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What fonts would you consider widespread enough for use?

Posted: Mon Oct 08, 2007 4:10 pm
by toasty2
Is it safe to say that one should be able to use any of these fonts?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web-safe_fonts
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Core_fonts_for_the_Web

Posted: Mon Oct 08, 2007 4:46 pm
by phpdevuk
sounds like a pretty thorough guide to what fonts are generally available, most websites I've done always seem to use arial, don't know guess the designers just like that one. More recently I make use of the css font-family as you can provide a range of fonts which maybe available.

Posted: Mon Oct 08, 2007 6:04 pm
by Miss_Alison
I've used all of those, except for Andale Mono... I've never even heard of that before, I should try that one...

Re: What fonts would you consider widespread enough for use?

Posted: Mon Oct 08, 2007 6:43 pm
by califdon
toasty2 wrote:Is it safe to say that one should be able to use any of these fonts?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web-safe_fonts
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Core_fonts_for_the_Web
Nothing is truly safe, probably. Much depends on whether you want to have your page look the same whether the viewer is using Windows, Mac or Linux. In all cases, you should use a default CSS font family as the last in the comma delimited string specifying the font-family.

Posted: Mon Oct 08, 2007 7:10 pm
by feyd
The only safe fonts: serif, sans-serif, monospace, cursive and fantasy; those defined by CSS. The user's browser controls what actual fonts they match to, and therefore the user controls them.

Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2007 1:24 am
by matthijs
A good resource to keep an eye on is http://www.codestyle.org/css/font-famil ... ults.shtml

As you can see, no single font will be on everyone's computer. Your best bet is to declare a font-family, start with the fonts you'd like to use and follow with alternatives which are more widespread in use. Always end the line with a general serif or sans-serif.
I've done always seem to use arial, don't know guess the designers just like that one
Are you sure? The designers?
Arial is everywhere. If you don't know what it is, you don't use a modern personal computer. Arial is a font that is familiar to anyone who uses Microsoft products, whether on a PC or a Mac. It has spread like a virus through the typographic landscape and illustrates the pervasiveness of Microsoft's influence in the world.

Arial's ubiquity is not due to its beauty. It's actually rather homely. Not that homeliness is necessarily a bad thing for a typeface. With typefaces, character and history are just as important. Arial, however, has a rather dubious history and not much character. In fact, Arial is little more than a shameless impostor.
http://www.ms-studio.com/articles.html

;)