font editor For Designers

PostScript, TrueType, Unicode, OpenType

Users manual for Mac OS X

Fontographer 5
Copyright 2005-2012 by Fontlab, Ltd. All rights reserved.
Cover illustration: Pawe Joca, pejot.com
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form
or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior
written consent of the publisher. Any software referred to herein is furnished under license and may
only be used or copied in accordance with the terms of such license.

Fontographer, FontLab , FontLab logo , ScanFont, TypeTool , SigMaker, AsiaFont Studio, FontAudit and
VectorPaint are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Fontlab, Ltd. in the United States and/or
other countries.
Apple , the Apple Logo , Mac , Mac OS , Macintosh and TrueType are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc.,
registered in the United States and other countries.
Adobe , PostScript, PostScript 3, Type Manager, FreeHand, Illustrator and OpenType logo are
trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated that may be registered in certain jurisdictions.
Windows , Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows XP, Windows NT, Windows Vista and OpenType are
either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other
countries.
IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation.
Other brand or product names are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.
THIS PUBLICATION AND THE INFORMATION HEREIN IS FURNISHED AS IS, IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE
WITHOUT NOTICE, AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSTRUED AS A COMMITMENT BY FONTLAB, LTD.
FONTLAB, LTD. ASSUMES NO RESPONSIBILITY OR LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS OR INACCURACIES,
MAKES NO WARRANTY OF ANY KIND (EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY) WITH RESPECT TO THIS
PUBLICATION, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS
FOR PARTICULAR PURPOSES AND NONINFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTY RIGHTS.
User manual release 5.2 [3/2012]

Contents
CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

13

Getting the most out of your Fontographer materials

14

System requirements
Support

15
15

BASICS

17

Setting preferences

18

International
Undo
Autosaving
Linespacing
Editing
Point display
Windows and dialog boxes

The UPM size

Ascender
Descender
Line gap
Safe zone top and bottom
x-height
Origin line
Baseline
Basepoint
Width

18
18
19
19
19
21
21

22
22
23
23
24
24
25
25
25
25

The font window

26

Title bar
Scroll bar
View by pop-up
Glyph slots

26
27
27
28

Opening windows

30

The outline window

31

The info bar

Changing glyphs in the outline window
Path direction indicator

32
33
33

The bitmap window

34

The metrics window

36

Selecting glyphs in the font window

38

Viewing glyphs in the outline window

40

Viewing and sizing the glyph

Using the magnifying tool
Fit in Window

40
40
41

Fontographer 5
Magnification
Scrolling with the hand tool
Moving by dragging

Viewing modes
Preview

Selecting and deselecting objects

Drag-selecting objects
Click-selecting objects
Shift-selecting objects
Selecting parts of a path

43
43

45
46
47
47
48

Drawing layers

50

Outline layer
Template layer
Guides layer
Hints layer

50
51
52
53

Using the palettes

54

Layers palette
Tool palette
Control point tools
Transformation tools
Constraining tools

54
54
59
61
69

Fontographers menus

71

Undo and redo

71

Closing and Quitting

72

Closing
Quitting
Folders and paths

72
72
73

MODIFYING YOUR FONTS

75

Steps to modifying your font

76

Opening a Font

77

Existing fonts
Opening Fonts with Drag-Drop
Opening Recently Used Fonts
Font Formats
Glyphs Number
Opening Macintosh fonts
Opening Font Collection
New fonts

77
78
78
79
79
80
81
81

Changing the glyphs weight

82

Naming your font

85

Saving your work

86

Save
Save As
Reverting to the last saved version

41
42
42

86
87
87

Generating your font

88

Installing the font

89

Using the font

90

Contents
About font piracy

90

Creating an oblique font

91

Skewing multiple glyphs

92

Creating a fraction using composite glyphs

93

Creating a ligature

97

Changing the glyph width

99

Creating a condensed glyph or font

100

Setting the basepoint

102

CREATING NEW FONTS

105

Autotracing

107

Advanced tracing options

111

Curve fit
Allow curve fit errors
Balance lines
Eliminate close points
Make straight lines
Look for cusps
Treat nearly flat paths as straight lines
Find extrema points

Transformation options
Flip
Move
Rotate
Scale
Scale uniformly
Skew
Multiple transformations
3D transformations using the Transform dialog box

Guidelines
Setting guidelines
Setting guidelines from the Font Info dialog box
Adding new guidelines
Snapping to guides

Creating a stroked font

Outline versus stroked glyphs
Setting stroke attributes
End caps and joins
Expand stroke
Clean Up Paths

111
112
112
112
112
112
113
113

114
114
115
117
118
119
120
121
122

127
127
128
129
131

132
132
133
135
136
138

Creating calligraphic glyphs

140

Calligraphic tutelage from Judith Sutcliffe

142

Creating variable weight glyphs

148

Blend fonts to create new fonts

150

When things go wrong...

153

Jonathan Hoefler says:

155

Fontographer 5
ALTERING OUTLINES

157

Altering a logo

159

Pasting EPS outlines from the Clipboard

Paths and points

Closed paths
Path direction and fills
Normal fill
Even/odd fill
Correct path direction
Reverse path direction

Types of points
Curve points
Corner points
Tangent points
Selecting multiple points
Changing a point type
Inserting points
Duplicating points
Power duplicating
Removing points
Splitting a path
Splitting line segments
Joining points
Adding serifs
Merging points
Moving a point
Demagnified move
Keyboard commands to move points
Accurate point placement

Point and path preferences

Path display
Point display
Show and hide control points
Editing and placing BCPs
BCP principles
Dragging a control points BCPs
Dragging a curve points BCPs
Dragging a corner points BCPs
Dragging a tangent points BCPs
Retracting BCPs

160

161
161
162
163
164
164
165

166
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
181
182

184
184
186
187
188
188
189
189
190
191
191

Auto curvature

192

EDITING BITMAPS

195

Using the bitmap window

197

The bitmap window

Editing a bitmap
The central edit area
Ascent and descent values
Offset and width values
Visible layers
Tools in the bitmap window
Undo and redo
Richard Beatty Says:

198
199
201
201
202
203
204
209
209

Contents
Changing bitmap views

210

Enlarging using the View menu

Switching glyphs in the bitmap window
Next and previous glyph
Next and previous point size

210
210
211
211

When should you recalculate bitmaps?

212

Preserving your original bitmaps

213

METRICS SPACING AND KERNING

215

Spacing

219

Pair kerning

222

Auto spacing

224

Auto kerning

226

The metrics window

228

Editing a Text String

Glyph display
The spreadsheet area

230
231
234

Vertical spacing & kerning

236

Importing metrics

237

Clearing kerning pairs

Exporting metrics
The Fontographer Metrics file
Copying widths

More powerful spacing and kerning commands

Setting widths
Equalizing sidebearings

Advanced metrics operations

Setting metrics
Assisted metrics
Metrics assistance
Kerning assistance
Advanced auto spacing
Advanced auto kerning

237

238
239
240

241
241
242

243
243
245
246
249
253
256

FONT INFO

261

Names

262

Name fields

263

Dimensions

265

Encoding

267

Encoding options

268

Credits

270

Licensing

272

Advanced Licensing

274

Recommendations

281

Fontographer 5
Exporting EPAR

283

PRINTING

285

Sample text
Sample file
PostScript file
Key map
Kerning pairs
Sample Glyphs
The print header

GENERATING AND EXPORTING FONTS

297

Before you do anything...

298

Relevant Font Formats

299

OpenType PS
TrueType / OpenType TT
Macintosh TrueType
Macintosh Type 1
Windows Type 1

299
300
301
301
302

Easy or advanced?

303

Generating cross-platform fonts

305

OpenType Options

306

Generating Macintosh fonts

307

Mac Type 1 Suitcase

Mac Type 1 Font
TrueType suitcase
PostScript Type 3
Other Type 3 Formats
When should you use hints?
A word about flex

308
310
311
312
314
315
315

Generating Windows fonts

316

PostScript Type 1
Symbol encoded Windows fonts
PostScript Type 3

316
318
318

Pack your suitcase: bitmap fonts

319

Bitmaps vs. outlines

Adding bitmap sizes
Deleting bitmap sizes
Bitmap format

Exporting files
Exporting EPS files
Exporting BDF files

319
320
320
321

322
322
323

CREATING A FONT FAMILY

325

Menu grouping and style linking

327

Families: Windows, Sun, NeXTSTEP

329

Font families on the Macintosh

330

How Style Merger works

Things you should know about Style Merger

287
290
291
292
293
294
296

332
334

Contents
INSTALLING AND REMOVING FONTS

335

Installing Macintosh Type 1 fonts

336

Installing Type 1 fonts in Mac OS X

336

Installing Other fonts in Mac OS X

337

Installing Windows fonts

338

Installing fonts in Windows XP

Installing fonts in Windows Vista/7

339
340

Removing installed fonts

341

Removing a Macintosh font

Removing a Windows font

341
341

OPENTYPE FONTS

343

Font Features

344

Features and Lookups

Scripts and Languages

Feature Definition Language

Language Syntax

346
346

347
348

Importing OpenType Fonts

356

Generating OpenType Fonts

357

Preparing OpenType features

358

Known Features
init, medi, fina and isol Features
Latin Features

370
370
371

EXPERT ADVICE

375

General preferences

377

International
Autosaving
Undo Settings
Sounds

Fonts preferences
Linespacing Auto-Calculation
Opening Type 1 fonts

Editing preferences
Smooth outline
Distances
Snapping
Paths

377
377
377
378

379
379
379

380
380
381
381
382

Point display

383

Windows and dialog boxes

385

Windows
Dialogs

385
385

DSIG preferences

386

Restore Defaults

387

Fontographer 5
Font blending the technical details
The blending process

Font hinting

389

392

Are you still with us?

What is hinting all about?
Hinting controls
Autohint
Editing hints in the outline window
Removing hints
Making new hints
Selection Info for hints
Vertical Alignment Zones
Common Stems
What happens when Fontographer opens up PostScript Type 1 fonts
What happens when Fontographer opens TrueType fonts

392
392
397
398
399
400
400
401
403
405
405
406

Using a text editor to tweak Fontographer 5 on your Macintosh

407

Adding custom encodings

A special note to designers of non-Roman Macintosh fonts
Setting developer IDs
Customizing Sample Text printout
Character palette
Multiple master fonts
A quick overview

The genesis of a multiple master font

Planning multiple master fonts
Set up from file
Generating a multiple master font...

407
410
411
411
412
413
414

417
419
424
432

REFERENCE

435

Windows in Fontographer 1. Font window

436

View by menu
Glyph properties
Searching for glyphs

2. Outline window
Tool palette
Layers palette
Changing and hiding layers
Magnification
Switching glyphs

3. Bitmap window
Tool palette
Ascent/Descent/Offset/Width
Recalculate From outline
Scrolling
Switching characters
Changing point sizes

4. Metrics window
Kerning and sidebearing lines
Key commands to change spacing and/or kerning
Show kerning
Load Text

Menus

10

388

437
440
440

441
442
448
449
449
449

450
451
453
453
453
453
453

454
455
455
456
456

457

Contents
The Fontographer menu
The File menu
The Edit menu
The View menu
The Element menu
The Points Menu
The Metrics menu
The Hints menu
The Window menu

Special keys
Keyboard alternatives
The Full List of Keyboard Shortcuts

457
458
461
463
465
474
476
478
479

480
480
481

APPENDIX A. TIPS

485

Answers to commonly asked questions

487

APPENDIX B. AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF TYPOGRAPHY AND THE OTHER ARTS

OF THE BOOK
493
Overviews of Printing Types
History and Development of Lettering and Letterforms
Type Designs from Various Periods
Typography
Book Design
Type Designers
Typeface Reference Works
History of Printing
Letterpress Printing
Other Book Arts
Bibliographies

495
497
498
500
502
503
505
506
507
509
510

APPENDIX C. GENERAL INFORMATION

513

Fontographer background

513

Bitmap background

515

Filling techniques

518

Glossary

519

INDEX

533

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

543

11

Introduction
Fontographer makes it easy to create new typefaces or add your logo to existing
typefaces. Fontographers drawing tools help you create a professional-quality
character in minutes and print that character on any PostScript or TrueType
compatible printer. With Fontographer and your personal computer, you can
create designs that match those produced by professional typographers.
Fontographer 5 generates ATM-compatible Type 1 fonts, as well as Type 3
PostScript fonts, TrueType fonts, OpenType fonts and multiple masters on the
Macintosh, and Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) files. You can import EPS files
directly, and use their outlines in the drawing window. You can also use metrics
information from a variety of sources, and export information to those sources as
well. Additionally, you can import kerning tables from Adobe Font Metrics (AFM)
and other files. You can also take advantage of the PostScript graphics you create
in FreeHand and Adobe Illustrator by pasting them directly into your characters.
Many dialog boxes in the program give you two options: Easy and Advanced
mode letting you have total control of the program if you want it, or allowing
you to rely on its simple and automatic settings.
For advanced users who dont always want to rely on automatic hint settings,
there is a menu of hinting controls. And in the Metrics arena, Fontographer lets
you space and kern faster and easier than ever. With auto space, auto kern, and
assisted kerning and metrics you can save yourself from having to kern and space
each individual character or font separately. Fontographer can do it automatically,
or you can use the same kerning and spacing information from one font, for others
that kern and space similarly.
So whether you are a novice or an experienced graphic designer, Fontographer
allows you to assign your characters and graphic images to any key or
combination of keys, and gives you the added ability to instantly repeat and resize
these images in any application.

Fontographer 5

Getting the most out of your

Fontographer materials
This version of the Fontographer User manual is designed for Macintosh users
of Fontographer 5 only. If you have Fontographer 4.7 for Macintosh you need the
previous version of the manual.
We placed keyboard alternatives after certain menu commands; get into the habit
of using these quick commands that our more experienced users prefer.
The Fontographer User manual assumes that you are familiar with the computer
and that you have a working knowledge of how your system operates. If you need
more information on these topics, refer to your Macintosh owners manual.
We dont have a separate tutorial. Ours is included right in this Fontographer
User manual. Tutorial icons are interspersed throughout the manual.

Tutorial icon
If you are a first-time user, the best way to start learning Fontographer is to use its
tutorial. Ours is a novel approach to tutorials but we think youll enjoy this new
method of introducing you to Fontographers basics.
The tutorial icon appears next to exercises in some chapters. Weve also placed
icons next to text you should read before you start the exercise itself. We strongly
recommend that you work your way through the tutorial exercises in order.
The tutorial is meant to be a guide to give you practice using some of
Fontographers standard features. It does not cover all features, nor even most of
them, but should be used as a starting place, if you are unfamiliar with the
program.
Once you have completed the tutorial exercises, review the rest of your
Fontographer User manual for information that will help you plan and create
your fonts.

14

Introduction

System requirements
To run the Macintosh version of Fontographer 5.2, you must have an Intel-based
Macintosh computer running Mac OS X 10.5 or later operating system with 35 MB
of hard drive space, and at least 50 MB of available RAM. Fontographer 5.2 is an
Intel only application.
The previous Macintosh version of Fontographer 5.1 can run both on a Power PC
and Intel-based Macintosh computers running Mac OS X 10.4 or later operating
system. Fontographer 5.1 is a universal binary application.
You must purchase additional copies of Fontographer in order to run more than
one copy at the same time. For additional copies, contact Fontlab Ltd. at
[email protected] or your nearest Fontographer dealer.

Support
For further information about Fontographer browse to the Fontographer home
page:
http://www.fontlab.com/fontographer/
Use the following address to get Fontographer updates and upgrades:
http://www.fontlab.com/support/
In case of any questions or to report possible bugs in Fontographer or any other of
our products browse to:
http://www.fontlab.com/support/
The Fontographer technical notes collection is available for download (in PDF
format). Technical notes address various issues and problems concerning
Fontographer 4.x:
http://www.pyrus.com/downloads/FG4Technotes.pdf

15

Basics
If youre a professional typographer, Fontographer offers you tools you can use to
create professional typefaces. You can use Fontographer as a drawing tool, not just
as a font editor. Create logos quickly and easily, just like with a drawing program,
or scan any image from a book or other source and let Fontographer auto trace it.
Metric tools, including automatic kerning, spacing, and metric tables help you
create a consistently spaced and kerned font faster than ever before.
If youre a novice, Fontographer gives you the tools you need to quickly create and
change fonts without intensive study and practice, plus the opportunity to
increase your skill to a professional level.

Create glyphs from scratch

or by autotracing a scanned image.

Fontographer 5

Setting preferences
Fontographer 5 automatically places a preferences file in the user's
Library/Preferences folder called com.fontlab.fontographer.plist. To set
preferences, choose Preferences from the Fontographer menu. See General
preferences in Chapter 13, Expert Advice, for more information.

International
Use this setting if you are going to work with Asian CJK (Chinese, Japanese or
Korean) fonts. It allows you to define vertical glyph metrics: the vertical
advance width (called vertical advance vector) for Asian glyphs used to type in
vertical direction from top to bottom.

Undo
Use the Preferences dialog to select the number of Undo commands you want to
allow. Choosing Undo from the Edit menu will undo the last command. You can
undo up to 100 commands using Fontographers default setting or change the
number of undo levels in the Preferences dialog box. The maximum number of
undo levels allowed is 256. The more undo levels you allow, the more memory you
use, and the less you have for the font youre editing. Fontographer will
automatically throw away undo levels when there isnt enough memory. But this is
only a problem for older systems with low RAM available.

18

Basics

Autosaving
If you want to protect yourself from system or program crashes you can use the
Autosave function that will periodically save the current font.
Use the check box to activate Autosave and enter the time interval (in minutes) at
which you want to save the font. The font will be saved into the same folder where
your font was last saved.

Linespacing
These two options define how Fontographer behaves when it needs to import,
calculate and export different linespacing font values. Unless you do not need this
for some special purpose leave the first option selected. This will keep linespacing
in your font the same for all platforms and applications.

Editing
To set Preferences related to editing behavior, choose Editing in the header of the
Preferences dialog box.

Smooth outline
This setting lets you to select between non-anti-aliased and anti-aliased rendering
of the outline. It doesn't influence the generated font but only the screen preview.

smoothing is off

smoothing is on

Cursor-key distance
This preference setting lets you set the distance the arrow keys will move a
selected object (in em units) when they are pressed. If you press an ARROW key
while holding down the OPTION key, the distance the object moves is divided by 10;
if you press an ARROW key while holding down the SHIFT key, the cursor distance
will multiply by 10.

19

Fontographer 5
For example, the following images show the effect of using the ARROW keys to
move selected objects. In the first example, the ARROW key is used by itself,
moving the starburst 10 em units closer to the bar. In the second example, the
starburst is moved with the ARROW key and the SHIFT key held down, making the
distance 100 em units. Holding down OPTION-ARROW key divides the value by 10
making it one em unit.

Grid spacing
There is an invisible key grid in the outline window that can be used to position
glyphs. When you choose Snap to Grid from the View menu, SHIFT-COMMAND-I,
any objects you move will automatically snap to the nearest grid.
You can change the distance between grids from one em unit to another distance.
The Snap-to distance represents the distance at which an object will snap to a grid
intersection. The Snap-to distance preference is entered in screen pixel units. The
windows current level of magnification will affect how this operates.

Set the cursor distance, grid spacing, and snap-to distance.

20

Tip: Listen to your snaps by turning the application sounds on in the General
preferences.

Basics

Point display
The Point display dialog box contains several options for viewing points. Decide
whether you want to view large or small points, Bzier control point (BCP) lines,
or just BCP points. You can highlight the path origin, or the ends of unclosed
paths. You can also highlight adjacent overlapping points or points on a path you
are dragging.

Labels can be shown for all points or only for selected points and BCPs (numbered
or lettered in sequence). Or you can show the x and y coordinates for each point or
for selected points only.
Fontographer will use the default settings unless you choose otherwise.

Windows and dialog boxes

Preferences lets you set the placement of windows, remember values and positions
of dialog boxes, control how glyphs fit into windows, and have palettes move with
the windows.
For more information about setting any of the preferences, see General
preferences in Chapter 13, Expert Advice.

21

Fontographer 5

The UPM size

Each glyph fits into a rectangle called an em square. An em square is usually a
square the size of a capital letter M, which extends to the descender line so it is
also called UPM (units per M). The em square received its name from the capital
M that filled the piece of metal used to form the type body in early printing days.
The fonts height is determined by the distance between the ascender and
descender. All fonts are normalized inside the printer, at an em square one point
(approximately 1/72 inch) high. Defining a font in this fashion allows a single
outline to be scaled to any size requested. Think of UPM units as relative
coordinates rather than as specific physical distance.
Refer to the figure below as you follow the overview.

Ascender
Cap height
x-height
Baseline
Descender
Origin i

Width i
Origin p

Note: The ascender and the descender in Ship lie at the top and the bottom of
the em square, respectively. This may not always be the case.

Ascender
A fonts maximum distance above the baseline is called its ascender. Fontographer
automatically places an ascender guideline in the outline window at the top of the
em square (UPM size). You can change it by choosing Font Info from the Element
menu.

22

Tip: Glyphs in Type 1 fonts normally should not extend above the ascender line.
Any glyph that extends above the ascender line or below the descender line may
have its bitmap representation vertically scaled to fit between the ascender and
descender. See When should you recalculate bitmaps? in Chapter 5, Editing
Bitmaps, for more information. See also Safe zone top and bottom values.

Basics

Descender
A fonts maximum distance below the baseline is called its descender.
Fontographer automatically places a descender guideline at the bottom of the em
square (UPM size) in the outline window. The descender line lies at the lower
vertical position specified when you created the font. You can change this setting
by choosing Font Info from the Element menu.

Tip: Usually glyphs do not drop below the descender line or they may interfere
with glyphs on the next line. Sometimes, however, this is a desired effect, such as
instances when vertical bars must connect from one line to another (for example,
borders). In this case use the Safe zone top and bottom values described below.
You can use ascender and descender to control the UPM size in which your glyphs
are drawn. Fontographers default values are: ascender 800 and descender -200.
You may change these proportions as needed. The default values provide UPM
size of 1000 units.

Line gap
Line gap (or leading) is the space between the descender of the previous line of
text and the ascender of the next line of text. It specifies how much space there is
between lines. The term leading comes from earlier days when thin strips of lead
were inserted between lines of text to provide line-to-line spacing. Currently, some
applications ignore this line gap value. Fontographers default value for line gap is
20% of the UPM value. Line gap size is not used directly by a PostScript font but is
used by Fontographer when calculating the default leading for bitmap generation.

Line gap is the space between the descender of the previous line and the ascender
of the following line.

23

Fontographer 5

Safe zone top and bottom

In addition to the ascender, descender and line gap values, there is another pair of
vertical font metrics: safe zone top and safe zone bottom lines.
Safe zone top is the line above which glyphs can be cropped (clipped, trimmed) in
some applications. Safe zone bottom line the line below which glyphs can be
cropped. Some text layout systems lay out text so that the safe zone bottom of one
line of text is immediately followed by the safe zone top of the next line of text.
Any glyphs that go beyond those lines will be either cropped in Windows GDI
applications, or will be squeezed in Mac OS Classic applications. Therefore the
distance between those lines is called "safe zone".
These values are calculated automatically by Fontographer in most cases.
!

Note: Safe zone top, ascender, descender, line gap, safe zone bottom are
linespacing values, so they should ideally be consistent for all fonts in the font
family. In OpenType fonts, the safe zone top value will always correspond to OS/2
Win Ascent value and the safe zone bottom value will always correspond to OS/2
Win Descent. In other words, the distance between OS/2 Win Ascent and OS/2
Win Descent can be referred to as the safe zone.

x-height
The x-height marks the top of lowercase letters such as x and o. Fontographer
does not create this automatically, but you can easily create one yourself in the
guides layer. You can position it anywhere, since it is only a guideline youre
creating.

24

Tip: Faces with taller x-heights are generally perceived as larger and more
readable than those with smaller x-heights.

Basics

Origin line
The origin line of the em square is always at a horizontal location of zero:

Origin line

Baseline

Baseline
The baseline is the line upon which capital letters sit. When printing mixed fonts
on a line, all the different fonts baselines line up with one another. The baseline
position does not need to be explicitly specified, since it is always at a horizontal
location of zero.

Basepoint
The -shape at the intersection of the origin line and baseline is the
basepoint.

This is a movable reference point for position measurements or as an aid to line

up points. When you open a new glyphs outline window (or display a new glyph in
an existing window), the basepoint is positioned at location 0,0 at the origin
point of the em square. Fontographer allows you to change the basepoint to
another location by selecting a point and then choosing Set Basepoint from the
Point menu.

Width
Width is a movable vertical line that specifies the width of each glyph. When the
printer (or screen cursor) draws glyphs on a line, the invisible origin line of the
next glyph is placed on top of the imaginable width line of the printed glyph.
Widths may be zero but cannot be negative.

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Fontographer 5

The font window

Close box

Zoom box

Info bar

Title bar

Spotlight

Scroll
bar

Grow box

Fontographers font window displays all the glyphs that make up a font. You can
scroll through the sequence of glyphs with the standard scroll bar to the right.
The font window also has other standard features like close, grow, and zoom
boxes.
Directly below the title bar is an info bar that displays font-related information. In
the View by pop-up you are given a list of the ways to view font labels.
When you choose an item from the View by pop-up, you change the font labels
within the font window display. There are thirteen different types of font labels.
The character mode shows the symbols for each glyph in the Latin alphabet, while
the keystroke mode shows you the keys you type to access the glyphs. In some
cases the glyph symbol and the keystroke may be different.
Youll find more detailed information about font labelling information in Glyph
slots on page 28.
You can see some of the codes used to name the selected glyph in the info bar
displayed to the right of the View by pop-up:

Title bar
Fontographers title bar is at the top of the font window. The name of the font
appears here. You can move the font window around the screen by clicking its title
bar, holding down the mouse button, and dragging the window to a new location.

26

Basics

Scroll bar
Standard scroll bar is drawn along the right side of the window. By moving the
scroll bar, the window may be scrolled up or down to show other glyphs.

View by pop-up

The View by pop-up provides thirteen different ways to look at your glyphs. Each
one can be selected to show a different kind of name in the font label.

Name displays the glyphs name. Each glyph in a font must have its name.

Character displays the system character corresponding to each slot in the font
window.

Keystroke displays the keyboard sequence used to access a glyph.

Unicode codepoint is a value assigned to a glyph based on an international

numbering system with 16-bit numeric designations for each glyph in every
language used (or planned for use) in electronic information systems.

Decimal code number is a number value assigned to a glyph based on a

numbering system with a base of 10.

Hexadecimal code is based on a numbering system with a base of 16.

Octal code number is a number value assigned to a glyph based on a

numbering system with a base of 8.

Width view of a glyph displays the glyphs width in em units.

Left sidebearing shows the distance from the left edge of a glyph to its origin,
in em units.

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Fontographer 5

Right sidebearing displays the distance from the right edge of a glyph to its
width line.

And when viewing Type 3 fonts:

Fill tint shows you what percentage of black fills a glyph. A fill of 0 is white; a
fill of 100 is black.

Stroke tint lets you see the percentage of black in the stroked part of a glyph.

Stroke weight displays the weight of the glyphs strokes in em units.

Glyph slots
Glyph slots are visible in the font window. Glyph slots can show the glyph paths.
The scroll bar can be used to display additional slots not currently shown. The font
label above the slot displays the code or letters that represent the glyph.
When the label is grey, the outline window contains paths, a defined width, or a
scan. When the label is blue, it means the glyph has been changed.
Font label
Glyph slot

Font labels display in one of several ways. Viewing by character shows the
Macintosh standard representation of that ASCII glyph code in the font label,
while viewing by keystroke shows the keystrokes youll need to press to type that
glyph. Change view modes with the font windows View by pop-up.

Below, the Macintosh keystroke for "ellipsis" is shown. The font label displays the
OPTION-; keyboard command that is needed to type it.

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Basics
In this example, the keyboard command is SHIFT-OPTION-5.

For this glyph the keyboard command is SHIFT-OPTION-K.

A slot containing two asterisks signifies specific things in each mode. In the
character and keystroke mode, it means that you cannot access the glyph from the
keyboard. In the width, and left and right sidebearing modes, the double-asterisks
tell you that the glyph is undefined. In the fill tint, stroke, and stroke weight
modes the double-asterisks mean that the glyph is either unfilled, unstroked, or
empty (and therefore the glyph shows no weight in em units).

With the character view, an empty, undefined glyph slot displays as two
asterisks.

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Fontographer 5

Opening windows
When you are familiar with the font window, look more closely at the glyphs you
see in this window. There are three possible windows from which to view each
glyph. Each window gives a different perspective of the glyph. The one youll use
the most often is likely to be the outline window, although you will also have uses
for the metrics and bitmap windows.

The outline window is where youll do the most glyph editing. A glyphs
outline reveals its filled or unfilled shape bounded by paths and points.

The bitmap window contains a glyph image displayed in pixels. Changing this
bitmapped image alters the screen fonts appearance.

The metrics window displays a filled glyph image and provides tools to modify
kerning and spacing.

Any window can be accessed either from the font window or from Fontographers
Window menu. Fontographer lets you open several windows at once. The actual
number depends on how much memory is available in your computer.

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Basics

The outline window

To open a glyphs outline window:

You can open the outline window in one of four ways:

Double-click the selected glyph.

Select the glyph and type COMMAND-Y.

Select the glyph and press the RETURN key.

Select the glyph and choose Open Outline Window from the Window menu.

The outline window is where most editing will take place. At the top of the window
you see the title bar, which contains the name of the font and the fonts glyph
code. Beneath the title bar is the info bar, with the numeric coordinates of the
cursor in relation to various objects or positions in the window. Each indicator
represents a different distance, or the number of selected points, respectively.
Surrounding the screen image to the right and along the lower edge of the window
are the scroll bars, which operate as they do in other programs. Close and grow
boxes also work in the standard way.

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Fontographer 5

The info bar

Difference in x and y
between basepoint and
current cursor location

Number of points in glyph

Location of selected point

Difference in x and y
between selected point and
current cursor location
Current cursor location

Difference in x and y
between selected point
location and basepoint
Number of points in
current selection

The info bar consists of a row of coordinate values displayed under the title bar.
Each value represents the cursors coordinates on an x and y axis in relation to a
particular object or position.
For example, the first value lists the cursors distance from the glyphs origin (in
em units). As you move the cursor, the values change. This information can help if
you use precise measurements in your drawings.
Click the I icon in the lower left corner of the outline window (next to the lock
icon) to display or hide the info bar.

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Basics

Changing glyphs in the outline window

Using the keyboard
You can move to another glyphs window by typing the desired glyph symbol on
the keyboard. If you are moving from one outline window to another, the lock icon
in the first window must be unlocked.

Lock icon
The lock icon is operated by clicking it or by pressing RETURN. This toggles the
icon on or off.
The lock appears black when the glyph is locked into position. This prevents the
glyph in the outline window from changing in case another key is accidentally
pressed. When the lock is locked, the numeric keypad can be used to switch tools
in the tool palette.
When the lock is white or unlocked, the outline window can be changed to another
glyphs outline window by typing the new glyphs key.

Click the lock icon to lock or unlock the window

Using the View menu

When any glyph is selected in an active font window, or when any outline window
is open, you can choose Next glyph, COMMAND-], or Previous glyph, COMMAND-[,
from the View menu to move forward or backward in the sequence.

Path direction indicator

The path direction indicator tells you the direction of any selected path. You can
use this feature to make sure that the paths of any glyph you create or edit are
drawn in the necessary alternating pattern, from the outside to the inside of a
glyph, so that the glyph will print with an accurate fill display. The arrow will point
to the left or to the right, to indicate either a counterclockwise or a clockwise
orientation. Clicking this indicator changes the direction of a selected path.

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Fontographer 5

The bitmap window

Hand edit your bitmaps in the bitmap window.

Click with the pencil tool.

To open a bitmap window:
There are three ways to open a window for a bitmap glyph:

34

Press and hold down the OPTION key while you double-click the desired glyph.

Select the glyph and type COMMAND-J.

Select the glyph and choose Open Bitmap Window from the Window menu.

