View source for Arial

{{Short description|Neo-grotesque sans-serif typeface}}
{{For|the settlement in South Carolina|Arial, South Carolina}}
{{Confused|Aerial (disambiguation){{!}}Aerial|Ariel (disambiguation){{!}}Ariel|Ariaal}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{Infobox font
| name             = Arial
| image            = ArialMTsp.svg
| style            = [[Sans-serif]]
| classifications  = [[Sans-serif#Neo-grotesque|Neo-grotesque]]
| based_on         = {{plainlist|
*[[Monotype Grotesque]]
*[[Helvetica]]
*[[Venus (typeface)|Venus]]}}
| creator          = {{plainlist|
*Robin Nicholas
*Patricia Saunders<ref name="visual" />}}
| releasedate      = {{Start date and age|1982}}<ref name="visual" />
| foundry          = [[Monotype Imaging|Monotype Corporation]]
| license          = [[Proprietary software|Proprietary]]
| arabic           = yes
| cyrillic         = yes
| devangari        = yes
| greek            = yes
| hebrew           = yes
| hindi            = yes
| ipa              = yes
| latin            = yes
|metrically_compatible_with = {{Plainlist|
* [[Croscore fonts|Arimo]]
* [[Liberation fonts|Liberation Sans]]
* [[Helvetica]]
}}
| variations  = [[Arial Unicode MS]]
}}
'''Arial''' is a [[sans-serif]] typeface in the [[Sans-serif#Neo-grotesque|neo-grotesque style]]. Fonts from the Arial family are included with all versions of [[Microsoft Windows]] after [[Windows 3.1]], as well as in other Microsoft programs,<ref>{{cite web |author=mijacobs |title=Arial font family - Typography |url=https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/typography/font-list/arial |access-date=2022-03-24 |website=Microsoft Docs}}</ref> Apple's [[macOS]],<ref>{{cite web |title=System Fonts - Fonts - Apple Developer |url=https://developer.apple.com/fonts/system-fonts/ |access-date=2022-03-24 |website=Apple Developer}}</ref> and many [[PostScript#PostScript 3|PostScript 3]] [[Computer printer|printers]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.adobe.com/products/postscript/pdfs/ps3fonts.pdf|title=Adobe PostScript 3 fonts|access-date=2011-05-04| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110605161801/http://www.adobe.com/products/postscript/pdfs/ps3fonts.pdf| archive-date= 5 June 2011 | url-status= live}}</ref> In [[Office 2007]], Arial was replaced by [[Calibri]] as the default typeface in [[Microsoft PowerPoint|PowerPoint]], [[Microsoft Excel|Excel]], and [[Microsoft Outlook|Outlook]].

The typeface was designed in 1982 by Robin Nicholas and Patricia Saunders, for [[Monotype Corporation|Monotype Typography]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Nicholas |first1=Robin |title=Two minutes with Robin Nicholas |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12dm4cXku-w |access-date=11 May 2010 |website=YouTube|date=11 May 2010 }}</ref> It is [[metrically compatible]] with [[Helvetica]], enabling documents to use either typeface without affecting the visual layout. Because of their similar appearance, Arial and Helvetica are commonly mistaken for each other.

==Etymology==
The name Arial was derived from the word "aerial", introduced as a trademark by Monotype.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Omagari|first1=Toshi|title=身近な書体:Arial|url=https://tosche.net/blog/arial|website=tosche.net|date=3 September 2012|language=ja|trans-title=Familiar font: Arial}}</ref>

== Design characteristics ==
[[File:Arial 215 comparison.png|thumb|A comparison of Arial, Helvetica and Monotype Grotesque 215 scaled to equivalent cap height showing the most distinctive characters. Arial copies Helvetica's proportions and stroke width but has design detailing influenced by Grotesque 215.]]

Embedded in version 3.0 of the [[OpenType]] version of Arial is the following description of the typeface:
{{blockquote|A contemporary sans serif design, Arial contains more humanist characteristics than many of its predecessors and as such is more in tune with the mood of the last decades of the twentieth century.  The overall treatment of curves is softer and fuller than in most industrial style sans serif faces.  Terminal strokes are cut on the diagonal which helps to give the face a less mechanical appearance.  Arial is an extremely versatile family of typefaces which can be used with equal success for text setting in reports, presentations, magazines etc, and for display use in newspapers, advertising and promotions.}}

In 2005, Robin Nicholas said, "It was designed as a generic sans serif; almost a bland sans serif."<ref name="MacUser" /><ref>{{cite web|last1=Clark|first1=Joe|title=Upload of Macuser|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/joeclark/4901460991/in/photostream/|archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20150916233342/https://www.flickr.com/photos/joeclark/4901460991/in/photostream/|archive-date=16 September 2015|website=Flickr|access-date=1 July 2015}}</ref>

Arial is a neo-grotesque typeface: a design based on nineteenth-century sans-serifs, but regularized to be more suited to continuous body text and to form a cohesive font family.

