When Webform Server displays a form on the client computer, the Web browser relies on the fonts installed on that computer. This means that if the appropriate font is not available, the browser will substitute a "closest match" font. This can change the appearance of the form, and may actually cause some information to become obscured if the substituted font has a significantly different size.
If you cannot be sure which fonts are installed on client computers (for example, if the form is intended for the general public), you should restrict your form to fonts that are installed by default with the client computers (that is, fonts that are installed by default with Windows® or Mac OS).
A similar problem may occur when you design a form using fonts available on a Windows system if the form is viewed on a Mac system. Even if there is a font available on both Windows and Mac systems having the same name, the actual font information may not be identical. This can result in differences in text appearance and layout. For example, text may be slightly wider on Mac systems, resulting in labels wrapping onto two lines.
When designing forms for use on Mac systems, make sure you use fonts that are identical on both Windows and Mac systems, not just fonts that have the same name, and test your forms on both Windows and Mac systems. Most importantly, test your form thoroughly.
International fonts are typically different on Windows and Mac systems. If you design a form using non-English text for use on a Mac system, test your form thoroughly.
Example
The following diagrams show two versions of the same form. The form on the left uses the Times New Roman font at a point size of 8. The form on the right uses the Arial font, also at a point size of 8. Notice how changing the font causes some information to disappear below the bottom of the label.
Exceptions to this practice
You can disregard this practice if:
- You provide the proper fonts to your users before they view your forms.
- You test your form on a "clean" Windows or Mac installation to ensure that any font substitutions made do not adversely affect the form.
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