Basics
The bitmap window shows how glyphs look as they appear on the screen.
However, bitmaps arent normally used in printing your type or graphics, so time
spent editing them will have no impact on the printed results. Therefore, tweaking
and adjusting bitmaps may not be for you.
Actually, advances in programs related to type production have almost made
editing bitmaps unnecessary. If you use modern Apple and/or Microsoft systems
that use outlines for screen display, you dont need to spend time perfecting the
look of the screen font.
A title bar appears at the top of the bitmap window. The first element in the title
bar is the point size, followed by the font name, and the glyph code and location of
the bitmap being displayed. Directly underneath the title bar is the info bar, which
includes the actual size view of the glyph, the cursor location, and the ascent,
descent, offset, and width values for the glyph. To the right is the Recalculate
from outline button, which allows you to recalculate the size and shape of the
bitmap based on the dimensions of the outline. This gets rid of any changes you
have made to the bitmap and makes it conform to the shape of the outline (any
subsequent editing to the outline will affect the bitmap).
In the lower left corner you will find the lock icon for allowing or preventing
access to other glyphs with the type of a keystroke. When locked, the current
glyphs bitmap window is locked in place; when unlocked, the icon appears hollow
and you can access other glyphs by typing their keystrokes.
You have eight tools in the bitmap window: the straight line, hand, eraser, pencil,
marquee, move tool, measuring tool, and the magnifying tool.

These are explained in more detail in Chapter 4, Altering Outlines.

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Fontographer 5

The metrics window

To open the metrics window:

There are three ways to open the metrics window:

Select a glyph in the font window and type COMMAND-K.

Select a glyph in the font window and then choose Open Metrics Window
from the Window menu.

Type COMMAND-K to access the metrics window directly from the outline
window.

The metrics window is where you can make manual kerning and spacing changes
to your font. You can change and view the kerning and spacing values manually,
by moving the sidebearing and kerning lines on the text in the screen display, or
by typing in metric values to the table below the screen. Available options from the
Metrics menu are: Auto Space, Auto Kern, and Kerning Assistance and Metrics
Assistance (for advanced metrics).
The metrics window displays a standard title bar listing the font name. The scroll
bars, close boxes, and grow boxes work in the usual way. Underneath the title bar
youll find the info bar including a textbox for typing in sample text (pairs of
letters, words, or phrases) for kerning and spacing within the window. Clicking the
Show kerning icon will show the text sample kerned; when it is deselected (light)
the sample appears unkerned.

Kerning is on

Kerning is off

The Text link lets you display a text file in the textbox and in the window. The UP
and DOWN ARROWS let you scroll through the file line by line, displaying its text in
the window.

36

Basics

Adjust left and right sidebearings and kerning distances by adjusting guides.

Or type the values in the spreadsheet area.

The metrics spreadsheet below the typed letters shows you the numeric values for
each glyphs width, left and right sidebearings, as well as its kern distance. Glyph
width refers to the horizontal distance from the origin to the width line.
Sidebearings are the distances from the left and right of the glyph outline to the
horizontal boundaries of the glyphs bounding box. For more information about
the metrics window, refer to The metrics window in Chapter 6, Metrics
Spacing and Kerning.

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Fontographer 5

Selecting glyphs in the

font window
Fontographer lets you select glyphs individually or in ranges.
Selecting a single glyph:
Click a glyph slot with the mouse or type the glyphs keystrokes. The selected
glyph slot highlights within the font window and the display automatically scrolls
to show the highlighted slot.
1.

Click the slot containing the A. Notice that the entry is now highlighted.

2.

Type C on the keyboard. The A becomes deselected and the C becomes

selected.

3.

Quickly type the glyph name. For example, to select the @ glyph, type "at"
on your keyboard. The C becomes deselected and the at becomes selected.
Use SHIFT for uppercase names.

Selecting a range of glyphs:

When you apply transformations to more than one glyph, youll probably want to
select a range of glyphs within the font.
Position the pointer on the first glyph in the range and drag across the others you
want to include. Release the mouse button when all the glyphs have been selected.

Position the pointer on the A, then press and hold down the mouse button
while you drag to the Z, and then release.
The glyphs AZ will be selected.

38

Basics

You can change the extent of the selected range, without starting over, by pressing
the SHIFT key before pressing the mouse button to deselect certain glyphs or to
add additional ones. But what if the glyphs you want to select are not in a
continuous range?
To select discontinuous glyphs:
1.

First select a glyph with the mouse, then press and hold down the SHIFT key
while you finish selecting other glyphs.

2.

Click the A and then hold down the SHIFT key and click the P and the C.
All three glyphs will be selected.

Selecting glyphs with arrow keys:

You can also select glyphs in the font window by using the keyboards ARROW keys.
Use the LEFT and/or RIGHT ARROW keys to select adjacent glyphs, and use the UP
and DOWN ARROWS to choose the slot above or below the highlighted glyph.

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Fontographer 5

Viewing glyphs in the outline

window
Viewing and sizing the glyph
When you want to zoom in/out on the glyph image in the outline window, with the
default preferences settings, use the grow box in the lower right corner, or type in
the appropriate key commands. You can also size images using the View menu
and the magnifying tool.
Enlarge or zoom in on the glyph
Press COMMAND-SPACEBAR and click in the glyph edit area. The location you click
will center in the window.
Reduce or zoom out on the glyph
Press COMMAND-OPTION-SPACEBAR and click the area that you want to center in the
window.
The reduce command decreases the size of the glyph by zooming out from it.

Using the magnifying tool

Use the magnifying tool
to enlarge or reduce an entire glyph, or just certain
parts of it, in the window.
To enlarge an image:

Select the magnifying tool from the tool palette or press COMMAND-SPACEBAR
until the magnifying tool appears.

Click the part of the window that you want centered within the magnified
screen area.

Select the points or path to magnify with the pointer and choose a
magnification menu item.

Use the magnifying tool to drag a box around the area to magnify.

To reduce an image:

40

Select the magnifying tool or press COMMAND-OPTION-SPACEBAR and click the

part of the window that you want to reduce.

Select the points or path for reduction with the pointer and choose a
magnification menu item.

Select the magnifying tool and drag a box around the area to reduce while
pressing OPTION.

Basics

Fit in Window
Choose Magnification from the View menu and then Fit in Window from its
submenu, or type COMMAND-T to scale the glyph so the em square just fits into the
window. It also centers the glyph within the window.

Magnification
Use the Magnification option to view a glyph image at various levels of
magnification. You can select one of the sizes from the pop-up.

Or you can fit the glyphs em square in the window by typing COMMAND-T. The
magnification choices are:
Magnification

Macintosh

Fit in Window

COMMAND-T

6.25%

COMMAND-1

12.5%

COMMAND-2

25%

COMMAND-3

50%

COMMAND-4

100%

COMMAND-5

200%

COMMAND-6

400%

COMMAND-7

800%
1600%

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Fontographer 5
!

Note: You also can use the COMMAND-PLUS and COMMAND-MINUS keys on the
additional keypad to zoom-in and zoom-out.

Note: COMMAND-SHIFT PLUS and COMMAND-MINUS keys on the main keypad can
also be used but be careful because COMMAND-= stands for Equalize Sidebearings.

Scrolling with the hand tool

Use the hand tool
to scroll the screen image in any direction. Select the tool by
holding down the SPACEBAR or clicking the hand icon. Continue holding down the
SPACEBAR and click the mouse button. Drag the image area in the preferred
direction.
When the window is locked, and other tools are selected, you can use the
SPACEBAR to select the hand tool to quickly move to a particular location within the
window. When you release the SPACEBAR, the original tool will again be selected.

Moving by dragging
In Fontographer, you can scroll by dragging an object or a path outside the
window area. As long as the cursor is outside the image area and the mouse is
pressed down, the screen view will scroll in the direction of the movement. For
example:

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Basics

Viewing modes
Fontographers View menu provides different ways of looking at the image in the
glyph window. Each mode offers a different perspective of the glyph image when
you are constructing or editing a font.

Preview
When you select Preview from the View menu, COMMAND-L, the outlined image
appears filled almost like it does when it prints. Thats because youre seeing a
preview of what the printed result will look like. You can also edit the glyph while
youre in the preview mode.

Outline

Filled glyph

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Fontographer 5
Show Points
From the View menu you can select Show Points, COMMAND-U to display all the
points in the glyph. Corner points are square-shaped, tangent points are
triangular, and curve points are circular.

44

Points showing in
Outline mode

Points not showing

Points showing in
Preview mode

Points not showing

Tip: To temporarily display points when they are turned off, click anywhere
outside the path.

Basics

Selecting and deselecting

objects
You work with objects in the outline window by selecting and altering them. To
select an object, choose the pointer from the tool palette and use one of the
following methods.

Double-click a path to select the entire path.

Use the pointer tool to drag a rectangle around the object.

To select more than one object or path double-click the first path and then
hold down the SHIFT key while selecting the others.

Choose Select All, COMMAND-A, from the Edit menu to select all paths in the
glyph slot.

When you select the outline or outside path of a glyph, only that outline is
selected. Other paths remain unselected.

Select the outside path of a glyph

containing more than one path.

Only that outline is selected.

When you select an object, the points along the path appear to be hollow. In some
cases, handles extend from points. These Bzier control points or BCPs (the points
that guide a Bzier curve) are control handles for changing the curve of the lines
they connect.

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Fontographer 5
You will also notice a dotted box around one point in each path. This is the first
point or origin of the path.

Use the Preferences dialog box to turn this option on or off. In some
transformations (like font blending and multiple master fonts), the first point is
aligned with initial points in other images, so knowing where each point is located
gives you an idea of how the action will result. For more details about font
blending, refer to Blend fonts to create new fonts in Chapter 3, Creating New
Fonts and Font blending the technical details in Chapter 13, Expert Advice.
Multiple master fonts are discussed in Multiple master fonts in Chapter 13,
Expert Advice.

Drag-selecting objects
If you want to select an object or a group of objects, position the pointer outside
the area you want to select and then drag the mouse around it. A marquee appears
around the selected area. When you release the mouse, the rectangle image
disappears but the area remains selected.

Position the pointer

outside the area you
want to select.

46

Drag the mouse around it.

Basics

Click-selecting objects
Double-clicking an object (composed of a single path) selects it. To deselect the
object, click outside the shape or press the TAB key.

Double-click an object

to select it.

Press the TAB key to deselect it.

Shift-selecting objects
To select more than one path, position the pointer on the first object and doubleclick. Select all other objects by double-clicking them while the SHIFT key is
pressed.
You can also use the SHIFT key when drag-selecting objects.

Drag around an object with the pointer tool and release the mouse.

Press the SHIFT key and drag around another object.

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Fontographer 5

Selecting parts of a path

In Fontographer, you can select part of a path by selecting points that are on it. If
you want, you can select parts of paths belonging to different objects or glyphs as
well.
You can select a segment and its two connecting points in three different ways:

Click once on the connecting path with the pointer, if you have selected the
preference setting for this option.

Click directly on the path.

Drag the pointer around the segment (and its two adjoining points) and
release the mouse.

Drag around the segment and its two adjoining points.

Click each of the two points connecting the line segment while you hold down
the SHIFT key.

Select a point and

hold down the SHIFT key

48

while you select

another point.

Basics
To select points on different parts of the same path or on different
paths:

Click the pointer tool on a point you want to select. Press the SHIFT key and
continue selecting points along the paths.

Click a point.

Hold down the SHIFT key

to continue selecting points.

Drag the pointer around a point you want to select. Press the SHIFT key and
continue selecting other points.

Drag a pointer
around a point.

Press the SHIFT key to

continue selecting other points.

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Fontographer 5

Drawing layers
Fontographer has four layers. Each layer serves a different purpose in helping to
construct a glyph.

Outline layer
All changes to a fonts outlines take place in the outline layer. Glyphs appear here
unfilled (unless the preview option is turned on). The outline contains points and
line paths of glyph images. Everything drawn in the outline layer becomes part of
the final glyph.

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Basics

Template layer
Images in the Template layer are used as drawing references. Pasted or imported
images are placed here. You can also create your own images in this layer to act as
templates. Whatever is drawn here will not appear in final exported versions of
your font. This layer is used strictly as a drawing aid. When you view the images in
the template layer, they appear with gray outlines or fills rather than with the
black outlines or fills you see in the outline layer.

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Fontographer 5

Guides layer
The guides layer can be used as a drawing aid. Additional guidelines can be pulled
out of the origin line and the baseline. These lines serve as guidelines in glyph
construction. For example, a horizontal line can be used to set the x-height. You
can create multiple horizontal and vertical guidelines and other shapes with the
standard drawing and editing tools.

Changing the guidelines for one glyph will change the guidelines in all the other
glyph windows in the font; likewise, any edits to the guidelines in this layer will
immediately appear in every other glyph in the font. However, any images created
in the guides layer are not exported since this layer is just a design aid for all the
glyphs. You can undo changes made in the guides layer just like you would in any
other layer or window.

52

Basics

Hints layer
Use the Hints layer to specify how smaller sizes of a glyph will be printed when
output to the screen or low-resolution printers. The object of Fontographers
hinting process is to preserve the shape of the glyphs at smaller sizes, including
stem widths and other features that define the glyphs in a font.

For more information about the hinting process and the hints layer, refer to Font
hinting in Chapter 13, Expert Advice.

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Fontographer 5

Using the palettes

Layers palette
In Fontographer, the Layers palette displays when you open the outline window. It
can be moved or closed like any window, and selected or deselected for display
from the Window menu.

Each of Fontographers layers is used in a slightly different fashion to help make

glyph construction easy. Fontographer allows drawing in any of these four layers.
To change layers, click the mouse on the name, not the checkbox, of the desired
layer. The layer appears highlighted within the palette and display on the screen.
To display another layer in the outline window, click the appropriate checkbox.
When a layers checkbox is selected, its contents display onscreen.

Tool palette

The tool palette contains tools for modifying outlines. The palette
itself can be closed and moved just like any other window. Clicking
each icon or indicator with the mouse changes the pointer to the
selected tool. Tools can also be accessed by keystrokes. You can
choose to display (or not display) the palette by clicking the Show Tool
Palette option in the Window menu.

54

Basics
Pointer tool

Use the pointer tool to select elements and drag points and objects. You can select
the pointer by clicking its indicator with the mouse. When the pointer is active it is
shaped like an arrow.
To change any other tool in the tool palette to a pointer, press the TILDE (~) key (to
the left of the number 1 or letter z). The selected tool is now a pointer. For a
temporary change, hold down the COMMAND key. When you release the key, the
pointer reverts back to the selected tool.

Hand tool

Use the hand tool to scroll the screen in any direction. Select it by clicking once on
its icon. When the hand is displayed, clicking and moving the mouse in any
direction moves the screen correspondingly. You can also access this tool
temporarily by pressing the SPACEBAR.

Basic shape tools

Use the Basic shape tools to draw regular shapes (rectangles, squares, ovals,
circles, stars, polygons, and lines). You can use other tools (control point and pen,
for example) to draw these shapes, but the basic shape tools make the process
easier.
To access a basic shape tool, click its icon. Shapes are drawn by selecting the
appropriate tool and click-dragging in the glyph window until the shape becomes
the size you prefer. Some basic shapes can be constrained (the rectangle to a
square or the oval to a circle) by holding down the SHIFT key while dragging with
the mouse.
The dialog box for the rectangle tool allows you to round the corners in the
rectangle, whereas the dialog box that goes with the multigon tool lets you change
the shape from a star to a multi-sided shape, and gives you the ability to change
the number of sides in any shape you choose.

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Fontographer 5
When the lock icon is in the locked position, you can use numeric keystroke
equivalents to select the tools. The keystroke commands are: rectangle tool (1),
multigon tool (2), oval tool (3), and straight line tool (4).

Freehand drawing tool

Use Fontographers freehand drawing tool to draw open paths. You can create a
closed path by overlapping beginning and ending end points. For more
information about paths, refer to Paths and points in Chapter 4, Altering
Outlines. The freehand tool can be used directly with the mouse or with pressuresensitive pens and digitizing tablets.
Double arrows within the icon box of any tool signify that an additional dialog box
will appear when you double-click the tool.
The Freehand Tool Setup dialog box offers additional options for either a
calligraphic or a variable-weight pen.

56

Basics
Calligraphic pen tool

The calligraphic pen tool creates calligraphic or freehand glyphs.

You can create calligraphic glyphs with the same basic strokes that you use to
create them with a real calligraphic pen. Click the Calligraphic pen checkbox in
the Freehand Tool Setup dialog box to turn the freehand tool into a calligraphic
pen.

Pressure sensitive tool

Use the pressure sensitive tool to draw strokes with a variable width. Select the
Pressure sensitive option in the dialog box, or select the Pressure sensitive
option and the Calligraphic pen option to draw calligraphic strokes with a
variable width.
When the lock icon is in the locked position, the numeric keystroke equivalent for
choosing the calligraphic/freehand tool is 5.

Pen tool

The pen tool is a multipurpose tool similar to those in Adobe FreeHand and Adobe
Illustrator. The pen tool combines the capabilities of the tangent, corner, and
curve points, so you can draw paths without having to switch tools. Select the pen
tool by clicking its icon.
This tool places points depending on the actions of the mouse. If you click with the
mouse, the pen tool places a corner point. If you click and drag the mouse, the pen
tool will place a curve point where you click. Dragging does not move the position
of the point, but has the effect of changing the shape of the curved path between
the curve point and any adjoining points.

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Fontographer 5
Knife tool

Use the knife tool to cut paths. When you click the indicator, the pointer becomes
a knife and is ready for use. To use the knife on a path, drag it across the path. A
point will appear. To separate the path, choose the pointer tool and drag the
selected point and release.
Points as well as paths may be split with the knife tool (although it is sometimes
easier to use the Split Points command on the Points menu). To split a point, click
it and then choose the selection pointer. You can drag the split point away from
the original.
You can also delete a segment between points by OPTION-clicking the segment.
With the lock icon in the locked position, access the knife by typing 7.
For more information on splitting paths using the knife tool, refer to Splitting a
path in Chapter 4, Altering Outlines.

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Basics

Control point tools

Fontographers control point tools are the mainstay of font construction. Use
them, the basic shape tools, or the pen tool to create the shape you want your
paths to take.

Curve point tool

The curve point tool is used to smoothly join curves to other curves.

A curve point determines that any adjoining line segments will be curves,
regardless of the type of points they are attached to. This is different than the way
a corner point operates the shape of its attached segments depends on the
connecting points beside it in the path. Select the curve point tool by clicking its
indicator. To place a point, click once in the edit area with the pointer tool.
When the lock icon is in the locked position, the numeric keystroke equivalent for
the curve point tool is 8.

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Fontographer 5
Corner point tool

The corner point tool can be used in several ways. You can join corner points to
other corner points to create angles in polygons, squares, and triangles in glyph
stems; or you can join corner points to curve or tangent points to create gentle
curves or cusps.

The shape of line segments extending from corner points is determined by points
connected to the corner point.
When the lock icon is in the locked position, the numeric keystroke equivalent for
choosing the corner point tool is 9.

Tangent point tool

The tangent point tool is used to connect straight lines to curves with a smooth
tangent join.

Tangent points can also be used to connect straight line segments together. The
tangent point tool can be selected by clicking its indicator.
When the lock is in the locked position, the numeric keystroke equivalent for the
tangent point tool is 0.

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Basics

Transformation tools

Use the transformation tools to transform individual glyphs or selected contours

in several different ways, with the help of dialog boxes and measurements.

Rotate tool

The rotate tool is used to rotate objects.

Rotation angle

Holding down the SHIFT key while you rotate confines the rotation to 45-degree
increments.

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Fontographer 5
Flip tool

The flip tool creates a mirror image of the object and positions it in 45-degree
increments as you drag. The angle of reflection is displayed in the info bar.

You can drag and flip freely by holding down the SHIFT key as you use the flip tool.

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Basics
Scale tool

The scale tool increases or decreases the size of the object. Depending on the
horizontal or vertical direction you drag, you can condense and/or stretch the
object. The scale values are displayed in the info bar.

If you hold down the SHIFT key and drag at a 45-degree angle (up or down), you
can scale proportionately.

If you hold down the SHIFT key while dragging straight up or straight down
(vertically), the glyph scales vertically without affecting its horizontal size.

If you hold down the SHIFT key and drag horizontally, the vertical size wont be
affected.

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Fontographer 5

Double-clicking it brings up the transform dialog box with Scale selected as the
first transform.
When you OPTION-double-click the scale tool, the Transform dialog box appears
with Scale Uniformly selected as the first transformation.

Skew tool

The skew tool alters the horizontal and/or vertical angle of the object.

To skew in 45-degree incremental angles, hold down the SHIFT key while you skew.

The small double-click indicators at the lower right corner of each tools icon
indicate that double-clicking the tool brings up a dialog box. Use the transform
dialog box to transform objects or one, several, or all glyphs in the font precisely.

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Basics
Perspective tool

With the perspective tool, you can create letters that zoom off the page toward
you. It works in conjunction with 3D rotate to apply three-dimensional rotations
to two-dimensional objects while still maintaining perspective.

Before you use the perspective tool, its a good idea to set up the perspective point.
OPTION-double-click the perspective tool icon in the tool palette to bring up the
Perspective Setup dialog box.
In this dialog box you will set the perspective distance and choose a perspective
point of basepoint, center of selection, glyph origin, or mouse click.
Changing the Perspective Distance/Point will not change the appearance of the
glyph in the outline window. The Perspective Setup changes the perception of the
tool, not how the program views the image.
After completing setup and clicking OK, youll need to select the perspective tool
and actually apply the desired transformation to the glyph in your outline window.
!

Note: When a 3D transformation has been applied to a two-dimensional object,

the object becomes two-dimensional again. The object itself does not maintain
three-dimensional coordinates. To do multiple 3D transformations while
maintaining 3D coordinates in between each transformation you must use the
transform dialog box, not the tool palette.
For more about using the perspective tool, applying 3D transformations, and
navigating the Transform dialog box, refer to Transformation options in Chapter
3, Creating New Fonts.

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Fontographer 5
Measuring tool

The measuring tool measures distances between any two areas in the outline
window. It can also help you make sure that certain distances are the same (for
example, the widths of stems or serifs in glyphs like H and M).
To measure, click the first point to be measured and drag to the second point. The
distance displays in em units.

Magnifying tool

The magnifying tool zooms in and out your image with a click of the mouse. Select
the tool by clicking its indicator. When you want to magnify a portion of the
screen, click and drag a box around the area with the tool and the selected area
will magnify.
You may also change magnifications by clicking (rather than dragging). Position
the magnifying tool over the area you wish to magnify and click the mouse.
To zoom-out the image, or demagnify, press the OPTION key and click the mouse.
The indicator displays a minus sign within the magnifying tool to show it is
reducing the images size.
The magnifying tool can be temporarily accessed from any other tool by holding
down COMMAND-SPACEBAR. To demagnify the view, hold down OPTION-COMMANDSPACEBAR.
!

66

Note: You also can use the COMMAND-PLUS and COMMAND-MINUS keys on the
additional keypad to zoom-in and zoom-out.

Basics
Arc tool

Use the arc tool to create one fourth of an oval and arc-like shapes. It appears in
the tool palette as one of the following icons:

This arc tool icon (and the objects you draw with it) changes according to the arc
types you select in the Art Tool Setup dialog box.
If you double-click the arc tool icon, the Arc Tool Setup dialog box appears.

Arc Types
By default the arc tool creates closed paths. Two examples of closed path arcs are
and .
Open path arcs are
Arcs like

and

and

are called concave arcs.

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Fontographer 5
Keyboard shortcuts
You can create different types of arcs without changing them in the dialog.
Modifier keys can be applied to change the type of arc being created. The arc tool
creates the type of arc that is opposite of the default type of arc when you press the
modifier keys. These modifier keys should be pressed while dragging the mouse to
create a new arc.

Hold down the COMMAND key while creating a new arc to toggle between
creating an open and a closed arc. With the open arc selected, hold down the
COMMAND key to create a closed arc.

Hold down the OPTION key to flip the arc both horizontally and vertically.

The CAPS LOCK key toggles between creating a convex and a concave arc.

Note: Unlike the COMMAND and OPTION keys, the CAPS LOCK key does not need to
be pressed while dragging the mouse.
These modifier keys are also mentioned in the Keyboard Shortcuts section of the
Arc Tool Setup dialog box for the convenience of the user.
The CONTROL key is the demagnified move modifier key. By holding down the
CONTROL key when you create a new arc, you can increase/decrease the size of the
arc in one em-unit increments.

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Basics

Constraining tools
When you want to constrain the action of a tool to 45-degree increments, use the
tool normally while holding down the SHIFT key. Each tools constraint mode may
operate with slightly different results.
Here is a list of how various tools react while constrained:

To use the rectangle tool to draw a square, press the SHIFT key and drag the
mouse.

To use the oval tool to draw a circle, hold down the SHIFT key and drag the mouse.

To use the arc tool to draw a quarter circle, hold the SHIFT key down while moving
the mouse at approximately a 45-degree angle (up and right, up and left, down and
left, or down and right.)
Moving the mouse along 90-degree angles while holding down the SHIFT key
makes a straight line appear. This is probably not what you want.

Any path or object moved with the pointer tool can be constrained. Select the
object or path and begin dragging it; then press and hold down the SHIFT key to
constrain the movement of the selected object.

Use the SHIFT key with corner, curve, or tangent point tools while dragging points
to constrain their movement. In addition, if the SHIFT key is held down when
placing new points with these tools, the new point is automatically aligned (or
constrained to) the previous point.
Each of the transformation tools can be constrained by pressing the SHIFT key
after clicking the selected point of reference.

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Fontographer 5

Note: The flip tool is automatically constrained, because you will most often want
to flip paths and objects in exact 90-degree increments. Hold down the SHIFT key
to deconstrain the flip tool.

If you use the SHIFT key with the measuring tool, you can constrain its
measurements.
!

70

Note: In the bitmap window, the measuring tool is automatically constrained,

because you will usually want to measure pixels straight across, or up and down.
So, when youre in the bitmap window, hold down the SHIFT key to deconstrain the
measuring tool.

Constrain skewing by
using the SHIFT key.

Use unconstrained skewing

without the SHIFT key.

This rotation is constrained

by holding down the SHIFT key.

It is rotated unconstrained
without the SHIFT key.

Basics

Fontographers menus
When you open Fontographer, a set of menus appears at the top of your screen.
Each menu displays the various kinds of commands you can use to perform
actions such as opening and closing files; saving, importing, or exporting font
files; editing, viewing, transforming, and autotracing files; and more. The menus
are the heart of the program every major action is listed here.

If you drag down in any of these menus with the mouse, a list of commands is
presented. You choose them by dragging the mouse pointer to the command that
you want.

Undo and redo

Whenever you are in a glyphs outline window and you want to undo a command
or a series of commands, you can choose Undo from the Edit menu or type
COMMAND-Z.
To redo what youve undone, choose Redo from the Edit menu or type COMMANDSHIFT-Z.

The default setting for the number of commands you can undo or redo is 100, but
this number can be changed (up to 256) by resetting the preferences. See Setting
preferences on page 18, or in General preferences in Chapter 13, Expert
Advice.

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Fontographer 5

Closing and Quitting

Closing
To close any window, click the close box in the top left corner of the window:

Select Close from the File menu or type the keyboard alternative, COMMAND-W.

Quitting
To quit Fontographer, choose Quit from the Fontographer menu or type
COMMAND-Q.
A generic Close dialog box appears whenever you close a file or quit the program,
asking you whether or not you want to save your changes.
If you select Save, you will save the file including any changes made since the file
was last saved.
If you choose Dont Save, the file reverts to the last saved version before quitting;
you wont save any changes since the file was last saved.
Choosing Cancel cancels the Quit command and lets you continue working in
Fontographer.
Fontographer offers new Quit dialog boxes for greater efficiency when quitting
with multiple, unsaved documents open.

Discard Changes quits without further interruption, leaving all documents

unsaved.

Cancel cancels the Quit command and lets you continue working in
Fontographer.

Review Changes is the default button. This choice prompts you for each open
database (by name), in the order of opening. Youll have the option of saving,
cancelling, or not saving changes to each one.

When only one open document is unsaved, the generic Close dialog box displays.

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Basics

Folders and paths

Recent applications from Fontlab Ltd. use a new folder structure for storing their
data files such as encoding or codepage definitions, glyph generation recipes,
text samples for metrics and kerning, mapping tables, Python macros etc.
Fontographer 5 looks for data files in four different folders.
Shared default data folder
typically, Macintosh HD/Library/Application Support/FontLab
This folder holds files that are commonly used by all recent Fontlab Ltd.
applications: Fontographer 5, FontLab Studio 5, TransType SE/Pro,
BitFonter 3, FogLamp, SigMaker 3, with more to come. In each respective
subfolder, codepage definitions, encoding definitions, glyph-to-Unicode mapping
files and some special data files are stored. Only Fontlab Ltd. applications and
applications from registered Fontlab Ltd. developer partners should place their
files there. This is to rule out conflicts between the users customized files and
default files.
Shared user data folder
typically
Macintosh HD/Users/Your Username/Library/Application Support/FontLab
This folder has exactly the same structure as the folder discussed above and can
store any files customized by the user. Any file placed in the respective location
within that folder will override the corresponding file placed in the shared folder.
Please put your customized files in this folder.
Application default data folder
typically Macintosh HD/Library/Application Support/FontLab/Fontographer 5
This folder holds files that are only used by Fontographer 5. In each respective
subfolder, metrics, kerning and other text strings and additional encodings are
stored. Only Fontographer 5 application should place its files there. This is to rule
out conflicts between the Fontographer specific files and files for other apps.

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Fontographer 5
Application user data folder
typically
Macintosh HD/Users/Your Username/Library/Application
Support/Fontographer 5
This folder has exactly the same structure as the folder discussed above and can
store any files customized by the user. Any file placed in the respective location
within that folder will override the corresponding file placed in the application
default and shared folders. Please put your customized files in this folder.

74

Modifying Your Fonts

Imagine being able to create completely new fonts without ever drawing a thing,
making new small caps versions, and new oblique typefaces without drawing a
line, placing a point, or manipulating a curve. This is just what Fontographer lets
you create: completely new fonts by modifying your existing fonts.

Its easy to create new fonts, modify existing fonts, and add
graphics to your fonts.
Youve invested a lot of money in the typefaces you own. Although many talented
people create their own from scratch, the easiest way to create a completely new
typeface is by modifying the fonts you already have. Fontographer makes it so easy
to modify your existing typefaces that you almost dont have to think about it. This
chapter gives you some quick ways to make modifications that will encourage you
to create typefaces of your own. However, fonts, like other software, have licenses
that determine what you are legally allowed to do. Check your font EULA first.

Fontographer 5

Steps to modifying your font

1.
!

Open a font.

Note: If its a PostScript font, its a good idea to import the metrics by choosing
Import from the File menu to avoid kerning and spacing faux pas, and other
unattractive results. Macintosh users might want to import the bitmaps too. For
more details, refer to Import in Chapter 14, Reference.
2.

Modify it; for example, you can simply change the weight.

3.

Save the file (optional).

4.

Generate an installable font.

5.

Install the font.

6.

Put it to work.
Use one font like

Arial Roman
and the Change Weight command to get

Arial Black
or Scale it to create

ARIAL SMALL CAPS

or Skew it to create

Arial Oblique

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Modifying Your Fonts

Opening a Font
Existing fonts
To open an existing font, choose Open or COMMAND-O from the File menu. A file
selection dialog box appears that works in the standard fashion. Once the selection
dialog box is open, you can select a font file by clicking its name and then Open, or
simply by double-clicking its name.
Fontographer 5 can open font files of the following formats: Mac Suitcase (without
extension or .dfont), Mac Type 1 (PostScript), TrueType/OpenType TT (.ttf),
TrueType Collection (.ttc), Windows Type 1 (PostScript) and Windows Multiple
Master (.pfb), Unix/ASCII Type 1 (.pfa), OpenType PS (.otf), Fontographer font
files (.fog), FontLab Studio font files (.vfb).
If you want to list only fonts in a particular format, select that format in the
Format popup menu:

One or more progress dialog boxes will appear before Fontographer displays the
Font Window. To cancel progress dialog boxes, type COMMAND-PERIOD.

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Fontographer 5
Fontographers progress dialog boxes keep you informed
of the programs status

until Fontographer displays the Font Window.

!

Note: You can open as many fonts as you like depending on the amount of
memory you have available.

Opening Fonts with Drag-Drop

An easy way to open fonts in Fontographer is to drag-drop font files from Finder.
Even if Fontographer is not running, you can drag-drop files onto its icon on the
desktop or in the Dock to run Fontographer with those fonts open.

Opening Recently Used Fonts

All fonts that you recently opened in Fontographer are added to the list of the
most recently used font. This list is used in the File>Open Recent menu:

Next time you want one of them, just select the font file in the menu
and Fontographer will open it.

