Extract text from CFF files
To convert your CFF file to another format, you need Adobe InDesign or other Font software.
To convert other file formats to the "PostScript Font Outline" file type, you need software like Adobe InDesign or a similar tool.
The .CFF extension is a unique challenge because it serves four distinct, unrelated industries: digital typography, software development, gaming, and automotive engineering. Most commonly encountered by designers, the Compact Font Format is a lossless compression of Type 1 font glyphs. While highly efficient, raw CFF files are essentially "naked" PostScript data; they lack the container structure required for direct installation on Windows or macOS. To use these fonts in standard design software like Adobe Illustrator or Microsoft Word, users must typically convert them to the OTF (OpenType) or TTF (TrueType) standard.
In the academic and developer world, .CFF stands for Citation File Format. These are human-readable YAML text files used on platforms like GitHub to define how software should be cited in research. While readable, they are not directly importable into reference managers like Zotero or EndNote. Converting these to BIB (BibTeX) or RIS ensures your bibliography is accurate.
Less frequently, you may encounter .CFF files as encrypted game archives for the CryEngine (used in titles like Crysis) or as ECU flash files for Mercedes-Benz vehicles via tools like WinOLS. These binary formats are often proprietary and version-locked, making them difficult to open without specialized engineering tools.
Convert.Guru analyzes your CFF file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted CCF, TXT, ACSM, FLP, RESS, FORGE, FF, BIBTEX, TTF and OTF files.
If you want to convert CFF file to BIBTEX, TTF, OTF, DWG, DXF, DGN, RVT, RFA, SKP, 3DM, STEP or IGES, you can use Adobe InDesign or similar software from the "PostScript Font Resource" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert SLDASM, DGN, PRT, IAM, X_B, CATPRODUCT, SLDPRT, RVT, ASM, DWG, CATPART or DXF files to CFF, try Adobe InDesign or another comparable tool in the "PostScript Font Resource" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our CFF converter.