The encyclopedia · Software & IT · Strategic decision · 1994–1997
OpenType merged TrueType and PostScript into one font format and won
Microsoft and Adobe merged TrueType and PostScript outlines in 1996; one free font file format came to run on every major platform.
Microsoft · Adobe Systems
the move
In the early 1990s desktop fonts were split between Apple's TrueType and Adobe's PostScript Type 1, so a font worked in one ecosystem but not the other. Microsoft's attempt to license Apple's GX typography failed, and it built 'TrueType Open' in 1994; Adobe joined the effort in 1996, adding its Type 1 outline technology.
The joint design kept TrueType's basic structure but added tables for typography and complex writing systems, and — crucially — accepted both TrueType and PostScript outlines in one file. Announced in 1996 as OpenType, the format superseded both predecessors instead of forcing users to choose sides.
Adoption followed the merge. Microsoft shipped OpenType support in Windows while Adobe converted its entire font library to the format by 2002; by 2006 every major foundry was producing OpenType fonts. In 2007 the format became the free ISO standard ISO/IEC 14496-22, the Open Font Format.
why it works
- One file accepts both TrueType and PostScript outlines, so neither camp was stranded
- Unicode-aware layout tables handle complex scripts and fine typography
- Microsoft bundled it with Windows while Adobe converted its entire library
- It became a free ISO standard (Open Font Format)
what transfers
When two proprietary camps merge their formats into one open superset, both sides' installed bases come along — the merge itself is the adoption strategy.
what came after
OpenType is the default font format on Windows, macOS, Android and the web (via WOFF), and its variable-font and color-font extensions keep it current; ISO and the OpenType specification are maintained in sync.
references
spotted an error? The archive wants to know.