Apart from the need to match the character widths and approximate/general appearance of Helvetica, the letter shapes of Arial are also strongly influenced by Monotype's own [[Monotype Grotesque]] designs&mdash;released in the 1920s or earlier [[Venus (typeface)|Venus]] in the mid-1900s with additional influence from "New Grotesque"&mdash;an abortive redesign from 1956.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Shaw|first1=Paul|title=Arial Addendum no. 3|url=http://www.paulshawletterdesign.com/2011/10/blue-pencil-no-18%E2%80%94arial-addendum-no-3/|website=Blue Pencil|access-date=1 July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Shaw (& Nicholas)|title=Arial addendum no. 4|url=http://www.paulshawletterdesign.com/2011/11/blue-pencil-no-18%E2%80%94arial-addendum-no-4/|website=Blue Pencil|access-date=1 July 2015}}</ref><ref name="arial_dead" /><ref>{{cite web|publisher=Monotype Imaging|url=http://www.monotypeimaging.com/ProductsServices/TypeDesignerShowcase/RobinNicholas/Samples.aspx?type=samp3|title=Type Designer Showcase: Robin Nicholas – Arial|access-date=2011-05-10|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714113415/http://www.monotypeimaging.com/ProductsServices/TypeDesignerShowcase/RobinNicholas/Samples.aspx?type=samp3|archive-date=14 July 2011}}</ref> The designs of the ''R'', ''G'' and ''r'' also resemble [[Gill Sans]]. The changes cause the typeface to nearly match [[Mergenthaler Linotype Company|Linotype]] [[Helvetica]] in both proportion and weight (see figure), and perfectly match in width.<ref name="Scourge" /> Monotype executive Allan Haley observed, "Arial was drawn more rounded than Helvetica, the curves softer and fuller and the counters more open. The ends of the strokes on letters such as c, e, g and s, rather than being cut off on the horizontal, are terminated at the more natural angle in relation to the stroke direction."<ref name="arial_dead" /> [[Matthew Carter]], a consultant for IBM during its design process, described it as "a Helvetica clone, based ostensibly on their Grots 215 and 216".

The styling of Arabic glyphs comes from [[Times New Roman]], which have more varied stroke widths than the Latin, [[Greek alphabet|Greek]], [[Cyrillic]] glyphs found in the font. [[Arial Unicode MS]] uses monotone stroke widths on [[Arabic alphabet|Arabic glyphs]], similar to [[Tahoma (typeface)|Tahoma]].

The Cyrillic, Greek and [[Coptic alphabet|Coptic]] Spacing Modifier Letters glyphs initially introduced in Arial Unicode MS, but later debuted in Arial version 5.00, have different appearances.