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Modifying Your Fonts

Font Formats
The .fog file format used in Fontographer 5 is fully backwards compatible,
so Fontographer 5 can open any .fog file created in Fontographer 3.x and 4.x. The
format is also cross-platform-compatible so .fog files saved from the Windows
version can be opened in the Macintosh version and vice versa. In addition, the
format is largely upward compatible. This means that a .fog file saved from
Fontographer 5 can be opened in Fontographer 3.x or 4.x. Only those elements of
the format that were supported by the old version will be retained and some
information may change slightly. However, the most important elements of the
font such as key Font Info entries, glyph outlines and kerning pairs will be
retained.
For example, .fog files saved from Fontographer 5 for Windows can be opened in
Fontographer 4.7 for Macintosh and vice versa, with as much as possible
information retained.
Fontographer 5 also opens .vfb files saved from FontLab 2.5-5 (but not 2.0). If you
have fonts saved in a proprietary format of another application and would like to
open these fonts in Fontographer, the best way is usually to create a Windowscompatible Type 1 font from your other application and open the Type 1 font in
Fontographer. If you wish to move your .fog files created in Fontographer 3.5-5 to
FontLab Studio, you can use the Fontlab Font File command in the File>Export
menu. Fontographer 5 can now convert .fog files into FontLab Studio-compatible
.vfb files directly, retaining not only outline information but also mask layers,
guidelines, background bitmaps etc.

Glyphs Number
Fontographer has a restriction on the number of glyphs in the font 32 767.
Fontographer wont open the font if it contains more glyphs. If you need a font
editor that supports more glyphs (up to 65,535), Fontlab Ltd. offers AsiaFont
Studio, a multibyte font editor that is the bigger brother of Fontographer.

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Fontographer 5

Opening Macintosh fonts

A Macintosh Type 1 (PostScript) font always consists of several files: one file for
every typeface in the family containing outlines plus one suitcase for a family
containing metrics, bitmaps and other important font information. Fontographer
5 can now open both parts including suitcases at one step. If you choose to open
suitcase you then do not need additionally import metrics or bitmaps later.
If the selected suitcase-based font family contains more than 1 font face
Fontographer opens another dialog allowing you to choose particular fonts to
open:

Select only fonts you need and click on Open.

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Modifying Your Fonts

Opening Font Collection

When you select a TTC (TrueType Collection) font for open, you are presented
with a special Choose Font dialog box:

The list of fonts in a collection has checkboxes to let you select which fonts should
be opened. You can check those of them that you want to be opened. Click on the
Select All button to switch on every checkbox.
When you are ready click on Open to start importing TTC font.

New fonts
To open a new font, choose New Font from the File menu. Fontographer opens a
new untitled font window. From this window you can begin to create a
Fontographer database file from which you will be able to generate a usable font.
For more information about creating fonts, see Chapter 3, Creating New Fonts.

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Fontographer 5

Changing the glyphs weight

You can quickly create a heavier or lighter version of one glyph, several glyphs, or
the entire font by using Fontographers Change Weight command.

Open any glyphs outline window.

Enter a value in the Change weight by box.

Fontographer changes the weight of the glyph.

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Modifying Your Fonts

To change weight:
1.

Go to the Font window and double-click the v to open it.

2.

Choose Change Weight from the Element menu.

The Change Weight dialog box appears.

3.

Enter 30 in the Change weight by text edit box and click Change.
Fontographer increases the weight of the v by 30 em units.

Original character.

With the Dont change

horizontal size option
checked.

With the Dont change

vertical size option checked.

With both the Dont change

horizontal size and Dont
change vertical size options checked.

Fontographer also gives you the option of changing the weight of your glyph
or entire font without affecting the vertical or horizontal size of the glyph.
Go back to the v and select Undo Change Weight from the Edit menu to undo
the changes you performed in the last exercise. Repeat the exercise above, but
check the Dont Change Vertical Size option before you click Change.
Look at the difference in the two options. You can try the option with the Dont
Change Horizontal Size option next.
Now try the exercise with both options checked.

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Fontographer 5
You can now apply the desired weight to the entire font or just to selected glyphs.
From the font window, use the pointer tool to click and SHIFT-click the desired
glyphs. (You can choose them all by choosing Select All from the Edit menu.)
Then repeat the procedure above to apply the selected changes to the desired
glyphs.

84

Tip: You cant undo global changes in the font window, so its a good idea to try
your changes out on one glyph first. We recommend testing out your weight
changes on one glyph so you can undo and redo it until its the weight you want.
Once youve decided on the amount to increase or decrease the weight of your
font, you can select all the glyphs in the font window and with one command,
apply that amount to the entire font.

Modifying Your Fonts

Naming your font

You can name your font by choosing Font Info from the Element menu. The Font
Information dialog box appears. In the Easy mode only the Family name and
Design parameters are available. For this exercise, name your font family
something simple like MyFont.

Choose Font Info from the Element menu to name your font.
If your font is condensed, bold, italic or have some other style parameters use popups in the Design parameters section of the dialog. Choose appropriate width,
weight and slope. For example, choose Bold as weight and Italic as slope if your
font is bold-italic. If you want to add customization to your style name, then use
the pop-up list Other. The Family name and Design parameters are enough
for Fontographer to build all other names automatically.
For more information about naming your fonts refer to Chapter 7, "Font Info".
Be sure to name your font before you save your database file and generate a font.
Otherwise your fonts will end up with unusable names like "Untitled Bold Italic",
and youll have to start over.
!

Note: Checking the Build other values automatically option will replace all font
information (visible in the Advanced mode) with new automatically calculated
values. So be careful with this option if you open an existing font that you are not
going to change much.

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Fontographer 5

Saving your work

You save Fontographer database files using the Save or Save As commands on
the File menu. The database file is where Fontographer stores all the parts needed
to construct any font. Just like you save documents in Microsoft Word, or
graphics in Adobe Photoshop, the database is where you save your fonts in
Fontographer.
!

Note: Saving a font only saves the database file. To use the font, youll have to
generate it (see Generating your font on page 88 and Chapter 9, Generating and
Exporting Fonts for more information about font generation).

Save

1.

Choose Save when you create a new font. The Save dialog box appears with a
highlighted text box for typing in the name of your new database font file.

2.

Your database font file can be named something other than the name given to
your font. The database font file contains all the information about your font.

3.

Saving an existing font will save changes you have made to a file since the last
time you saved it.

Note: Name your font in the Font Info dialog box prior to saving a database for
the first time, or youll end up with a name like Untitled-1.
The standard file saving dialog box appears. You can name your databases
anything you like, because theres no relationship between the name of the actual
font youll use in your programs and the name of the database itself.

86

Tip: Using Save As is a quick shortcut for changing database names.

Note: You can skip this step if you dont want to keep your database file for future
reference, and go directly to Generating your font on page 88.

Modifying Your Fonts

Save As
Choose Save As when you want to make another copy of a currently open font file.
This will save the changes you made, without overwriting the original file. You can
save the file in its current directory or you can save it in another location listed in
the dialog box.

Choose Save As from the File menu.

You may create and name a new folder

in which to store your fonts.

Reverting to the last saved version

Reverting to the last saved version can be done whenever a font is open and
changes have been made to it. Choose Revert to Saved from the File menu to go
back to the last saved version.
Another way to get rid of edits to the last saved version is by clicking the close box
and then clicking the Dont Save button.

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Fontographer 5

Generating your font

After you save the file, its time to generate an installable font. You must do this if
you want to use the font in another application besides Fontographer.
Fonts are composed of different files that you will need to install before you can
use the font. For more about installing fonts, refer to Chapter 11, Installing and
Removing Fonts.
Choose Generate Font Files from the File menu.
The Generate Font Files dialog box offers a number of options (including the
ability to generate fonts for several computer platforms), but for the purposes of
this exercise youll use the easy mode. Choose the platform youre generating fonts
for and select OpenType TT/TrueType for the format. Weve typed some
commonly used bitmap sizes in our example and you can do the same. However,
bitmaps are only necessary if youll be using a Type 1 (PostScript) font on the
Macintosh.

The Change button gives you the option of generating your fonts directly into a
specific folder. This saves you the extra step of moving files into folders later.
The Overwrite existing files option lets you replace an existing file (that has the
same name) with a new file. If you dont choose this option (and have a font with
the same name), Fontographer will create a new font with the same name followed
by a number (2, 3, etc.). For more information about font generation options, refer
to Chapter 9, Generating and Exporting Fonts.

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Modifying Your Fonts

Installing the font

Since installing fonts is different depending on the platform and operating system
youre using, we cant really cover this in a quick how-to here. If you need more
information about installing fonts, refer to Chapter 11, Installing and Removing
Fonts or your systems User Manual.

89

Fontographer 5

Using the font

Once youve installed the font, go to the application of your choice, type some text,
and select your font (just like you would any other font) from the Font menu.

This is the way the font used to look.

This is the way it looks now as a fat font.

About font piracy

Although editing your existing fonts is fine, pirating fonts or using pirated copies
of other artists type design work and reselling it is not. All big and small design
studios are filled with artists who take pride in their creative contributions.
Appropriating their typefaces, duplicating them, renaming them, and offering
them for sale is unethical. Even if you arent the one involved in the pirating, using
fonts you know have been pirated is unethical as well.
Joe Treacy
President & Director of Typography, Treacyfaces Inc.

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Modifying Your Fonts

Creating an oblique font

By using Fontographers skew feature, you can create your own oblique font. You
can consider this an easy way to make an oblique typeface. Actually, its like
cheating since an oblique font is just a right-slanted version of a Roman typeface;
a true italic typeface has redesigned glyphs that compliment the face. But, skewing
is a really easy way to create a new typeface that can add emphasis to your text.

Choose Skew from the Transform dialog box.

Original glyph

Skewed glyph

Again, Fontographer allows you to skew one, several, or all glyphs at once. As in
our previous example, we recommend that you try out your modifications on one
glyph before you apply the transformation to the entire font.
Follow the steps given in the following exercise to open your font.
To skew a glyph:
1.

Go to the Font Window and double-click the glyph k to open it.

2.

Choose Transform from the Element menu.

3.

Drag down in the First transformation pop-up until youve selected the Skew
option and made sure the other pop-ups say: Do nothing.
Fontographer defaults to a horizontal skew value of -12 degrees (the
appropriate angle for an oblique font).

4.

Click the Transform button, and Fontographer skews the k. Fontographer

gives you the option of applying other transformations at the same time you
skew the glyph.
To apply more than one transformation:

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Fontographer 5
1.

Double-click the k and select Undo Transform from the Edit menu to undo
your last move.

2.

Select Skew from the Transform dialog box and enter -12 degrees Horizontal
(leave Vertical at 0).

Choose more than one transformation at once.

Original glyph

Transformed glyph

3.

Then select Scale and enter 80 in the Horizontal text box.

4.

Select Basepoint from the Center transformations around pop-up.

5.

Click Transform.
Fontographer skews and condenses the k at the same time.

Try some of the other transformation options to see what effects they have on your
glyph.
Once youve finished trying out all the options, you can apply the transformation
to several glyphs, or the entire font, by selecting groups of glyphs in the font
window.

Skewing multiple glyphs

You can skew, scale, flip, or move either a single glyph or a range of glyphs. Select
more than one glyph in the font window by holding down the SHIFT key while
clicking glyphs. Select a range of glyphs by dragging through the glyphs. In this
way you can apply transformations to one, several, or all glyphs.

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Modifying Your Fonts

Creating a fraction using

composite glyphs
Have you ever checked how many fractions are in your font? If you have, you
know that most commercial fonts have a small number of fractions, if any.
Historically, if you wanted to type the fraction 3/8, you had to type the 3, the
forward slash, and the 8, and even then the fraction didnt look good.
Fontographer makes it extremely easy to add composite glyphs made up of more
than one glyph combined in a single glyph slot to your font. So you can now have
traditional fractions in all your fonts.
To create a fraction:
1.
!

Go to the Font window and double-click the 3 to open it.

Note: We created this fraction in the3 slot for illustrative purposes. You will
probably want to create your fractions in unused glyph slots.
2.

Click the 8 glyph slot in the Font window.

(Its not necessary to open the Outline window to copy the glyph) Then select
Copy Component from the Edit menu.

3.

Click the 3 outline window and choose Paste from the Edit menu.
Fontographer pastes the number 8 on top of the 3.

4.

Select everything in the Outline window by choosing Select All from the Edit
menu.

5.

Go to the Transform menu, select Scale Uniformly as your first

transformation, enter 60%, and make sure all the other transformation popups say Do nothing. Fontographer scales both glyphs to 60% of their original
size.

6.

Position your pointer away from the glyphs, and click nothing to deselect
everything (or simply press the TAB key, which always deselects everything).
Then click the mouse on the outline of the 8.
A box will appear around the number 8 (this represents the composite glyphs
bounding box). Composite glyphs do not show the points you normally see.
(You cannot edit points in a composite glyph unless you first choose
Decompose Component.)

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7.

Drag the box containing the 8 toward the lower right corner.

8.

Double-click the path or any point on the number 3 to select all of it, and then
move the 3 toward the top left corner.
You can create the divisor line by copying the forward slash into your glyph.
You can also draw the divisor line if you prefer. However, it is often much
easier to use existing glyphs to create parts.

9.

Select the forward-slash glyph in the font window.

10. Choose Copy from the Edit menu.

11. Paste the forward-slash glyph into the 3-glyph slot.

Open a glyph.

Paste in another glyph using the

Copy Component command.

Choose Scale from the Transform dialog box.

Fontographer scales
both glyphs.

Move the three toward

the top left corner.

94

Move the eight toward the bottom

right corner and the three toward
the top left corner.

Modifying Your Fonts

Copy and paste

the forward slash glyph
into the outline window.

If you like, you can choose

Preview from the View menu
to preview your new glyph.

`
Make any change
to the original glyph.

Since its a reference glyph,

the change is made in any
glyph that references it.

To change a reference glyph:

1.

Open the Outline window for the actual glyph 8.

2.

Modify some part of it.

Youll see any changes you make to the original number 8 reflected in the
denominator you created in your fraction glyph.

Tip: If you ever decide to change one of the denominators or numerators in your
fraction after youve created the whole set, youll realize the advantage of reference
glyphs. If the entire set uses reference glyphs, all the fractions in the set will be
updated automatically when you modify the original elements.

Note: Because a composite glyph references a drawing rather than duplicating it,
all the instructions required for creating that shape in the printer need only
appear once, thus saving memory and processing time.

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Fontographer 5
Unlinking a reference glyph
Fontographer also lets you remove the link from any composite glyph. This gives
you access to the points in the glyph as well as removing the link to the original
glyph.
To unlink a reference glyph:
1.

Click the fraction you created (in the 3 glyph slot).

2.

Choose Decompose Component from the Edit menu. As you can see in the
illustration, the glyphs points are now visible and you can move them
individually or together as a group.

Choose Decompose Component to remove any reference to the original

glyph.

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Modifying Your Fonts

Creating a ligature
A ligature is a glyph made up of one or more glyphs. Most commercial fonts have
some commonly used ligatures like , and . However, Fontographer makes it
easy to create ligatures of your own without drawing a thing.
To create a ligature:
1.

Open the outline window for the f.

2.

Choose Select All and then choose Duplicate to create another f.

3.

Move the new f to the right.

4.

Go back to the font window.

5.

Copy the l into the same window using the Copy Component command
from the Edit menu.

6.

Move the referenced l to the right of the second f.

7.

Choose Decompose Component from the Edit menu.

8.

Choose Remove Overlap from the Element menu.

Duplicate the f.
into the window.

Copy a reference glyph

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98

Move it into place.

Choose Decompose Component.

Then choose Remove

Overlap.

Remove any extra points.

Modifying Your Fonts

Changing the glyph width

You probably noticed the vertical line that runs through the second f. This is the
glyph width line. Width is a moveable vertical line that specifies the width of each
glyph. When you print a line of text, the origin line of the next glyph is placed on
top of the width line of the current glyph. Since you changed the contents of this
particular outline window, its important that you change the width as well.
To change the glyphs width:

1.

Make sure you still have the outline window for the f open.

2.

You can choose Preview and turn off Show Points from the View menu to get
a better look at the glyph if you like.

3.

Move the width line with the selection pointer.

Note: We created this ligature in the f slot for illustrative purposes. You will
probably want to create your ligatures in an unused glyph slot.
In some word processing and page layout programs, you can set the preferences to
automatically substitute curly quotes for straight ones, or the fl ligature if you type
fl. For the substitutions to occur, youll need to be sure to use an Adobe encoded
font.

Drag on the width line

until its in the position you want.

Tip: Its sometimes easier to move and scale a reference glyph, since you dont
have to worry about selecting all the points. You can unlink the reference once
youve moved the glyph into the position you want.

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Creating a condensed glyph or

font
Fontographer has the ability to modify glyph images to produce interesting special
effects. You can create these effects in either the outline window (on one particular
glyph) or the font window (on the whole font). For example, you can create an
oblique font by selecting all the glyphs in the font window and skewing them -12
degrees (like we did earlier in this chapter). Or you can create an extended font, by
increasing the horizontal scaling factor of the font. Your options are limitless.
You can also create a condensed font by scaling the glyph 80% horizontally.
Condensed versions of a font are the same height as their counterparts but are
narrower to fit into a more compact space.
!

Note: It is not necessary to have the outline window open to modify more than
one glyph at time.
To create a condensed glyph:
1.

Click the Font Window to make it active, and then press and hold down the
mouse button while you drag through the glyphs a through e.

Click the glyphs you want to scale.

2.

Choose Transform from the Element menu.

The Transform dialog box appears.

Select Transform from the Element menu and then

enter the amount to scale.
As you can see from the illustrations on this page, Fontographer scales the glyphs
horizontally without changing their height.

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Modifying Your Fonts

You can apply the transformations in one of four ways:

Original glyph

Scaled from the center of the

selection

Scaled from the basepoint

Scaled from the glyphs

origin

Scaled from the last mouse

click

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Setting the basepoint

The baseline is the line upon which the letters sit. The baseline position is always
at a vertical location of zero. The dot at the intersection of the origin line and
baseline is the basepoint.
The basepoint is used to accurately and quickly align points and glyphs. The
basepoint is generally at the glyphs origin (where the origin line and the baseline
intersect at 0,0); however, you can position the basepoint anywhere. Fontographer
allows you to set each glyphs basepoint differently. It can be moved as needed by
selecting the pointer tool and dragging it to a new location, or by entering a
specific horizontal and vertical location.

Select the basepoint.

Drag it to a new location.

You can also enter location values in the Set Basepoint dialog box.
For precise numeric entry, choose Set Basepoint from the Points menu. To reset
the basepoint back to the origin point, choose Reset Basepoint from the Points
menu.

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Modifying Your Fonts

If you select one point and choose Set Basepoint, Fontographer will move the
basepoint to that point. However, if you select more than one point, Fontographer
will set the basepoint to the center of selection.

In the position display in the outline window, distance from the basepoint is
continuously updated as the pointer moves within the drawing area. This onscreen
measuring tool makes it easy to measure glyph parts. Just place the basepoint on a
reference point of the glyph and watch the position display as you move the
pointer. Horizontal or vertical alignment of points is very easy to check; set a
basepoint on one point, then drag the other point until the horizontal or vertical
delta is zero.

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Creating New Fonts

Imagine being able to digitize an old fashioned typeface and transfer it to your
documents, or that logo you created with a pen or pencil before youd ever heard
of a graphics program. What about the beautiful effects that are created with
calligraphy fountain pens? Wouldnt it be great if you could use all of these in your
word processor? With Fontographer, any of these scenarios is simple.

Fontographer 5
Fontographer takes what used to be possible with only pen and pencil, and puts it
into the hands of the desktop designer.

Calligraphic and graphic

fonts by Judith Sutcliffe

Hebrew fonts and classic

fonts by Dennis OrtizLopez

106

Fun and wacky fonts

by Paul Sych

Creating New Fonts

Autotracing
The bitmap option is one of Fontographers most advanced features. Autotracing
is probably most useful for tracing scanned images. Suppose you have an existing
character, logo, or image that you want to assign to a keystroke. On the Macintosh,
you can scan your image, save it in PICT format, and place it into your Scrapbook
or Clipboard. Then you can paste your character into the outline window (where it
will be used like a background template) and let Fontographer autotrace the
image.
!

Note: Trying to autotrace bitmaps will not give good results. See Chapter 5,
Editing Bitmaps.
To paste an image into the Template layer:
Its remarkably easy to paste an image into the Template (or background) layer.
Select an image from the Scanned images file in the Sample files folder in your
Fontographer folder. In this example, we use a scanned Vivaldi f.

On the Macintosh, copy the image to the Clipboard and paste it into the
outline window.

Fontographer will automatically paste the image into the Template layer
where it will be shown as a dimmed image.
!

Note: Images pasted into the Template layer are automatically sized to fit the font
UPM size. If you hold down SHIFT-OPTION, the image will automatically scale to fit
between the ascender and baseline.

Tips: All your characters should be the same size before you copy them to the
Clipboard. If you neglect to do this, your background images will appear in varying
sizes, and you will have to spend time making adjustments. Therefore, make all
size adjustments in the scanning or drawing program of your choice, and try to
drag-select (marquee) each character with the same size box (marquee area)
before you paste the image into the Template layer.

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Fontographer 5
To make sure you copy the image in at the same size, open your scan in a program
that can preserve the full resolution of copied bitmaps in its Clipboard. Draw a box
around the largest of your characters (the M or W would be a good choice).
Use this box to define the area youll be marqueeing and then copying into
Fontographer. You could even draw lines to indicate the baseline and width marks
if you like.

Marquee around an area just inside the bounding box.

To move a Template image:
1.

Click the Template layer to select it.

2.

Click the template image with the selection pointer.

A gray bounding box appears.

3.

Move the image into place by positioning the pointer inside the image, then
dragging it to a new location.
To resize a Template image:

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Creating New Fonts

1.

Click the template image to select it.

2.

Choose Transform from the Element menu and Scale uniformly 90 percent.

Note: Dragging the handles interactively scales the background image as well.

Tracing an image
Once you have your image sized and positioned the way you want, you can trace it.
1.

Make sure you are in the Outline layer.

2.

Choose Auto Trace from the Element menu. The Auto Trace dialog box
appears. You have two options: Easy and Advanced.

3.

Choose Easy and keep the default Curve fit of 5.

The tighter you set a curve fit, the more points will be placed on your
character. By having more points, the tracing will more closely resemble the
original image. However, too many points will consume unnecessary memory
without appreciably improving the accuracy of your path. It is better to use as
few points as possible to get the shape you desire.

Note: If the image is jagged, a tight trace setting will try to make all those jaggies
mean something. The better your scanned image, the tighter you can trace.
When the Tracing progress dialog box finishes generating, you will have a
completely traced character in the outline window.

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Fontographer 5

You can cancel the tracing operation at any time by clicking the Cancel button or
by typing COMMAND-PERIOD.

110

Tip: When you are through tracing, you can select the background image from the
Template layer and delete it. Background images you save with the font can
consume disk space very quickly so you should remove them once you are through
tracing.

Creating New Fonts

Advanced tracing options

Fontographers Advanced tracing mode offers some specific options.

Curve fit
Choosing an item from this pop-up will set all the other controls in the dialog box
to the recommended settings for Loose, Normal, or Tight fit. Try changing the
value of this pop-up a few times and see how the other controls respond. It might
give you an idea of how each slider affects the fit tightness.
If you change any of the other controls in the dialog box, the Curve Fit pop-up will
automatically switch to Custom to indicate that you have customized the values.
Once you have customized the settings you can always go back to Loose, Normal,
or Tight by changing the Curve Fit pop-up back to one of these settings. You can
switch back to Custom as well. Normal is generally the best all-purpose selection.
Tight would be a good selection for more intricate designs, while Loose would be
good for characters with straight angles (such as block letters) and poor quality
scans. Choose Custom if you want to set the Curve fit options manually.

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Fontographer 5

Allow curve fit errors

This control will have the largest affect on your tracing results. A low value means
Fontographer will allow fewer curve fit errors, and youll get a very tight trace with
more points. A higher value means Fontographer will allow more errors, and
youll get a loose trace with fewer points.

Balance lines
This control will have very subtle, almost unnoticeable affects on your tracing
results. A low value means it will do almost nothing. A high value means
Fontographer will attempt to align lines when necessary. For instance, it might try
to align the left and right parts of the crossbar in a T character.

Eliminate close points

This control can help eliminate redundant points (points that are almost on top of
each other). A low value means that almost no points will be eliminated, and the
shape of the path will be the most accurate. A high value means that it will
eliminate as many points as necessary, but it may slightly alter the shape of the
curve in order to do so.

Make straight lines

This control has very subtle effects. It determines how straight a curve should be
before it is turned into a straight line. This will never turn extremely curvy paths
into straight lines; however, curves that appear to be almost straight to begin with
may be slightly modified so that they are perfectly straight. A low setting for this
control means almost no curves will be straightened. A high value will cause more
curves to be straightened.

Look for cusps

When Fontographer traces an image, it often finds places where two paths join at
a sharp angle. A join of this type is called a cusp, and Fontographer will always
place a corner point at such a location. The Look for cusps control determines
how lenient Fontographer is in finding cusps, and thus it will have an effect on
how many corner points are used in the tracing results. Setting this control to a
low value means it will find very few cusps, and the results wont have many
corner points. Setting the control to a high value means it will find many cusps,
and the results will have more corner points.

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Creating New Fonts

Treat nearly flat paths as straight lines

This check box is similar to the Make straight lines control; however, it differs in a
subtle way. The Make straight lines control can help straighten any curves that
are nearly flat. However, the Treat nearly flat paths as straight lines checkbox
only straightens curves that are nearly flat, and that only bend to one side. For
example, this control can straighten a C-shaped curve that bends to the left of the
straight line, but it cant straighten an S-shaped curve that bends to either side of
the straight line. If you think the difference between these two controls is too
subtle for your needs, then we recommend that you ignore this control and just
use the Make straight lines control.

Find extrema points

You should probably leave this checkbox turned on. It will make sure that points
are always placed at extrema points in the tracing results, and this is
recommended for Type 1 (PostScript) and TrueType fonts.

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Transformation options
Fontographers transformation options are located under Transform in the
Element menu. Any of these can be applied from the font window or outline
window. When used from the font window, you can apply a transformation to one,
several, or all glyphs. On the other hand, in a glyphs outline window, you can only
apply the transformation to the selected points. If there are no selected points, the
transformation applies to the entire glyph.

Flip
Use the Flip transformation option to flip the image to the opposite side of an
imaginary horizontal or vertical line.
You access the Flip pop-up via the Transform menu or by double-clicking the Flip
tool in the tool palette.
To flip selected items horizontally:
1.

Select a glyph.

2.

Choose the Flip pop-up as the first transformation.

3.

Click the Horizontal radio button.

4.

Click the Transform button.

Change the p to a q using the Horizontal Flip transformation.

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Creating New Fonts

To flip selected items vertically:
1.

Choose the Flip pop-up as the first transformation.

2.

Click the Vertical radio button.

3.

Click the Transform button to apply the vertical flip.

Change the p to a b using the Vertical Flip transformation.

Move
The Move transformation option can move whole glyphs, or a specific point a
specified horizontal and/or vertical amount.
To move selected items horizontally:
1.

Choose the Move pop-up as the first transformation.

2.

Enter a value in the Horizontal text box.

3.

Click Transform to move the image.

Move the O to the right using the Move transformation.

!

Note: Entering a negative horizontal value moves the image to the left.

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Fontographer 5
To move selected items vertically:
1.

Choose the Move pop-up as the first transformation.

2.

Enter a value in the Vertical text box.

3.

Click Transform.

Move the lowermost four points on the w using the

Move transformation.
!

Notes: Entering a negative vertical value moves the image down in the window.
Move an image horizontally and vertically by entering values in both text boxes.

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Creating New Fonts

Rotate
Use the Rotate transformation option to rotate the selection a specified number of
degrees. Selected points rotate around the reference point by a specified angle.
Positive angles indicate a counterclockwise rotation, while negative angles specify
a clockwise rotation.
You access the Rotate pop-up via the Transform menu or by double-clicking the
Rotate tool in the tool palette.
To rotate a selected item:
1.

Choose the Rotate pop-up as the first transformation.

2.

Enter a rotation angle in the text box.

3.

Click Transform.

Rotate the e using the Rotate transformation.

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Fontographer 5

Scale
There are two Scale transformation options: Scale and Scale uniformly. Both of
these options are used to increase or decrease the size of an image by a specific
scale factor.
Use the Scale transformation option to scale horizontal and vertical attributes
independently of each other. Youll find this feature useful when you want to
create condensed and extended versions of a font, since you can apply the scaling
transformation to the entire font.
You access the Scale pop-up via the Transform menu or by double-clicking the
Scale tool in the tool palette.
To scale a glyph vertically:
1.

Choose the Scale pop-up as the first transformation.

2.

Enter a vertical scaling value.

3.

Click Transform.
To scale a glyph horizontally:

1.

Choose the Scale pop-up as the first transformation.

2.

Enter a horizontal scaling value.

3.

Click Transform.

Use scaling to create vertically scaled

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Creating New Fonts

or condensed versions of your glyph or font.

Scale uniformly
This transformation option scales the entire image uniformly. If you select a glyph
and enter a scale factor of 50%, the image will be reduced to 50% of its original size
(both horizontally and vertically). Doubling the size of the image would require a
scale factor of 200%.
To scale uniformly:
1.

Choose the Scale uniformly pop-up as the first transformation.

2.

Enter a scaling value in the text box.

3.

Click Transform.

Scale the d uniformly.

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Fontographer 5

Skew
The Skew transformation option applies a slant to the image. Negative values slant
the glyph to the right, positive values to the left. Vertical skewing can be used to
create oblique glyphs. Italics are normally skewed vertically by 12 degrees.
You access the Skew pop-up via the Transform menu or by double-clicking the
Skew tool in the tool palette.
To skew selected glyphs:
1.

Choose the Skew pop-up as the first transformation.

2.

Enter a skew value in either the Horizontal or Vertical text box.

3.

Click Transform.

Skew the o with the Skew transformation.

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Creating New Fonts

Multiple transformations
There are times when youll probably want to do more than one transformation at
once. Use Fontographer to apply up to four transformations at one time to one
glyph, or to the entire font.
Suppose you want to create a condensed oblique font and move it closer to the
baseline to compensate for the skew angle. Its easier than you might think.

Scale, skew, and move a glyph (or even the whole font) with one command.
To apply multiple transformations:
1.

Select a glyph.

2.

Choose Transform from the Element menu.

3.

Select up to four transformations.

4.

Enter the transformation values.

5.

Click Transform.

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Fontographer 5

3D transformations using the Transform

dialog box
Using the Transform dialog box to apply 3D transformations is simpler if you use
the tools to set up the transformation. Double-clicking the Perspective tool will
bring up the Transform dialog box ready to apply a 3D rotation transformation.
OPTION-double-clicking the selection tool will bring up the Transform dialog box
ready to apply a 3D move transformation. Lets do an example of a 3D rotation. In
our example, we will draw and then transform a square/circle.
To use the Scale tool:
1.

Draw a square and a circle (holding down the SHIFT key to constrain the tools)
that start at the origin point and extend to the descent.

2.

Drag the width line on top of the rightmost point on the circle.

3.

Choose Correct Path Direction from the Element menu.

The glyph should look like this with Preview selected from the View menu or
by pressing COMMAND-L:

4.

Choose Select All from the Edit menu.

5.

OPTION-double-click the Scale tool to bring up the Transform dialog box with

Scale uniformly as the first transformation.

6.

122

Choose Center of Selection from the Center transformations around pop-up at

the top of the dialog box.

Creating New Fonts

7.

Type 90 into the text edit field and press RETURN or click Transform.
The glyph should look like this in Outline mode:

To use the Perspective tool:

1.

OPTION-double-click the Perspective tool to bring up the Perspective Setup

dialog box.

2.

Set the Distance to 1000 and the Point to Basepoint and press the RETURN key
or click on Transform.
This tells the Perspective tool that the image you see in the outline window is
being viewed as if you are 1000 em units away from the basepoint.

3.

Choose Select All from the Edit menu.

4.

Choose Set Basepoint from the Points menu. Your basepoint just moved to
the center of the square/circle, which is defined as the perspective point in
this example.

5.

Choose Copy from the Edit menu.

You will paste this copy later in this example.

6.

Click and hold down the mouse on the origin line (the line that extends from
the bottom of the window to the top if the window along the left side of the
glyph).

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Fontographer 5
7.

Drag the mouse to the right while holding down the SHIFT key.
As you drag the mouse, you will notice that the information bar looks
something like this:

8.

Continue dragging to the right until the number underneath the

symbol

reads -90.
You have just rotated the selected points by 90 degrees in the XZ plane. You
can also think of it as rotating around the Y axis.
9.

Choose Paste from the Edit menu. You can now apply the next transformation
to the copy of the original.

10. Click down with the mouse on the baseline.

11. Now drag the mouse up while holding down the SHIFT key until the number
under the
symbol reads 90.
The glyph in the outline window should now look something like this:

To apply 3D transformations using the Transform dialog box:

Lets do an example of a 3D rotation. To make things simple, you will start where
you left off using the Perspective tool. For this example to work, the square/circle
being transformed should already be copied into the Clipboard.

