In a web application, offering users a dropdown of available fonts enhances the user experience by allowing them to customize the appearance of the text. This customization requires obtaining a list of fonts the browser can display.
Fortunately, there is an intuitive solution to this problem. JavaScript provides a simple way to list all the fonts a browser has access to. This is a crucial step in enabling users to select their preferred font and tailor the web page to their liking.
A talented JavaScript developer has created a comprehensive solution that allows developers to detect available fonts in a browser. This method uses a technique of comparing the rendered width and height of specific characters. By cross-checking the deviation from default fonts, the script accurately determines the availability of a particular user-specified font.
The code for this solution is available on GitHub.
/** * JavaScript code to detect available availability of a * particular font in a browser using JavaScript and CSS. * * Author : Lalit Patel * Website: http://www.lalit.org/lab/javascript-css-font-detect/ * License: Apache Software License 2.0 * http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0 * Version: 0.15 (21 Sep 2009) * Changed comparision font to default from sans-default-default, * as in FF3.0 font of child element didn't fallback * to parent element if the font is missing. * Version: 0.2 (04 Mar 2012) * Comparing font against all the 3 generic font families ie, * 'monospace', 'sans-serif' and 'sans'. If it doesn't match all 3 * then that font is 100% not available in the system * Version: 0.3 (24 Mar 2012) * Replaced sans with serif in the list of baseFonts */ /** * Usage: d = new Detector(); * d.detect('font name'); */ var Detector = function() { // a font will be compared against all the three default fonts. // and if it doesn't match all 3 then that font is not available. var baseFonts = ['monospace', 'sans-serif', 'serif']; //we use m or w because these two characters take up the maximum width. // And we use a LLi so that the same matching fonts can get separated var testString = "mmmmmmmmmmlli"; //we test using 72px font size, we may use any size. I guess larger the better. var testSize = '72px'; var h = document.getElementsByTagName("body")[0]; // create a SPAN in the document to get the width of the text we use to test var s = document.createElement("span"); s.style.fontSize = testSize; s.innerHTML = testString; var defaultWidth = {}; var defaultHeight = {}; for (var index in baseFonts) { //get the default width for the three base fonts s.style.fontFamily = baseFonts[index]; h.appendChild(s); defaultWidth[baseFonts[index]] = s.offsetWidth; //width for the default font defaultHeight[baseFonts[index]] = s.offsetHeight; //height for the defualt font h.removeChild(s); } function detect(font) { var detected = false; for (var index in baseFonts) { s.style.fontFamily = font + ',' + baseFonts[index]; // name of the font along with the base font for fallback. h.appendChild(s); var matched = (s.offsetWidth != defaultWidth[baseFonts[index]] || s.offsetHeight != defaultHeight[baseFonts[index]]); h.removeChild(s); detected = detected || matched; } return detected; } this.detect = detect; };
By utilizing this method, developers can easily create user interfaces that allow seamless font customization. Providing users with the ability to select their preferred fonts from a comprehensive list enhances the overall user experience and satisfaction with web applications.
The above is the detailed content of How Can I Programmatically List Available Fonts in a Web Browser Using JavaScript?. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!