HTML&CSS · December 20, 2023

Css Basic: font-synthesis

CSS Basics: font-synthesis

When it comes to web design, choosing the right font is crucial for creating an appealing and readable website. CSS provides various properties to control the appearance of fonts, and one such property is font-synthesis. In this article, we will explore what font-synthesis is and how it can enhance your website's typography.

Understanding font-synthesis

The font-synthesis property is used to control how multiple font faces are combined to create a single font for rendering text. It is particularly useful when a specific font face does not support all the characters required for a particular language or script.

By default, most modern browsers automatically synthesize missing characters by blending the available font faces. However, this can sometimes result in inconsistent or undesirable rendering. The font-synthesis property allows you to explicitly define how the blending should occur.

The font-synthesis property values

The font-synthesis property accepts three values:

  • none: Disables font synthesis, meaning that missing characters will not be synthesized.
  • weight: Specifies that font synthesis should occur based on the weight of the available font faces. This is the default value.
  • style: Specifies that font synthesis should occur based on the style of the available font faces.

Let's take a closer look at each value:

1. none

When font-synthesis is set to none, the browser will not synthesize missing characters. Instead, it will display a fallback font for those characters. This can result in inconsistent typography, especially if the fallback font has a significantly different appearance.

2. weight

When font-synthesis is set to weight, the browser will synthesize missing characters by blending the available font faces based on their weight. This ensures a consistent appearance, especially when using multiple font faces within the same font family.

3. style

When font-synthesis is set to style, the browser will synthesize missing characters by blending the available font faces based on their style. This is particularly useful when using font faces with different styles, such as regular, italic, or oblique.

Using font-synthesis in CSS

To apply the font-synthesis property to an element, you can use the following CSS syntax:

.selector {
  font-synthesis: value;
}

Replace .selector with the appropriate selector for your element and value with one of the three available values: none, weight, or style.

Here's an example that demonstrates the usage of font-synthesis:

h1 {
  font-family: "Arial", "Helvetica", sans-serif;
  font-synthesis: weight;
}

In this example, the browser will synthesize missing characters in the h1 element by blending the available font faces based on their weight.

Summary

The font-synthesis property in CSS allows you to control how multiple font faces are combined to render text. By specifying the appropriate value, you can ensure consistent and visually appealing typography on your website.

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