Font
Phials can preview font files so you can inspect typography before you install or share a font. When you select a supported font file, Phials loads the font from disk and renders a specimen in the preview area without installing it system-wide.
Prerequisites
- The font must be a file Phials can read from your vault or browse location.
- See File previews for where previews appear in the app, such as the preview sidebar beside the file list.
Supported formats
| Extension | Description |
|---|---|
.ttf | TrueType |
.otf | OpenType |
.woff | Web Open Font Format |
.woff2 | WOFF 2.0 (compressed web font) |
Other font or archive formats are not handled by this preview.
How to open a font preview
- Browse to a folder that contains a
.ttf,.otf,.woff, or.woff2file. - Select the font file (single click).
Phials chooses the font preview automatically for these extensions. The detailed specimen appears in the preview area, for example the preview sidebar or a preview tab, depending on your layout.
What you see in the full preview
The specimen is organized into sections. Some start expanded and others start collapsed, so open the header to expand them.
- Title is the file name (without extension), shown large at the top, with a short line below it for the file type (for example “TTF Font File”).
- Character Sets show uppercase letters, lowercase letters, then numbers and common punctuation and symbols, so you can spot missing glyphs or awkward spacing at a glance.
- Waterfall repeats the sentence “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” at several sizes, from small body text up to large display sizes. Use it to judge readability and hinting at different point sizes.
- Pangrams add several classic pangram sentences for a second opinion on letterfit and rhythm. This section may start collapsed.
You can scroll the preview if the content is taller than the pane.
Thumbnails (icons and grids)
In contexts where Phials shows a small preview tile for a file, such as a thumbnail strip or grid, font files use a compact preview: a large “Aa” sample in the font, with a small label for the file extension (for example TTF). That helps you tell font files apart from other documents without opening them.
Tips
- File name vs. font name: The hero title is the filename, not necessarily the font’s internal family name, since some files are renamed.
- Web fonts:
.woffand.woff2are common on the web. The preview treats them like other fonts so you can still evaluate design and coverage. - If a font fails to draw, from a corrupt file or unsupported tables, you may see fallback text or blank samples. Try another viewer or redownload the file.