FreeType 2被设计为一种占用空间小的、高效的、高度可定制的、并且可以产生可移植的高品质输出（符号图像）。可以被用在诸如图像库、展出服务器、字体转换工具、图像文字产生工具等多种其它产品上。

请注意FreeType 2是一种字体服务而没有提供为实现文字布局或图形化处理这样高阶的功能使用的API（比如带色文字渲染之类的）。然而，它提供一个简单的、易用的并且统一的接口实现对多种字体文件的访问，从而大大简化了这些高级的任务。

更新如下：

CHANGES BETWEEN 2.4.10 and 2.4.11 I. IMPORTANT BUG FIXES-Some vulnerabilities in the BDF implementation have been fixed. Users of this font format should upgrade. II. IMPORTANT CHANGES-Subpixel hinting support has been contributed by Infinality, based on Greg Hitchcock's whitepaper at http://www.microsoft.com/typography/cleartype/truetypecleartype.aspx Originally, it was a separate patch available from http://www.infinality.net/blog/ and which has been integrated. Note that ClearType support is not completely implemented! In particular, full support for the options `compatible_widths', `symmetrical_smoothing, and `bgr' (via the GETINFO bytecode instruction) is missing. Activation of subpixel hinting support can be controlled with the `TT_CONFIG_OPTION_SUBPIXEL_HINTING' configuration option; it is switched off by default. This feature is still experimental; we welcome test reports!-Support for OpenType collections (OTC) has been added.-Pure CFF fonts within an SFNT wrapper are now supported. III. MISCELLANEOUS-Minor rendering improvements to the auto-hinter.-`FT_GlyphSlot_Oblique' now uses a shear angle of 12°.-Experimental support to handle `property modules', for example to control the behaviour of the auto-hinter. The API consists of two new functions, `FT_Property_Set' and `FT_Property_Get'. The code is still subject to change and should not be used for production.-The `ftdiff' demo program now supports UTF-8 encoded input files for option `-f'.-Using keys `r' and `R', you can now adjust the stroker radius in the `ftview' demo program.-Other, minor fixes and improvements.