1.

Choose Paste from the Edit menu.

2.

Choose the Perspective tool from the tool palette.

3.

Click down with the mouse on the width line and release the mouse button
immediately. The mouse click will be used as the center of the transformation
in the Transform dialog box.

Note: Any tool can be used for Step 3, but if you use the Selection tool, the
selection will be lost.
4.

Double-click the Perspective tool.

The Transform dialog box will be brought up ready to apply a 3D rotation.

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Creating New Fonts

5.

Choose Last Mouse Click from the Transformation Center pop-up.

6.

Set the XY angle to 0, the XZ angle to 90, and the YZ angle to 0.

7.

Set the Perspective Point pop-up to Basepoint.

Notes: By default the Distance is set to the em square. In our example the em
square is 1000.
If you wish to set up additional transforms in this dialog box, then make sure you
do the perspective transform last. Any transforms that occur after the perspective
transform will not have a three-dimensional appearance.
When you are done, the Transform dialog box should look like this:

8.

Press the RETURN key.

To create the top of the cube:

You have probably noticed that a three-dimensional box or cube is being created.
The previous set of steps created the right side of cube. The next set of steps will
create the top side of cube.
1.

Choose Paste from the Edit menu.

2.

Click down on the ascent line.

3.

Double-click the Perspective tool.

4.

Set the XZ angle to 0 and the YZ angle to -90.

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Fontographer 5
5.

Press the RETURN key.

If you have been following our example from the beginning, your glyph in the
outline window should look something like this:

To do a 3D Move:
Lets continue where we left off, creating a disjointed cube. For this example to
work, the square/circle you are transforming should still be copied into the
Clipboard.
You will now create the back side of the cube by moving the selected points
backward (by 800 em units) into the third dimension.
1.

Choose Paste from the Edit menu.

2.

OPTION-double-click the selection tool to bring up the Transform dialog box.

The dialog box will come up showing Move and Perspective, ready to do a
three-dimensional move.

126

3.

Set both the first transformation (at the top of the dialog box) and the
Perspective transform (at the bottom of the dialog box) to Basepoint.

4.

Change the Horizontal and Vertical text edit fields to 0, and change the Depth
edit text field to 800.

Note: If a Perspective transform does not follow the Move transform, the Depth
field will not be available.
5.

Press the RETURN key or click on Transform.

6.

Select Preview to view your completed glyphs:

Creating New Fonts

Guidelines
Setting guidelines
The Guides layer is used to construct drawing guidelines that are common to every
glyph of the font (such as the x-height line). The Guides layer is similar to the
Template layer, except it is drawn in light gray or green and appears behind every
glyph of the font. Guides are purposely drawn in a lighter color so they can be
distinguished from the outline and template images.
Guidelines may be edited or created from any glyphs outline window. Change to
the Guides layer by clicking its name in the Layers palette or by typing g when
the lock icon is in the locked state.

Change to the Guides layer by clicking it or by typing g

when the lock icon is in the locked state.

With the Guides layer active, you can edit or draw guidelines with the standard
drawing and editing tools.
Changes made to the Guides layer will appear in every glyph in the font. You can
undo changes made to the Guides layer just like you would in any other layer.

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Setting guidelines from the Font

Info dialog box
Ascent and descent are already defined and can be reset by choosing Font Info
from the Element menu and typing the values in the Ascender and Descender text
boxes.

128

Note: Most word processing and page layout programs now support line gap
(leading), but a few may still ignore the information you enter in the Line gap
field.

Creating New Fonts

Adding new guidelines

Additional guidelines can be set two ways in the Guides layer.
To create a guideline:
1.

Select the Guides layer.

2.

Use the selection tool to drag vertically from the baseline or horizontally from
the origin line.

Drag from the baseline

or origin line to create a guideline.

Tip: Remove these guidelines by OPTION-clicking them, or use the pointer tool to
drag them back into the origin or baseline from which they originated.
You can also create a guide by drawing it with any of the drawing tools in
Fontographer.
1.

Select the Guides layer.

2.

Click the drawing tool of your choice to draw a guideline.

Drag your own guide in the Guides layer

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and it will appear in the Outline layer of every glyph in the font.
Hiding guidelines
You can hide the guides by clicking the Guides layer checkbox to turn it off or
(when the lock icon is locked) by typing OPTION-G.

Turn guides on

or off.

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Creating New Fonts

Snapping to guides
Choose Snap to Guides from the View menu. When points are within a
predetermined distance (you set this value in the Fontographer > Preferences >
Editing) from the guideline, they snap or align to that guideline.

Select the point and move toward the guideline.

The points snap to align with the guideline.

!

Note: The Snap to Guides option snaps only to baseline, origin, width, ascent,
descent, and guides you pull out from the baseline or origin. It does not snap to
guides you draw.

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Fontographer 5

Creating a stroked font

Outline versus stroked glyphs
Up until this point in the manual, we have been discussing outline glyphs. You
create outline glyphs by drawing a path around the glyphs perimeter. Stroked
glyphs are constructed by drawing just the centerline path. PostScript draws these
glyphs by sweeping a pen along the path. The pen has a width called the stroke
weight, which is defined in em units. As PostScript sweeps along the path, it paints
a line that is so many units wide.
Any glyph that is constructed entirely of equal weight strokes can be drawn as a
stroked glyph. For example, we drew the letters in this Fontographer logo as
stroked glyphs. You must generate these as Type 3 fonts, since neither TrueType
nor Type 1 fonts allow stroked glyphs.

Fontographer gives you complete control over the type of pen youll use to create
your stroked font. In addition to its width, you can specify its appearance and
behavior where segments join. Also, since some people prefer drawing with a pen,
Fontographer makes it easy to change the stroked glyph into an outline glyph (or
font).

Draw glyphs like this

with the freehand tool. This
glyphs stroke weigh
is 40 em units.

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Preview the glyph with

or without the points.

Creating New Fonts

Setting stroke attributes

Before you can create a stroked glyph, you will need to change the attributes of the
glyph from filled to stroked.
To change a filled glyph to stroked:
1.

Choose Selection Info from the Element menu.

2.

Turn off Fill and turn on Stroke.

3.

Leave the Tint set at 100%.

4.

Enter a pen Weight.

Youll notice that Fontographer has two pop-ups for Cap and Join. In our
example, we use Round on both since we want the ends of the glyphs to be
rounded. Each of these options is discussed after this example.
5.

Click OK and get ready to draw a glyph.

6.

Choose a drawing tool or one of the control point tools.

7.

Draw an L.

8.

Turn on Preview to see what your glyph actually looks like.

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Fontographer 5

Draw with a corner point tool

to create round capped glyphs

or square capped glyphs.

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Creating New Fonts

End caps and joins

There are three types of end caps: butt, round, and square.

Butt end caps stop right at the end point of the line.

Round end caps project a semicircle out from the end point. This semicircle
has a diameter equal to the stroke weight and center point at the end point.

Square end caps project out one half the stroke weight in the direction of the
path.

There are three types of line joins: miter, round, and bevel.

Miter joins extend the outer edges of the lines until they meet at an angle, like
the corners of a picture frame.

Round joins draw a circle with a diameter equal to the stroke width at each
bend.

Bevel joins are drawn as if the joining segments were stroked with butt cap
ends and the resulting notch filled with a triangle.

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Expand stroke
The Expand Stroke command is used to expand stroked glyphs into contoured
(outline) or filled glyphs.
To expand the stroke width:
1.

Choose Expand Stroke from the Element menu.

2.

Click Normal Pen.

3.

Enter a Pen width value.

4.

Click Expand.
Fontographer automatically changes the stroked glyph into an outline glyph.

Change a stroked glyph

into an outline glyph.

The Expand Stroke command can also be used to automatically change your
stroked glyph into a calligraphic glyph.

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Creating New Fonts

To change a stroked glyph into a calligraphic glyph:
1.

Choose Expand Stroke.

2.

Click Calligraphic Pen, enter a value, and click OK.

3.

Choose Selection Info and change the glyph to a Filled glyph.

4.

Choose Remove Overlap from the Element menu.

Draw a stroked glyph with the freehand tool.

Change it into a filled glyph.

Remove any overlapping areas.

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Fontographer 5

Clean Up Paths
One of the most revolutionary features in Fontographer is called Clean Up Paths.
This incredible command automatically improves the quality of your outlines by
removing unnecessary points. Fontographer will try to change the path as little as
possible; less will change the outline as little as possible more will remove more
points and thus, change the path more. And if you have fewer points, your printing
time will be faster as well.

There are two different uses for this dialog box: one is to put points where they
belong for proper typographical outlines. This is called putting points at the
extrema. If you bring up the dialog box and only have the Insert points at extrema
box checked, thats all Fontographer will do. Simplify paths will remove points it
judges to be superfluous. The slider control adjusts the ratio between getting rid of
a lot of points (and changing your path a little), and getting rid of fewer points and
maintaining the integrity of the path.
We believe you should spend your time creating wonderful designs instead of
worrying about point placement and the mechanical details of Bzier path
construction. When your glyph is through, just choose Clean Up Paths from the
Element menu or apply the command to the entire font directly from the font
window.

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Creating New Fonts

Clean Up Paths changes the glyphs with 114 points

to one with 53 points, without noticeably changing the outline.

!

Note: This feature is useful if youre converting TrueType fonts to PostScript.

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Fontographer 5

Creating calligraphic glyphs

One of the most notable features of Fontographer is the freehand drawing tool
that you can use directly with the mouse or with a pressure-sensitive pen and
digitizing tablet. Additionally, you can use the freehand drawing tool as either a
calligraphic pen or a variable-weight pen.
!

Note: If you use a pressure-sensitive pen and tablet, make the appropriate tablet
settings before you draw your glyphs.
To use the calligraphic pen:
1.

Double-click the freehand drawing tool.

The Freehand Tool Setup dialog box appears.

2.

Click the Calligraphic pen checkbox.

3.

Make sure the Pressure sensitive option, the Tight curve fit and the Draw
dotted line Stroke options are all turned off.

4.

Enter a Pen width of 100 em units.

For the purposes of this exercise, you should leave the Pen angle set at 45
degrees since that is one of the recommended angles for calligraphic glyphs.

5.

Click OK.
The freehand tool icon will change to a calligraphic pen icon.

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Creating New Fonts

6.

Press and hold down the mouse button while moving it around on your desk
or mouse pad, or use a digitizing tablet to draw a calligraphic glyph.

Use the calligraphic pen

7.

to draw as many strokes as you like.

Choose Remove Overlap from the Element menu.

Fontographer removes the overlapping area, and your calligraphic glyph is
complete.

Remove any overlapping areas and clean up paths.

8.

Choose Preview from the View menu and turn off Show Points to view your
glyph without points and filled.

Turn off points and then preview your new glyph.

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Fontographer 5

Calligraphic tutelage from

Judith Sutcliffe
Editors note: When we asked Judith Sutcliffe for some tips on creating
calligraphic characters, we never dreamed shed give us so much information.
Loving calligraphy the way we do, and since shes one of the best calligraphers
we know, we included it here (in full) we think youll agree that its worth
keeping and reading.

alligraphy is not the same thing as type. Generally, type is carefully

structured, straight-backed, and neatly drawn. Calligraphy is often
looser, more graphically expressive and flowing, and it more closely
reminds us of the instrument with which it was drawn. You can use Fontographer
to simulate a flat-nibbed pen or a Chinese brush, any of the variety of instruments
with which people have written with calligraphic panache over the centuries.
Start by taking a look at the past and present of western, eastern or Middle
Eastern calligraphy. Your local library or bookstores graphics section will have
books with samples of the work of ancient and modern calligraphers.
Try working with a calligraphic pen or brush. You dont have to be a whiz at it. You
just need to pay attention to the limitations of the medium. Try holding a wide,
flat-nibbed pen at a 45-degree angle and making vertical, horizontal and angled
lines as well as circles. You will quickly see how the glyphistic shapes of western
calligraphy are achieved.
That knowledge of how the position of the pen affects the line of ink that flows
from it is what you need to know to draw calligraphy with Fontographer. You need
to internalize the mechanics of the pen in your head. So that when you draw an
O you know that the pen will issue a wide curving line on the right-side
downstroke, but will taper to near nothingness as you pull the stroke to a close at
lower left. Because the pen has a precise width, the stroke will have a predictable
variance in size.

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Creating New Fonts

Most basic strokes are made without turning the pen, but more advanced strokes
do involve a twist of the wrist and pen, and if you carefully study the calligraphy
manuals, you will find these little secrets. Also, most letters are made with two or
more strokes joined together invisibly. An O is made from a downward left
stroke and a downward right stroke, not one stroke all the way around. These
conventional stroke combinations are shown in most calligraphy manuals and are
easy to learn. Remember, you dont have to be a calligrapher; you just have to
learn to think like a calligraphers pen.
If you are interested in oriental calligraphy, dip a Chinese brush in ink and press
the soft tip to paper, pushing the bristles about half way down and to one side and
then gradually lifting it and tapering off to the other side. Note the shape of the ink
stroke. The movement of the brush and the look of the marks it leaves are
considerably more complex than the workings of the western pen. However,
Chinese calligraphy involves a graphic language of a very small number of simple
stroke shapes combined into more complex glyphs. There is a particular way to
make dots, horizontal lines, vertical lines, lines angled left, lines angled right,
corners and endings of lines. You can find these in books on Chinese calligraphy.
You can also draw with a pen or brush roughly, without paying much attention to
any calligraphic tradition, but the instrument will still leave glyphistic marks.
Those are what you want to remember.
Turning to Fontographer, you might wish to start by copying some calligraphic
hand that you admire. There are three ways to do this. One is by scanning the
original in and auto tracing it. For the instructions on that method, refer to
Autotracing on page 107.
The second way is without a drawing tablet: Choose a couple of letters that are
most glyphistic of the hand you are going to recreate. You might start with the
lowercase l and o as they contain the basic straight and rounded strokes on
which the rest of the alphabet will be based. One way to do this quickly is to use
corner points for every point you place. That will rough out the letter for you. Then
go back and change the points ruling what should be curves to curve points.
Adjust, check the black image in Preview, and readjust. If you draw an o that you
think works, copy it to the background (Template layer) of c, d and other
rounded glyphs and construct them over the pattern. That will give you a
consistency of form that a calligrapher works for years to achieve in eye and hand
coordination. The same goes for your l and all the ascenders of the lowercase
alphabet. You must, of course, keep your stroke widths very similar, as it has all
been written with the same pen.
But dont be too perfect, or youll be making something more akin to a text
typeface. Let every rounded form vary just a little bit from every other one; let the
ascenders lean a little, but not so much that it is obvious. This is a subtle way to
add life to your font.

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Fontographer 5
Continue building glyphs until you have enough to write a word in the metrics
window and to print out some word-like gibberish from the print sample window.
Take the printed proof and look at it upside down. Whats your first impression of
the weight of the letters? Turn it right side up and look again. How do the letters
look together? Do they look related in their stroke widths, sizes, and leanings? If
not, try to pick out the offending glyphs and rework them to fit into the family a
bit better. Hows the spacing? Move the margins in the metrics window until you
get a pleasant spacing, particularly in smaller sizes.
The third method is with a drawing tablet: Youll be doing the same thing as
described above, but youll have the aid of Fontographers wonderful, automatic,
electronic calligraphic pen. In your hand it looks like the cordless pen of your
drawing tablet, but on screen it draws like a calligraphic pen or a Chinese brush. If
you have any natural or trained calligraphic talent, you will find a drawing tablet
extremely useful because you can whip out a calligraphic shape with one swoop of
that pen. You will want to experiment a bit at the outset with the various nib
widths and slant variations available. And you will want to try the calligraphy pen
alone, the pressure pen alone, and the combination of the two. For imitating
western calligraphy you will use the calligraphic pen with or without the pressure
mode. Try it both ways and see which produces most easily the shapes you have in
mind.
Now heres one difference that practicing pen calligraphers will need to curb at the
outset. Fontographer glyphs are usually made in one continuous outline. So make
an O in one fell swoop, not two separate ones. Pretend youre writing on really
slick paper and your pen doesnt catch. Go all the way around. If you dont, youll
have to patch the two sections together and thats a drag. (Its easy, of course,
using the Remove Overlaps command, but save yourself time by not creating
multiple parts in the first place.)
Editors comment: Although it might seem from this text that Fontographer comes
with extra digitizing hardware, it doesnt. To use an actual digital pen, you will
have to get one from a vendor.
Since this is spontaneous drawing, you might consider sketching each letter
several times in succession across the glyph window and then picking the best one
to keep.
This is only the beginning. Unless you are one of the worlds best calligraphers,
you are not going to whip out 26 perfect calligraphic letters on the first try. No
problem. Do the best you can. Decide which ones are the right proportions, the
best style, and then do minor alterations on the others to bring them in line. Using
Fontographer commands, scale them up or down; rotate when necessary, and so
forth. If a stroke is too narrow, grab points on one side and pull to widen it. You
cant do this in ink but you sure can in Fontographer.

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Sometimes when you sketch a letter, the Fontographer outline that appears will
have more points than are necessary. You want the fewest points possible, so
prune out the excess (using Merge Points or Clean Up Paths). Also check to be
sure that you have the path direction correct (clockwise on outer outlines). If your
glyph has overlapping parts, do a Select All and Remove Overlap. If that doesnt
work, make a copy of the outline and put it in the Template layer, then in Outline
rework the overlapping section, following the original calligraphic shape. If theres
something that doesnt please you, just grab the points and adjust. Its not ink; you
can tweak it until you get it right.
Assuming youve got a lowercase glyph thats looking good, you can get a little
fancier for your uppercase glyphs. Maybe you will add a few flourishes. Remember
that the margin and kerning adjustments leave you great leeway in how you place
each lowercase letter in combination with each uppercase letter. Use automatic
kerning to make them fit just the way you want.

Tip: You can also add a thin space key to your font, with considerably less space
than you have on your SPACEBAR. A thin space can be used to adjust the spacing
between two letters that are leaning on each other just a teeny bit. Its very handy,
especially with calligraphic letters with an excess of flourishing strokes. Assign the
thin space to a handy key such as the vertical line key or the backward slash or to
the nonbreaking space key.
Lets say you have now worked out a basic alphabet, and it is looking good when
you do some proof printing of various letter combinations. But when you print two
ls together, they look mechanical and wooden. Heres where the fun begins, and
the complications start. Make yourself a nice calligraphic double l, with one
letter a little taller than the other. Then when youre setting type, you can do a
search and replace command and drop a hand-tooled double l in for every two
twin ls. Alternate glyphs look really neat and give the look of authenticity to
calligraphic typesetting. You can create as many double letters as you want. You
can create nice combinations of Th. You can give your font 15 different a
glyphs, if you feel in the mood. Thats the creative part.
The complex part comes in with the decision on just where in the world of
keyboard glyph positioning do you put a double l. There are no standards and no
rules. If you are the only person who is going to use the font, you can do anything
you like, as long as you make yourself a map so you can find that double l six
months from now.

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Fontographer 5
But if youre going to sell the font, you will do some brow furrowing, because you
will probably be supplying both Mac and Windows versions of your font, and
glyphs maps differ considerably between the two platforms and also within the
two platforms. The safe way out is to not put anything in the upper ASCII
positions (numbers 128 to 255) except standard position international accent
glyphs. Put extras into a separate font on the uppercase/lowercase keys, even
though it is much less convenient than having all the alternates in one font.
Or, if youre creating fonts in Macintosh original format, put the alternates
wherever its most convenient for Macintosh users. Then make a separate font and
put the upper ASCII glyphs into it, on uppercase/lowercase keys and supply both
fonts for Windows users.
Editors comment: Since this was originally written the advent of the OpenType
font format has solved most of these problems.
Another aspect of calligraphic font making arises if you decide to make a script
face one in which all letters in a word appear joined, as if written in one
continuous hand. It is quite possible to create a font of script letters that will
appear when printed out to be written as a continuous line, but it is not easy. The
general principle is that you must design a standard shape for both incoming and
outgoing strokes and use them as part of every glyph. The margins of glyphs need
to be set so that the outgoing stroke of one letter overlaps the incoming stroke of
the following glyph. This takes some careful experimentation with and slight
manipulation of each glyphs incoming and outgoing strokes. But once you get it to
work right, it will look quite natural, especially if here and there you leave an
incoming stroke off. You will want to avoid kerning as much as possible and
should design an alphabet set that needs very little.
For Chinese or Japanese calligraphy or to give an oriental flavor to a western
alphabet, try a cordless pen and drawing tablet with Fontographer set to pressuresensitive pen only. Its very quick and sensitive and will take a little getting used
to, but with some practice you will be able to construct Chinese glyphs with only
minor need for point adjustments. If you are quite serious about working on a
Chinese font, you will probably want to work out a library of the basic strokes and
copy from that storehouse when building new glyphs. The Remove Overlap
command will be very handy. You can always adjust each new glyph for balance
and style.
Judith Sutcliffe: The Electric Typographer, January 18, 1993

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Creating New Fonts

Tips: For Gothic-type letters, use round caps and joins for your pen settings.

To get square, poster-type letters, use square caps and joins.

For Roman and Italic alphabets, use square caps and joins and use the calligraphic
pen option.

Most sources recommend that you hold your pen at a 45-degree angle when you
create calligraphic glyphs. The Speedball textbook (20th edition) recommends that
the height of your lowercase letters (and ascenders and descenders) be five pen
widths high. They also recommend that you fit your strokes together so that
overlaps wont show in your finished letters. The Remove Overlap command will
take care of that for you.
Editors note: The drop cap at the beginning of this article is from Judiths Uncle
Fats collection.

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Fontographer 5

Creating variable weight

glyphs
Variable weight glyphs give the effect of being drawn with a brush. That is, they
can have wide and thin areas. Fontographers freehand drawing tool can be used
directly with the mouse or with a pressure-sensitive pen and digitizing tablet to
give you these effects.
!

Note: If you use a pressure-sensitive pen and tablet, make the appropriate tablet
settings before you draw your glyphs.
To use the pressure-sensitive pen:
1.

Double-click the freehand drawing tool.

The Freehand Tool Setup dialog box appears.

2.

Click the Pressure sensitive checkbox.

3.

Make sure the Calligraphic pen and other options are turned off.

4.

Enter a minimum and maximum stroke width (like the ones weve set here).
Try experimenting with different values, and line caps and joins to get
different line effects.

5.

Click OK.
The freehand drawing tool icon changes to reflect the Pressure sensitive
setting.
If you are using a pressure-sensitive pen, go to step 6. If you are using a
mouse, skip to step 8.

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Creating New Fonts

6.

By applying varying amounts of pressure as you draw, you can create Script
glyphs with thick and thin areas like our example:

Draw a glyph.
7.

Choose Remove Overlap and then Clean Up Paths from the Element menu.
Fontographer removes the overlapping area, and your glyph is complete.

Remove overlapping areas and choose Clean Up Paths.

If you are using a mouse instead of a pressure-sensitive pen, follow these
instructions:
8.

Press and hold down the mouse button while moving it around on your desk
or mouse pad to draw a glyph.

9.

Press the RIGHT and LEFT ARROW keys while you move the mouse button to see
the different effects you can create.

The LEFT ARROW key (or the number 1) reduces the stroke width (down to the
minimum stroke width you specified in the Freehand Tool Setup). The RIGHT
ARROW key (or the number 2) increases the stroke size (up to the maximum
stroke width you specified in the Freehand Tool Setup dialog box).

Turn off points and preview your glyph.

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Fontographer 5

Blend fonts to create new

fonts
Experimentation is at the heart of creating fonts. And Fontographers Blend Fonts
option is the ultimate vehicle for creativity.
Blend Fonts is very much like FreeHands blending of one object to another. It
helps if your fonts are similar in glyphistics. Imagine that your fonts are at
opposite ends of a one-dimensional line segment and that you are creating a new
font that is some percentage of the way between them (or beyond them). You can
edit those intermediate versions as you like, and quickly produce a family of
weights, say, from just two master designs like Extra Light and Extra Bold.
To blend fonts:
1.

Open a font.
Font blending needs the least amount of attention when you blend between
similar fonts. In this exercise, we use two from the same family: Times New
Roman and Times New Roman Bold.

2.

Choose Blend Fonts from the Element menu.

The Font Blend panel appears.

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Creating New Fonts

The font you opened in step 1 automatically appears as the Blend source font.
Source fonts are the fonts you will base your third font upon.
If you have any other fonts open when you choose Blend Fonts, they will
automatically appear in the Blend and With source fonts pop-ups.
3.

Choose a source font for the With position by clicking its pop-up and selecting
Other.
A standard dialog box appears that lets you choose fonts directly from your
drive, a directory, or a folder.

Note: You can also choose New font to open an Untitled font for your first font
and then choose both your source fonts. If you use this option, youll also have the
option of selecting the Untitled font as a destination font.

4.

Enter a Blend amount of 50%.

5.

There are three other settings below the Blend amount; leave them turned on
for this exercise.

Note: If you leave the option set at Correct Path Directions First, Fontographer
sets the rightmost point as the origin point. If you want your origin points to
remain in the same place (in your new Blended font), you should leave this option
deselected.
6.

Click the OK button.

Fontographer automatically creates a completely new Untitled font based on
the values you set in the Blend amount text box.

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Fontographer 5
The two source fonts are now dynamically linked to the new font. If you open
any outline window in the new font, you will see both source outlines in the
Template layer (see illustration below).
Any changes you make to the source fonts outline will show in the Template
layer, but will not change the new blended fonts outline unless you choose
Blend Fonts again.

To change selected destination glyphs:

1.

Make some changes to a glyph in one of your source fonts.

The change is reflected in the Untitled font glyphs Template layer.

2.

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Click the Only glyphs selected in the destination font radio button.

Creating New Fonts

3.

Click OK.
Fontographer will automatically reblend the glyphs.

4.

Turn off the Template layer and Show Points and then choose Preview from
the View menu to view your new glyph.

You can continue making minor tweaks to the blended glyph (or font), or
simply save it as a new variation and go on to another variation with a
different interpolation percentage.
Closing the new font unlinks the source fonts.
!

Note: Every font you open needs 200-300K of RAM, so you will need to be
generous with memory if you are going to do lots of interpolation (font blending).

When things go wrong

Doing the above example using Times New Roman and Times New Roman -Bold,
you most likely encountered an error message after the blend attempt that read,
Could not complete your request because some glyphs didnt match during
blending. Consult your log file for details about the unblended glyphs. When you
open the text file Fontographer.log, you will see the list of error(s). Here are some
examples of possible errors:
Char. #1

Char. #2

290

290

303

303

741

Path #

Error
different # of paths

different types of paths

glyph missing in font 2

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Fontographer 5
The message different # of paths refers to the glyph decimal location in the
fonts. So glyph 290 in Font 1 and glyph 290 in font 2 dont match because they
have a different number of paths. This means that, for example, your lowercase
g in font 1 has three paths, but in font 2 it only has two. Or the Ccedillas () dont
match because in one font you used remove overlap, causing the glyph to have one
path, but you forgot to do it in font 2, so the still has two paths.
The message different types of paths occurs when a glyph such as is a
referenced glyph in one font, but is an actual outline glyph in the other. You can
correct this by using the Decompose Component command on the referenced
glyph. The path # is the number of the path that the error message applies to, and
it doesnt check any further than the first mismatch.
The last message, glyph missing in font 2 means that although one font has this
glyph, the other does not, and Fontographer cant blend what isnt there. If the two
fonts do not have the same number of glyph slots, your blended font will have the
same number of glyphs as the font with the fewest glyph slots.
After consulting your log file, you can go back and correct the errors and then
blend again blending only the selected glyphs if you wish to finish your font
blend.
Just remember, the key to success using Blend Fonts is that your glyphs in both
fonts must have the same number of paths and the same types of paths, and each
font must have the same number of glyph slots.
For information about the blending process, refer to Font blending the
technical details in Chapter 13, Expert Advice.

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Creating New Fonts

Jonathan Hoefler says:

In 1990, Sports Illustrated commissioned my studio to design six typefaces a set
of six sans serifs in differing widths (Champion Gothic Heavyweight,
Middleweight, Welter-weight, Lightweight, Featherweight, and Bantamweight).
These fonts were drawn in Adobe Illustrator and manufactured in Fontographer.
In 1992, the rights for these typefaces bounced back to me, and I began selling
them retail. Several art directors called to say how much they liked the six fonts,
but expressed hope that I would someday extend the range to include a supercondensed typeface. Given that no one was willing to underwrite the design of a
seventh font (whereas Sports Illustrated had paid for the considerable
development of the first six faces), it seemed unlikely that I would ever have the
opportunity to revisit the fonts.
Until 1993, when Fontographer added the interpolation feature (now called Font
Blend).
Using interpolation, I could quickly create intermediate fonts between the
Bantamweight and Featherweight types; more importantly, using extrapolation
(using a blend amount greater than 100 percent), I was able to carry the changes
from the wider Featherweight font, through the narrower Bantamweight font, into
a new typeface, a super condensed sans serif I dubbed Champion Gothic
Flyweight.
By caricaturing the ways in which the
Bantamweight and Featherweight
fonts differed, the new extrapolated
font highlighted some of the design
flaws in the original two faces, which
I was able to easily correct. But most
importantly, this technique enabled
me to create a new font in just
minutes, rather than weeks.

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Altering Outlines
Self-expression knows few boundaries with Fontographer. The only limits are your
own imagination and skill the raw materials, the drawing tools and layers, offer
you all you need to start creating typefaces. The outline window is the place to test
your creative wings. Add serifs to a sans-serif font, create geometric designs, or
import your favorite illustrations from other PostScript drawing programs. If you
want to learn more about the basics of font production, make sure you read the
sections entitled Typography and Type designers in Appendix B, Bibliography
of Typography and Allied Subjects.

Fontographer 5
The tools in Fontographers outline window let you alter graphic images or font
characters in different ways. You can move points or paths, duplicate points,
merge points, insert points, remove them, or drag them. You may want to alter
your outlines based on other images placed in the Template layer of the window,
either using copied images from other characters or scanned images for tracing.
Refer to Chapter 3, Creating New Fonts, if youd like more information about
tracing a scanned image.

Create your own logo like the wordmark

Paul Sych created for Coca-Colas transit posters
and television advertisements.

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Altering Outlines

Altering a logo
This quick-step exercise shows you how to import an image from a drawing
program into a glyph slot in Fontographer so you can access it with a keystroke.
You will make some changes to the logo, and then change its width by scaling the
image. For practice, import any Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) image created in a
drawing program like Adobe FreeHand or Adobe Illustrator or use the art file,
Torch logo.eps, provided in your Fontographer folder.
1.

Open a font in Fontographer, and from the Font window select and open a
glyphs Outline window.
You can delete the glyph outline from its outline window if you need to, by
choosing Select All from the Edit menu and then pressing the BACKSPACE key.

2.

Select Import from the File menu and then select EPS from the submenu.

Select the PostScript file named Torch logo.eps from the

Fontographer/Sample Files folder, or choose your own FreeHand or Adobe
Illustrator EPS file.
Fontographer automatically imports the image into the glyphs outline
window. The image will be scaled to fit between the glyphs baseline and
ascent lines.
If you choose Preview from the View menu, you can see that the fills are
automatically transferred to the typeface.

Note: The Import EPS option accepts only outline path data (for example, points).
It ignores bitmap PICT data, TIFFs, text, and special effects (for example,
graduated, radial, and tiled fills).

Tip: If you have trouble getting a single glyph logo to display on screen and/or
print, you may need to break the glyph into parts that can be placed into multiple
keystrokes.

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Pasting EPS outlines from the Clipboard

You can also paste FreeHand and Illustrator images directly into the glyph edit
window without saving the file as an EPS file.

While you are in FreeHand or Illustrator, select the graphics you wish to copy,
then press the OPTION or CONTROL key and select Copy from the Edit menu.

In Fontographer, select a glyph slot and paste in the image.

The path data will be pasted into your glyph so it fits between the ascent and the
descent. Holding down the OPTION key while pasting the EPS file or bitmap image
will retain the images size at the moment you copied it.
Pressing SHIFT-OPTION-Paste key will fit the EPS file or bitmap image between
the baseline and the ascent.

Import your EPS images directly into the outline window.

You can view the file

in the Preview mode
with points turned on

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or with points turned off.

Altering Outlines

Paths and points

Paths are made of straight or curved line segments that are either connected or
unconnected. Glyphs like the lowercase i and j are composed of two separate
non-overlapping paths: the dots and the stems. When you join the end points of a
path, youve closed that path.
!

Note: All typographically correct paths need to be closed.

If you already know how paths work, you can skip this section and go to Types of
points on page 166.

