Did you check that?

is there not a way of installing the font nicely?

The is no standard mechanism for doing this. Internet Explorer supports WEFT, which is a way of embedding fonts in a web document. Other browsers have no such mechanism.

This doesn't actually install the font on the user's computer, though. And I doubt that would be desirable. Which would you prefer? Web sites installing fonts on your computer without your knowledge, or constantly pestering you for permission to do so?

There's also the issue of copyright - most fonts are copyrighted by the foundry. A whole hornet's nest.

It's a long-standing weakness in HTML. Font specifications are suggestions only, carried out IF the font is available on the user's computer AND if not overridden by a local style sheet.

[edited by: jtara at 5:22 pm (utc) on Aug. 6, 2007]

Or as suggested above, make that text an image.

Habtom

There's no way to enforce everyone seeing the same font unless you do things to make the site annoying. A website that is nothing but a big graphic file is usually not user friendly (some exceptions apply). If you requested people install it, I have a feeling hardly anyone would bother downloading and installing anything just to view your site (I know I wouldn't). If visitors get a popup asking if it's okay to install something as soon as they open your page they'll probably decline and leave (if they're smart). And you'll probably make some enemies if you do manage to find some kind of script that automatically installs things on people's computers.

I designed a website for a company that insisted on the Gill Sans MT font. I informed them about the browser incompatibility issues and they decided to take their chances anyway.

If you wish to try it, you may need to locate (pay for) the Bradley Hand ITC .eot file. Place it in your web root and use the @font-face rule to reference the file.

For more information about how to do this, visit: Microsoft Developer Network @font-face Rule [msdn2.microsoft.com].