== History ==

[[IBM]] debuted two printers for the in-office publishing market in 1982: the 240-[[dots per inch|DPI]] 3800-3 [[laser printer|laserxerographic printer]], and the 600-DPI 4250 electro-erosion laminate typesetter.<!-- 
BEGIN LONG REFERENCE BLOCK
--><ref name="Boag" >{{cite mailing list|title=Have you ever thought about the LaserWriter fonts and how you got them?|mailing-list=Typo-L|date=14 October 1996|last=Boag|first=Andrew|url=http://www.xnet.se/xpo/typetalk/|access-date=9 May 2011}} "Monotype's first contract for the IBM 4250 included [...] Helvetica (sub-licensed from Lino) [...] When it came to the 3800 laser printer I think IBM wanted a functional equivalent to Helvetica to save on the licensing wrangles, and this is when the Arial bitmaps were first created. But IBM named all the fonts in the machine after rivers in Colorado (!) so it was initially called Sonoran Sans." Boag is a former Monotype employee.</ref><ref>The 4250 prototype debuted at [[Drupa]] in 1982, but the production model 4250/II wasn't on the market until 1984.</ref> Monotype was under contract to supply [[Computer font#Bitmap fonts|bitmap fonts]] for both printers.<ref name="arial_dead">{{cite journal|journal=Step Inside Design |last=Haley |first=Allan |url=http://www.stepinsidedesign.com/STEP/Article/28763/ |title=Is Arial Dead Yet? |date=May–June 2007 |access-date=2011-05-11 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719133850/http://www.stepinsidedesign.com/STEP/Article/28763/ |archive-date=19 July 2011 }}</ref><ref name="Boag" /> The fonts for the 4250, delivered to IBM in 1983,<ref name="MonoChron1">{{cite web|url=http://www.monotypeimaging.com/aboutus/MT1982_1991.aspx|title=About Us: The Monotype Chronicles|last=Wallis|first=Lawrence W.|publisher=Monotype Imaging|access-date=2011-05-11|quote=1983 [...] Monotype supplied IBM with digital fonts for its 600 dpi 4250 Printer operating on the principle of electro-erosion of the coated surface of a laminated substrate. [...] 1989 – Monotype issued first fonts in the PostScript Type 1 format containing 'hinted' refinements under license from Adobe Systems. [...] 1990 – Monotype Typography licensed to Microsoft a set of 13 core fonts in the TrueType format for use in the Windows and OS/2 environments. It was an association that burgeoned further with release of additional TrueType font packages in 1992 and afterwards.|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726163202/http://www.monotypeimaging.com/aboutus/MT1982_1991.aspx|archive-date=26 July 2011}}</ref><!-- 
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--> included Helvetica, which Monotype sub-licensed from Linotype.<!-- 
BEGIN REFERENCE 
--><ref name="Boag" /> For the 3800–3, Monotype replaced Helvetica with Arial.<ref name="Boag" /><!-- 
END REFERENCE 
--> The hand-drawn Arial artwork was completed in 1982 at Monotype by a 10-person team led by Robin Nicholas and Patricia Saunders<!-- 
BEGIN REFERENCE BLOCK 
--><ref name="MacUser">{{cite journal|journal=[[MacUser]]|url=http://www.monotypefonts.com/PDFs/Twenty20_080705.pdf|title=Twenty/20|date=8 July 2005|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090304143518/http://www.monotypefonts.com/PDFs/Twenty20_080705.pdf|archive-date=4 March 2009}}</ref><ref name="Nicholas1">Robin Nicholas bio at Ascender Corporation by Monotype Imaging website [blacklisted, so direct link not available]<!-- {{cite web|url=http://www.ascendercorp.com/designers/robin-nicholas/|title=Type Designers: Robin Nicholas|accessdate=2011-05-11|publisher=Ascender Corporation by Monotype Imaging}} --> "[Robin Nicholas] in 1982 developed a sans serif typeface for bitmap font laser printers which was later developed, with Patricia Saunders, into the Arial typeface family – chosen by Microsoft as a core font for Windows 3.1 (and subsequent versions)"</ref><!-- 
END REFERENCE BLOCK 
--> 
and was digitized by Monotype at 240&nbsp;DPI expressly for the 3800–3.<!-- 
BEGIN REFERENCE BLOCK
--><ref 
name="IBM1" >{{cite web|url=http://www-01.ibm.com/common/ssi/ShowDoc.jsp?docURL=/common/ssi/rep_ca/0/897/ENUS284-040/index.html|title=IBM Typographic Fonts for IBM 3800 Printing Subsystem Model 3 [announcement letter 284-040]|date=7 February 1984|quote=The fonts, designed for use with the IBM 3800 Printing Subsystem Model 3, consist of proportionally spaced, digitized, alphabetic character, and other forms in sizes ranging from 4 to 36 points (approximately 1/18-inch to 1/2-inch) in height. Each character pattern is printed at a density of 240&nbsp;×&nbsp;240 dots (pels) per square inch. Letter forms were digitized by The Monotype Corporation, Limited, from original artwork. The digitization was done at 240&nbsp;×&nbsp;240 dots (pels) per square inch expressly for the IBM 3800 Printing Subsystem Model 3.}}</ref><!-- 
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-->

IBM named the font '''Sonoran Sans Serif''' due to licensing restrictions and the manufacturing facility's location ([[Tucson, Arizona]], in the [[Sonoran Desert]]),<!-- 
BEGIN REFERENCE 
--><ref name="arial_dead" /><ref name="AFP">{{citation|title=A Guide to Understanding AFP Fonts|publisher=International Business Machines Corporation|date=30 December 1999|url=https://public.dhe.ibm.com/software/mktsupport/techdocs/afpuser3.pdf|access-date=2011-05-10|quote=The Sonoran font products were created to provide [[IBM Advanced Function Printing (AFP)|AFP]] customers with two of the most popular typefaces: Times New Roman and Arial (Monotype's equivalent of Helvetica). Due to licensing requirements in place at the time, the type family names used for the IBM-supplied versions of these fonts were changed from Times New Roman to Sonoran Serif and from Arial to Sonoran Sans Serif. These 240 dpi-only fonts were extensively hand-edited. Since the characters in the fonts were not derived from common databases, there is no linear progression of character size as point size increases, a requirement for migration to outline fonts. [...] Since the linearity issue cannot be resolved (each character in each point size is unique and not linearly related to the same character in any other point size) there will be no outline font support for the Sonoran fonts and the migration path will stop at 300-pel..}}</ref> <!-- 
END REFERENCE 
-->and announced in early 1984 that the Sonoran Sans Serif family, "a functional equivalent of Monotype Arial", would be available for licensed use in the 3800-3 by the fourth quarter of 1984. There were initially 14 [[point (typography)|point]] sizes, ranging from 6 to 36, and four style/weight combinations (Roman medium, Roman bold, italic medium, and italic bold), for a total of 56 fonts in the family. Each contained 238 graphic characters, providing support for eleven national languages: Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, and Swedish. Monotype and IBM later expanded the family to include 300-DPI bitmaps and characters for additional languages.