Open path

Closed path

Closed paths
Closed paths can be filled; open paths cant. PostScript always closes paths and
fills images unless you specifically command Fontographer to do otherwise. To
turn glyph fill off, choose Selection Info from the Element menu and deselect Fill
in the glyph Information dialog box. If you want to have outline and path
connections without a fill (this is a glyph made up of stroked lines), click the
Stroke checkbox. Basically, you should know that 99% of the time youll be using
closed paths. For more about stroked glyphs, refer to Chapter 3, Creating New
Fonts.

Open path

Closed path

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Path direction and fills

A glyph with an open path remains unfilled by PostScript, but glyphs with closed
paths are filled. PostScript automatically closes paths unless you specify
otherwise. Open paths are lines in which the final point does not reconnect to the
initial point in the path and are basically worthless unless youre creating a Type 3
font. A closed path includes an end point that reconnects with the first point in the
path.

Tip: To keep a path open in PostScript printing, choose Selection Info from the
Element menu to access the glyph Information dialog box. You will find options to
turn both the fill and stroke on or off. You should turn fill off thereby
eliminating both the fill and the path. Click the stroke item checkbox to restore the
path only.

Note: This option only works correctly with Type 3 fonts.

In the glyph Information dialog box (which displays when you choose Selection
Info from the Element menu), you can select one of two types of fills Normal or
Even/odd. The standard PostScript filling technique is called a winding number
fill, which is the Normal fill. The Even/odd fill operates differently (See Even/odd
fill on page 164 of this chapter).
When you choose Selection Info, you will only get the glyph Information dialog
box if no points are selected or more than one is selected. When one point is
selected, the Point Information dialog box will appear.

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Altering Outlines

Normal fill
You should use the Normal fill type for PostScript Type 1 and TrueType fonts.
!

Note: The Normal fill relies on the outside path being described as clockwise and
the next inside path being described as counterclockwise, hence the term winding
number.
This results in normally filled glyphs, like in the o below.

The outside path of this glyph is going in the clockwise direction; the inside path
is counterclockwise so the inside of the glyph appears transparent.
The current path direction, clockwise or counterclockwise, is shown in the
Element menu. Click a control point and choose Clockwise or Counterclockwise
from the Path menu to change path direction. You can also change direction via
the path direction indicator in the outline window. Path direction is defined only
on closed paths.

Path direction indicator

Technically, it doesnt make any difference whether the outside path is clockwise
or counterclockwise, but for the sake of consistency between Fontographers fonts
and the proper operation of automatic hints, we recommend that the outer paths
should be clockwise and the inner paths counterclockwise.

If the inside path of the glyph is changed to a clockwise direction (the same
direction of the outside path), everything in the glyph becomes filled.

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Fontographer 5

Even/odd fill
The other filling technique is called an even/odd fill. You should use the even/odd
fill type for PostScript Type 3 fonts or for modifying the behavior of the Remove
Overlap command. An outside path is not filled until it crosses a path. The area
that it crosses is filled; the next area the path crosses becomes unfilled, and so on.
In the previous illustration of the o, even/odd filling would give the desired
result even if both paths were clockwise.

Tip: You can change a normal fill to an even/odd fill by choosing Selection Info
from the Element menu and then choosing Even/odd from the Type pop-up.

Original illustration

With a normal fill

With an even/odd fill

Correct path direction

Path directions can be automatically corrected you can tell Fontographer to
examine all the path directions and reorder them if necessary. Path directions
must be correctly set for proper filling of glyphs. Choosing Correct Path Direction
from the Element menu tells Fontographer to examine all the selected glyphs and,
if necessary, automatically adjust their path directions.
Outer paths will be set to clockwise, inner paths to counterclockwise. When
required Fontographer automatically, but temporarily, reverses these; for
instance, when generating Type 1 fonts.
!

164

Note: You can stop this operation at any time by typing COMMAND-PERIOD.

Altering Outlines

Reverse path direction

To reverse path direction, select the path to be reversed and click the path
direction indicator with the mouse (in the lower left corner of the outline window),
or choose the opposite direction from the Element menu either clockwise or
counterclockwise. Reversing path direction will alter the fill in your glyph.

Click the path direction indicator.

Change this glyph

to this glyph.

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Fontographer 5

Types of points
Fontographer uses three different types of points: corner points, curve points, and
tangent points. Dont be confused by the different point types like control
handles, theyre nothing more than different ways of working with the same basic
element. The shape of glyphs is determined by the kinds of points used to
construct them. You control the shape of the line segments in a path by either
manipulating two control handles attached to each point or directly manipulating
the path itself.
Certain principles operate in using the corner, tangent, and curve points. Once
you understand these principles, creating and altering glyphs is easy.

Curve points

When you place a curve point or convert another type of point to a curve point,
Fontographer automatically extends two control handles from the point to create a
smooth curve between the preceding and following points on the path. The shape
of the lines that extend from both sides of a curve point will be an arc.
The curve point tool is used to create curve points and join curves to other curves
smoothly. The curve point tool can be selected by clicking its indicator. When the
lock icon is in the locked position, the numeric keypad equivalent for choosing the
curve point tool is 8.

Tips: Click the existing path with the curve point tool to add curve points.

When you select a curve point, Fontographer displays the point as a hollow circle.
You can change an existing point to a curve point by selecting Curve Point from
the Points menu.

You can use either the OPTION to drag a control handle out of a control point.
Basically, if a series of curve points is connected, the points will display an arc that
takes the most graceful and efficient route in maintaining the line through the
sequence of points. In mathematical terms, the slope of the curve is continuous
through the point.

166

Altering Outlines

Corner points

The corner point tool is used to join straight segments to curved segments or to
other straight segments at an angle, or to connect two curve segments at a cusp.
The corner point tool can be selected by clicking its indicator. When the lock icon
is in the locked position, the numeric equivalent for choosing the corner point tool
is 9.

Tip: Click the existing path with the corner point tool to add corner points.
When you select a corner point, Fontographer displays the point as a hollow
square. You can change an existing point to a corner point by selecting Corner
Point from the Points menu.

Tip: You can drag the control handles out of the corner point to make the corner
point behave similarly to a curve point, by holding down the OPTION key while you
drag out of the point.

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Fontographer 5

Tangent points

The tangent point tool is used to connect straight lines to curves with a smooth
tangent join. Tangent points may also be used to connect straight line segments
together. You can select the tangent point tool by clicking its indicator. When the
lock icon is in the locked position, the numeric keypad equivalent for choosing the
curve point tool is 0.

When you select a tangent point, Fontographer displays the point as a hollow
triangle. You can change an existing point to a tangent point by selecting Tangent
Point from the Points menu.

168

Tip: Click the existing path with the tangent point tool to add tangent points.

Altering Outlines

Selecting multiple points

In Fontographer, you can select a group of points or paths in a variety of ways:

Position the pointer tool outside the area of points you want in the selection,
press down the mouse button, and drag to the opposite corner of the group of
points or paths you want to include.

A dotted-line box surrounding your selection appears as you drag. Release the
mouse button when youre through selecting points.

You can select an entire path by double-clicking any point in that path or on
the path itself.

To select any combination of points, just press the SHIFT key and select each
point individually with the pointer tool.

Select all the points by choosing Select All from the Edit menu.

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Fontographer 5

Changing a point type

You can convert any point into another type of point at any time. To change a
points type, select the point or group of points, and choose the new point type
from the Points menu, or press the COMMAND or CONTROL key plus the appropriate
numeric equivalent. The need to change point type arises in cases where the
shaping of a line requires different attributes than those offered by the currently
selected point type.
To change point types:
There are two ways to change point types:
1.

Select the point with the pointer tool, by clicking it once.

2.

Then choose the point type youd like to change it to from the Points menu.
The point changes to the new point type. The checkmark beside the point type
in the Points menu indicates the selected point type.

170

Note: The Undo command will switch the point back to its previous state.

Altering Outlines

Inserting points
In general, with font glyphs and other graphic images, the fewer points you
include the more graceful the image. On the other hand, there are situations when
you need to add points to get more control. One professional typographer Judy
Sutcliffe recommends roughing out glyphs by drawing them in an outline form
with corner points, and then returning and substituting other kinds of points
where needed. With whatever process you use for building images or glyphs, there
will be instances where you want to add points to a path, so you can more easily
control the paths shape.
To insert a point:
1.

Select the appropriate control point tool (or the pen tool).

2.

Position the pointer on the figure where the new point should be inserted (on
top of a line or a curve).
If the pointer is positioned some distance away from the line or curve, a new
path is started; or if the current path is active (open), it is continued.

3.

Click the figure.

The point is inserted into the figure at that position.

Click a path

to place a new point.

Drag the point

to a new location.

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Fontographer 5

Duplicating points
By choosing Duplicate from the Edit menu, you can copy selected points and
paths. The duplicated points will offset slightly (down and to the right) from the
original outline and are selected.

Select a path and choose

Duplicate from the Edit menu.

A duplicate path appears.

Tip: If you use the Duplicate command, and move the first duplicated path
immediately after the new image appears, all future duplicates will be spaced the
same amount of distance from each other.

Select a path.

Duplicate the path and move it to a new position.

Each subsequent duplicated image is spaced the same distance.

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Altering Outlines

Power duplicating
By combining the Clone and Duplicate items in the Edit menu you can create
some pretty interesting images. Follow our example below to create a spiral glyph,
and then try some combinations of your own.
1.

Create any shape.

2.

Choose Clone from the Edit menu.

3.

Use the rotation tool on the cloned image.

4.

Select Duplicate from the Edit menu.

5.

Repeat step 4 to make as many duplicates as you like.

Try this with some of the other transformation tools to see what effects you can
create.

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Fontographer 5
Create a square.

Create a star.

Clone and then

skew it.

Clone and reduce it.

Duplicate it as many
times as you like.

Duplicate it as many
times as you like.

Removing points
Anytime you want, you can delete a point in a path by selecting the point and
pressing the DELETE key. Fontographer removes the point and opens up the path.
Sometimes, you will want to split a path to create two open paths. However, most
of the time youll probably want to remove points without breaking the path this
is called merging points. We tell you how to do both in this section.
To remove points within a path:

Select the points and choose Clear from the Edit menu.

Select the points and press the DELETE key.

This removes active points, opening the path up if it was closed, or splitting it if it
was open and the selected point was not an end point.

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Altering Outlines

Splitting a path
Sometimes, youll need to split a path at a point to create either two open paths or,
if youre working with a closed path, to create an open path. Simply click a point
and then select Split Points from the Points menu. Fontographer splits the
selected point into two separate points. Both of the new points are selected after
Fontographer splits the point. The point connected to the start of the original path
(according to the paths direction) will be under the point connected to the end of
the original path.
To split a path:

1.

Click the point you want to split into two points.

2.

Choose Split Points from the Points menu. Fontographer splits the selected
point into two points. The second point is hidden under the top point.

3.

Press the TAB key to deselect any selected points.

4.

Choose the selection pointer from the tool palette.

5.

Click the split point and move it.

Tip: You can split more than one point at a time by holding down the SHIFT key
while you click the points and then choosing Split Points from the Points menu.

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Fontographer 5

Splitting line segments

If you want to split a path by splitting a line segment (rather than by splitting the
path at a point), select the knife tool and drag across the path where you want to
split it. Fontographer splits the path, creating two new points where the knife tool
crossed (or intersected) the path.

Drag the knife tool across the path to split the path.

Tip: You can drag across lots of paths at once and split them all.

Hold down the OPTION key while you drag the knife tool
across the path to remove the path or line segment.

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Altering Outlines

Joining points
When you want to connect a path to another by joining points, as in instances
where you are joining serifs and stems, we recommend using the Frankenstein
approach pasting your image together by joining points. This can be especially
useful if you want to copy the stems from a serif typeface and add them to your
sans-serif typeface.
!

Note: Never mistake this method for Merge Points, found in the Points menu.
Although related, the Merge Points command essentially removes any selected
points on a path without breaking the path.
To join points from open paths:

Drag an end point of one of the paths over an end point of the other path.

Fontographer joins the paths.

In the example on the right, the curve point changed to a corner point since
Fontographer always tries to maintain the original shape of the path.

Drag an end point from one path over the end point of another path

to join the paths.

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Fontographer 5

Adding serifs
For those instances where you might want to combine the serifs from a serif
typeface with your sans-serif typeface:
1.

Drag around an area to select the points you want to copy (in your serif
typeface).

2.

Choose Copy from the Edit menu.

3.

Choose Paste from the Edit menu to paste the points into the new glyph (in
your sans-serif typeface).

4.

Drag the selected path, until the points you want to merge cover their
coordinate points on the other path or paths.

5.

Release the mouse button.

Fontographer automatically joins the points and unites the paths.

Drag around an area to select the points and then choose

Copy from the Edit menu.

Drag the points over the points on the other path.

Fontographer automatically joins the points and paths.

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Altering Outlines

Merging points
There will be many times when youll want to remove excess points from a glyph.
If you use the methods described in the previous sections, youll be left with a
broken line segment or an open path. Merging points simply removes the point
from the path and connects the point on either side of the deleted point with a
single line segment. This is handy for removing unnecessary points.

Select the point to remove, and then choose Merge Points

from the Points menu.

Fontographer removes the point.

Merging points removes the active point, but joins the points on either side, so
closed paths remain closed and open paths are not split into two pieces.
See Clean Up Paths in Chapter 3, Creating New Fonts, for more automatic
ways of removing unneeded points.

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Fontographer 5

Moving a point
Moving a point or a group of points can be done in a couple of ways. Use the
ARROW keys to move the point a certain number of em units in any of four
directions, or drag the point with the selection pointer.
To move a point with the mouse:
1.

Click the selection tool, position it on the point to be moved, and click.

2.

Without releasing the mouse button, drag the point to the new location.
When you use the selection pointer to move a point that is connected to other
points, you can see the line segments change as you drag. If the point is
connected to other points, the connecting lines or curves are shown during the
move, so you can see the effect of the move as it happens.

Select a point

and drag.

While youre moving the point(s), the position indicators at the top of the window
are continuously updated to show the actual position and distance of the pointer
from the basepoint.

180

Tip: To hide points while dragging (to see a clearer image of the outline) go to
Preferences in the Fontographer menu and deselect Show points while
dragging paths in the Point display dialog box. This also improves speed
performance during dragging because only selected points are drawn.

Altering Outlines

Demagnified move
Most drawing programs require zooming to a more detailed view to draw intricate
designs. Sometimes, however, this causes a loss of overall perspective.
Fontographer has a unique capability, called a demagnified move, which allows
for very precise point placement. A demagnified move constrains cursor
movement to one-tenth the distance specified in the Preferences, at full
resolution.
To use demagnification:

Hold down the CONTROL key while dragging a point.

If your Preferences under the Fontographer menu are set to the default of 10 em
units, Fontographer will move the selection in one-em-unit increments.

Keyboard commands to move points

Click a control point to select it; and use the LEFT, RIGHT, UP, or DOWN ARROW
keys to move the point by one em unit.

Click the control point to select it, and hold down the SHIFT key while using
the ARROW keys to move the point by ten times the specified cursor distance.

To move a point by more than one em unit, which is the default preference setting
for cursor editing behavior, select Preferences from the Fontographer menu.
Type in the preferred distance in the cursor textbox.

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Fontographer 5

Accurate point placement

For accurate BCP and point placement, select a control point and choose
Selection Info from the Element menu. Type in whatever coordinates you like.
You can move the Point Information dialog box anywhere on your screen to allow
an unobstructed view of the points you are setting.

Any changes you make in the Point Information dialog box are immediately
reflected in the glyph outline window. In addition to using the TAB key to move
through the fields, additional key commands are available for the Next and
Previous Points operations. These commands are shown on the Next and
Previous buttons.

Tip: The neatest way to get accurate point placement is to turn on Show
coordinates for selected points in the Point display section of the Preferences
dialog box, step through each point by choosing Next Point and Previous Point
from the View menu, and use the arrow keys to nudge points.
To select the next point in the path:

Click the

button.

To select the previous point in the path:

Click the

button.

To make a point the first point in a path:

1.

Select a point.

2.

Click the Make First button in the Point Information dialog box.

You can undo resetting of the first point by pressing the Cancel button or
choosing Undo when youre back in the outline window.

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Altering Outlines
Pressing Cancel will undo everything you did in the Point Information dialog box
and restore the glyph to its original state.
Choosing Undo from the Edit menu will also undo everything you did in the Point
Information dialog box, because selecting Undo is considered one action.
!

Note: The Make First option is designed for those rare instances when you need
manual point ordering, for example, when creating fonts for font blending
(interpolation). For more detailed information about reordering points and font
blending refer to Blend fonts to create new fonts in Chapter 3, Creating New
Fonts and Font blending the technical details in Chapter 13, Expert Advice.
To retract BCPs into their point:
1.

Click the On Point checkbox for the incoming and/or outgoing BCP in the
Point Information dialog box.
The BCPs will move (or disappear from view) into their point.

2.

Click the checkbox again to deselect it; the BCPs will reappear and return to
their previous coordinates.
You can also retract BCPs in the outline window with a menu command. See
Retracting BCPs on page 191 for more information.

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Fontographer 5

Point and path preferences

Path display
You can control the way paths appear by setting options in the Preferences dialog
box. Choose Preferences from the Fontographer menu. Then select Editing in the
header of the dialog box.
Next choose the radio button relating to the path behavior that best describes how
you want paths to act when you select them.

You can drag paths as a whole. To choose this option, click the Select and
drag the path radio button.

In this case, when you click a path with the selection pointer, you select the
two adjacent points and any segments extending between and on either side of
them.

184

Or choose the Select and edit the path radio button to move a segment
lying between two points (and leave those points in place) when you click the
segment and drag with the mouse.

Tip: Using OPTION while dragging on a path alternates between the two options.

Altering Outlines
Instead of having to manipulate control handles to regulate the shape of the
segment, you can drag the line in any direction.
The outline of the original position of the line stays on the screen as you drag,
enabling you to go back to your starting place. Of course, you can also undo these
actions by choosing Undo from the Edit menu.
Choosing the Do nothing option results in no action taking place when you click a
path with the mouse. In order to move the path, you will have to move the control
point or its BCP handles.

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Fontographer 5

Point display
To select the type of point display that you want to see when you edit your glyphs
or graphic images, choose from the possibilities found in the Preferences dialog
box. First choose Preferences from the Fontographer menu. Then select Point
Display from the pop-up to display the options for viewing points.
Click each of the options to see the differences youll get when you edit. For more
information on each of the display options, refer to Point display in Chapter 13,
Expert Advice.

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Altering Outlines

Show and hide control points

Depending on the type of work you are doing, you may or may not want to view
your image with the points showing. The Show Points item in the View menu lets
you show or hide control points. When you are dealing with very small paths and
points that may overlap, the screen can get a little full, and in those instances you
can either reduce the point size or turn off the display of points. This is important
for premium WYSIWYG in the Preview mode.
To show control points:

Choose Show Points from the View menu to turn on the display of points.

To hide control points:

If Show Points is already checked, choose Show Points from the View menu to
deselect it.

Tip: To make points temporarily appear when Show Points is turned off, click
anywhere outside the path.

Note: To change the size of the points from larger to smaller, or the reverse, turn
on the Draw Using Larger Points Point display item in the Preferences dialog box.

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Fontographer 5

Editing and placing BCPs

Fontographer gives you considerable control over the shape of curved segments.
This is done by adjusting the position of the Bzier Control Points (nicknamed
BCPs because Fontographers curved segments are Bzier curves). Bzier curves
define complex shapes with a minimum number of points.
All points include one or more BCPs that occasionally seem to hide inside the
control point. Most corner points are constructed so that BCPs remain inside the
point. Curve points ordinarily work the other way around. You can think of these
points as knobs with handles on the ends.
Pull the BCP out of the control points and use them like levers to control the
shapes of the extending line segments. Moving the lever adjusts the angle of the
curve. The length of the lever determines the degree and depth of the curved
segment. When a point has two BCPs as in corner and curve points one handle
controls the incoming segment, and the other controls the outgoing segment.
The default preference setting displays the BCP lines when a control point is
selected, although you can change this in the Point display area in the Preferences
dialog box.

BCP principles

188

BCPs control the shape of Bzier curves between points.

Selecting a control point activates that points Bzier points.

BCPs that lie within control points may not be visible.

There are two BCPs associated with each control point.

Note: If you are using a tool that is capable of inserting points, and you are trying
to select a points BCP by clicking within the normal control point, you may
accidentally place another control point instead.

Tip: If a BCP handle is not visible, you can press the OPTION key to drag the BCP
out from the control point.

Altering Outlines

Dragging a control points BCPs

The BCPs for each of the three different kinds of points behave in different ways. A
curve points BCPs align in a 180-degree angle, whereas a corner points BCPs
move independently of one another. The tangent points BCPs move only along
the line of its slope.

Curve point

Corner point

Tangent point

Dragging a curve points BCPs

A curve point and its BCPs lie on the same segment. Each BCP (and its curved
segment) is affected by the movement of the other BCP. Dragging one of a curve
points BCPs in any direction will result in the other BCP moving to maintain the
straight line.

Click the BCP and drag.

As you drag the BCP left or

right, the other BCP moves along with it.

Tips: Holding down the SHIFT key while you drag a BCP constrains the movement
to the horizontal and vertical axes, or to 45-degree increments between the two.

Holding down the SHIFT-OPTION keys while dragging a BCP constrains the BCP
movement to the slope of the curve.

Note: If a BCP and a control point lie on top of one another, any attempt to select
the BCP will select the control point instead. In other words, the point is selected
before the BCP is recognized (control points have selection priority over BCPs). To
get around this problem, select a point, hold down the OPTION key, and then drag
to move the BCP off of the point.

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Fontographer 5

Dragging a corner points BCPs

A corner points BCPs generally lie on top of that same corner point.
To select an incoming or outgoing BCP:
1.

Hold down the OPTION key before clicking the control point.

Moving or adjusting one of the corner points BCPs does not move the other
BCP or its attached segment.
2.

190

Hold down the OPTION key, click the point, and drag out from the control
point.

Tips: Press the SHIFT key and drag to constrain BCP movement to the horizontal
and vertical axes, or to 45-degree increments.

Hold down the SHIFT-OPTION keys to constrain the movement of the BCPs to the
slope of the control points tangent.

Altering Outlines

Dragging a tangent points BCPs

A tangent points BCPs always constrains to the tangent (that is why they are
named tangent points). Consequently, a tangent points BCPs can never be moved
away from the tangent line. Moving the BCP will not change the slope of the curve.
The OPTION key can be used to select the BCPs that lie on top of a tangent point.

Tip: If you want to extract the outgoing BCP from a tangent point, you will need
to drag out the incoming BCP with the OPTION, then drag out the outgoing with the
OPTION, and drag the incoming BCP back onto the point.

Retracting BCPs
As we discussed earlier, you adjust Bzier control handles by selecting the point
theyre attached to, then dragging the handle. You can also retract the control
handles. This is useful when you have a corner point with unnecessary BCPs.

Select the control point and

then choose Retract BCPs
from the Points menu.

Fontographer retracts the BCPs

into their point and changes
the curve accordingly.

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Fontographer 5

Auto curvature
The Auto Curvature option instructs the curve point tool where to put the BCPs
and how far to extend their handles. You can control auto curvature from the
Points menu. Auto curvature is active primarily on curve points, but corner points
can also have auto curvature if their adjacent points are curve points. Auto
curvature allows a point thats being moved to automatically update the angle and
length of BCPs. If the adjacent points are also set for auto curvature, their BCPs
will also update automatically as the point is moved. This means that when a point
is moved, you will no longer have to adjust BCPs after moving a point, nor will you
need to select the adjacent points and re-edit their BCPs. A BCP with auto
curvature active will look different from BCPs without it. Instead of a square +, the
BCPs will look more like an x.

This curve point doesnt

have auto curvature.

This curve point does.

This corner point doesnt

have auto curvature.

This corner point does.

When you use the curve point tool to draw a new path, the curve points will
default to have auto curvature on. To toggle it off, select Auto Curvature from the
Points menu or move a BCP. When you edit a BCP, the Auto Curvature option
turns itself off.
When you insert a curve point on an existing path, auto curvature will be
automatically off, otherwise it would distort the path. If you want to turn it on,
select Auto Curvature.

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Altering Outlines
One of the most important uses for auto curvature is in tweaking paths. If youve
copied a bitmap image into the template layer and autotraced it, auto curvature
can make your work easier.
Here is a template image that was traced.
1.

Move the curve point so that it will be at the extrema (the outermost edge of
any curve).

2.

Select the point.

3.

Select Auto Curvature from the Points menu.

4.

Move the point, and the BCPs update automatically.

5.

After you move the point, move the BCP with the SHIFT key to make it vertical
(and conform to the template bitmap).

This will turn off auto curvature.

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Fontographer 5

What else can you do with auto curvature? Suppose you want to make a Beer Belly
font. Grab the east-most point of the bowl of letter D and pull it out and down. In
the bad old days, before you could control auto curvature, it would look like this:

With the Auto Curvature option turned on, it will look like this:

Choose Clean Up Paths from the Element menu, and there you have it: a D with a
prominent Beer Belly.

Auto curvature is not an exact science. You may want to tweak the BCPs slightly
once you get the point in the place where you want it. But it saves you the effort of
constantly having to tweak BCPs, only to decide later that you like it elsewhere.
After youre done moving all the paths, we also recommended that you choose
Clean Up Paths to put the extrema at the extremes so that the glyph (and font)
will hint correctly.

194

Editing Bitmaps
There are several reasons why you probably wont have to worry about bitmaps.
The first is modern system software that improves the screen appearance of
PostScript Type 1 fonts. The second is TrueType, the outline font format
developed by Apple and Microsoft, which doesnt need bitmaps at all, since the
fonts outlines are used for the screen display.

Fontographer 5
The built-in support of Type 1 fonts in Mac OS and Windows and invention of
TrueType has almost made bitmaps a thing of the past. So we recommend that
you spend your time designing good outlines, and let your bitmaps take care of
themselves.
However, there are some reasons why you might want to edit bitmaps. Perhaps
youd like to create grayscale Type 3 fonts, or youre creating professional fonts for
older systems, or for small electronic devices that still use bitmap fonts. Or maybe
you just like playing with pixels.

Create bitmap characters by turning pixels on and off.

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Editing Bitmaps

Using the bitmap window

You can use the bitmap window as a tool to improve the look of a font on the
screen. This window is composed of a series of square dots, called pixels, which
can be turned on or off to produce images. When the dots are turned on they
appear black, and when they are turned off they become white.
To open a bitmap window:
1.

Select a glyph by clicking it in the font window, opening a glyphs outline

window, or clicking a glyph in the metrics window.

2.

Choose Open Bitmap Window from the Window menu.

Bitmaps must be created before you can view them. If you dont have any
bitmaps for the font yet, Fontographer will prompt you to create some. You
can type in whatever sizes youd like in the Bitmap Information dialog box,
which will appear automatically if you try to open the bitmap window without
first creating bitmaps.

You can open multiple windows so that different glyphs (or even different
point sizes of a single glyph) can be worked on at the same time. This is
especially helpful when you are editing a glyph with several bitmap sizes.

Tip: To close all open bitmap windows at once, OPTION-click the close box for any
of the open windows. Any open outline or metrics windows will remain open.

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Fontographer 5

The bitmap window

The bitmap window includes a title bar that shows the name of the font, the point
size of the glyph, and the glyph itself. The toolbox contains a pencil, eraser, hand
tool, marquee selection tool, magnifying tool, measuring tool, straight line tool,
and a move tool.

The lock icon in the lower left corner has two functions. When the lock is open,
you can change to a different glyph simply by typing the keystroke(s) of the new
glyph. Having the lock icon closed, prevents the glyph from being changed to
another glyph, if you accidentally press a keystroke.

Tip: The ENTER or RETURN key toggles the state of the lock on and off.
The info bar at the top of the bitmap window shows you the glyphs ascent,
descent, offset, and width values, as well as listing the horizontal and vertical
location of the cursor in pixels. These features give you the ability to precisely
measure distances when you create a glyph. An actual point-size image of the
glyph is displayed in the top left corner.
The Recalculate from outline button allows you to recompute a new pixel image
based on the glyphs outline. This button is useful when you have edited a
particular outline glyph and dont want to recalculate the entire bitmap font. For
more information, refer to When should you recalculate bitmaps? on page 212.

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Editing Bitmaps

Editing a bitmap
To make changes to a bitmap:
1.

Select the A in the Font window.

2.

Choose Open Bitmap Window from the Window menu.

If you are opening a font for the first time, you probably wont have any
bitmaps associated with it. Fontographer will ask you if you want to generate
any.
3.

Click Yes.
The Bitmap Information dialog box will appear. Fontographer automatically
defaults to include the 12 and 24-point bitmap size. You can add to or change
the sizes in this list if you like.

4.

Click OK.
Fontographer generates the bitmap files. The bitmap window of A appears.

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Fontographer 5
5.

Choose Next Point Size from the View menu to view the next larger point size
available.

6.

Type OPTION-G to turn off the guidelines, if you find them distracting.

7.

Select the bitmap and select the move tool to move the bitmap.

8.

Choose Next Glyph.

The glyph B appears.

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Editing Bitmaps
9.

From this view decide which bits to change to improve the glyphs looks, and
then click with the pencil tool to remove or add them.

Thats all there is to editing your bitmaps. The majority of the time Fontographer
creates perfectly acceptable bitmaps, so you only need this option if youre a real
perfectionist.

The central edit area

The central edit area is the space where the bitmap image appears. This is where
all your bitmap drawing and editing takes place. The bitmap image includes
pixels, which are simply dots that may be highlighted to create a pattern on the
screen. Behind the pixel image is the outline of the glyph to guide you in choosing
the pixels that you want to turn on or off.

The Info bar shows the offset and width values for the glyph. The offset value will
change to correspond to any changes made to the bitmap glyphs offset. The width
value is the glyphs advance width in pixels and cannot be changed in the bitmap
window. Changing the width in the outline window will update the bitmap window
if you press the Recalculate from outline button.

Ascent and descent values

The ascent is the number of points between the baseline and the top boundary of
the em square. In the font pictured here, the ascent is 17 pixels from the baseline.
Consequently, the descent is the amount of pixels between the baseline and the
lowermost boundary of the em square. The descent for this point size is 7 pixels.

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Fontographer 5
The bitmap window in Fontographer 5 includes maximum ascender and
descender lines. These lines represent the limits for bitmap placement based upon
the outlines for all existing glyphs. Youll find these guides valuable when you are
manually creating bitmaps. The maximum ascender line appears only when a
glyphs outline extends below the descender line. However, if you have selected to
preserve line spacing (in the Recalculate Bitmaps dialog box), the maximum
ascender and descender lines will not appear for that glyph; they will be the same
as the normal ascender and descender lines.

Offset and width values

The offset is the distance in pixels from the leftmost black pixel to the origin line.
This value changes as you edit the bitmap glyph. If there are no points between
these two, the offset is zero.

There are 0 pixels between the origin and the left edge of the letter T pictured
above. The width indicator shows us the width of the glyph in pixels: The T is 17
pixels wide.

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Editing Bitmaps

Visible layers
You can choose to display or hide guidelines in the bitmap window by typing
OPTION-G. The guidelines you will see are the ascent, descent, and baseline of the
font. Use them in the bitmap window as a drawing aid.
To display or hide the Outline layer, type OPTION-O. The outline is visible behind
the bitmap, and you can use it as an aid in bitmap editing, but no changes to the
outline can be made in this layer. Changes to the outline glyph will, however,
display in the bitmap window.

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Fontographer 5

Tools in the bitmap window

There are eight tools in the bitmap windows tool palette. The straight line tool,
directly beneath the close box, allows you to draw straight bitmapped lines by
holding down the mouse button and dragging. Hold down the SHIFT key to
constrain the line tool to draw horizontal lines, vertical lines, or 45-degree angle
lines.

When the lock icon is in the locked position, access the straight line tool by typing
1.

Tip: Holding down the OPTION key causes the line to be drawn from the center
the point where you clicked. This applies to other tools as well.
The hand tool is used to move the screen in any direction by clicking the window
and dragging. The hand tool scrolls the entire glyph window. Move the bitmap
image around to an optimum screen position before you begin to edit it. Youll
need to do this if your glyphs are too large to fit into the central edit area.

When the lock icon is in the locked position, you can access the hand tool by
typing 2.

204

Tip: You can temporarily change any of the bitmap tools to the hand tool by
pressing the SPACEBAR.

Editing Bitmaps
Use the pencil tool to place or erase pixels with a click of the mouse. When you
place the pencil above the pixel and click, the bit will change from black to white
or vice versa. You can either drag or click with the pencil. Clicking draws just one
dot. Dragging produces a black or white series of dots. Holding down the SHIFT
key while dragging constrains drawing to a 45-degree line, a vertical line, or a
horizontal straight line.

