fontdependent

Fontdependent is an adjective used to describe text rendering characteristics that rely on the specific font used rather than on universal layout rules. In typography and digital typesetting, many aspects of how text appears are font-dependent, because the design and metrics of individual typefaces determine glyph shapes, spacing, and available features.

Examples of font-dependent properties include glyph shapes and availability (which affects how a character appears), character widths and metrics (influencing line length, wrapping, and alignment), kerning and ligature substitutions (which vary with the font’s OpenType features), and diacritical or punctuation rendering (which may differ in height, alignment, or positioning). The presence or absence of stylistic sets and features, such as ligatures or small caps, also depends on the selected font.

In web and document workflows, font-dependent rendering means that changing the font can alter page layout, typography, and readability. Fallback fonts can introduce layout shifts due to different metrics, and inconsistent font rendering across platforms can affect portability and accessibility.

For languages and scripts that require shaping, such as Arabic or Indic scripts, font-dependent shaping and rendering are especially pronounced, since the available glyphs and feature tables determine how characters combine and display.

See also font-independent, typography, OpenType, font fallback, glyph metrics, ligature.