# Introduction

Introduction to Glyph Bitmap Distribution Format: how BDF represents bitmap fonts as portable, human-readable text files.

This document describes the Adobe™ Glyph Bitmap Distribution Format (BDF), which is intended to be easily understood by both humans and computers. The format described in this document is subject to change without prior notification.

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In this version of this document, the term “character” has been replaced, where appropriate, by “glyph” — the correct term for the elements of a font according to current industry usage. Keywords such as `CHARS` and `STARTCHAR` have been retained for compatibility reasons.

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