In 1989, Monotype produced [[PostScript fonts|PostScript Type 1]] outline versions of several Monotype fonts,<ref name="MonoChron1" /> but an official PostScript version of Arial was not available until 1991.<!-- 
BEGIN REFERENCE 
-->{{Citation needed|date=January 2008}} In the meantime, a company called Birmy marketed a version of Arial in a Type 1-compatible format.<ref name="Scourge">{{cite web|url=http://www.ms-studio.com/articles.html|title=The Scourge of Arial|last=Simonson|first=Mark|author-link=Mark Simonson|access-date=2011-05-11| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110525025613/http://www.ms-studio.com/articles.html| archive-date= 25 May 2011 | url-status= live}}</ref><ref name="MacFontBook" >{{citation|title=The Macintosh Font Book|last=Fenton|first=Erfert|publisher=Peachpit Press|year=1989|edition=1}} (Verification needed; Google Books search result only shows that Arial is mentioned.)</ref><!-- 
END REFERENCE 
-->

In 1990, Robin Nicholas, Patricia Saunders<!-- 
BEGIN REFERENCES 
--><ref name="MacUser" /><ref name="Nicholas1" /> and [[Steve Matteson]] developed a [[TrueType]] outline version of Arial which was licensed to Microsoft.<ref name="MonoChron1" /><ref name="Matteson1">{{cite web|url=http://new.myfonts.com/person/Steve_Matteson/|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130129100045/http://www.myfonts.com/person/Steve_Matteson/|title=Steve Matteson|archive-date=29 January 2013|publisher=MyFonts.com (Bitstream Inc.)|access-date=2011-05-11}}</ref><ref name="Matteson2">Steve Matteson bio at Ascender Corporation by Monotype Imaging website [blacklisted, so direct link not available]<!--{{cite web|url=http://www.ascendercorp.com/about/steve-matteson/|title=About: The Ascender Team: Steve Matteson|accessdate=2011-05-11}}--> "In 1990 Steve was hired by Monotype Typography as a contractor to aid in the production of Microsoft’s first TrueType fonts."</ref><!-- 
END REFERENCES 
-->

In 1992, Microsoft chose Arial to be one of the four core TrueType fonts in Windows 3.1, announcing the font as an "alternative to Helvetica".<!-- 
BEGIN REFERENCE 
--><ref name="MonoChron1" /><ref name="Nicholas1" /><ref name="Win31">{{cite web|url=http://support.microsoft.com/kb/83245|title=New features in Windows 3.1|publisher=Microsoft|date=16 November 2006|access-date=2008-03-08|quote=Windows 3.1 includes the new TrueType scalable-font technology…Four TrueType scalable-font families will ship with all copies of Windows 3.1: Arial (alternative to Helvetica), Times New Roman, Courier, and Symbol.}}</ref><!-- 
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--> [[Matthew Carter]] has noted that the deal was complex and included a bailout of Monotype, which was in financial difficulties, by Microsoft. Microsoft would later extensively fund the development of Arial as a font that supported many languages and scripts. Monotype employee Rod McDonald noted:<ref>{{cite web|last1=McDonald|first1=Rob|title=Some history about Arial|url=http://www.paulshawletterdesign.com/2011/09/blue-pencil-no-18%E2%80%94some-history-about-arial/|website=Paul Shaw Letter Design|access-date=22 May 2015}}</ref>
 <blockquote>As to the widespread notion that Microsoft did not want to pay licensing fees [for Helvetica], [Monotype director] Allan Haley has publicly stated, more than once, that the amount of money Microsoft paid over the years for the development of Arial could finance a small country.</blockquote>

Arial ultimately became one of several fonts designed to be metrically compatible with PostScript standard fonts created by Monotype in collaboration with or sold to Microsoft around this time, including [[Century Gothic]] (metrically compatible with [[ITC Avant Garde]]), Book Antiqua ([[Palatino]]) and Bookman Old Style ([[Bookman (typeface)|ITC Bookman]]).<ref name="Call It What It Is">{{cite web|last1=Downer|first1=John|author-link=John Downer (signpainter)|title=Call It What It Is|url=http://www.emigre.com/Editorial.php?sect=2&id=1|publisher=[[Emigre (type foundry)|Emigre]]|access-date=20 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Simonson|first1=Mark|title=Monotype's Other Arials|url=http://www.marksimonson.com/notebook/view/monotypes-other-arials|publisher=Mark Simonson Studio|access-date=14 July 2015}}</ref><ref name="AmbroseHarris2006">{{cite book|author1=Gavin Ambrose|author2=Paul Harris|title=The Fundamentals of Typography|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5WLYdDc5do0C&pg=PA145|date=1 November 2006|publisher=AVA Publishing|isbn=978-2-940373-45-1|page=145}}</ref>

