Font Subsetting Text Generator in Action

Unique Characters for Subsetting

About This Tool

If you're only using a font for a specific headline or logo, you don't need to load the entire character set. Subsetting creates a smaller font file containing only the characters you actually need. This tool simplifies the process by extracting all unique characters from a piece of text for you.

How to Use

1. Paste the text (e.g., your headline) into the input area.
2. The tool will instantly process it and output a clean string containing only the unique characters (e.g., "Helo, wrd!").
3. You can use this string in the `&text=` parameter of a Google Fonts API request to get a highly optimized font file.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: When is it a good idea to use font subsetting?
A: It is most effective for display text, headlines, or logos where the text is static and uses a limited and known set of characters. It provides significant performance benefits by reducing the font file size by up to 90% or more.

Q: How do I use the output with the Google Fonts API?
A: Take the unique character string generated by the tool and append it to a Google Fonts API request using the `&text=` parameter. For example: `https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Lobster&text=Helo, wrd!`.

Q: Does this tool work with any language?
A: Yes, it will correctly identify and extract unique characters from any text you paste into it, regardless of the language or script.

Q: Should I subset body text?
A: Generally, no. Subsetting is not recommended for dynamic content or long body text, as you may inadvertently exclude characters that are needed later, resulting in missing characters on your page.

Q: What are the performance benefits of font subsetting?
A: By reducing the font file size, font subsetting can significantly improve your website's performance. This can lead to faster page load times, a better user experience, and improved Core Web Vitals.

Q: Are there any downsides to font subsetting?
A: The main downside to font subsetting is that you need to know in advance which characters you will need. If you miss a character, it will not be displayed correctly.

Q: What are some other tools for font subsetting?
A: There are several other tools available for font subsetting, such as `glyphhanger` and `pyftsubset`. These tools offer more advanced features, but they also have a steeper learning curve.

Q: Can I use font subsetting with variable fonts?
A: Yes, you can use font subsetting with variable fonts. However, it is a more complex process than with static fonts.