August 2, 2016 is the official release date for Microsoft’s Windows 10 Anniversary Update (aka Redstone or RS1). Although I do not use Windows OS, I am jumping for joy, for the benefit of those who do use this modern and world-class OS.
Thanks to our friends at Microsoft, the DirectWrite that ships with the Windows 10 Anniversary Update supports OpenType/CFF Collections (aka OTCs), such as those deployed as part of the Adobe-branded Source Han Sans and Google-branded Noto Sans CJK open source projects, to include their all-inclusive “one font to rule them all” Super OTCs.
In other words, there is now much better cross-platform support for OpenType/CFF Collections. Using Source Han Sans or Noto Sans CJK on Windows is now a simple matter of installing a single font resource, the Super OTC, into the OS. It is still my opinion that the Super OTC, with its 36 font instances, is the ideal deployment format due to its simplicity, efficiency, and completeness.
For those who are unaware, DirectWrite is Microsoft’s API for providing high-quality text rendering and layout. The following is an excerpt of the relevant section:
Apple’s macOS (starting from OS X Version 10.8) and Adobe’s apps (starting from CS6) already support OpenType/CFF Collections. All we need now is for our friends at Google to join the party by adding OpenType (OpenType/CFF and TrueType) Collection support to Android OS (Chrome OS already supports this).
In closing, please join me in congratulating—and profusely thanking—Microsoft for their efforts to make support for OpenType/CFF Collections in Windows OS a reality. I have been waiting for this milestone for nearly five years, ever since the format was born on September 21, 2011.
2016-08-02 AM Update: As the first comment below indicates, the Source Han Sans—and, by extension, Noto Sans CJK—Super OTC cannot be installed into the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, but the seven individual weight-specific OTCs, which contain four or eight font instances depending on the weight, can. Baby steps.
Comments
Tried to install the super OTC after upgrading to the anniversary upgrade but failed. Previewing the super OTC font file works fine but Windows complained that it is not a valid font file or something similar when I tried to install it.
The individual OTC files installed flawlessly though.
Very interesting. Thank you for reporting this. We will try to reproduce. I already reported this issue to Microsoft, and pointed them to the Source Han Sans Super OTC. (I am actually at the Microsoft campus in Redmond this week, attending UTC #148.)