== Distribution ==

TrueType editions of Arial have shipped as part of Microsoft Windows since the introduction of Windows 3.1 in 1992;<ref name="Win31" /> Arial was the default font.<ref name="visual">{{The Visual History of Type|446–447}}</ref>

From 1999 until 2016, [[Microsoft Office]] shipped with [[Arial Unicode MS]], a version of Arial that includes many international characters from the [[Unicode]] standard. This version of the typeface was for a time the most widely distributed pan-Unicode font. The font was dropped from Microsoft Office 2016 and has been deprecated; continuing growth of the number of characters in Unicode and limitations on the number of characters in a font meant that Arial Unicode could no longer perform the job it was originally created for.<ref>{{cite web|title=What happened to the Arial Unicode MS font?| date=30 October 2018 |url=https://devblogs.microsoft.com/oldnewthing/20181030-00/?p=100085|access-date=11 November 2019}}</ref>

Arial MT, a PostScript version of the Arial font family, was distributed with [[Adobe Acrobat|Acrobat Reader]] 4 and 5.

PostScript does not require support for a specific set of fonts, but Arial and Helvetica are among the 40 or so typeface families that PostScript Level 3 devices typically support.<ref>Adobe Systems Incorporated, [http://partners.adobe.com/public/developer/en/ps/PS3010and3011.Supplement.pdf PostScript Language Reference Supplement, Adobe PostScript 3, Version 3010 and 3011 Product Supplement] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060603154650/http://partners.adobe.com/public/developer/en/ps/PS3010and3011.Supplement.pdf |date=3 June 2006 }}, Appendix D, 30 August 1999. Retrieved 29 April 2006.</ref><ref>Adobe Systems Incorporated, [https://www.adobe.com/products/postscript/pdfs/ps3fonts.pdf The Adobe PostScript 3 Font Set]. Retrieved 29 April 2006.</ref>

Mac OS X (now known as [[macOS]]) was the first Mac OS version to include Arial; it was not included in [[classic Mac OS]]. The operating system ships with Arial, Arial Black, Arial Narrow, and Arial Rounded MT. However, the default macOS font for sans-serif/Swiss generic font family is Helvetica. The bundling of Arial with Windows and macOS has contributed to it being one of the most widely distributed and used typefaces in the world.

In 1996, Microsoft launched the [[Core fonts for the Web]] project to make a standard pack of fonts for the Internet. Arial in TrueType format was included in this project. The project allowed anyone to download and install these fonts for their own use (on end user's computers) without any fee. The project was terminated by Microsoft in August 2002, allegedly due to frequent [[EULA]] violations.<ref name="extremetech">{{cite web|url=http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,3973,469394,00.asp |title=Microsoft Withdraws Free Web Fonts |author=Mark Hachman |publisher=ExtremeTech |date=14 August 2002 |access-date=2010-04-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100417160545/http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0%2C3973%2C469394%2C00.asp |archive-date=17 April 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://typographica.org/000270.php  |title=Microsoft Cuts the Line to Web Core Fonts |author=Jesse Burgheimer |date=13 August 2002 |access-date=2010-04-13 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080111153435/http://typographica.org/000270.php |archive-date = 11 January 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://typographica.org/000270.php|title=Microsoft Cuts the Line to Web Core Fonts|date=13 August 2002|access-date=2008-08-04| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080313020525/http://typographica.org/000270.php| archive-date = 13 March 2008}}</ref> For MS Windows, the core fonts for the web were provided as self-extracting executables (.exe); each included an embedded [[cabinet (file format)|cabinet]] file, which can be extracted with appropriate software. For the Macintosh, the files were provided as [[BinHex]]ed [[StuffIt]] archives (.sit.hqx). The latest font version that was available from ''Core fonts for the Web'' was 2.82, published in 2000. Later versions (such as version 3 or version 5 which include many new characters) were not available from this project. A Microsoft spokesman declared in 2002 that members of the open-source community "will have to find different sources for updated fonts. ... Although the EULA did not restrict the fonts to just Windows and Mac OS, they were only ever available as Windows .exe's and Mac archive files."<ref name="extremetech" /> The chief technical officer of Opera Software cited the cancellation of the project as an example of Microsoft resisting interoperability.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/02/11/hakon_on_ms_interroperability/ |title=Opera to MS: Get real about interoperability, Mr Gates – Opera CTO Hakon Lie responds to Bill's clarion call |website=[[The Register]] |date=11 February 2005 |access-date=2010-07-02| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100525233104/https://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/02/11/hakon_on_ms_interroperability/| archive-date= 25 May 2010 | url-status= live}}</ref>

== Arial variants ==
[[File:Arial Black font.png|thumb|Sample text of Arial Black, a variant of Arial]]
[[File:Arial Rounded specimen.svg|thumb|Specimen of Arial Rounded]]
The known variants of Arial include:

