"SVG fonts don't work with a cache manifest. Due to the manifest treating # as comments and Mobile Safari requiring the font ID reference in the URL. (via Tristan Dunn)"
http://paulirish.com/2010/font-face-gotchas/
Just to recap, essentially iOS Safari requires an @fontface declaration with a hash after the suffix, like this:
url('fontname.svg#fjcjipswh48dfhj.svg) format('svg');
Using, or omitting, the hash suffix in a cache manifest file means the font will not render.
I have everything in place for an offline capable iPad web application, but this glitch is preventing me from completing this part of the project as it relies on the use of svg fonts being stored in the App Cache.
Considering the problem has been known for over a year, is there still no fix for this? I've scoured everywhere and can't find anything. It appears this is a problem that only Apple can sort out, i.e, enable iOS to use WOFF files (which would still mean issues for older iOS versions), or change the way manifest files are handled by Safari to allow the # suffix.
If anyone has any further thoughts/insights I'd be very grateful.
iOS 4 supports TTF fonts. Can't you use TTF or OTF or WOFF instead?