Extract or save embedded font from a Word document

[xerox]

Hi

A few years back I made a ttf font from my handwriting.

Unfortunately, I have lost the font file...

But I have a Word document i made back then, that has the font embedded.

Is it possible for me to get the font out of the document and save it on my computer?

Please note that this is my own font, so I am not trying to take something that is not mine.

I can attach the document here if it helps.

Any tips will be appreciated.

:)

[Salgoth]

From a MS support Forum:

there are a couple of factors that can

be involved on whether a font is embedded and

if embedded if it's then loaded on your system

as a font, when it is embedded in a document.

When the factors allow it to, Word will ask

Windows to install an embedded font.

These are some of the factors that can be involved.

First, is that Word's font dropdown on the

menu bar showing a name for a font that isn't

on your system, does not necessarily mean that

that font is included in your document, only

that the author of the document used a font

with that name, or typed in a name of a font

(it doesn't have to exist at all).

A reason Word works that way is to be able

to support conversions from other machines,

versions and other brands of Word processors

and still leave the documents in a form where

collaboration can continue if the document is

returned to the original author after you had

reviewed it, or modified it, as an example.

With the document opened on your system check

in Tools=>Options=>Compatability=>.

It doesn't list the font being embedded or not,

only its availability. You can use this free

utility FontList v4 by Raymond Mercier,

to look at a Word or Wordperfect file to see

if the font is embedded in a document.

http://forums.compuserve.com/gvforums/defa...OfficeForum?S...

A second factor, is that it's possible to

embed only part of a font (subsetting),

in a Word document. What Word's

Tools=>Options=>Save tab lists as the

'characters in use)' embedding option.

That could make things rather odd if you

were to manually extract that and install

it as a font. That feature is to keep the

size of a file down, especially when we're

working with ~20mb font files, such as

Arial MS Unicode :) Unfortunately, Word doesn't

tell you when the font embedded is a 'complete'

one.

As you may be aware MS has always spent a lot

of time and money on what they see as 'protecting

intellectual property' (at least that they claim

as theirs <g>) and Font Licensing and

'Digital Rights Management' control are part

of that, so they do honor the settings in a

font on 'licensing' on what can be used,

embedded and if it can be extracted and installed

on your system when it is in the document.

These MS web pages cover the embedding 'license'

categories.

http://www.microsoft.com/typography/embed/embed2.htm

"An introduction to embedding"

http://microsoft.com/typography/embed/embed.htm

"Embedding fonts in Office documents "

This last document includes a description of

the process that is used to store an encrypted

font into a Word file and how the extraction

is done automatically for different embedding

license categories.

As another factor there's also the possibility

that a system administrator can set (lockdown)

Windows to not let new fonts be added to the system,

so that an 'installed' font, wouldn't necessarily

be 'accessible'.

If you see a font you like in a document and

after opening and closing that document that

font is no longer listed in the Font applet

in Windows, it's probably faster to search

for it on the web and obtain a copy by whatever

method the font designer/owner has set up for

that font :)

[xerox]

Thanks for the info. But it was all about embedding, not debedding :)

The font is made by me, isn't publicly available, and not licenced in any way.

The whole font is embedded, and shows up in the font drop down list in Word when the document is open, but not in Windows/Fonts.

Even with the info you gave me I still can't extract or save it on my system unfortunately.

[+Nik Louch Subscriber²]

It seems to me that it depends upon how it was embedded, as there seem to be a few different options: http://wordtips.vitalnews.com/Pages/T1637_...dded_Fonts.html

[Salgoth]

Hadn't thought this would be so difficult....

There appears to be a way if you convert the .doc to a .ps file. Read....

http://pmjdebruijn.blogspot.com/2006/06/ex...-from-pdfs.html

and for the FontForge program Go...

http://fontforge.sourceforge.net/

Again, hope this helps!