Fonts2u

Fonts2u is an online repository of computer fonts, which are distributed for free under one of the following licenses: freeware, shareware, donationware, free for personal use, or GNU/GPL. While there is no a universally accepted system for fonts classification, all the fonts at Fonts2u are grouped into particular categories mainly based on the font appearance or style (e.g. Basic fonts, Fancy fonts, Dingbats, Foreign fonts, Holiday fonts, Script fonts, etc.) The functionality of the site allows users to download available computer fonts, upload the fonts of their own authorship into this online database, convert font files from one format to another, and leave the feedbacks or comments on the fonts, displayed on site. Fonts2u also contains the list of font vendors and font designers as well as regularly updated lists of top-rated and top-downloaded fonts.

Functionality

Font search

At Fonts2u, users can find the required font either by browsing the relevant font category or by using the extended search system. The latter makes it possible to search for a particular font by specifying font category, type, target computer platform as well as its physical characteristics, such as width, weight, special glyphs, character map in any combination. For example, in order to find sans serif font, supporting Cyrillic characters, it is necessary to specify these options in the relevant fields of the search panel and the system will automatically scan through the database and return a list of fonts, meeting the specified criteria.

Font PREview

Every font is supplied with the font details page, where all the information on the font, including its author, type of license, physical characteristics, as well as a list of supported character maps are provided. To view a complete character map, supported by a chosen font, it is necessary to select a particular character map on the font detail page. It is also possible to preview the custom text displayed by a chosen font or list of fonts.

Font download

The chosen font or several fonts can be downloaded onto user's computer as a .zip archive. To do this, a user clicks the “Download” button located on the right of the main screen. After unzipping the archive user can install the fonts on their local machines and software applications. The procedure of font installation depends on a particular operating system, used on a local machine. Fonts2u offers detailed instructions for installing fonts on Windows and Mac operating systems.

Font upload

Being an online archive of the fonts for free downloading, Fonts2u also offers opportunities for font designers to upload their works to the database. During the procedure of fonts uploading, font authors or font vendors can specify exact files to be included into a .zip archive. Along with the font file itself, this can also contain a file with the license agreement, or other relevant documents, users may need while using the font.

Font tools

The list of instruments or software applications for font creating, editing, and managing are provided at the site. Both free and proprietary font editors are included into the list. Font editors are the software applications, which allow fonts to be designed and/ or modified. Font managers are the software applications, which allows users to manage font files installed on their computers.

Font converter

Fonts2u features a free online font converter. This refers to a specific type of web-based application, which allows converting a font file from one format to another online in real time. The font converter supports the following formats of digital fonts:

TrueType (.ttf)
OpenType (.otf)
PostScript Type 1 (.pfb)
Macintosh OS X Data Fork (.dfont)

Membership

The registration on Fonts2u is free. Membership gives users access to additional resources and functions, such as fonts rating and commenting. The list of font designers and font vendors are offered at Fonts2u. Currently the website is offered in English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Polish, Slovak, Russian, Ukrainian, Chinese and Arab languages.