OTF to AFM Converter

Extract Adobe Font Metrics from OpenType fonts online for free

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Precise Metrics

Extract exact character widths, kerning pairs, and bounding box data from your OTF fonts into the standard Adobe Font Metrics format.

Typesetting Ready

AFM files generated from OTF fonts slot directly into PostScript and TeX workflows where accurate metric data is essential for layout.

Online Extraction

No need to install metric extraction utilities. Convertio handles the OTF to AFM conversion entirely in the cloud, ready in seconds.

How to convert OTF to AFM

1

Select files from Computer, Google Drive, Dropbox, URL or by dragging it on the page.

2

Choose afm or any other format you need as a result (more than 200 formats supported)

3

Let the file convert and you can download your afm file right afterwards

About formats

OTF (OpenType Font) is a scalable font format jointly developed by Microsoft and Adobe, announced in 1996 and later standardized as ISO/IEC 14496-22. OpenType unifies TrueType and PostScript font technologies under a single container — OTF files with PostScript outlines use CFF/CFF2 tables for cubic Bezier curves, while those with TrueType outlines use quadratic splines in glyf tables (these typically carry the .ttf extension despite being OpenType). The format supports up to 65,535 glyphs per font, enabling comprehensive coverage of Unicode's vast character repertoire including Latin, Cyrillic, Arabic, CJK, and mathematical symbols within one file. Advanced typographic features are encoded in GSUB (glyph substitution) and GPOS (glyph positioning) tables, powering contextual alternates, ligatures, small caps, stylistic sets, and complex script shaping. A defining advantage is cross-platform consistency — the same OTF file renders identically on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android without platform-specific builds. The rich OpenType Layout feature system is another major strength, giving designers fine-grained typographic control that was previously impossible in a single font file. OpenType 1.8 introduced variable font technology, allowing continuous interpolation across weight, width, slant, and custom design axes within a single compact file. Universal support in web browsers, design applications, office suites, and operating systems makes OTF the dominant professional font format in modern digital typography.
Initial release: 1996
AFM (Adobe Font Metrics) is a plain-text metadata file format developed by Adobe Systems as a companion to PostScript Type 1 font outlines. Introduced alongside the PostScript language in 1984, AFM files provide the glyph-level metrics that applications need for text layout — individual character widths, bounding boxes, kerning pair adjustments, ligature substitutions, and global font dimensions like ascender height and cap height. The file is structured as a series of human-readable keyword-value pairs, making it easy to inspect and parse with simple text processing tools. AFM data is essential for accurate typesetting: without it, a layout engine knows the shapes of the glyphs but not how much space to allocate for each character or how to tighten spacing between specific letter combinations. One advantage is format transparency — because AFM is plain ASCII text, metric data can be audited, compared, and version-controlled without specialized software. The separation of metrics from outlines is another architectural strength, allowing a single AFM file to serve multiple rendering environments (screen, print, PDF) without duplicating glyph data. The current specification, Version 4.1 published in 1998, extended the format with composite character definitions and writing direction support. While modern OpenType fonts bundle metrics internally, AFM remains relevant in PostScript workflows, PDF generation pipelines, and legacy publishing systems that depend on Type 1 fonts.
Developer: Adobe Systems
Initial release: 1984

Frequently Asked Questions

Why convert OTF to AFM?

AFM files store character widths, kerning pairs, and bounding box data. Certain typesetting systems and layout engines require AFM alongside PostScript fonts.

How do I use an AFM file?

AFM files pair with PFB or PFA fonts in PostScript workflows. Text layout engines, TeX systems, and some PDF generators read AFM for precise spacing.

Does AFM contain glyph shapes?

No — AFM is purely metric data. It stores measurements like widths and kerning but not the actual glyph outlines, which remain in the font file.

Can I extract AFM from multiple OTF fonts?

Yes — upload a batch of OTF files and Convertio will produce individual AFM metric files for each font in your collection.

Is this service free?

OTF to AFM extraction is completely free on Convertio. Run it from any browser — no tools to download or accounts to create.

OTF to AFM Quality Rating

4.8 (47 votes)
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