* Arial: Sometimes called ''Arial Regular'' to distinguish its width from Arial Narrow, it contains Arial (Roman text weight), Arial Italic, Arial Bold, Arial Bold Italic
* Arial Unicode MS<!--ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ascenderfonts.com/font/arial-unicode.aspx |publisher=Ascender Corporation |title=Arial Unicode MS |access-date=2010-01-15}}</ref--><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.microsoft.com/typography/fonts/family.aspx?FID=24 |title=Arial Unicode MS |website=[[Microsoft]] |access-date=2010-01-15| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100108131000/http://www.microsoft.com/typography/fonts/family.aspx?FID=24| archive-date= 8 January 2010 | url-status= live}}</ref>
* {{anchor|Arial Black}}Arial Black: Arial Black, Arial Black Italic. This weight is known for being particularly heavy. This is because the face was originally drawn as a bitmap, and to increase the weight, stroke widths for bold went from a single pixel width to two pixels in width.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}} It only supports Latin, Greek and Cyrillic.
* Arial Narrow: Arial Narrow Regular, Arial Narrow Bold, Arial Narrow Italic, Arial Narrow Bold Italic. This family is a condensed version.
* {{Anchor|Arial Rounded}}Arial Rounded: Arial Rounded Light, Arial Rounded Regular, Arial Rounded Medium, Arial Rounded Bold, Arial Rounded Extra Bold. The regular versions of the rounded glyphs can be found in Gulim, Microsoft's Korean font set. Originally only available in bold form as Arial Rounded MT Bold, extra fonts appeared as retail products. In Linotype's retail version, only Arial Rounded Regular supports WGL character set.
* Arial Special: Arial Special G1, Arial Special G2. They are included with Microsoft Encarta Virtual Globe 99, Expedia Streets and Trips 2000, MapPoint 2000.
* Arial Light, Arial Medium, Arial Extra Bold, Arial Light Condensed, Arial Condensed, Arial Medium Condensed, Arial Bold Condensed: These fonts first appeared in the Linotype online stores. The condensed fonts do not have italic counterparts.
* Arial Monospaced: In this monospaced variant, letters such as @, I (uppercase i), i, j, l (lowercase L), M, W are redesigned.

=== Arial Alternative ===
Arial Alternative Regular and Arial Alternative Symbol are standard fonts in [[Windows ME]], and can also be found on [[Windows 95]] and [[Windows XP]] installation discs, and on Microsoft's site.<ref name="MS">{{citation|chapter-url=http://support.microsoft.com/kb/135315 |title=Support |chapter=Knowledge base |publisher=Microsoft |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120604080020/http://support.microsoft.com/kb/135315 |archive-date=4 June 2012}}</ref> Both fonts are Symbol-encoded. These fonts emulate the monospaced font used in [[Minitel]]/[[Prestel]] [[teletext]] systems, but vectorized with Arial styling. These fonts are used by [[HyperTerminal]].

Arial Alternative Regular contains only ASCII characters, while Arial Alternative Symbol contains only 2&nbsp;×&nbsp;3 [[semigraphics]] characters.

=== Code page variants ===

Arial Baltic, Arial CE, Arial Cyr, Arial Greek, Arial Tur are aliases created in the FontSubstitutes section of WIN.INI by Windows. These entries all point to the master font. When an alias font is specified, the font's character map contains different character set from the master font and the other alias fonts.

In addition, Monotype also sells Arial in reduced character sets, such as Arial CE, Arial WGL, Arial Cyrillic, Arial Greek, Arial Hebrew, Arial Thai.

[[Arial Unicode]] is a version supporting all characters assigned with Unicode 2.1 code points.

=== Arial Nova ===

Arial Nova's design is based on the 1982's Sonora Sans bitmapped fonts,<ref>{{cite web|title=Background Story|url=https://www.linotype.com/5368835/arial-nova-family.html|website=Arial Nova|publisher=Linotype|access-date=2 March 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Typeface Story|url=https://www.fonts.com/font/monotype/arial-nova/story|website=Arial Nova|publisher=Fonts.com}}</ref> which were in fact Arial renamed to avoid licensing issues. Character spacing and other modifications were made to Arial Nova to return to the shapes and proportions of the original 1982 design created for IBM’s high-speed laser printers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Arial Nova Font {{!}} Webfont & Desktop {{!}} MyFonts |url=https://www.myfonts.com/collections/arial-nova-font-monotype-imaging |access-date=2025-11-19 |website=www.myfonts.com |language=en}}</ref> It was bundled with Windows 10 and up, and is offered free of charge on Microsoft Store.<ref>{{cite web|title=Get Arial Nova|url=https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/p/arial-nova/9ns5ct1mz7m8|website=Microsoft Store|publisher=Microsoft|access-date=2 March 2018}}</ref> It contains Regular, Bold and Light weights, corresponding italics and corresponding Condensed widths.

