History

• Apple developed TrueType fonts in the 1980s to compete with Adobe to provide a solution to better display and print letters. TrueType fonts allowed much greater control for font display and easier development of new font styles.
  
  

Availability

• Beginning with Windows 3.1 and Mac OS 7 in the 1990s, TrueType fonts are pre-installed on both Apple and Windows computers and are also included in popular desktop publishing software. In addition to these common fonts, there is a wide range of additional TrueType fonts available for you to use.
  
  

Windows Installation

• Because TTF files are part of the computer operating system, they are not designed to be opened to view the font styles. Instead, they must be installed on your computer. After downloading or opening a font from a disc, installing a font in Windows XP/Vista and Windows 7 is done via the Control Panel.
  
  

Mac Installation

• After downloading or opening a font from a disc, installing a font on a Mac is done by dragging fonts in to the Font library folder located under the Finder menu.
  
  

Compatibility

• Because fonts exist in multiple formats, such as ClearType, OpenType and Postscript, it is usually a good practice to install only one format of each font to avoid potential conflicts.