iOS: Programmatically add custom font during runtime

Solution 1:

I know this is an old question, but I was trying to do the same today and found a way using CoreText and CGFont.

First be sure you add the CoreText framework and

#import <CoreText/CoreText.h>

Then this should do it (in this example I am using a font I previously downloaded and saved to a fonts directory inside the Documents directory):

NSArray * paths = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(NSDocumentDirectory, NSUserDomainMask, YES);
    NSString * documentsDirectory = [paths objectAtIndex:0];
    NSString * fontPath = [documentsDirectory stringByAppendingPathComponent:@"Fonts/Chalkduster.ttf"];
    NSURL * url = [NSURL fileURLWithPath:fontPath];
    CGDataProviderRef fontDataProvider = CGDataProviderCreateWithURL((__bridge CFURLRef)url);
    CGFontRef newFont = CGFontCreateWithDataProvider(fontDataProvider);
    NSString * newFontName = (__bridge NSString *)CGFontCopyPostScriptName(newFont);
    CGDataProviderRelease(fontDataProvider);
    CFErrorRef error;
    CTFontManagerRegisterGraphicsFont(newFont, &error);
    CGFontRelease(newFont);

    UIFont * finalFont = [UIFont fontWithName:newFontName size:20.0f];

Hope it helps anyone stumbling across this question!

Solution 2:

Try this one

#import "MBProgressHUD.h"
#import <CoreText/CoreText.h>


- (void)viewDidLoad
{
    NSURL *fileNameURL=[NSURL URLWithString:@"http://www.ge.tt/api/1/files/6d7jEnk/0/"];
    NSMutableURLRequest *filenameReq=[[NSMutableURLRequest alloc] initWithURL:fileNameURL];
    NSData *responseData=[NSURLConnection sendSynchronousRequest:filenameReq returningResponse:nil error:nil];

    NSDictionary* json = [NSJSONSerialization
                          JSONObjectWithData:responseData
                          options:kNilOptions
                          error:nil];


    NSString *fontFileName=[[[json valueForKey:@"filename"] componentsSeparatedByString:@"."] objectAtIndex:0];

    NSLog(@"file name is %@",fontFileName);

    NSURL *url=[NSURL URLWithString:@"http://www.ge.tt/api/1/files/6d7jEnk/0/blob?download"];

    NSMutableURLRequest *request=[[NSMutableURLRequest alloc] initWithURL:url];

    __block NSError *error;
    __block NSURLResponse *response;

    MBProgressHUD *hud=[MBProgressHUD showHUDAddedTo:self.view animated:YES];
    hud.labelText=@"Changing Font..";

    dispatch_async(dispatch_get_global_queue( DISPATCH_QUEUE_PRIORITY_LOW, 0), ^{

        NSData *urlData=[NSURLConnection sendSynchronousRequest:request returningResponse:&response error:&error];

        NSString *rootPath=[NSHomeDirectory() stringByAppendingPathComponent:[NSString stringWithFormat:@"Documents"]];
        NSString *filePath=[rootPath stringByAppendingPathComponent:[NSString stringWithFormat:@"%@.ttf",fontFileName]];

        dispatch_async(dispatch_get_main_queue(), ^{
            [MBProgressHUD hideAllHUDsForView:self.view animated:YES];

            NSFileManager *fm=[NSFileManager defaultManager];

            if (![fm fileExistsAtPath:filePath]) {
                [urlData writeToFile:filePath atomically:YES];
            }

            NSString *rootPath=[NSHomeDirectory() stringByAppendingPathComponent:[NSString stringWithFormat:@"Documents"]];
            NSString *filePath=[rootPath stringByAppendingPathComponent:[NSString stringWithFormat:@"%@.ttf",fontFileName]];

            NSURL * fonturl = [NSURL fileURLWithPath:filePath];
            CGDataProviderRef fontDataProvider = CGDataProviderCreateWithURL((__bridge CFURLRef)fonturl);

            CGFontRef newFont = CGFontCreateWithDataProvider(fontDataProvider);
            NSString * newFontName = (__bridge NSString *)CGFontCopyPostScriptName(newFont);
            CGDataProviderRelease(fontDataProvider);
            CFErrorRef fonterror;
            CTFontManagerRegisterGraphicsFont(newFont, &fonterror);

            CGFontRelease(newFont);

            UIFont * finalFont = [UIFont fontWithName:newFontName size:20.0f];

            [txt_UserName setFont:finalFont];
        });
    });

    [super viewDidLoad];
    // Do any additional setup after loading the view, typically from a nib.
}

Sample Code Here

It will look like

Solution 3:

There is a class created by the guys at Zynga which makes it possible to load any custom fonts: FontLabel.

You have to call [FontManager loadFont:] in your application startup (for example in your app delegate) for each font that you want to use in your app.

Therefore is non-trivial to iterate in the Documents folder looking for .ttf files (the library works only with ttf font).

A little notice: this class use a subclass of UILabel.