== Monotype/Linotype retail versions ==

=== Arial ===

The TrueType core Arial fonts (Arial, Arial Bold, Arial Italic, Arial Bold Italic) support the same character sets as the version 2.76 fonts found in Internet Explorer 5/6, Windows 98/ME.

Version sold by Linotype includes Arial Rounded, Arial Monospaced, Arial Condensed, Arial Central European, Arial Central European Narrow, Arial Cyrillic, Arial Cyrillic Narrow, Arial Dual Greek, Arial Dual Greek Narrow, Arial SF, Arial Turkish, Arial Turkish Narrow.

In addition, Monotype also sells Arial in reduced character sets, such as Arial CE, Arial WGL, Arial Cyrillic, Arial Greek, Arial Hebrew, Arial Thai, Arial SF.

=== Arial WGL ===

It is a version that covers only the [[Windows Glyph List]] 4 (WGL4) characters. They are only sold in TrueType format.

The family includes Arial (regular, bold, italics), Arial Black, Arial Narrow (regular, bold, italics), Arial Rounded (regular, bold).

=== Ascender Corporation fonts ===

[[Ascender Corporation]] sells the font in Arial WGL family, as well as the Arial Unicode.

== Arial in other font families ==

Arial glyphs are also used in fonts developed for non-Latin environments, including Arabic Transparent, BrowalliaUPC, Cordia New, CordiaUPC, Miriam, Miriam Transparent, Monotype Hei, and Simplified Arabic.

== Free alternatives ==
Arial is a proprietary typeface<ref name="gnufreefont-why">{{cite web |url=https://www.gnu.org/software/freefont/articles/Why_Free_Fonts.html |title=GNU FreeFont – Why do we need free outline UCS fonts? |date=4 October 2009 |access-date=2010-07-02| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100616054658/https://www.gnu.org/software/freefont/articles/Why_Free_Fonts.html| archive-date= 16 June 2010 | url-status= live}}</ref> to which Monotype Imaging owns all rights, including software copyright and trademark rights (under U.S. copyright law, Monotype cannot legally copyright the shapes of the actual glyphs themselves).<ref>Copyright registrations for the TrueType "computer programs": [http://cocatalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v1=16&ti=1,16&Search_Arg=ARIAL&Search_Code=TALL&CNT=25&PID=OYnk7Bn_UuqK2R9CiYnk72sUUwX&SEQ=20090519175803&SID=1 Arial Roman], [http://cocatalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v1=8&ti=1,8&Search_Arg=ARIAL&Search_Code=TALL&CNT=25&PID=OYnk7Bn_UuqK2R9CiYnk72sUUwX&SEQ=20090519175803&SID=1 Arial Bold], [http://cocatalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v1=10&ti=1,10&Search_Arg=ARIAL&Search_Code=TALL&CNT=25&PID=OYnk7Bn_UuqK2R9CiYnk72sUUwX&SEQ=20090519175803&SID=1 Arial Italic], and [http://cocatalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v1=6&ti=1,6&Search_Arg=ARIAL&Search_Code=TALL&CNT=25&PID=OYnk7Bn_UuqK2R9CiYnk72sUUwX&SEQ=20090519175803&SID=1 Arial Bold Italic].</ref> Its licensing terms prohibit derivative works and free redistribution.<ref name="MI-EULA">{{cite web |url=http://www.fonts.com/Legal/MI-EULA.htm |title=Monotype Imaging, Inc. – End User License Agreement |access-date=2010-07-02| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100717104324/http://www.fonts.com/Legal/MI-EULA.htm| archive-date= 17 July 2010 | url-status= live}}</ref><ref name="licensing">{{cite web |url=http://www.fonts.com/FontServices/LicensingOptions.htm |title=Monotype Imaging – Licensing Options |access-date=2010-07-02| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100704180002/http://www.fonts.com/FontServices/LicensingOptions.htm| archive-date= 4 July 2010 | url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.microsoft.com/typography/faq/faq8.htm |title=TrueType core fonts for the Web FAQ |author=Microsoft |website=[[Microsoft]] |date=25 July 2002 |access-date=2010-04-13}}</ref>

