How to View the Contents of a .ttc (TrueType Collection) Font File

Mar 17 2024 · How-To

TrueType Collection (.ttc) files are special font files that contain multiple fonts within a single file. This format is commonly used to package related fonts together, saving space and improving efficiency. In this guide, we’ll explore various methods to view the contents of these files using command-line tools on different operating systems.

Understanding TrueType Collection Files

Before we dive into the methods, it’s important to understand what TrueType Collection files are:

A .ttc file can contain multiple TrueType fonts
They’re often used for CJK (Chinese, Japanese, Korean) fonts to group related fonts
TTC files can reduce overall file size and improve font loading efficiency

Method 1: Using fonttools (Cross-platform)

Fonttools is a Python library for manipulating fonts. It includes a command-line tool called ttx that can inspect font files, including .ttc files.

Installation

First, ensure you have Python installed. Then, install fonttools using pip:

pip install fonttools

Usage

List all fonts in a .ttc file:

ttx -l /path/to/font.ttc

Extract information about a specific font in the collection:

ttx -t name -f <number> /path/to/font.ttc

Replace <number> with a number from 0 to the total number of fonts in the collection minus one. For example:

ttx -t name -f 0 /System/Library/Fonts/Avenir.ttc

Extract information for all fonts in the collection:

for i in {0..11}; do ttx -t name -f $i /System/Library/Fonts/Avenir.ttc; done

Extract the ‘name’ table for all fonts:

ttx -t name /path/to/font.ttc

Method 2: Using fc-list (Linux and macOS)

The fc-list command, part of the Fontconfig library, can list fonts and their properties.

Usage

List all .ttc files:

fc-list : file | grep ".ttc"

Get details about a specific .ttc file:

fc-query /path/to/font.ttc

Method 3: Using otfinfo (Linux and macOS)

The otfinfo tool, part of the lcdf-typetools package, can provide detailed information about OpenType and TrueType fonts.

Installation

On Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo apt install lcdf-typetools

On macOS (using Homebrew):

brew install lcdf-typetools

Usage

View information about a .ttc file:

otfinfo -i /path/to/font.ttc

Note: This method may not work with all .ttc files on all systems.

Method 4: Using macOS-specific tools

ftxinstalledfonts

List all installed fonts, including those from .ttc files:

ftxinstalledfonts

ftxdumperfuser

List all fonts in a .ttc collection:

ftxdumperfuser -t avar /path/to/font.ttc

Get detailed information about fonts in the collection:

ftxdumperfuser -t name /path/to/font.ttc

List all available tables in the font:

ftxdumperfuser -A /path/to/font.ttc

Extract information from a specific table:

ftxdumperfuser -t head /path/to/font.ttc

Method 5: Using PowerShell (Windows)

On Windows, PowerShell can provide information about installed fonts, including those in .ttc files.

Usage

Open PowerShell and run:

[System.Drawing.Text.InstalledFontCollection]::new().Families | Where-Object { $_.Name -like "*" } | Select-Object Name, IsStyleAvailable

This lists all installed font families and their available styles.

Conclusion

These methods provide different ways to inspect the contents of .ttc font files across various operating systems:

fonttools offers a cross-platform solution with detailed font information
fc-list and otfinfo are useful for Linux and macOS users
macOS-specific tools like ftxinstalledfonts and ftxdumperfuser provide additional options
PowerShell provides a native Windows solution

By using these methods, you can easily view and manage the fonts within your TrueType Collection files. This knowledge is crucial for designers, developers, and system administrators working with multilingual applications or optimizing font usage in their projects.

Remember that some tools may require installation of additional packages, so ensure you have the necessary permissions on your system.

For more information on font management and typography, check out these resources: