal tables for debugging. It ensures fonts are self-contained for printing and display without external metrics files.

Only supports TrueType fonts (.ttf/.ttc); output overwrites input unless redirected. AFM files must match the font exactly. Not suitable for OpenType or variable fonts.

addftinfo -e -s myfont.ttf metrics.afm
Generates enhanced myfont.ttf with embedded PS data.

Processes in-place or to stdout; use redirection: addftinfo font.ttf > enhanced.ttf

Developed by the FreeType team since 2000 as part of freetype2 utilities. Evolved with FreeType 2.x releases to support enhanced SFNT table handling; widely used in TeX Live distributions for font conversion.

ttf2pk(1), ttf2tfm(1), otfinfo(1), freetype-config(1)