What is a .AFM file?
The .AFM file extension stands for Adobe Font Metrics File. It is a type of file that is created in a simple, readable text format known as ASCII. Adobe, a well-known company that creates software for creating and managing digital content, developed this file format. The main purpose of an AFM file is to store important information about fonts, specifically for fonts that are used in Type 1 PostScript files. PostScript is a technology used to describe how a page should look when printed, and it includes details about the fonts, their sizes, and how they should be displayed.
An AFM file contains what is called the "master design" of a font. This means it has all the details about how each character in the font should look. For example, it includes information about the height, width, and spacing of each character, which helps ensure that the text looks consistent and as intended when it is printed or displayed on a screen.
When it comes to opening .AFM files, they are not typically opened in the same way you would open a document or an image file. Instead, these files are used by other programs that need to accurately display or print fonts. These programs refer to the .AFM files to get the font metrics data they need. This means that any software that uses system fonts, such as word processors, graphic design programs, or even your computer's operating system, might reference .AFM files to properly render the fonts.
More Information: AFM files are related to AFF disk image data. This means that when a program needs to use the information in an AFM file, it automatically finds and uses the related disk image data from separate files. This process is usually transparent to the user, meaning it happens in the background without needing any special action from the user. Essentially, the program knows how to locate and load the necessary font information by itself, ensuring that fonts are displayed correctly according to the design specified in the AFM file.
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