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FontBox is a low-level Java library for obtaining raw information from font files. It is used internally by PDFBox to parse and apply fonts when reading or writing PDF documents. You do not normally need to depend on FontBox directly; it is a transitive dependency of the pdfbox module.

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Dependency

<dependency>
  <groupId>org.apache.pdfbox</groupId>
  <artifactId>fontbox</artifactId>
  <version>3.0.0</version>
</dependency>

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Supported font formats

FontBox covers the font formats most commonly encountered inside PDF files.
FormatPackageDescription
TrueType / OpenType (TTF/OTF)ttfFull TrueType and OpenType parsing, including composite fonts and CID tables
Type 1type1Adobe Type 1 fonts, including PFB binary and PFA text variants
CFF (Compact Font Format)cffOpenType CFF and standalone CFF/CFF2 font data
AFM (Adobe Font Metrics)afmFont metrics files used for character width and kerning information

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Key classes

ClassPackagePurpose
FontBoxFontrootCommon interface implemented by all font types in FontBox
TrueTypeFontttfParses TTF/OTF files; provides access to glyph outlines, tables, and metrics
Type1Fonttype1Parses Type 1 fonts from PFB/PFA source
CFFFontcffParses CFF and CFF2 font data; exposes charstrings and private dicts
AFMParserafmReads Adobe Font Metrics files and exposes per-glyph width data

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When to use FontBox directly

Most users interact with fonts through PDFBox’s PDFont hierarchy (PDType1Font, PDTrueTypeFont, PDType0Font) and never need to import FontBox classes directly. Consider using FontBox directly when you need to:
  • Inspect raw glyph outlines or TTF table data outside of a PDF context
  • Implement custom font subsetting or glyph remapping logic
  • Parse standalone font files in a tool that does not use PDFBox’s document model
  • Debug font rendering issues by examining CFF charstrings or TrueType cmap tables directly
// Load a TrueType font file directly via FontBox
try (InputStream is = new FileInputStream("Helvetica.ttf"))
{
    TrueTypeFont ttf = new TTFParser().parse(is);
    System.out.println("Units per EM: " + ttf.getUnitsPerEm());
    ttf.close();
}
When working within PDFBox, load fonts using PDType0Font.load() or PDTrueTypeFont.load() rather than using FontBox classes directly. PDFBox handles subsetting and encoding automatically.

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