Extract text from Datafork fonts (DFONT)
To convert DFONT fonts to another format, you need Font Book or other Font software.
To convert other file formats to the "macOS Font Suitcase File" file type, you need software like Font Book or a similar tool.
The .dfont file is a Mac OS X Data Fork Font file. Historically, classic Mac OS stored font data in a "resource fork" separated from the "data fork". When Apple transitioned to the Unix-based macOS, they created the .dfont format to wrap resource fork data into the standard data fork, ensuring compatibility across modern file systems.
You can open these files natively on Apple computers using Font Book.
The major disadvantage of the .dfont format is its total lack of cross-platform support. You cannot install a .dfont file on Windows or Linux, and web browsers do not support it for web design. It is essentially an Apple-only container that restricts you from freely using your typography on other operating systems.
Users typically need to convert .dfont files to standard TTF (TrueType Font) or OTF (OpenType Font) files. Web developers may also target WOFF or WOFF2. Be aware that extracting the font family might yield multiple individual font files, as .dfont files act as "suitcases" containing several typefaces (e.g., Regular, Bold, Italic) wrapped in one file.
This file format is difficult to open or convert outside the Apple ecosystem because it is a closed, proprietary wrapper. Standard online converters often fail to process the suitcase structure. Just drag and drop your file to identify the format on convert.guru, view its internal structure, and convert the embedded TrueType data if supported.
Convert.Guru analyzes your DFONT file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted TTF, SUIT, TTC and OTF files.
If you want to convert DFONT file to TTF, OTF, WOFF, WOFF2, EOT, SVG, BDF, PCF, FNT, FON, PFM or AFM, you can use Font Book or similar software from the "Legacy macOS Font Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert UFO, WOFF, PFB, GXF, AFM, F3F, SFD, WOFF2, PSF, TTF, TXF or OTF files to DFONT, try Font Book or another comparable tool in the "Legacy macOS Font Storage" 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 DFONT converter.