#  `import_fonts`

Import edited fonts from a directory using a JSON manifest
## Usage
> pdftl `<input>` `import_fonts` `<dir>` `[manifest=<manifest.json>]` `output` `<out.pdf>`

## Details
The `import_fonts` operation reads a JSON manifest (generated by [`export_fonts`](<export_fonts.md>)) and
overwrites the corresponding internal PDF font structures with the edited assets from a
directory.

It automatically handles:
  - Binary Font stream injection if MD5 hashes differ (safe skip on unmodified files).
  - Character metrics updates based on the 'width_sync_mode' parameter.
  - Re-compilation of sidecar ToUnicode JSON maps back to compliant PostScript CMaps.

If both `.json` and `.ps` files exist for a given font's /ToUnicode map, an error is
raised to prevent ambiguity. The user must delete or rename one of them first.

### Width Sync Modes

Each font's unified JSON sidecar (`font_{obj_id}_{gen_id}_{name}.json`) has a
top-level `width_sync_mode` field, defaulting to `auto` on export. This controls
how `import_fonts` reconciles the PDF's /Widths (or /W for CID fonts) with any
edits:

  - `auto` (default): Reads the true metrics out of the edited font binary (if
    its MD5 changed since export) and writes those into the PDF. If the binary
    is unchanged or unreadable, falls back to `manual` behavior using any
    `width.pdf` values present in the sidecar mappings.
  - `manual`: Writes the `width.pdf` values from the sidecar mappings directly
    into the PDF, ignoring the font binary.
  - `patch_font_metrics`: Dynamically patches the font binary's horizontal metrics table
    in-memory to match the sidecar's `width.pdf` values, and writes the patched stream
    directly into the PDF (leaving workspace files untouched).
  - `squash_font_vectors`: Dynamically rescales the font binary's glyph outlines in-memory
    to visually fit the sidecar's `width.pdf` values, and writes the squashed stream
    directly into the PDF (leaving workspace files untouched).
  - `preserve`: Leaves the PDF's existing /Widths untouched entirely.

`patch_font_metrics` and `squash_font_vectors` require the embedded font file to
be present in the directory; without it, no width sync occurs for that font.
## Examples

> Import edited fonts from 'my_fonts/' and save.
```
pdftl in.pdf import_fonts my_fonts output out.pdf
```


**Tags**: in_place, fonts, import, replace

*Source: pdftl.operations.export_import_fonts*

*Read online: [https://pdftl.readthedocs.io/en/latest/operations/import_fonts.html](https://pdftl.readthedocs.io/en/latest/operations/import_fonts.html)*

*Type: Operation*