When the lock icon is in the locked position, you can access the pencil tool by
typing 3.
The eraser tool removes any pixels it touches. You can also use the pencil tool to
erase pixels one-by-one, but using the eraser tool can be more effective for larger
areas. Holding down the SHIFT key while dragging constrains the eraser to a
vertical or horizontal straight line.

When the lock icon is in the locked position, you can access the eraser tool by
typing 4.

Tip: Double-click the eraser tool to erase all pixels in the edit area.
The marquee selection tool is used to select and move pixels. If the marquee is
present, pasted bits will be scaled to fit within it. You can paste bitmap images into
the marquee area. To deselect the marquee area, click anywhere outside the
central edit area or press the TAB key.
When the lock icon is in the locked position, you can access the marquee selection
tool by typing 5.

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Fontographer 5

Tips: You can use the marquee selection tool with the standard Cut, Copy, and
Paste commands to move or copy pixels between glyphs.

To enclose all the bits automatically, choose Select All from the Edit menu when
the marquee tool is selected.

Use the marquee like a selection tool to outline an area to be moved.

The part of the bitmap you select will display as pixels on

a grid. This section can be moved to another location on the bitmap.
The move tool lets you move the bitmap glyph away from its outline in any
direction.
When the lock icon is in the locked position, you can access the move tool by
typing 6.

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Editing Bitmaps
You can use the measuring tool to measure distances between pixels. When you
position it and click the mouse and drag to another place, the measured distance
in pixels will appear within a rectangular box. The measuring tool is automatically
constrained to 45-degree angles, horizontal or vertical straight lines. Hold down
the SHIFT key to move it freely.
When the lock icon is in the locked position, you can access the measuring tool by
typing 7.

The magnifying tool can increase the screen size of the bitmap by 2, 4, 8, or 16
times its actual size. When the tool appears on screen, click the mouse and release
to show a magnified version. Clicking again increases the magnification unless
there isnt a larger size, in which case an empty magnifying tool will appear.
To reduce the size of the bitmap, hold down the OPTION key. The magnifying tool
will display a minus sign.

When the lock icon is in the locked position, you can access the magnifying tool by
typing 8.

Tip: Temporarily get the magnifying tool from any other tool by holding down
COMMAND-SPACEBAR. To reduce the image, hold down COMMAND-OPTIONSPACEBAR.

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Fontographer 5
When you can no longer enlarge the image, the magnification tool will display
nothing in its center.

208

Note: You can also change the magnification of the character by choosing
Magnification from the View menu and selecting the desired view size from the
pop-up.

Editing Bitmaps

Undo and redo

There are a few ways to undo and redo changes made to the bitmap. If you want to
remove an added point, just click it with the pencil tool or choose Undo from the
Edit menu. To redo the change choose Redo. The default setting for number of
Undo levels and Redo levels is 100, but you can change this from the Preferences
option in the Fontographer menu.

Richard Beatty Says:

If the lack of absolute smoothness on the screen pains some users of Type 3
typefaces, you can make screen fonts (bitmaps) at all the regularly used sizes and
hand-edit them to reduce the jaggies to the limits of the monitor screen, just like
ATM did for Type 1 typefaces.

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Fontographer 5

Changing bitmap views

Enlarging using the View menu
You can enlarge the bitmap image by selecting Magnification from the View
menu.
In the submenu, you can choose a magnification level for the display of the bitmap
image. When you choose 100%, you are selecting the actual size. The other choices
offer you the bitmap at 2, 4, 8, and 16 times its actual size. The corresponding
command keys are as follows:
Magnification

Macintosh

Fit in Window

COMMAND -T

100% (Actual size)

COMMAND-1

200%

COMMAND-2

400%

COMMAND-3

800%

COMMAND-4

1600%

COMMAND-5

3200%

COMMAND-6

6400%

COMMAND-7

To enlarge using the magnifying tool:

Select the magnifying tool and click once on the screen on the area you want
to enlarge in the window.

You can magnify the image to 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 or 64 times the actual size. When you
can no longer magnify the image, the tool will display nothing in its center.
To reduce the bitmap image with key commands:
1.

Press COMMAND-OPTION-SPACEBAR and then click the mouse. The magnifying

tool displays with the minus indicator.

2.

Continue clicking to reduce the image.

Switching glyphs in the bitmap window

Theres a small lock in the lower left corner of the bitmap window. If the lock is in
a locked position, it locks the current glyph into that window. This prevents a
glyph from being changed in case you accidentally press a glyph key. It also lets
you use shortcut commands like OPTION-G to hide the guidelines.

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Editing Bitmaps
If the lock is unlocked, you can switch to a different glyph by typing that glyphs
keystroke(s).

Tip: You can toggle the lock on and off by pressing the RETURN or ENTER key.

Next and previous glyph

To display the next sequential glyph, choose Next Glyph from the View menu or
use the shortcut OPTION-RIGHT ARROW To select the previous glyph choose
Previous Glyph from the View menu, or press OPTION-LEFT ARROW.

Next and previous point size

To show the next point size of a bitmap, choose Next Point Size from the View
menu, or press COMMAND-OPTION-DOWN ARROW. The next point size will appear
only if you have chosen various sizes from the Bitmap Info dialog box in the
Element menu and youre not already at the largest point size available.
!

Note: Any new bitmap window you open will default to show the point size of the
current window.
To change to a previous point size:

Choose Previous Point Size from the View menu or press COMMAND-OPTIONUP ARROW. The next available smaller point size will automatically replace the
glyph in the bitmap window.

To change to the next point size:

Choose Next Point Size from the View menu, or press COMMAND-OPTIONDOWN ARROW. The next available larger point size will automatically replace
the glyph in the bitmap window.

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When should you recalculate

bitmaps?
Recalculate bitmaps from the outline when you have edited bitmap glyphs and you
want to start over. Also, when editing small point sizes, you can use this to see the
results of hint editing or metrics changes. If parts of the font have changed, you
can recalculate just those changed letters.

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Editing Bitmaps

Preserving your original bitmaps

Even though you may have modified an existing fonts outlines, you can still keep
the original fonts bitmaps if you like. This is useful in those instances where
youve added some special glyphs to your font (fractions or accents, for example).
You dont want to regenerate all the existing bitmaps, since commercial fonts
already have hand-edited bitmaps in them anyway.
Like everything else it does, Fontographer offers you an easy way to do this:
import any other bitmap font file.
1.

Choose Import from the File menu in any of Fontographers windows, and
then choose Bitmaps from the pop-up.
Fontographer presents a standard file dialog box that lets you find the bitmap
font file (Macintosh suitcase) containing the bitmaps you want to import into
this database. Then, if more than one bitmap is present, you will be given a
choice of which bitmaps to import.

2.

Click the file and choose the sizes and styles of bitmap.

Fontographer will read the bitmap screen fonts from the file and store them in
the currently open and selected database, so youll be able to generate these
bitmaps into a bitmap font file anytime you generate a new font.

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Fontographer 5
!

Note: You wont see the change in the font window, since the representation there
is simply a rendition of the outline glyph.
3.

214

Now you can go back and hand-edit your added glyphs if you like.

Note: The import of bitmaps (fonts) to the template layer is a tool we provided to
use as a guide for the size and placement of your glyphs, not to provide glyphs to
autotrace. Bitmap fonts contain very little information, compared to an image
copied in from a paint or drawing program. When traced, bitmaps will produce a
correspondingly poorer image. This is because there is not enough pixel
information in the bitmap font glyphs for the algorithm to use in its calculations.

Metrics Spacing and

Kerning
Font metrics is the term used to describe how letters are spaced when they are
typed. If youre producing a logo or graphic font that relies mostly on shapes
rather than words, you might not need to use either kerning or spacing
information. Or if youre a novice just playing around with fonts and arent yet
ready to pursue the finer details, you might delay reading this section.
Professional type designers usually do use metrics when they create a font. There
are a few good reasons for doing this.

Use the metrics window to

manually or automatically
adjust the spacing and kerning.

Fontographer 5
The untrained eye may not notice kerning and spacing in printed text, but any
reader will experience text as more difficult to perceive if it has not been well
kerned and spaced. We know that our brains like the type to coalesce in
meaningful groups and the more clearly defined the meaningful groups are in
the visual field, the quicker well be able to read the information. When groups
(words on the page) do not hang together very tightly, the brain has to work
harder to see them in meaningful ways. It would be pretty hard to read this page
if: Itwasprintedlikethisinsteadofwiththecorrectspacing.
In this case the brain has a daunting group-making job to do. Think of how you
feel when reading the unspaced sentence above. When you read poorly kerned and
spaced text, you get a toned-down version of that same sensation. So, if you are
going to design fonts, you will probably want to pay attention to the metrical
details, out of courtesy to the people who may use them.
Font metrics is the term used to describe how letters are spaced when they are
typed. This is easy to imagine if you remember how type used to be set. When
characters were carved on the end of a piece of metal, each characters width was
the width of the piece of metal on which it was carved. Setting type was a matter of
laying these pieces of metal down next to each other; therefore, the spacing was
determined exactly by the width of each piece of metal. To influence the metrics,
you could space the characters further apart by wedging little thin strips of metal
between them. You could even squeeze the characters closer together by filing
down parts of the metal type.
Fundamentally, character spacing was determined by how wide the metal pieces
were. And thats still pretty much what we mean by spacing: its mostly
determined by how wide the characters are. Letters are set down one after
another, each new characters position determined by the width of the previous
character. In other words, each new character starts where the previous one left
off. One of the most impressive features of Fontographer is its ability to let you
control the metrics of electronic fonts, either letter by letter or the entire font,
manually or automatically.
The next exercise shows the power of Fontographers Auto Space command. You
can auto space an entire font at once directly from the font window. However, in
this exercise, youll work in the metrics window so you can see Fontographer auto
space interactively on screen. In addition, we are going to ask you to purposely
mess up the spacing of your glyphs, so you can see just how effective our auto
spacing is, even in a worst-case scenario.

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Metrics Spacing and Kerning

To automatically space a font:
1.

Open one of your fonts.

2.

Choose Select All from the Edit menu.

3.

Choose Set Width from the Metrics menu.

4.

Set the width as illustrated below:

Fontographer will automatically set the spacing of the glyphs to be a uniform

width of 400 em units, producing an awful, monospaced font.
5.

Click any glyph to deselect all.

6.

Choose Open Metrics Window from the Window menu.

7.

Type the word Space.

Rather than manually setting different widths for each monospaced glyph, you
can auto space the font.

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Fontographer 5
8.

Choose Auto Space from the Metrics menu.

The Auto Space dialog box appears.

The dialog box has an Easy and Advanced mode.

9.

Choose Easy by clicking the Easy radio button.

10. Enter a value for spacing the glyphs. This is the result of a value 30 entered
in the text edit box.

You can adjust the spacing even further from the metrics window or apply
auto spacing again (with a different value) until you get the look you like.
Fontographer also has auto kerning, which works in the same easy manner as auto
spacing. The rest of this chapter covers both auto spacing and auto kerning in
more detail.

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Metrics Spacing and Kerning

Spacing
Since metal type pieces dont actually exist in the computer, electronic type is not
bound by the same kind of physical limitations that used to apply to type
production. In fact, you even have to tell the computer how wide each glyph is
supposed to be, so it will know how much to move over before placing the next
glyph. Thats what the handy width guide in Fontographers outline window is for:
you should place the width guide where you want the next glyph to begin with
respect to the one you are modifying.

Tip: Usually, you should set the width of each glyph to be pretty close to the parts
of the outline closest to the right.

Note: If you have not defined the width of all of your lowercase glyphs, your
cursor may not behave correctly in some word processing programs. This is
because some programs determine cursor width by averaging the width of all of
the lowercase glyphs in a font.

font
If you set the width
of the n like this

the letter spacing results in this.

Determining proper widths for each character in a font is a difficult task, because
each letter can appear alongside any other letter. You can imagine that a spacing
value for W, which looks good for Wo, may not look as good for Wh.
Therefore, finding the right values to use is a matter of looking at lots of
examples, and making some tradeoffs. This is sometimes easier said than done: If
your font has 200 characters in it, for instance, there are 200 x 200 = 40,000
different character combinations to consider.

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Fontographer 5
Some letters can never really be spaced correctly for all possible combinations. For
example, the T usually presents some problems.

fon t
If you want a wider space given
to the n and you change
the width to this

your result will look like this.

font
Of course, if you set the width
too tight

the computer will happily pile

letters on top of each other, like this.

To
If you set the width of the T
like this

220

some combinations of letters

might seem too loose.

Metrics Spacing and Kerning

To
Make the width narrower

to fix the problem.

Now, of course, you have a new problem.

Th

TT

Look at this

or this.

Clearly, you can fix some of the spacing problems some of the time, but never all
of the spacing problems all of the time. Which brings us to the subject of kerning.

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Fontographer 5

Pair kerning
Use pair kerning to get around those sorts of spacing difficulties. With a properly
kerned font, you can actually get perfectly wonderful glyph spacing all of the time,
with a bit of extra work up front.
Pair kerning, or informally, just kerning, is a way of overriding a glyphs spacing in
certain circumstances. To do kerning, you must first have a properly spaced font.
So, in this example, you would pick a width for T which works best for most
cases. Since overlapping glyphs look pretty ugly and should almost always be
avoided, you will pick a width that fixes Th and TT, and leaves To a little
loose. Once the spacing has been determined, you then look at all the glyph
combinations which cause trouble for the spacing value you picked. Typical
problem glyph pairs involving T are Ta, Te, To, Tu, Tw, Ty, and so on.
Those glyph pairs are prime candidates for kerning pairs. You can create different
kerning pairs for each of those cases, and individually adjust the spacing for each
pair.
Heres how it works: Lets say the optimum width for T is 825 em units. That
means that the T is always 825 em-units wide, no matter what glyph follows it,
except for the ones we define as kerning pairs. For example, the T in Ta could
pretend to have a width of 780, so the a gets tucked underneath a bit. For Te,
we would start with the same value and modify it, if necessary.
Another way to say it is that in the presence of kerning pairs, widths of glyphs can
change depending upon what the next character is (that is, the widths are
contextually sensitive).

222

Tip: You can create as many kerning pairs as you like, but for reasons well get
into later, you should strive to have as few as you can get away with. You should
never have sets of kerning pairs between one letter and every other letter (for
instance, having all the kerning pairs Ta, Tb, Tc,... all the way to TZ). If all
those kerning pairs are necessary to make the spacing look good, thats a clue that
you chose the wrong width for the T. By giving the T a better width value, you
would be able to do without some of those kern pairs. This give and take between
width settings and kerning pairs is part of what makes typography both an art and
a skill.

Metrics Spacing and Kerning

There is an upside to kerning pairs, which we have discussed, and a downside.
Many programs do not support kerning. There is a rule of thumb to use about
kerning and whether programs do it: typically, if the suggested retail price of a
piece of software is $400 or over, it will support kerning. Otherwise, it may not.
There are exceptions to this rule of course, but it is usually correct. Programs that
do page layout (Adobe InDesign, Quark XPress, and so forth) almost always use
kerning; the same is true for the higher end graphics programs. Some word
processors, spreadsheets, databases, and cheaper graphics programs still do not
support kerning. The point is that a font must look halfway decent without any
kerning in it at all, because you will probably want your font to look good both in
your word processor (without kerning) and in your page layout programs (with
kerning).
The other drawback to pair kerning is that the more kerning pairs you make for
your font, the bigger and slower it becomes. Granted, it wont make the font
tremendously slower or bigger, but it can become noticeable in extreme cases.
Most commercial font vendors ship their fonts with between 100 and 4000 pairs
per font. 100 pairs is certainly too few (except for a monospaced font, in which
case it is too many). 4000 pairs is clearly (to us, anyway) a sign that the font was
poorly spaced and had to be compensated for by overkerning it. A happy medium
might be somewhere between 400 and 1500 pairs (for small Latin fonts),
depending upon the typeface and nature of the particular type designer. For
example, some people like to kern all the characters in the font, even pairs like ,
or , rather than just the most commonly used ones, which will naturally result in
more kerning pairs.
Now that you know the basics of font metrics, lets cut right to the good stuff: auto
spacing and auto kerning (located in the Metrics menu).

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Auto spacing
Auto spacing is one of the most incredible features in Fontographer. Auto spacing
is the process by which Fontographer will examine your entire font, and give each
character the best possible spacing value that it can. It is a tremendously valuable,
timesaving command. Some of our famous typographical customers, while they
sort of sniffed at the idea of the computer algorithmically creating widths and
sidebearings for them, nevertheless allowed that they would certainly use auto
spacing at least as a starting point.
Auto spacing comes in two flavors: easy, and advanced. Easy is what the casual
user should choose: its parameters have already been set to do the best job for
typical fonts. If you are really into spacing, you can switch to the Advanced mode,
where you have the opportunity to change lots of values and parameters.

The only control you can modify in the Easy mode is the one that determines how
close (or how far apart) the spacing should be.
Heres an example: We opened up the font TFHabitat and demolished the spacing
by setting each letters width to 450.

As you might expect, it looks kind of rough; however, this is what you get after
having drawn a typeface without setting any spacing.
Now, rather than manually and painstakingly setting different widths for each
character, well simply have Fontographer auto space the font. This is the result of
an Easy mode auto space, with the value 60 entered using the slider:

Thats a little loose for our taste; lets auto space again, this time with a value of 25:

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As you can see, auto spacing is as easy as choosing a value, and seeing if you like
the result. Any glyphs that have spacing you dont like can easily be tweaked in the
metrics window.
Auto spacing, as you can probably imagine, is not the fastest operation you can
perform on the computer. It is very calculation-intensive and may seem a bit slow.
Nevertheless, it is at least one hundred times faster than we could have set the
spacing by hand.
There is a lot more to auto spacing; its extra controls are in the Advanced mode,
which is covered a little later on. We would like to reiterate, however, that the Easy
mode is perfectly adequate for probably 90% of our Fontographer customers.
Dont feel obligated to deal with the Advanced mode unless you want to; it usually
isnt necessary.

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Auto kerning
Since we have taken the pain out of spacing a font, you might assume we did the
same for kerning a font, and youd be right. Auto kerning does a very good job of
creating kerning pairs automatically for your fonts. Like auto spacing, it has two
modes: Easy and Advanced. Easy-mode auto kerning has a bit more to specify
than auto spacing, but it is still pretty simple.

To auto kern in the Easy mode:

1.

Choose Auto Kern from the Metrics menu.

2.

First, decide how many kerning pairs should be created. You can either choose
As many as it takes, or you can set an upper limit on how many should be
created.
This is a personal preference some people like to have only 100 or 200 pairs
in a font; others dont care. We recommend limiting the number of pairs to
1000 or so.

3.

Next, choose a setting for how close together you want the kerning pairs to be.
This control is a lot like the one in auto spacing, only for kerning.

4.

Finally, use the Change existing kerning pairs checkbox to change existing
kerning pairs.

This is useful for when you have manually set some special kerning pairs, and
want Fontographer to do the rest without changing your work.

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Tip: If you want to apply auto kerning successively with different parameters; to
get the best result, be sure to choose Clear Kerning Pairs from the Metrics menu
before Auto Kerning to erase the pairs from the previous auto kern.
Here is an example of some potential kerning pairs, as seen in the metrics window
in an unkerned state.

Now well apply auto kerning, with a slider value of 60, which yields this:

Fontographers auto kerning has created a To, Wa, Yo, and AV pair. Remember,
these are only the glyphs that are currently displayed in the metrics window, there
are other kerning pairs. Note that Fontographer did not create an oW, aY, or oA
kerning pair. That is because in the Easy mode, Fontographer tries to kern only
the more useful pairs; you dont usually see a lowercase letter immediately
followed by an uppercase letter, so it didnt create a bunch of unnecessary kerning
pairs. (This behavior may be overridden. The controls for this are located in the
Advanced mode of the Auto Kerning dialog box.)
Just for comparisons sake, here are the resulting kerning pairs for a slider value
of 20:

With Fontographers auto kerning, you can try different values and see what you
get, just like with auto spacing. Also like auto spacing, youll find a ton of hidden
ability, conveniently tucked away in the Advanced mode. The controls in the Easy
mode are suitable for 90% of our customers. Dont feel obligated to wade through
the Advanced mode parameters unless you really feel compelled.
!

Note: To get the best results, you should auto space your font first and then auto
kern it.

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The metrics window

Since most metrics issues involve how glyphs look in relation to one another, you
might expect a way to simultaneously view glyphs from within Fontographer.
There is, and it is cleverly called the metrics window. To invoke it, simply choose
Open Metrics Window from the Window menu. The contents of the metrics
window should look something like the one below.

You enter text in the box at the top of the window labelled Text. You can either
type in text directly or paste in lines of text from some other source. There is a
theoretical maximum of 255 glyphs; however, the practical maximum is probably
considerably smaller than that. Basically, the fewer glyphs there are in the
window, the snappier Fontographers performance is going to be. In our
experience, most people never put in more than about ten glyphs at a time.
If you select some glyphs in the font window, and then open the metrics window,
it will appear with those selected glyphs automatically showing in the window. To
view even more glyphs at once, you can, of course, open many different metrics
windows at the same time.
The large area in the middle of the window is called the glyph display area, and
thats where the actual glyphs are shown. They are all positioned next to each
other according to the spacing information set up in the font. Kerning pairs are
also shown in this area, if there are any.
The rather complicated area at the bottom of the window is the spreadsheet area.
This is where all the exact kerning and spacing values are shown. You can enter
numbers directly into these cells or merely look at them to see what the values are.
You can also cut, copy, and paste values between the cells.

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In the upper right section of the window you see a checkbox marked Show
Kerning. When checked, the metrics window character display will show the
effects of any kerning pairs defined for that font. When deselected, it shows the
characters without kerning applied to them.

Kerning is on

Kerning is off

Tip: This is a great way to judge how your font will look in different
environments with a quick mouse click, you can flip back and forth between
modes, and see how the text will look in a word processor without kerning as
compared to in a page layout program.
The Text link, also in the left corner of the window, is an alternate way to enter
text samples into the window. If you click on the Text link, a standard file dialog
box comes up, which allows you to choose a standard text file. After you have
chosen a file, the metrics window will display the first line of that file.
You can navigate from line to line by using the little up and down arrows located
to the left of the Text link. This allows you to come up with particularly
illuminating files of text samples and run your fonts through them quickly and
easily, without having to type in all kinds of stuff over and over.

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Editing a Text String

In Fontographer 5 you may use Fontlab glyph-access notation to access glyphs
that have no characters mapped to the current keyboard layout.
Fontlab Text String Notation:
Character Meaning of the following text
/

Glyph name follows the slash: /A

Follow the name with another '/' to continue entering glyph names or
enter a space after the glyph name to continue entering ANSI
characters:
/Acaron/Adieresis BCDEF /dollar
Note that glyph names are case sensitive

//
\

'/'
Unicode codepoint of the glyph in hex format may be preceded with 'u'
\0445\0448\u0446 BCDE
Note that Unicode codepoint in format XXXX is case-insensitive

\\

'\'

According to the above table there are four methods to see glyph 'A' in the metrics
window: A/A\0041\u0041

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Glyph display
The fun thing about the metrics glyph display is that all the attributes of the glyphs
can be modified interactively with the pointer tool.

The L guide is for adjusting the left sidebearing (the distance from the glyph
origin to the beginning of the actual glyph outline). The guide itself is situated at
the glyph origin. Simply click anywhere on the line with the mouse button and
drag to change this value.
The R guide does the same thing, but for the right side-bearing (the distance
from the rightmost part of the glyph outline to the width of the glyph). The guide
itself is situated at the glyph width. Click anywhere on the line and drag to change
this value.
The K guide is for creating and adjusting kerning values. In Fontographer, you
kern the currently selected glyph with the previous glyph. Thats why, when you
select the first glyph in the metrics window, no kerning guide appears: there is no
previous glyph with which to kern. To create a new kerning pair, or to modify an
existing pair, simply click anywhere on the line and drag it around until the kern
pair looks right.
As you drag these indicators around, you can watch their values change
interactively in the spreadsheet area.
Fontographers multiple levels of undo and redo are active for each glyph in the
window. To move through a particular glyphs set of undo levels, select that glyph
and then choose Undo from the Edit menu.

Tips: OPTION-dragging on the L bar keeps the left sidebearing constant as you
move the glyph; OPTION-dragging on the R bar keeps the right sidebearing
constant.

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In order to get the feel of these bars, you have to try it. Some people like to adjust
sidebearings directly, by simply moving the bars; others like the indirect fashion of
using the OPTION key, which actually adjusts the opposite sidebearing from the
one being modified.
Of course, moving the glyph itself around between the sidebearings is very
straightforward. Simply click any glyph and move it left or right. If you hold down
the SHIFT key, the glyph movement is constrained to up and down with respect to
the baseline. If you hold down the OPTION key, you can move it anywhere you
want: over a bit, up off the baseline, and so forth.
A good technique for manually creating kerning pairs is to enter the left glyph, T
for example, and enter a glyph like a for the second glyph. Select glyph a and
the kerning line appears. Click the kerning line and move the mouse to adjust the
kerning. When you have kerned Ta to your liking, you can choose Next Glyph
from the View menu, and the metrics window will update itself to show Tb. You
probably dont want to kern that one though, so you can leave it alone and just
choose Next Glyph again until you see another pair you think needs kerning. This
is an easy way to move quickly through all the combinations of glyphs.
Once you have made lots of kerning pairs, you can step through them all with the
Next Kerning Pair and Previous Kerning Pair commands, also found in the View
menu. This way, you can see all the pairs youve kerned and ignore those you
didnt kern.

Tip: Using Next Kerning Pair and Previous Kerning Pair is a good way to learn
from other type creators: you can import other fonts kerning tables (described
later in this chapter) and step through all their kerning pairs.
If a glyph is selected, you can choose a new glyph simply by typing a different
letter. However, be sure you do not have a blinking insertion cursor somewhere
else in the window. If you did, you would enter a new value into that field. You can
easily tell if typing a new glyph will change the current selection by looking at the
glyph column in the spreadsheet. If it is selected, as in the previous metrics
window illustration, that means you can change glyphs in this way. The general
rule of thumb is that what you type from the keyboard will replace any selected
cells contents with that keystroke. If there is a blinking cursor, on the other hand,
the new keystroke will simply be inserted into the existing cell contents at the
location of the blinking cursor.

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Tips: OPTION-G and OPTION-H are exceptions to the above rule. OPTION-G will
toggle the horizontal guidelines on and off. OPTION-H will toggle the sidebearing
and kerning lines on and off. This is to allow people to view their glyphs with as
little clutter as possible.

If you are editing in the spreadsheet area, OPTION-G and OPTION-H will simply give
you those glyphs rather than changing the visual states of the guidelines. To get
out of the spreadsheet area, click an empty area of the glyph display.

Holding down the SPACEBAR in the glyph display area will temporarily give you the
hand tool. Holding down COMMAND-SPACEBAR will give you the magnifying tool.
OPTION-COMMAND-SPACEBAR will allow you to reduce the image. The different
magnifications in the View menu also work in the metrics window. See Chapter
14, Reference, for more information on magnification.

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The spreadsheet area

The spreadsheet area has numeric displays for all the entities in the glyph display
section: the glyph, width, left sidebearing, right sidebearing, and kerning values.
To activate a cell:
1.

Click it, and it will become highlighted.

2.

You can delete cell contents, paste in new values, or type in new values.

3.

To have a newly entered value take effect, be sure to press the RETURN or
ENTER key.

If you simply move to a width cell, for instance, and type in a new number,
nothing will happen until you: press RETURN or ENTER, click another cell,
move to another cell, change to a different glyph (previous/ next), or click in
another view.
To move from cell to cell:

You can use the ARROW keys or the TAB key.

You can simply click a new cell with the pointer. SHIFT-TAB moves backward
through the fields, just like it does in dialog boxes.

Tip: To nudge values up and down, you can use the ARROW keys: OPTION-UP or
OPTION-RIGHT moves the values up in increments of one; OPTION-DOWN or OPTIONLEFT decrements the values by one; SHIFT-OPTION-UP or SHIFT-OPTIONRIGHT increments the values by ten; SHIFT-OPTION-DOWN or SHIFT-OPTIONLEFT decrements the values by ten. Use these shortcuts to tweak the existing
values without constantly re-entering numbers.
Sometimes, you will be examining a font whose glyphs are wider or narrower than
the cell widths in the spreadsheet area, and so the glyph and its spreadsheet view
will no longer be vertically aligned. This doesnt affect the functioning of the
spreadsheet; however, it can sometimes look confusing. To correct this, simply
OPTION-click the glyph in the glyph display area, and its corresponding
spreadsheet column will adjust itself to be directly underneath that glyph.

234

Tip: Its easy to remove individual kerning pairs by using the spreadsheet area.
Simply double-click the kerning cell that displays the kerning pair you want to get
rid of, erase the value by pressing the DELETE key or entering zero, then press the
RETURN key or ENTER key and the kerning pair will be gone.

Metrics Spacing and Kerning

Here, the numbers pertaining to the r have drifted away

from the visual representation of that letter.

After OPTION-clicking the letter, the spreadsheet has moved

itself so the two areas align.
One important thing to remember about the spreadsheet area is that you dont
have to use it. Some people are much more visually oriented, and they get
dismayed by fields of flashing numbers. That is why we made sure everything is
available interactively. If you dont want to fiddle with tables of numbers, feel free
to completely ignore the spreadsheet. On the other hand, be aware that some of
our more production-oriented font development people have told us that they can
create between 400 and 500 kerning pairs an hour, with their hands never leaving
the keyboard. So see which method works best for you, and dont worry about the
other.

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Vertical spacing & kerning

If you need to work with an Asian CJK font and edit vertical glyph metrics and
kerning then go to the Preferences dialog and turn on this option:

When you open the Metrics window next time you will notice the glyphs are
turned on their sides:

This vertical mode allows you to edit Height, Top and Bottom instead of Width,
Left and Right values.
Clicking on the Vertical button will switch the mode back to horizontal.

Vertical is on

Vertical is off

When an OpenType font file is generated in CJK mode, Fontographer will

generate a vkrn feature similar in style to the kern feature, but based on the
vertical kerning data.
!

236

Note: The Auto Space, Auto Kern, Kerning Assistance, Metrics Assistance, Set
Metrics, Set Width, Equalize Sidebearings functionality only applies to horizontal
metrics and kerning. The Clear Kerning command applies both to horizontal and
vertical kerning.

Metrics Spacing and Kerning

Importing metrics
When you open up an existing Type 1 font, Fontographer automatically includes
its spacing information, because it is located in the PostScript file. So the glyph
widths and offsets that appear in the metrics window are the actual values from
the font. However, Fontographer does not automatically load the fonts kerning
table. This is because the kerning information is found in a different file, and
Fontographer has no way of knowing where that file might be. In the case of
Macintosh Type 1 fonts you may choose to open them by opening the suitcase file.
In this case Fontographer reads all the necessary spacing and kerning info.
Kerning tables are stored in various places: in the bitmap suitcase (Macintosh)
and in the PFM file (Windows). Kerning and spacing information can be found in
other places as well: AFM files, other Fontographer databases (.fog), or in the
Fontographer Metrics files (.met) described later in this chapter. When you have
opened the outline font, you can choose Import, then Metrics from the File menu.
That command brings up a standard file dialog box. Simply select the file that
contains the kerning tables, and Fontographer will open that file and apply those
kerning pairs to your font. Be sure to do this when modifying existing typefaces;
otherwise, unless you create them yourself, your font will not have any kerning
pairs in it. OpenType fonts often have embedded kerning information.
Fontographer will read in any existing kerning data as it opens an OpenType font.

Clearing kerning pairs

If you import the kerning from the wrong font, either by accident or because you
were curious about how Helvetica might look with Times-Roman spacing, you can
easily undo this experiment by choosing Clear Kerning from the Metrics menu.
This command will remove all kerning pairs from the font you are editing
including vertical kerning in CJK mode. Then use the Import Metrics command
again.

Tip: Deleting individual kerning pairs is best done in the metrics window. Just
highlight the cell that contains the kerning value you want to delete, and either
press the DELETE key or enter zero, and press the RETURN key or the ENTER key. To
delete lots and lots of kerning pairs (but not all), your best bet is to export the
kerning into a Fontographer Metrics file, delete a bunch with a text editor, and
reimport them back into your font. This procedure is discussed on the next page.

