How to Reset Font Metadata in FontForge

Clearing or resetting metadata in FontForge is essential when preparing fonts for public release, removing personal author information, or stripping legacy data from imported font files. While FontForge does not feature a single "reset all" button due to how OpenType and TrueType tables are structured, you can completely clear or reset this data either through the graphical interface or automatically using FontForge's built-in Python scripting engine.

Method 1: Reset Metadata via the Graphical Interface

To manually clear metadata fields, open your font file in FontForge and access the Font Information window.

  1. Navigate to Element in the top menu and select Font Info (or press Ctrl + Shift + F / Cmd + Shift + F).
  2. PostScript Names:
    • Select PS Names in the left sidebar.
    • Clear or set generic placeholders for Fontname, Family Name, Name for Humans, and Weight.
    • Clear the Copyright field entirely.
  3. TrueType / OpenType Names:
    • Click on the TTF Names category in the sidebar. This tab houses most digital metadata, including designer information, URLs, version strings, and licensing terms.
    • Highlight each metadata row you wish to remove (such as Designer, Designer URL, Vendor URL, License, or Trademark) and click Delete.
    • To reset the standard required entries, double-click the row and replace the contents with generic default values (e.g., setting Version to Version 1.000).
  4. Additional Information:
    • Go to the Comment tab and delete any internal notes or changelogs.
    • Go to OS/2 > Misc and clear or reset the Vendor ID to generic characters or none.
  5. Click OK to apply the changes, then go to File > Generate Fonts to export your cleaned font.

Method 2: Clear All Metadata Using Python Scripting

FontForge includes a Python environment that allows you to wipe all non-essential metadata fields instantly. This is the fastest and most thorough method, especially for processing multiple files.

  1. Open FontForge.
  2. Navigate to File > Execute Script... (or launch FontForge from the command line using fontforge -lang=py -script script.py).
  3. Enter the following script into the script editor to wipe out metadata tables and reset required fields to defaults:
import fontforge

# Open the active font or specify a file path
font = fontforge.activeFont()

# Clear all OpenType/TrueType sfnt table name records
font.sfnt_names = ()

# Reset base PostScript information
font.fontname = "GenericFont"
font.familyname = "GenericFont"
font.fullname = "GenericFont"
font.weight = "Regular"
font.copyright = ""
font.comments = ""
font.version = "1.000"

# Clear specific OS/2 metadata
font.os2_vendor = ""
  1. Click OK to run the script.
  2. Export the font using File > Generate Fonts.

Executing this script purges the entire name table (sfnt_names), stripping all licensing details, designer credits, sample text, and auxiliary URLs while keeping the font structure and outlines intact.