Embedding of fonts in PDF and SVG files

How fonts are handled in PDF and SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) files mainly depends on the fonts that you use in the project.

PDF Files

The music and text fonts that are supplied with Dorico, these and their sub-sets are embedded in PDF files during the export. If you open the PDF files on a different computer, they look the same, even if that computer does not have the fonts installed that are used in the document. If you use different fonts, make sure that these permit embedding.

SVG Files

SVG files do not embed fonts directly: some font characters, such as note heads, articulations, and accidentals, are converted into outlines, so that they do not depend on the font from which they are taken. Other font characters, such as time signature and tuplet digits, are only encoded using references to the font from which they are taken. The latter also applies to regular text, such as staff labels, tempo instructions, and dynamics. This means that the SVG file looks incorrect if rendered by a web browser on a computer that does not have the fonts installed. It depends on the browser or the rendering software, and on the fonts that are installed on the computer, how the SVG file appears.

To ensure that the SVG file appears correctly if embedded in a web page, you can open the SVG file in an illustration program and convert all font characters to outline paths, then re-export the SVG file and embed that file. Alternatively, you can use web fonts to ensure that the necessary fonts are available on the web server.

SVG graphics that are exported from Dorico conform to the SVG Tiny 1.1 specification, which defines a subset of features in the full SVG specification.

For information about using web fonts with SVG, refer to the Steinberg Help Center.