EOT (Embedded OpenType)
EOT is a legacy web font format developed by Microsoft exclusively for Internet Explorer. It wraps OpenType fonts with compression and optional URL binding (restricting use to specific domains). EOT is effectively obsolete, needed only for IE8 and earlier.
MIME Type
application/vnd.ms-fontobject
Type
Binary
Compression
Lossless
Advantages
- + Only web font format supported by IE6-8
- + URL binding prevents unauthorized font usage (domain lock)
- + Compact compression for font data
Disadvantages
- − Only works in Internet Explorer
- − Completely obsolete — IE has been discontinued
- − Complex to generate compared to WOFF/WOFF2
When to Use .EOT
Use EOT only for legacy IE8 support; for all modern browsers use WOFF2 with WOFF1 as fallback.
Technical Details
EOT files use MicroType Express (MTX) compression for font data and include a URL binding list that restricts the font to specified domains. The format is essentially a wrapper around OpenType font tables.
History
Microsoft created EOT in 2007 as a DRM-aware web font solution for Internet Explorer. It was submitted to the W3C as a proposed standard but lost to WOFF, which gained broader industry support.