There are some [[free software]] [[metric-compatible]] fonts used as free Arial alternatives or used for Arial [[font substitution]]:
* ''[[Liberation fonts|Liberation Sans]]'' is a metrically equivalent font to Arial developed by Ascender Corp. and published by Red Hat in 2007, initially under the GPL license with some exceptions.<ref>{{citation |url=https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Licensing/LiberationFontLicense |title=LiberationFontLicense – License Agreement and Limited Product Warranty, Liberation Font Software |access-date=2012-12-19}}</ref> Versions 2.00.0 onwards are published under [[SIL Open Font License]].<ref>{{citation|url=https://fedorahosted.org/liberation-fonts/browser/LICENSE |title=LICENSE - liberation-fonts |access-date=2012-12-19 }}{{dead link|date=October 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> It is used in some Linux distributions as default font replacement for Arial.<ref>{{citation|url=http://wiki.mandriva.com/en/Releases/Mandriva/2008.0/What%27s_New#Liberation_font_set |title=Mandriva Linux 2008 Release Tour |quote=integrated into Mandriva Linux 2008 |access-date=2010-04-04 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100619073124/http://wiki.mandriva.com/en/Releases/Mandriva/2008.0/What%27s_New |archive-date=19 June 2010 }}</ref> Liberation Sans Narrow is a metrically equivalent font to Arial Narrow contributed to Liberation fonts by Oracle in 2010,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.openoffice.org/dev_docs/features/3.3/index.html#New_Narrow_Font_Family |title=OpenOffice.org 3.3 New Features }}</ref> but is not included in 2.00.0.<ref name="home">{{Citation | url = https://fedorahosted.org/liberation-fonts/ | title = Liberation Fonts | publisher = Fedora}}</ref> Google commissioned a variation named ''[[Arimo (typeface)|Arimo]]'' for [[ChromeOS]].
* URW++ produced a version of Helvetica called ''[[Nimbus Sans L]]'' in 1987, and it was eventually released under the [[GNU General Public License|GPL]] and [[Aladdin Free Public License|AFPL]] (as [[Type 1 font]] for Ghostscript) in 1996.<ref>{{Citation |url=http://www.geocrawler.com/archives/3/378/1996/5/0/2064811/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021023155414/http://www.geocrawler.com/archives/3/378/1996/5/0/2064811/ |title=Finally! Good-quality free (GPL) basic-35 PostScript Type 1 fonts. |archive-date=23 October 2002 |access-date=2010-05-06}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |url=http://www.tug.org/fonts/deutsch-urw.txt |title=Finally! Good-quality free (GPL) basic-35 PostScript Type 1 fonts. |format=TXT |access-date=2010-05-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tug.org/fonts/ |title=Fonts and TeX |date=19 December 2009 |access-date=2010-05-06}}</ref> It is one of the [[Ghostscript]] fonts, free alternatives to 35 basic [[PostScript fonts#Core Font Set|PostScript fonts]] (which include Helvetica).
* ''[[FreeSans]]'', a free font descending from URW++ Nimbus Sans L, which in turn descends from Helvetica.<ref name="gnufreefont-why"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gnu.org/software/freefont/design-notes.html |title=GNU FreeFont – Design notes |date=4 October 2009 |access-date=2010-07-02| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100615141734/https://www.gnu.org/software/freefont/design-notes.html| archive-date= 15 June 2010 | url-status= live}}</ref> It is one of free fonts developed in GNU FreeFont project, first published in 2002. It is used in some free software as Arial replacement or for Arial font substitution.
* ''TeX Gyre Heros'', a free font descending from URW++ Nimbus Sans L, which in turn descends from Helvetica.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gust.org.pl/projects/e-foundry/tex-gyre/heros |title=TeX Gyre Heros – GUST Web Presence |access-date=2018-12-19}}</ref> It is one of free fonts developed by the Polish TeX Users Group (GUST), first published in 2007. It is licensed under the GUST Font License.

== See also ==
* [[Core fonts for the Web]]
* [[List of typefaces]]
* [[:Category:Monotype typefaces]] – typefaces owned by or designed for [[Monotype Imaging]]
* [[Roboto]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*Microsoft Typography: [https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/typography/font-list/arial Arial], [https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/typography/font-list/arial-black Arial Black], [https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/typography/font-list/arial-narrow Arial Narrow], [https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/typography/font-list/arial-rounded-mt Arial Rounded MT], [https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/typography/font-list/arial-special Arial Special G1/G2], [https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/typography/font-list/arial-narrow-special Arial Narrow Special G1/G2], [https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/typography/font-list/arial-unicode-ms Arial Unicode MS]
*Linotype/Monotype Arial families: [http://www.linotype.com/en/145867/arial-family.html Arial], [https://archive.today/20130128014314/http://www.linotype.com/en/522228/arialwgl-family.html Arial WGL], [http://www.linotype.com/1293834/arial-arabic-family.html Arial Arabic], [http://www.linotype.com/5368835/arial-nova-family.html Arial Nova], [http://www.linotype.com/1532583/arial-os-family.html Arial OS], [http://www.linotype.com/817674/arial-unicode-family.html Arial Unicode]
*[https://fontsinuse.com/typefaces/4869/arial Fonts in Use]

{{Monospaced fonts}}{{Microsoft Windows Typefaces}}
{{Monotype typefaces}}
{{OS X typefaces}}

[[Category:Monotype typefaces]]
[[Category:Neo-grotesque sans-serif typefaces]]
[[Category:Typefaces and fonts introduced in 1982]]
[[Category:Microsoft typefaces]]
[[Category:Windows XP typefaces]]