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Exporting metrics
Sometimes you want to export a fonts metrics to a file. There are a couple of
reasons for doing this. For example, you might want to experiment with a number
of different sets of metrics to see which fits the best. With the ability to export the
current metrics information, you can save off what you have, choose Clear
Kerning Pairs from the Metrics menu, and then try importing a bunch of stuff. If
that doesnt work out, you can import the metrics you exported and be right back
where you started.
Another reason to export metrics is just to see them all. Some people like to see all
the width values in a big list, as well as all the kerning pairs and kerning values.
These lists can be printed out and compared with one another; you can even edit
the lists and reimport the metrics information.
Exporting metrics is easy: just choose Export, and then Metrics, from the File
menu. This will cause a standard file dialog box to appear, along with a number of
choices for the kind of file to create: an AFM, PFM, or Fontographer Metrics file
(.met). With Fontographer, you can, of course, import metrics from all the file
types that it can create.

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The Fontographer Metrics file

The Fontographer Metrics file is a standard text file any word processor can read.
The reason for having a file like this is that it is more pleasant to deal with than
AFM or PFM files. People who like seeing their metrics information in a big long
list can do so via this file. They can also edit width and kerning values and even
create new kerning pairs by typing them in and entering kerning values. Then they
can import these metrics back into their fonts.
A Fontographer Metrics file looks like this:
FogMetricsFile
1000 em square
% Output character spacing
17 670 width
18 790 width
19 58 width
20 620 width
( ) 250 width
(!) 271 width
() 309 width
(#) 664 width
($) 585 width
(%) 736 width
(&) 748 width

A 733 width B 649 width C 679 width D 729 width E 575 width F 536 width
G 708 width

252 437 width

253 500 width
254 440 width
255 405 width
256 280 width
% Output kerning pairs
A C -78 kern
A G -99 kern
A o -49 kern
A v -113 kern
A w -141 kern
A y -141 kern

Glyphs for which there are no standard letters (like the first 20 glyphs or glyphs
over 128) are indicated by their character number. So a line like 254 440 width
means that character number 254 has a width of 440 em units.

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Copying widths
The Copy Widths command in the Edit menu is a quick way to select a bunch of
glyphs in the font window, and then copy and paste their widths over a selection of
other glyphs, without altering anything else in those other glyphs.

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More powerful spacing and

kerning commands
Up until now, weve been discussing mostly manual ways of adjusting and creating
metrics. Fontographer has some really useful automatic ways to do metrics. The
metrics commands, located in the Metrics menu, range from completely easy and
automatic to very technical and extremely powerful. Or, to use a different analogy,
it can be the difference between flying a kite and flying the space shuttle; it sort of
depends upon what you want to do.

Setting widths
The Set Width command is a straightforward and easy way to adjust the widths of
lots of glyphs at once.
The Set Width command works with the current selection. So if you are in the font
window, simply select all the glyphs you want to change, and then bring up the Set
Width dialog box. You can simply replace each glyphs width with a new one, or
you can increase or decrease the existing widths. This is an easy way to take an
entire font, and quickly make the spacing five percent looser, for example.

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Equalizing sidebearings
Sometimes you will want a glyphs left sidebearing to equal its right sidebearing,
for the sake of vertical alignment. Numbers frequently appear in tabular form, and
its a lot nicer when the columns of numerals line up. In addition, some programs
(like Adobe FreeHand) can vertically align arbitrary text.
Equalizing the sidebearings is easy: choose Equalize Sidebearings from the
Metrics menu.

Choose Equalize Sidebearings from the Metrics menu

to make this glyph (left) look like this (right).

Tip: Holding down the OPTION key when you select Equalize Sidebearings will
make the sidebearings equal by adjusting the width, rather than moving the
outlines around between the origin and width.

Holding down the OPTION key when you choose

Equalize Sidebearings, gives this result.

242

Tip: If you have some points selected, Equalize Sidebearings will center just those
points between the origin and the width, rather than the entire glyph. This makes
for a useful centering command, but be aware that the glyphs sidebearings will
probably not be equalized in this case.

Metrics Spacing and Kerning

Advanced metrics operations

Fontographer really tries to create a civilized shell for the rather technical
problems posed by font metrics. The Set Width command, the metrics window,
and the Easy modes of the Auto Space and Auto Kerning commands are examples
of that. However, Fontographer also has an advanced metrics area, where we
bring out the heavy-duty stuff. These commands are, by and large, not particularly
intuitive, unless you already have a solid background in typography. The vast
majority of our users will be able to do everything they need to do just splendidly
by using the other tools. So we really advise most beginning users to ignore this.
But if you insist, feel free to explore the cutting edge in computerized font metrics.
Consider yourself forewarned.

Setting metrics
The Set Metrics command is similar to the Set Width command. In addition to
the width, you can set left and right sidebearings as well. You can apply values to
specific sets of glyphs, and there are lots of controls for incrementally increasing
and decreasing various fields. Here is what the Set Metrics dialog box looks like:

At the top of the dialog box, you choose the characteristic you wish to modify:
either the left or right sidebearing, or the width.
Next, you choose which glyphs you wish to apply the changes to. We have found
that Selected glyphs is what we normally choose. So, you can go to the font
window, select just those glyphs you want to adjust, and then choose only
Selected glyphs in the Set Metrics command.

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Finally, you choose what changes to make. The first line is for setting absolute
values. You can set glyphs attributes equal to those of a different glyph, or equal
to a specific value. You can then add or subtract either an absolute value or a
percentage. For example, you could set the left sidebearings of , , and equal to
the left sidebearing of A, plus five percent.
The second line is for relative changes. This line allows you to increase or decrease
the selected attribute by either a number of em units, or by a specific percentage.
!

244

Note: You can destroy your font metrics in no time at all with Set Metrics. In
software interface design, there is a tradeoff between really powerful commands
and really safe ones. Since were in the advanced section now, all the commands
err on the side of being frighteningly powerful. For this reason, we advise you to
save (or save as) your font before doing lots of Set Metrics commands, so you can
revert if something doesnt work out.

Metrics Spacing and Kerning

Assisted metrics
Assisted metrics are halfway between completely manual metrics (set width and
set metrics) and fully automatic metrics manipulation (auto space and auto
kerning). Assisted metrics are for those typographers who dont quite trust the
computer to do all their metrics creation for them, but dont want to have to do it
all manually.

What we call assisted metrics, other people might refer to as equivalence classes.
An equivalence class is a rule that dictates what other glyphs attributes should be.
These rules can involve sidebearings, widths, and kerning pairs. Equivalence
classes are like programming languages for fonts. Thats why not everybody likes
them.
The best way to explain all this is by example, which well do now.

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Metrics assistance
Metrics Assistance can be found under the Metrics menu. Here is how the Metrics
Assistance dialog box looks, with one equivalence class:

Each line of this dialog box can have its own equivalence class. When you have
entered more than ten classes, a scroll bar will appear along the right side of the
box, which will allow you to create more classes. You can have lots of equivalence
classes; they are limited only by available memory.
The Insert Line and Delete Line options allow for intuitive grouping when
relating glyphs to one another.
In the left-hand column, you choose the base glyph. This is the glyph whose
attributes will determine the values applied to the other members of that
particular class.
Next, you choose what attributes the equivalence class is going to govern.
Then, you choose the other members in the class: these are the letters whose
values are going to be set according to those of the base glyph.
Now you can optionally set up some difference (in value) to be applied to the base
glyphs attributes. For instance, you could create an equivalence class that means
certain glyphs widths will be equal to a base glyphs width, plus 10 percent.
Next, you specify whether the class should be linked. If the Link to base checkbox
is checked, whenever the values in the base glyph change, the corresponding
values in all the other glyphs in that class will be automatically updated.

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Finally, you can link everything together. This is similar to the Link to base
checkbox, but Link all means that if any of the glyphs controlled attributes
change, all other glyphs attributes will be automatically updated (including the
base glyph).
Using these definitions, lets explore the sample equivalence class:
Our base glyph is A. That means the attributes of the A will determine what
the other glyphs attributes are. We chose to control both the left sidebearing and
the width.

Note: You can control any one attribute, or any two attributes, but not all three: if
you think about it, you can imagine that if the sidebearings are controlled, the
overall width cant be because some of the glyphs have different widths. So all
three of those characteristics cant be maintained. If you try to check all three
options, one of the previously checked ones will become deselected.
The other members of the equivalence class are , , , , and . This is a fairly
typical class. All the members of it are related rather obviously to the base glyph.
Other common classes are ones that link E with , , , and so on.
There is nothing added to the base value. A is linked to all the letters , , , ,
and , but not vice versa.
When this class is applied, by accepting the dialog box, the left sidebearings and
widths of , , , , and will all be made equal to the left sidebearing and
width of the base glyph A. In addition, if you should ever edit the A, either by
changing its width or moving the outline around so that the left sidebearing
changes, all those other glyphs will update automatically.
You can get pretty imaginative in figuring out which glyphs should be linked to
which others. For instance, perhaps you want to link the left sidebearing of B to
D, E, F, H, I, K, L, M, N, P, R, and U. Many other glyphs share a similar right
sidebearing.
Once you have set up all the equivalence classes imaginable, you probably wont
want to do so again. Thats why there is the big Save to file button.

Note: In order for Fontographer to be able to read the file in again when you want
to use it next, the saved file must contain the suffix .meq. This stands for metrics
equivalents. This allows you to save off all the equivalence classes to a file. The
Load from file button allows you to read them back in. This way, when you create
a new font, you can use the equivalence classes you have already created, and gain
a significant head start.

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Of course, the real power of equivalence classes lies in the fact that once set up,
you can change the values of the base glyphs. Therefore, if you really get into it, it
is possible to set up enough classes so that you can completely determine the
widths and sidebearings of the entire font by manually setting those
characteristics for some small set of base glyphs.
Removing equivalence classes is quite straightforward: simply select the base
glyph, delete it, and click OK. If you open the dialog box again, you will see that the
class has been erased.
Sometimes you will see constructs like this: a dm z in the Apply to these glyphs
field. This happens when you had originally entered something like
adefghijklmz. Fontographer will detect contiguous glyphs and abbreviate them
with a hyphen. This can frequently save some space, because sets like
abcdefghijklmnop qrstuvwxyz appear much shorter as az. If you want, you
may also use the az convention when entering glyphs.
The same base glyph can be involved in different classes. For instance, one class
might connect the left sidebearing of the A with a bunch of other glyphs, while
another class could connect the width of the A to some different glyphs. If you
need to connect A with more glyphs than will fit in the Apply to these glyphs
field, it is perfectly legal to make another class, with the same base glyph and same
characteristics, to continue the first class. Of course, base glyphs for some classes
can be included in the Apply to these glyphs parts of other classes, but watch
out this can get confusing really fast.
If you include the base glyph in the Apply to these glyphs field of that same class,
it will be recognized as a circular reference and automatically removed when the
dialog box is accepted. If you set up mutually exclusive classes, which is legal to do
but not recommended, the class furthest down in the dialog box will be the one
that takes precedence.

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Metrics Spacing and Kerning

Kerning assistance
Kerning assistance is a lot like metrics assistance and is best explained by
example. However, if you havent read about metrics assistance yet, you are
strongly urged to do so before reading about kerning assistance.
Kerning Assistance is found in the Metrics menu. Here is how the Kerning
Assistance dialog box looks, with a sample kerning equivalence class already
entered:

Just like in the Metrics Assistance dialog box, the Insert Line and Delete Line
commands allow for intuitive grouping when relating glyphs to one another.
The first column of equivalence classes are those glyphs that kern the same when
they are the first character of a kern pair. (In other words, they will each get all the
same kerning companions that the others have for instance, if the font has the
two kerning pairs Te and Wy, it will have the four pairs Te, Ty, We, and Wy
after the above class takes effect.) In this example, it has been declared that all
kerning pairs that begin with T automatically have equivalent counterparts for
W, and so on. When more than ten classes have been entered, a scroll bar will
appear to the right of the column to allow for the creation of additional classes.
The second column of classes are those characters that kern the same when they
are the second character in a kerning pair. So in our example, any kerning pairs
that end in a automatically have equivalent counterparts to those ending in o,
and vice-versa.
!

Note: Equivalent first letters are always connected to equivalent second letters.

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The Link all checkboxes perform a function similar to what they do in metrics
assistance. When these boxes are checked, any changes to kern pairs involving the
members of that class will cause the other kerning pairs derived from the class to
update automatically.
Here are some examples: You might want to follow along in Fontographer to get
the most out of these explanations. We will begin with two kerning pairs that
already exist To and Wa:

When we apply this set of kerning equivalence classes

accepting the dialog box (by clicking OK), produces this:

Fontographer has made the To and Wa kerning pair values equivalent. They
are both now set at -150. In addition, Fontographer has also created the Ta and
Wo kerning pairs below:

In summary, we began with To = -150, Wa = -100. We ended with To = Wa = Ta =

Wo = -150. Since the glyphs were all linked, they all became equal.

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Next, lets explore what happens when we change the status of the Link all
checkboxes. Well start again from scratch, with just these two kerning pairs:

Now, however, we will apply this slightly changed set of kerning equivalence
classes:

The only difference is that the T and W are no longer linked together. This
time, nothing has been changed for To or Wa; after all, T and W are not
linked. The a and the o are, however, and so Fontographer has gone ahead and
created the Ta and Wo pairs:

Note that this time, the values of Ta and Wo are not the same.
In summary, we began with To = -150, Wa =-100. We ended with To = Ta = -150,
and Wa = Wo = -100. This class sort of says anything-with-o will be equal to thatsame-anything-with-a.
Now lets try one more permutation. Well again start from scratch, with our trusty
old To and Wa pairs:

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Now well unlink a and o, but link T and W. That gives us these two classes:

When we apply this set of classes, it again does nothing to the To and Wa
pairs. However, Fontographer did go ahead and create the Ta and Wo pairs:

This time, however, the Ta got the value of -100 and Wo got -150. This is
because the T and W are linked, but the a and o are not.
In summary, we began with To = -150, Wa = -100. We ended with To = Wo = -150,
and Ta = Wa = -100. This class says essentially T-with-anything will always equal
W-with-that-same-anything.

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Advanced auto spacing

There is a lot more to auto spacing than merely what appears in the Easy mode.
Switching to the Advanced mode causes a pop-up to appear at the top of the
dialog box, which allows you to move through three screens of Auto Spacing
controls.
The first dialog box is the Which glyphs dialog box.

The Which glyphs dialog box allows you to tell Fontographer which glyphs
should get their widths set and which glyphs should be considered when choosing
optimal widths. The First letter field defines which glyphs should get new widths.
The Second letter field describes which companion glyphs Fontographer should
consider.
You may not want to have Fontographer set the widths of every glyph in the font.
Suppose you have manually set the widths for the uppercase and lowercase glyphs.
By selecting other glyphs in this field, you can have Fontographer space the rest of
the font but not touch the glyphs you set by hand.
In addition, you might not want Fontographer to consider all the possible
combinations of letters when determining optimal spacing. For instance, you
might want to bias the spacing to favor the uppercase and lowercase letters.
By changing the selection in the Second letter field, you can optimize the spacing
for the glyph combinations most likely to occur, and basically let Fontographer
worry more about how Th is spaced instead of how T is spaced.

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The second dialog box, the How much dialog box, determines the tightness or
looseness of the spacing. This dialog box works just like it does in the Easy mode
dialog box described earlier in this chapter.
The third dialog box is the Technique dialog box:

This dialog box allows you to customize some of the behavior of the Auto Spacing
command.
Click Monospace numerals if you want all the numbers to have the same width.
Click Adjust left sidebearings if you want to let Fontographer (in its quest to
achieve optimum spacing) move the character around relative to the origin. Some
people are pretty adamant about where their glyphs sit relative to the origin, so
they want Fontographer to leave them alone and do spacing solely by adjusting the
widths, which is what happens if this box is left deselected.
Click Allow negative right sidebearings if you want to let Fontographer have
portions of the glyph outlines extend to the right of the width. This will generally
allow tighter spacing, but can in some cases cause certain glyphs to touch each
other.

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The Threshold field contains a value that influences the grouping of sets of glyph
pairs Fontographer is considering. Threshold is a numerical value describing the
distance necessary to define a kerning pair. This value is the kerning width used to
group kerning pairs for spacing. By decreasing this value, fewer kerning pairs are
included in the sample set used to determine optimum spacing. Having the value
too small will cause only one or two values to be in each group. Having the value
too large will cause most or all of the kerning pairs to be in each group. Neither of
these will be helpful. Moderation is the key for determining the best value. By
controlling the spacing of the sample set used to calculate kerning pairs, you
influence the final result of your auto spacing. The useful range of this value is 10
80, with the best results being in the 2030 range. Because this procedure is very
complex, our advice is that if you feel the need to adjust this field, do so and see if
you like it. If all of this sounds too complex then don't worry about this field the
default value will give you a good answer.
!

Note: The value for Threshold in auto spacing should probably be the same value
used for Dont kern a pair unless a kern of at least __ em units is needed in
auto kerning.
Spacing direction allows you to have Fontographer change spacing only by
making glyphs narrower (tighten), only by making glyphs wider (spread), or by
doing whatever is needed (spread and tighten).
Spacing technique is another difficult-to-document feature. Examine minimum
distance tells Fontographer to calculate spacing by looking only at the smallest
distance two glyphs are from each other. For serif fonts, this can result in loose
spacing because serifs frequently come close to touching each other. In this case,
Fontographer will be essentially spacing the font by looking at the fonts serifs and
little else. Examine average distance and Examine weighted distance try to
compensate for that problem by averaging the outlines a little bit allowing the
serifs to get closer if other parts of the glyph are further away. Of those two
options, the weighted one is considered to be a more optical kind of comparison.
Because fonts vary so widely, it is practically impossible to absolutely state the
differences you will see with the various techniques. Our advice: try the different
settings to see which one looks best to you.

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Advanced auto kerning

Auto kerning also has a lot of hidden functionality. It is probably at its most
powerful when applied to a font in several different ways. You can have auto
kerning operate one way on some of the glyph set and another way for the rest, or
you can use auto kerning in combination with manual kerning. Of course, you can
always manually adjust the results of auto kerning as well. You can even use auto
kerning as a diagnostic tool for your font. By auto kerning with different settings
and then exporting the kerning and examining it, you can tell where the biggest
spacing problems occur. Of course, anything with this many enhancements is
going to take some practice and getting used to before you can learn to use it
properly. But if you are really interested in kerning, it will be worthwhile.
When you choose the Advanced mode, a pop-up will appear that can navigate
through four different auto kerning screens.
The first of these dialog boxes is called Which glyphs, and it looks something
like this:

Use this dialog box to tell Fontographer which glyphs to auto kern. The first
option, Open file of pairs allows you to select a text file of kerning pairs. Once you
do that, Fontographer will do its normal auto kerning functions, but it will only
create kerning pairs for the ones specified in that file. This is good for telling
Fontographer exactly what you want done in the way of kerning.

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The Choose letters option allows you to pick ranges of glyphs to kern. For
instance, under First letter, you could simply enter T in the These glyphs field,
and for the Second letter field, choose All glyphs. That would make Fontographer
create only kerning pairs starting with T. Or, it could be that you only want
Fontographer to create kerning pairs among the most commonly used glyphs (in
English, for example), in which case you would choose Upper case, lower case,
numbers, and punctuation.

Tip: Some people like to apply different kerning parameters to different parts of
the font. You can fine-tune your results by invoking the Auto Kerning command
many different times on the same font, but each time varying the kerning
parameters and the glyphs to consider.
The next dialog box is the How many and how much dialog box, and it is just
like the Easy mode screen described earlier in this chapter.
The third dialog box is called Technique, and it looks like this:

The Technique dialog box allows you to choose different kerning techniques.
Kerning Direction is a way of having Fontographer create only negative kerning
pairs (tighten), only positive kerning pairs (spread), or both (spread and tighten,
which is the normal option).
Pairs to kern first is useful when you are controlling the total number of kerning
pairs Fontographer is allowed to make (as specified in the How many and how
much dialog box). If you have told Fontographer that it can only make 500 kerning
pairs, for example, and Fontographer can find 2500 pairs that need kerning,
Fontographer then needs a way to decide which 500 pairs to include.
!

Note: If you tell Fontographer to create as many kerning pairs as it takes, this
parameter doesnt matter; Fontographer will just include everything it finds. The
four options are Doesnt matter, Most common pairs first, Largest pairs first, and
Most common then largest.
However, if you choose Doesnt matter, Fontographer will simply choose the first
500 it finds.

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Fontographer 5
Most common pairs first will cause Fontographer to give precedence to an
internal list of common pairs, and output them first to make sure they are
included. If you are really concerned about telling Fontographer which kerning
pairs are important, choose the Open file of pairs option from the first dialog box.
Largest pairs first will cause Fontographer to order the 2500 pairs it found from
largest value to smallest, and output the 500 largest values. This is a sure-fire
way to set the letter combinations that need kerning the most; however, you will
find that many or most of these are often the goofy symbols glyphs, or punctuation
glyphs (unless, of course, you told Fontographer not to consider those which
would have been smart in the first screen).
The final option, Most common then largest, is what you will probably find
yourself using the most. This option has Fontographer select the pairs it thinks are
most common out of the 2500 found. When it has exhausted that set, it will
generate the remaining pairs in order of magnitude. This way, you will get a lot of
common pairs and also the ones that need kerning the most.
Kerning speed allows Fontographer to use less memory during auto kerning.
Since auto kerning is already not blindingly fast, you are strongly encouraged to
choose the Faster mode, and buy more memory if you need it.
Kerning technique tells Fontographer which internal algorithm it should use to
compare glyphs. Examine minimum distance tells Fontographer to calculate
kerning by looking only at the smallest distance two glyphs are from each other.
For serif fonts, this can result in loose kerning because serifs frequently come very
close to touching each other. In this case, Fontographer will be essentially kerning
the font by looking at the fonts serifs and little else. Examine average distance and
Examine weighted distance try to compensate for that problem by averaging the
outlines a little bit it will allow the serifs to get closer if other parts of the glyph
are further away. Of those two options, the weighted one is considered to be a
more optical kind of comparison. Since fonts vary so drastically, and the sets of
glyphs you can tell Fontographer to use for auto kerning are limitless, there is no
meaningful way to document the differences in output that these various
techniques will show. Our advice, as in auto spacing, is to try the different
methods, and decide which ones give the best results for you and your fonts.
The final auto kerning dialog box is called Exceptions, and it looks like this:

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Metrics Spacing and Kerning

Click Change existing kerning pairs if you want to let Fontographer, in the course
of auto kerning, adjust kerning pairs that have already been created. Deselecting
this checkbox locks the current pairs; if you go in the metrics window and
manually set up a bunch of new pairs, you can now have Fontographer auto kern
the rest, and be assured that it wont readjust any of the ones you created.

Tip: You can also export kerning and experiment with it a bit.
Click Dont kern numerals with numerals if you dont want any kerning pairs
created for the numerals. While number pairs often could benefit from kerning
pairs, that will mess things up if the numbers ever have to appear in vertical
columns: the columns of numbers wont line up perfectly if some of the numbers
are involved in kerning pairs.
Check Dont kern lowercase to uppercase if you want Fontographer to skip all
kerning pairs in which the first glyph is lowercase and the second glyph is
uppercase. Having this checked is the recommended option, since those sorts of
letter combinations almost never occur.
The bottom parameter is among those that exert the most influence on how many
kerning pairs are created (unless you limit Fontographer to a specific number of
pairs, which you can do in the How many and how much screen). This value
tells Fontographer when to make kerning pairs and when not to. When
Fontographer is considering a particular pair of letters, and the kerning amount
Fontographer has decided that pair needs is greater than or equal to the reference
value (20 in this case), then those two glyphs are made into a kerning pair. If the
kerning value Fontographer came up with for those two letters is smaller than this
value, then it is deemed a trivial kerning pair, and Fontographer will not create a
kerning pair for those two letters.
You could sum up the preceding paragraph by saying that the size of every kerning
pair Fontographer makes will be greater than or equal to the reference value you
choose. Therefore, the larger the number you enter, the fewer kerning pairs will be
created; the smaller the number, the more kerning pairs will be created.
Once you have done all the kerning you think your font needs, you can do auto
kerning one last time, step up that value to 100 or 150 em units, and be assured
that the most severely needed kern pairs will be created. For instance, you might
want to have kerning pairs involving just the uppercase and lowercase glyphs, but
you also might want to have 10 or 20 pairs involving the accent glyphs or the
symbol set to ensure that the most severe cases are covered. In summary, by
setting this value very high, you can have Fontographer find only the very largest
pairs; conversely, you can set the value lower and have Fontographer find and
create many more kerning pairs, involving smaller and smaller amounts.

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Font Info
The Font Info dialog box consists of five sections: names, dimensions, encoding,
credits and licensing. Open the dialog by choosing Font Info from the Element
menu or pressing COMMAND-OPTION-F.

Fontographer 5

Names
If you need to see or edit all font names switch the Font Info dialog to the
Advanced mode and select the Names tab if not yet selected.

The Typographic family name field is the main and the most important font
name. Fill in this field at the first step. Do not use any special characters here.
If your font is condensed, bold, italic or have some other style parameters use popups in the Design parameters section of the dialog. Choose appropriate width,
weight and slope. For example, choose Bold as weight and Italic as slope if your
font is bold-italic. If you want to add customization to your style name, then use
the pop-up list Other.
The Family name and Design parameters are enough for Fontographer to build
all other names automatically.
You will see the Typographic style name changes as you choose different design
parameters. Switching the Auto option off allows you to customize the style name
so you can call your bold italic font Fat Slanted or something else.

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You may leave Build other names automatically turned on to allow Fontographer
to build all other necessary names for you. If for some reason you need to change
those names manually then you may switch this option off. Click on the Build All
button at any time to let Fontographer build names automatically.

Name fields
You can alter the following font naming fields in Fontographer's Font Info dialog:

"Typographic family name" (TFN)

The typographic family name (TFN) is the name under which all fonts from
one family are grouped in the font menu of typographically-aware applications
(such as modern Adobe applications or most applications running on Mac OS X).
It is sometimes called Preferred family name. The TFN is always determined by
the font vendor, and is the first (out of three) key source of information, from
which other font naming fields are built.
The TFN may consist of uppercase and lowercase English letters, spaces, numerals
and has a length limit of 31 characters. The TFN may contain spaces but some
vendors choose not to use any spaces here.
The TFN must be identical in all fonts that should appear as one family in the font
menu of OpenType-aware and Mac applications.

"Typographic style name" (TSN)

The typographic style name (TSN) is the name under which a certain member
of a font family appears in the font menu of typographically-aware applications
(such as modern Adobe applications or most applications running on Mac OS X).
It is sometimes called Preferred style name. The TSN is always determined by
the font vendor, and is the second key source of information, from which other
naming fields are built. Typically, this field describes the typographic properties of
the font within the typographic family. The specific information contained here
usually consists of style words that describe typographic parameters such as
width, weight, slope, etc.
The TSN may consist of uppercase and lowercase English letters, spaces, numerals
and has a length limit of 31 characters.

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Fontographer 5
Styling group name (SGN)
The styling group name (SGN) is the name that appears in Windows GDI
applications as the family name. It is sometimes called Windows family name or
Microsoft menu name. All fonts that are associated with each other through
styling links form a styling group.
The typographic family must be divided into styling groups, each having no more
than four members which all must be connected by styling links with each other.
Each styling group within a typographic family must have a unique SGN.
Within one typographic family, there must be exactly one default styling group,
which must have the SGN identical to the TFN. The SGNs for the remaining
styling groups are built automatically from the three key fields (TFN, TSN).
The SGN may consist of uppercase and lowercase English letters, spaces,
numerals and has a length limit of 31 characters.

Styling link name (SLN)

The styling link name (SLN) is the name that appears in Windows GDI
applications as the style name. It is sometimes called Windows style name. Only
Regular, Italic, Bold, Bold Italic are permitted here (exactly as spelled). No
other values are permitted.

Full font name (FFN)

The full font name (FFN) is the field that is sometimes used by applications to
refer to a font by its name (for example when storing information about fonts used
in a document), and is sometimes displayed to the user (mostly by font viewing or
managing applications).
The FFN may consist of uppercase and lowercase English letters, spaces, numerals
and has a length limit of 63 characters. It is usually autogenerated by
concatenating TFN and TSN separated by a space.

PostScript font name (PSN)

The PostScript font name (PSN) is the name usually used by PostScript print
drivers to reference the font. The PSN may consist of uppercase and lowercase
English letters and optionally one hyphen that separates the family name part
from the style name part. The length limit is 29 characters. The PSN is usually
autogenerated by concatenating TFN and TSN separated by a hyphen with all
spaces removed.

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Font Info

Dimensions

All the numbers in this dialog box are in font units (UPM) the fundamental
parameter that influences point size, linespacing and the overall proportions of
the font. The Ascender and Descender usually default to a sum of 1000 units for a
PostScript font, or 2048 for a TrueType font. If they do not then the note is shown.
This is not an error but just a warning. Other values are also allowed.

Tip: Line gap is normally left at 0; but if you must set it, a good setting is 20% of
the sum of the ascender and descender.
Safe zone top and bottom values correspond to OS/2 Win Ascender and OS/2
Win Descender accordingly.
Ascender, Descender, Line gap, Safe zone top and Safe zone
bottom values should be kept consistent across an entire font family.
Caps Height, x-height and Italic angle should reflect actual dimensions of
each individual font face in the family.

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Fontographer 5
Since a PostScript underline is accomplished by defining a stroked line a certain
distance from the bottom of the character, the Underline position entry allows
you to change the distance between this stroked underline and the characters
above it. The default indicates that this line will be drawn below the baseline.
The Underline width indicates how wide the underline should be; the default
is 20 units. Unfortunately there is no applications that use these settings for
underline.
You would deselect the Calculate all values at if you want to manually change
vertical metrics. Also you can click on individual Calc buttons to let Fontographer
calculate the corresponding value for you.
With the Retain path coordinates when changing UPM size checked, the entire
font will look smaller if you make the UPM size larger.

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Font Info

Encoding
The Encoding pop-up allows you reorganize the layout of the font window to
display the key positions of the encoding you selected. It also defines the order of
characters in the exported Type 1 fonts. In the Encoding pop-up, you have several
choices. If youre creating OpenType fonts then one of the OpenType encodings
should be used. If youre creating Type 1 fonts for Western languages (English,
German, French, Spanish etc.), then in ninety-five percent of the cases, youll want
to use the MacOS Roman encoding option.

OpenType Layout options allow you to set your preferences in generating

OpenType layout features for the particular font. You can override this later in the
Format Options dialog box when generating the font (refer to Chapter 8,
Generating and Exporting Fonts).

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Fontographer 5

Encoding options
The encoding of the font is the ordering of its characters. Version 5 of
Fontographer has one dialog box that allows you to set the encoding. The
Encoding pop-up in the Font Info>Encoding dialog box will reorganize the layout
of the font window to display the key positions of the encoding you selected. On
the other hand, it also defines the order of characters in the file when you select
the Generate Font Files command in the File menu. Fontographer will output the
font to match the encoding you select.

The most commonly used encodings for the Macintosh Type 1 fonts are MacOS
Roman and Custom. The most commonly used encodings for the Windows Type 1
fonts are MS Windows 1252 Western (ANSI) and Custom.

Tip: If you choose MS Windows 1252 Western (ANSI) encoding, be sure not to
use slots 031. Slot 32 is reserved for the space character, so don't put a glyph
there, or in 127, 128, 129, 141, 142, 143, 144, 158, 159, or 160.
Custom encoding allows for the custom naming of glyphs. The Glyph Information
dialog box (which is opened by selecting a glyph and choosing Selection Info from
the Element menu) contains a name field that allows you to change the glyph
name. Custom encoding becomes the current encoding option any time you
change a glyph name. Custom glyph naming is widely used by people who design
non-Roman fonts.
Original encoding is like an elephant; it never forgets the encoding of the font at
the time it was first opened in Fontographer. This is a very handy way to get back
to where you began wherever that was. This can be useful when opening fonts
with strange encodings such as Sonata, Carta, or Zapf Dingbats.

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Font Info
Type 1 Adobe Standard encoding (ASE) is Adobes default encoding for Type 1
fonts.
The set of OpenType encodings can be used when building OpenType TT and
OpenType PS fonts. Select the one which better fits to your needs. And you can
change it to another one at any time.
If you need to create your own encodings or change an existing one please see
Adding custom encodings in Chapter 13, Expert Advice.
If you need more information about encoding vectors, refer to:
http://partners.adobe.com/public/developer/opentype/index_char_sets.html

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Credits
On the Credits page you can enter information about the creators of the font, font
version, creation date. If you have created a new font you should enter your
copyright data here. If you have edited an existing font that was not your creation
you must not remove the information contained on this page, or you may violate
copyright laws.

