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Molkit

Font Embedding & Convert to Paths

Text in an exported drawing only renders correctly if the viewer’s machine has the same font installed. Molkit gives you two ways to keep atom labels, charges, and text faithful no matter where the file opens: embed the font binary into the export, or convert the label text into vector paths so no font is needed at all. Both live in the SVG and PDF export dialogs.

Embed fonts

Embedding writes the actual font binary into the export file. The text stays real text, so it remains selectable and searchable, but the file no longer depends on the viewer having the font.

In SVG export

Open the SVG export dialog and look for the Embed fonts for offline use checkbox. This row only appears when your document uses a non-system font (a custom font you imported or a Google font). If the document uses a local font you imported, the box is checked for you, because those fonts have no web fallback and must travel with the file.

When the box is checked, Molkit inlines each font as a base64 @font-face block inside the SVG. Local fonts (TTF or OTF) and Google fonts (WOFF2) are both handled. The trade-off is file size: each embedded font adds its binary weight to the SVG.

In PDF export

PDF export embeds document fonts automatically. There is no checkbox to set. Molkit registers each TTF, OTF, or WOFF2 binary into the PDF so the text renders with its real glyphs rather than a substitute.

Convert labels to paths

Converting to paths turns atom labels, charge labels, and bond lines into vector outlines. The result has no font dependency at all, because there is no text left, only shapes. Outlines come from Liberation Sans, a metric-compatible alternative to Arial.

In the SVG export dialog, check Convert labels to paths. There is also a PowerPoint-compatible preset that turns this on while dropping theme-aware CSS and font embedding, so the SVG renders correctly in PowerPoint, Word, and Keynote.

The trade-off is the mirror image of embedding: outlined text is universal and renders identically everywhere, but it is no longer selectable or editable as text. Conversion covers atom and charge labels plus bonds; it does not outline free text annotations.

When to use each

  • Embed fonts when you want the text to stay selectable and searchable, and the larger file size is acceptable. Good for documents you may re-open or copy text from.
  • Convert to paths when the file must render identically in any viewer, especially Office apps, and you do not need to edit the text afterward. Use the PowerPoint-compatible preset for that case.
  • For phones and tablets that lack the common system fonts, the separate Mobile-safe rendering option embeds subsetted, metric-compatible fallbacks (Liberation Sans, Serif, or Mono for any Arial, Helvetica, Times, or Courier text the document uses) at a much smaller size than full embedding. Only the fonts actually in play are embedded.

See also