Primarily available as a TrueType font file ( Arial.ttf ), though modern versions of Windows often handle it as an OpenType font containing TrueType outlines.
Arial is often compared to Helvetica, but version 7.01 maintains the specific quirks that make it Arial:
The second component, , refers to the font’s style axis. In font nomenclature, “normal” typically indicates the regular weight (as opposed to Bold) and the upright posture (as opposed to Italic or Oblique). It explicitly excludes variations like Arial Narrow, Arial Black, or Arial Rounded. This is the baseline, the control group, the vanilla flavor.