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Font Info
Human readable name of the company or person that created the font. If you
created a new font enter your name or the name of your company here. All
Font vendor
registered vendor names are placed in the drop-down list box
from vendors.dat file
An up-to-four letter length ID that is assigned to most font producers to
Font vendor identify their fonts. An uppercase vendor ID must be registered with
ID
Microsoft or Apple. If you want to identify yourself without registering you
may enter a lowercase four-letter vendor ID
Vendor URL The www link to the site of the font vendor
Designer

Name of font designer

Designer
URL

The www link to the site of font designer

Creation
date

The date of font creation. It is set to today if you just created the font

Font
version

Version and revision of the font

Version
record

Font version records have a different format. You may enter the version
record here or just press the Build other credits button to fill this record
automatically

Copyright

Copyright message. Must include the sign or the word Copyright, the
name of the company or person that owns the copyright and the copyright
year

Trademark

Font trademark used to save fonts trademark notice

Description Additional information that you want to include in Font Info

Vendor.dat File
Fontographer stores information about registered vendors in the vendor.dat file
located in the [Shared default data folder]/Data/ folder (typically, Macintosh
HD/Library/Application Support/FontLab/Data/). This is a text file with a simple
structure:
2REB 2Rebels
39BC Finley's Barcode Fonts
3ip Three Islands Press
918 RavenType

As you can see, it is just a vendor ID followed by vendor name. A single space is
used as a separator.
If you want to change the file or add a new entry, just open it in any text editor
(such as TextEdit) and make changes.

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Licensing
The Licensing page contains the End-User License Agreement (EULA)
information and the embedding information.

Full license text contains text information about how the font can be used.
License URL is the link where additional license information can be found.
This Embedding popup menu controls how the font may be embedded into
documents. Embedding is a feature of the operating system and some applications
that allow programs to include fonts into documents (PDF, for example) to
guarantee that they will be reproduced correctly. However, this feature may cause
problems with font piracy. It is not very hard to extract embedded fonts from a
document, so the TrueType font format includes a special setting that can control
font embedding.

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There are four types of font embedding:
Everything is allowed

After the document is opened the font works

as if it was installed in the system

Embedding is not allowed

Embedding is not allowed for this font

Only printing and previewing is

allowed

The font may be embedded, but editing of the

document it contains is not allowed

Editing of the document

is allowed

The font may be embedded and the document

that contains the font may be viewed, printed
and edited.

Additional options Allow subsetting and Bitmap embedding only are available.
Copyright Note
We decided to allow modification of the embedding setting only because we are sure that
the users of Fontographer are professionals who respect others' rights to intellectual
property. We assume that you will change the embedding setting only in your own fonts.
You are not allowed to change this setting in fonts that were created by somebody else.
Even if according to the font license you can modify the font for your own use, you must not
increase the embedding rights for a font. So if embedding is not allowed leave it as it is.

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Advanced Licensing
Clicking on the Advanced Licensing button will open an additional dialog where
the electronic EULA of the font can be edited.

Electronic EULA Abstract (EEULAA) is an extra font table (EPAR table)

containing a computerized form of the EULA. From this table users can know
what they can do with a font without the pain of interpreting the legalese in its
official EULA. One way of thinking about the EULA abstract is as a set of
Frequently Asked Questions for font licenses, for example:

Can I embed this font in a PDF?

Can I send this font to a service bureau for printing my documents?

How many computers can I install the font on?

Once a EEULAA table is created for a font you can protect it from unauthorized
changes by adding password protection. To set or change the password, click on
the Change button in the EULA section. Then click on the Lock in the lower left
corner to prevent further editing:

Once the password is set and the dialog is locked Fontographer will display the
contents of the EEULAA but will only save changes when the correct password is
given.
You can find more information about EEULAA on http://www.eeulaa.org/.

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Licensing Units

This section documents how a license is tied to something physical people,

places and/or devices. Licenses may be tied to individual person(s) and/or
particular devices.
Users: A license tied to users means that only the specified users or number of
users are licensed to use the font.
Workstations: A license tied to workstations means that the font may be used
only on the specified workstations or number of workstations.
Devices: A license tied to devices means that the font may be used only on the
specified devices or number of devices. "Devices" usually refers to computers,
workstations, printers, servers, etc.
Printers: A license tied to printers means that the font may be used only on the
specified printers or number of printers. This is rarely used anymore since
modern fonts in general are not downloaded to printers.
Servers: A license tied to servers means that the font may be used only on the
specified server computers or number of servers.

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Conversion

Licenses may allow conversion of the font file. This can take several forms:
1. Format conversion conversion between vector font formats such as Type 1,
TrueType and OpenType.
2. Platform conversion conversion to a platform-specific format.
3. Raster conversion conversion between bitmap and vector font forms.
Since the possible types of conversion are virtually infinite this is a text field. The
field may contain one of the following values: "All", "None", "Allowed-followed by
a list of allowed conversions", "Disallowed-followed by a list of non-allowed
conversion types".

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Embeddings

Document Embedding means to incorporate the font into a document so that

the font travels with the document. These are the same as the original document
embedding bits. Not Allowed the font may not travel with the document.
Installable the font may be installed and used on whatever device the
document is on. Editable means the font may be used in editing the document,
but may not be installed on any device. Print/Preview means the font may be
used only to print a document or display on a device.
Application Embedding means to incorporate the font into a computer
program/application so that the font travels with the program. Not Allowed
the font may not travel with the program/application. Installable means the
font may be installed and used on whatever device the application/program is on.
Editable means the font may be used in editing text in the course of running
the application/program, but may not be installed on any device.
Print/Display means the font may be used only to print a document or display
on a device in the course or running the application/program.
Video Embedding means to incorporate the font into a video so that the font
travels with the video. Not Allowed the font may not travel with the video.
Installable means the font may be installed and used on whatever device the
video is on. Editable means the font may be used in editing the video, but may
not be installed on any device. Display means the font may be used only to
display text on a device.

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Link: If the license allows the use of a font in the display of a website or to be
served as a licensed asset, then this field specifies the source of linking allowed
followed by the type and method.
1. The sources are: same-origin, root-string, and sub-licensee.
2. The types are display/print, edit/print.
3. The methods are "Accessible" (straight @font-face call) or "Protected"
(obfuscated call). E.g. root-string, display/print, encrypted, etc.)

Modifications
Font users may need additions or other modifications to a font for their uses. The
license may or may not allow this or may allow it only under certain circumstances
(e.g. that the modifications be done by the original designer).
1. This field excludes modifications such as conversion, compression, and
subsetting, which are covered elsewhere.
2. Possible kinds of modifications include glyph editing; adding new glyphs;
changing metrics; hinting, etc. but are virtually unlimited. Therefore this is a text
field with possible values of "All", "None", "Allowed-with a list of allowed
modifications", "Disallowed-with a list of non-allowed modifications". Example:

Sharing
If a font may be temporarily shared with a service bureau then this field gives the
conditions.

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Meter

Licenses tied to time or events:

1. Pay-per-Use: A license for a specific or counted number of uses of the font.
2. Pay-per-Download: A license for a specific or counted number of downloads of
the font.
3. Pay-per-Time: A license for a specific or counted number of time units.

License Transfer
A licensee may want to sell or give his font to someone else. The license may or
may not allow this or may allow it under certain circumstances (for instance, that
the change in license be registered with the vendor).

Site
Licenses may be tied to a specific physical location.
Location: A site license means that anyone on the site (department, building,
campus - some contiguous area) is licensed to use the font.
Company: A company license means that anyone in the company (regardless of
location) may use the font.
Third party: Where one party licenses the font for use by another party. The
"third party" could be an individual or a group of people.
Network: means that anyone on a LAN, WAN, or the WWW may use the font.
If the license is a site license then this field contains the name/address/
description of the site.

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Compression
Licenses may allow compression of the font file.
Subsetting: glyphs are removed from the font.
Algorithmic data compression: The font file data is rewritten in a different
form.
Since the possible types of compression are virtually infinite this is a text field. The
field may contain one of the following values: "All", "None", "Allowed-followed by
a list of allowed compressions", "Disallowed-followed by a list of non-allowed
compression types".

Bundle
Licenses may be tied to use or sale with specific software or hardware. A font may
be bundled with other fonts, other programs or with computer hardware. If this is
so then this field contains the name and/or details of the bundle.

EULA
EULA URL: The EEULAA can only give a summary of the most important parts
of a EULA. In order to give the licensee access to the complete (and legally
binding) EULA text the EULA should be accessible on the WWW and/or within
the font. This field is for the URL where the full EULA is located.
Upgrade URL: If a licensee finds that their license is inadequate for their
purposes then they should have a way to contact the vendor and arrange for a
license upgrade (e.g. more users, more locations, more embedding, etc.) that will
allow them to use the font as needed. This field is for the URL of the license
upgrade web page or equivalent.
Remote URL: The EPAR can also be accessed on a remote server. This field is
for the URL/file where the remote EPAR is located. This is particularly useful for
large licenses where many copies would need to be updated if there was a license
change. Rather than read the EPAR data from the local table the application
would read it from the remote EPAR file maintained by the vendor.
EEULAA Password: Click on the Change button to set or change the password.
Then click on the Lock in the lower left corner to prevent further editing.

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Recommendations
The Recommendations page allows you to edit the second part of the EPAR
(Embedding Permissions and Recommendations) font table.

In order to use some fonts correctly some users need information about the
conditions for which a font was designed. The EPAR table will contain this
information covering a wide variety of ways in which a font might be used. These
are optional, of course, so a font designer may choose not to make
recommendations for some situations. Below is a list of definitions of the data
fields for the recommendations section of the EPAR.
Parameter

Value type

Description

XY Scaling

numeric range

Recommendations for use of the font when scaling either x

or y alone expressed as min/max % of em. Only one
number (X)), is required because the value represents the
range from 100% to X%.

Bold

numeric percent

Recommendations for bolding of the font expressed in %

of em

Justify

binary Y/N

This is a binary recommendation, where the font either

should or should not have inter letter space added to fit a
line to a column width, for reasons in the design of the font

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This is a binary recommendation, where the font either

should or should not have words broken at line ends for
reasons of the design of the font.

Hyphen

binary Y/N

Letter
Space

numeric percent Recommendations for the positive and negative addition

range
of space between letters in percent of em

Oblique
Angle

numeric range
of angles

Recommendations for the positive or negative angles for

slanting the font

Overscale

numeric %em,
upm, pixel#

Recommendations for minimal scaling of the font:

smallest critical part (by % of em), largest upm per pixel,
smallest number of x-ht pixels

Scaling

numeric pts.
pts, pts, pts;
pxls, pxls, pxls,
pxls

Recommendations for optimal scaling of the font: in

points: text optimal, text minimal, display optimal, display
minimal; and in pixels: text optimal, text minimal, display
optimal point, display minimal

Strike

alphanumeric
Y/N

Recommendations for use of the font with an

automatically generated stroke through the glyphs

Stroke

Recommendation for definition of the font's contours as

numeric percent other than zero stroke width: maximum stroke value in %
of upm

Textset

alphanumeric
number

Recommendation for Ideal length of a line of text in this

font, in number of words

Minimal
Scaling

numeric pxls,
pxls, pxls

Recommendations for use of the glyph table's TrueType

instructions. Minimum pixels per em with: no
instructions, no x instructions, no y instructions

Pair
Kerning

binary Y/N

Recommendation for use of the font with no pairs kerned

Underscore binary Y/N

Recommendation for use of the font with an automatically

generated stroke below the glyphs

Blinking

binary Y/N

Recommendation for use of the font for blinking

Curve Base

alphanumeric
text

Recommendations for use of the font with curved baseline

Decontext

alphanumeric
text

Recommendations for use of the font without feature

tables regarding glyph substitution

Decompose

alphanumeric
text

Recommendations for use of the font with decomposited

glyphs

Font Info

Exporting EPAR
The licensing and recommendation info is saved in your fog database file but you
also can export it separately.
To export an EPAR file:
1.

Select EPAR from the Export pop-up in the File menu.

2.

Once youve named the file and chosen the folder to export the file to, press
the Save button and the file will be exported without further comment.

The main reason of exporting EPAR information is applying it to other fonts later.
To import and apply exported EPAR information to your font:
1.

Select EPAR from the Import pop-up in the File menu.

2.

Find and select the file with epar extension, press the Open button and the file
contents will be applied to your current open font.

Choose Element > Font Info > Licensing > Advanced Licensing and observe
changes.

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Printing
Youve just created a font, or perhaps just a few glyphs, and now you would like to
see those glyphs in various point sizes and kerning combinations. Maybe you
created a large Do Not Disturb sign for your office door and want to print it now
before you actually go through the fonts installation procedures. You can print a
sample of your choice any time your font is open, from any of its windows.

Fontographer 5
Fontographer gives you the choice of printing a variety of samples:

All glyphs in the font

Individual glyphs

Specific typed text

Text from a file

A PostScript sample with several lines of text

A key map, showing all the glyphs in the font and their respective widths,
codes, and offset specifications

A complete list of all the kerning pairs in the font

A glyph sample in assorted sizes or just one giant glyph

A sample showing all of the points in a selected glyph, and optionally, the x/y
coordinates for each point.

Before you go to the Print Sample dialog box, it is important to decide which
printer you want to use. Fontographer will print to both PostScript and nonPostScript printers, but the quality of output will vary. If you are printing to a
PostScript printer, Fontographer hints the font before downloading it to the
printer. This method will give you the highest quality prints. If you are printing to
a non-PostScript printer, Fontographer must draw each glyph unhinted, so the
quality may be slightly lower.
It should be noted that when Fontographers print samples are output to a nonPostScript printer, they only show an approximation of what the font will look like
when actually installed. Subtle variations will appear depending on the type of
font generated (Type 1, Type 3, TrueType, and so on).
Fontographers Print command in the File menu provides several options for
printing font samples, most of which give you the opportunity to choose the point
size of your printed sample.

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Printing

Sample text
The first choice in the Sample type pop-up is Sample text, which provides three
printing options.
Choosing All glyphs prints all the glyphs of the font at the point size you
designate.
To print a sample of all glyphs:
1.

Choose Print from the File menu.

2.

Choose Sample text from the Sample type pop-up.

3.

Click the All glyphs radio button in the Print Sample dialog box.

4.

Click Print.

Choosing Selected glyphs allows you to print glyphs selected in the Font window
at a designated point size.

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To print selected glyphs:

288

1.

In the Font window, select the glyphs you wish to print.

2.

Choose Print from the File menu.

3.

Choose Sample text from the Sample type pop-up.

4.

Click the Selected glyphs radio button in the Print Sample dialog box.

5.

Click Print.

Printing
To print specific text samples:
1.

Choose Print from the File menu.

2.

Choose Sample text from the Sample type pop-up.

3.

Click the lowest radio button in the Print Sample dialog box.
(The lowest radio button is located above the text sample box.)

4.

Type your text into the text box.

Fontographer allows you to type up to 256 glyphs in this box. If you press the
RETURN or ENTER key while youre entering text, you will begin the printing

process. However, text containing carriage returns can be pasted into this text
box.
5.
!

Click Print.

Note: The text box is a good place to test logos, kerning pairs, or glyph spacing in
specific word and sentence combinations.

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Sample file
Printing a sample file allows you to print the contents of a text file using the
current font at any given point size.
To print a sample file:
1.

Choose Print from the File menu.

2.

Select Sample file from the Sample type menu.

3.

Enter the desired point size or use the default setting of 36 points.

4.

Click Print.
At this time Fontographer asks you to select the text file that you would like to
print.

290

Note: Fontographer can print only plain text files as samples. This means
Fontographer cannot print normal word processor files. You must first resave
these files as Text files before Fontographer can print them.

Printing

PostScript file
The PostScript file option allows you to choose custom PostScript samples.
Fontographer then sends this file to the printer along with the font. As in the
Sample file print option, the file is chosen after the Print button is selected. This
option is only available with PostScript printers.
!

Note: For PostScript gurus the name of the font used in the file is TestFont.
Fontographer will use any font you are currently working in as the TestFont,
sending its information to the printer.
Several PostScript text files are provided with Fontographer 5. You may use them
as is, or you may edit them with any text editor to define your own custom print
sample.

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Key map
The Key map option allows you to print a sample for the entire font or only glyphs
that you have selected.

If you select the All glyphs option, Fontographer prints pages containing all the
glyphs in the font. The printed pages consist of rows of glyphs, along with their
offsets, widths, and corresponding keystroke codes. Fontographer gives you the
option of showing decimal, octal, or hexadecimal locations. The Print undefined
glyphs option allows you to print or omit undefined glyphs from your printout. If
printed, these glyphs will be surrounded by a gray box, their decimal, octal, or
hexadecimal code, and the word Undefined.
A glyph with a normal offset (not less than zero) will print a key map sample that
looks something like this:
Ascender
Width
Em square
Base line
Descender

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Printing

Kerning pairs
The Kerning pairs sample type option makes it possible to print a list of kerning
pairs in the font. A full page, consisting of several columns will be printed showing
each pair, the number of em units of each pair, and the percent of the em square
each kerning value represents. The kerning pairs can either be printed in a
monospaced font or in the current font open in Fontographer.

Choose Kerning Pairs

to print a kerning pairs list.

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Sample Glyphs
The Glyphs sample type option provides you with four different choices: printing
one full-page-sized filled glyph, several assorted sizes of the filled glyph, a sample
that shows the points of the glyph, or a sample that shows both the points and x/y
coordinates for each point.
To print a full-page glyph sample:

294

1.

Select the glyph(s) you want to print from the Font window, or open an
Outline window for the glyph you want to print.

2.

Choose Print from the File menu.

3.

Choose Sample Glyphs from the Sample type pop-up.

4.

Click the Full page radio button.

5.

Click Print.

Printing
This is the quickest way to print a single glyph.

To print a text sample in assorted sizes:

1.

Select the glyphs you want to print from the Font window. Use any letters you
want to see printed or open an Outline window for the glyph you want to
print.

2.

Choose Print from the File menu.

3.

Choose Glyphs from the Sample type pop-up.

4.

Click Assorted sizes.

5.

Click Print.

To print the other print samples, repeat the printing steps but instead click Show
points or Show points and coordinates.

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The print header

All printed samples have a similar print header. The gray box that occupies the left
corner of the header indicates the print sample type. For instance, if you choose
the Kerning pairs option, the header will read Kerning. If you choose Selected
glyphs, the header will read Selected, and so on. An individual glyph such as the
letter S will have only the glyph as a header.
The rest of the box will show the name of the font, the font size, any applicable
textual information, and the date and time of printing. This is useful for archiving,
filing, and other quality control procedures.

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Generating and
Exporting Fonts
Youve been happily editing your new font, and it appears that everythings just
the way you want it. Now what? Your new font isnt really a font yet: all you have is
a bunch of characters in a database. (Maybe youve noticed the message displayed
when you save your font: Writing Fontographer database.) This database file
wont work as a font because it hasnt been encoded into the proper structure.
Fonts are resources that the system must have stored in a particular manner in
order to be shared with applications that use fonts.
This chapter discusses all the font generation options available to you.

Fontographer 5

Before you do anything...

Fontographer 5 can generate font files of the following formats: Mac TrueType
Suitcase (without extension or .dfont), Mac Type 1 and 3 (PostScript) and Mac
Multiple Master + suitcase, TrueType/OpenType TT (.ttf), Windows Type 1 and
3 (PostScript) and Windows Multiple Master (.pfb), Unix/ASCII Type 1 (.pfa),
OpenType PS (.otf).
Fonts on the computer all have names, and your fonts are no exception. If you
have not entered a name for your font in the Font Info dialog box, be sure to do so
before generating any font files.
Since Fontographer 5 allows you to save your font with a name other than the file
name, confusion can arise as to what the file name of the font is. The default is for
the font to be viewed by the font name specified in the Font Info dialog box. For
those who keep font names and file names the same, this method works fine. If,
however, you have many versions of the same font name, change the View by
option to File name or Both in the Windows section of the Preferences dialog. This
enables you to know at a glance which file youre working on:

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Relevant Font Formats

The following lists the most relevant font formats and lists some of their
advantages and disadvantages.

OpenType PS
Also known as: OpenType-CFF, PostScript-flavored OpenType, OTF
Filename extension: .otf
Pros: Works on Windows, Linux, Mac OS 8.6, 9, and OS X. Uses the Bezier curves
that are preferred by designers and used in drawing apps such as Illustrator and
Freehand so letterforms can be drawn precisely and outlines need not be
converted. May contain up to 65,535 glyphs, supports Unicode and can contain
OpenType Layout features.
Suitable for Western Roman fonts, non-Latin fonts, multilingual fonts and
advanced typography. May include class kerning allowing for moderately-sized
kerning tables. Uses Type 1 hinting that is relatively easy to create. Can include
embedding rights information defining whether or not the font may be attached to
electronic documents.
Cons: Type 1 hinting does not allow precise control in small screen sizes. Can
theoretically contain bitmaps, but they are not displayed. Since this is a relatively
new format, there are problems with some old applications (some styles are not
displayed in menus, kerning for non-Western characters does not work.) The
multilingual and advanced typography features only work with new OpenTypesavvy applications, otherwise just the basic character set is available. Two
alternative family namings within each font must be devised: one where a family
contains an arbitrary number of styles, and second brief family where one family
does not contain more than four styles. Does not work on Mac OS 8.
Recommendation: We recommend producing fonts in the OpenType PS format
unless you have Mac customers running a pre-X Mac OS. For older systems (preX Mac OS) generate either a TrueType or a Type 1 font suitcase.

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TrueType / OpenType TT
Also known as: Data-fork TrueType, Windows TrueType, TrueType-flavored
OpenType, TTF
File extension: .ttf, also possible: .otf
Pros: Works on Windows, Linux and Mac OS X. May contain up to 65,535 glyphs,
supports Unicode and can contain OpenType Layout features.
Suitable for Western Roman fonts, non-Latin fonts, multilingual fonts and
advanced typography. May include class kerning allowing for moderately-sized
kerning tables. TrueType hinting allows precise control in small screen sizes, can
also contain bitmaps. Can include embedding rights information defining whether
or not the font may be attached to electronic documents.
Cons: Does not work on Mac OS 8/9. May cause output problems on ten-year-old
PostScript output and printing devices. The designer usually needs to convert the
outlines from Bezier curves, which may introduce very slight changes in the shape.
When converted back to Bezier curves (e.g. in Illustrator), the resulting curves
have superfluous points. Manual TrueType hinting is laborious to create. The
multilingual and advanced typography features only work with new OpenTypesavvy applications, otherwise just the basic character set is available. For font
families, requires two versions of the family name within each font: the first may
contain any number of styles; the second brief family may contain only four
styles.

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Macintosh TrueType
Also known as: sfnt-based TrueType, TrueType suitcase
File extension: none
Pros: Works on all Macintosh systems, not cross-platform. May contain up
to 65,535 glyphs, supports Unicode.
Suitable for Western Roman fonts, non-Latin fonts, multilingual fonts and
advanced typography. TrueType hinting allows precise control in small screen
sizes, can also contain bitmaps (in the same suitcase file). Can include embedding
rights information defining whether or not the font may be attached to electronic
documents.
Cons: Does not work on Windows. May cause output problems on ten-year-old
PostScript output and printing devices. The designer usually needs to convert the
outlines from Bezier curves, which may introduce very slight changes in the shape.
When converted back to Bezier curves (e.g. in Illustrator), the resulting curves
have superfluous points. Manual TrueType hinting is laborious to create. One
family cannot contain more than four styles.

Macintosh Type 1
Also known as: Macintosh PostScript, LaserWriter font
File extension: none
Pros: Works on all Macintosh systems, not cross-platform. Works in all
PostScript commercial output and printing devices. Uses the same curve system
(Bezier) as drawing applications such as Illustrator and Freehand, so letterforms
are easy to edit when converted to curves. Type 1 hinting is comparatively easy to
create. Can contain bitmaps for small screen sizes. One family can contain more
than four styles.
Cons: Does not work on Windows, not cross-platform. Contains two parts, the
outline file and the bitmap font (suitcase), both of which must be in the same
folder. Does not contain class kerning so kerning tables are large. Type 1 hinting
does not allow precise control for very small screen sizes. Cannot include more
than 256 encoded characters and lacks advanced layout features such as ligatures,
making the format unsuitable for multilingual or non-Latin fonts.

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Windows Type 1
Also known as: Windows PostScript, PC PostScript, PC Type 1
File extension: .pfb, with supplementary files .afm, .inf, .pfm
Pros: Works on Windows and Linux. Works in all PostScript commercial output
and printing devices. Uses the same curve system (Bezier) as drawing applications
such as Illustrator and Freehand, so letterforms are easy to edit when converted to
curves. Type 1 hinting is comparatively easy to create.
Cons: Does not work on Mac OS 9 or X, not cross-platform. Contains two parts,
the outline file (.pfb) and the metrics font (.pfm), both of which must be in the
same folder. Does not contain class kerning so kerning tables are large.
Type 1 hinting does not allow precise control for very small screen sizes. Cannot
include more than 256 encoded characters and lacks advanced layout features
such as ligatures, making the format unsuitable for multilingual or non-Latin
fonts. Cannot contain bitmaps for small screen sizes. One family cannot contain
more than four styles.

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Easy or advanced?
Fontographer is a do-all, end-all font editor. Since there is so much to see and do
in it, we created many of our dialog boxes with an Easy option to simplify the
process. Most novice users of Fontographer will be prudent enough to select the
Easy option and let the program set up the desired font properly. But more
advanced readers, beware! You know just enough to be dangerous with font
generation.

Time for a pop quiz: What encoding do Sun fonts require? What does UPM size
do? What happens in NeXTSTEP installation if you have no AFM file?
If you are unsure of the answers to these questions, then use the Easy option and
let Fontographer make the best decisions for your fonts.
You experienced readers, dive right into the Advanced dialog boxes and the
technical stuff; if you get stuck, then your experience will rescue you. If even that
fails, then contact our Technical Support group. If your time is a terrible thing to
waste, then you should also take advantage of the Easy option in the Generate
Font Files dialog box.

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In the Easy Generate Font Files dialog box, you have five simple decisions to
make.

1.

Select the platform for which you are preparing the font.

2.

Determine the format (PostScript, TrueType or OpenType).

3.

Choose the bitmap sizes if any.

Note: Only Macintosh PostScript fonts require bitmaps. But you still may add
them also to Macintosh TrueType Suitcase.
4.

Set the folder into which you want the font files saved.

5.

Decide whether you want to overwrite existing files with the same name.

Fontographer will then decide the sticky issues; for instance, if an AFM file should
be generated for the NeXT fonts (yes), what ID should be selected for Mac FOND
resource, or even how to set up the UPM size for Windows TrueType fonts (2,048).
This is all the information necessary to use the Easy mode. The rest of this
chapter covers the more complicated stuff that appears in the Advanced mode.

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Generating cross-platform
fonts
Modern Mac OS X, Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Linux support fonts in
TrueType/OpenType TT and OpenType PS format. So these two formats became
cross-platform de-facto standard.

To generate cross-platform TrueType/OpenType TT or OpenType

PS fonts:
1.

Choose Generate Font Files from the File menu.

2.

If you are not already in the Advanced mode, click the Advanced radio button
in the Generate Font Files dialog box.

3.

Select Cross-platform(...) from the Platform pop-up.

4.

Select OpenType TT or OpenType PS from the Font Format pop-up. A Format

Options dialog box appears when you click the Format Options button.

5.

In the Glyph Names pop-up, you have two choices. Since both OpenType TT
and OpenType PS formats are based on Unicode select Make PDF-compatible
glyph names here.

6.

Check the Overwrite existing files option. When this option is not checked,
any file name created that conflicts with an existing file name in the same
folder will have a number (2, 3 etc.) appended to its name.

7.

Point Fontographer to the folder where you wish to save your fonts, via
the Change button.

8.

When all the options have been selected, press Generate to close the dialog
box and generate the font.

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OpenType Options
The OpenType Options dialog box appears when you click on the Format Options
button and the selected font format is OpenType PS or OpenType TT/TrueType.
The default settings for OpenType PS export are shown below:

Fontographer cannot automatically generate OpenType layout features, but it can

take the code from the external file. If you select the Use external file option
Fontographer will take features code from the external file you point it to. You can
edit this file with any text editor before generating the font and therefore have full
control of the OpenType layout. Refer to Chapter 12, OpenType Fonts for details.
You may choose to not generate OpenType features at all. In this case click on the
Do not generate OpenType Layout code option. With this option turned on, for
OpenType PS (.otf) fonts, Fontographer will still generate an OpenType "kern"
feature in the GPOS table, and an empty GSUB table (the latter is required
because of a bug in InDesign CS3). For OpenType TT/TrueType (.ttf) fonts, no
GPOS or GSUB will be generated. Kerning will be saved as a classic kerning table.
The Compress using subroutines option allows to automatically generate outline
subroutines if font is generated as CFF-flavored. Outline subroutines store
repetitive parts of outlines and allow reuse with references from outline definition
code. The font can be more compact in this case.
The Use Windows Symbol encoding should only be selected if you wish to create
a Wingdings style symbol font for Windows, or if you have some other special
purpose (like getting some additional characters, and so forth). For more
information, see Symbol encoded Windows fonts following.

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Generating Macintosh fonts

Mac OS X has full support for OpenType PS (.otf) and OpenType TT/True Type
(.ttf) fonts. But you may need to generate old-fashioned Macintosh fonts that will
work on older Mac systems.
Macintosh fonts require two particular font resources: the outline font and the
FOND. In the case of Type 1 and 3 (PostScript) fonts, these font resources are in
separate files. For TrueType fonts, the two resources exist in the same file. This
section will deal with the how to issue of generating the font resources. Much
more information on how to make use of the fonts once theyre generated will be
covered in Chapter 11, Installing and Removing Fonts.

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Mac Type 1 Suitcase

PostScript Type 1 fonts also known as ATM fonts are the fonts supported by
Adobe Type Manager and all Mac systems. There are two principle advantages of
Type 1 over the older Type 3 font format. When printing to low-resolution laser
printers, Type 1 fonts are more legible at small point sizes. Also, ATM or OS will
render the Type 1 PostScript fonts on-screen, thus removing the need for bitmaps
for every point size.
Type 3 fonts arent widely supported; most operating systems cannot work with
them. You will probably never have the need to generate Type 3 fonts but these
fonts will be discussed in detail in the next section.
To generate Macintosh PostScript Type 1 fonts with suitcases:
1.

Choose Generate Font Files from the File menu.

2.

If you are not already in the Advanced mode, click the Advanced radio button
in the Generate Font Files dialog box.

3.

Select Mac OS X and 9 from the Platform pop-up.

4.

Select Mac Type 1 Suitcase from the Font Format pop-up.

5.

The Type 1 Options dialog box appears when you click on the Format
Options button. We recommend that you accept our default settings for the
Include hints and Use "Flex" checkboxes. If you want more information on
these fields, then refer to When should you use hints? and A word about
flex on page 315 later in this chapter.

6.

In the Glyph Names pop-up, you have two choices:

Select Keep glyph names as they are if you have Custom glyph names and do
not want Fontographer to change them.
7.

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See the section Pack your suitcase: bitmap fonts on page 319 to learn about
bitmap options.

Generating and Exporting Fonts

8.

The Overwrite existing files checkbox is provided as a means to prevent the

accidental removal of original files. If checked, Fontographer will replace older
files with the same names as those currently being generated. If deselected,
Fontographer will keep the older files alone, and change the name of the
conflicting file by appending a number (2, 3, etc.) to the file name.

9.

AFM files are not used on the Macintosh. So, if youre using a Macintosh, the
Create AFM file option is turned off by default. If you want an AFM for your
Macintosh font, just turn the checkbox on.

10. The default directory is indicated in the Save to field. If you press the Change
button, you are presented with a standard file dialog box. Select the
destination folder in the dialog box and press Choose.

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Mac Type 1 Font

You also have the possibility to export Mac PostScript Type 1 font without an
accompanying suitcase containing metrics and bitmaps. This is a single printer file
(LWFN) containing POST resources. It cannot be installed and used in other
applications without a suitcase but this option can be useful in some cases.
To generate Macintosh PostScript Type 1 font without a suitcase:

310

1.

Choose Generate Font Files from the File menu.

2.

If you are not already in the Advanced mode, click the Advanced radio button
in the Generate Font Files dialog box.

3.

Select Mac OS X and 9 from the Platform pop-up.

4.

Select Mac Type 1 from the Font Format pop-up.

5.

All the rest options are the same as for the Mac Type 1 Suitcase except that
you cannot create suitcase file and therefore define bitmap sizes.

Generating and Exporting Fonts

TrueType suitcase
Developed as a joint venture by Apple and Microsoft, TrueType fonts have become
a popular outline font option for Macintosh and Windows systems.
You can create TrueType fonts using the default UPM size of 1000 built into
Fontographer. In some specific cases, you may want to use a different UPM, for
example 2000 or 2048. This may give you finer control of the character outline.
If you use a non-1000 UPM size, you can set your ascender and descender in Font
info under the Element menu to adjust for the larger UPM, if you wish. You might
try values of 1638 for ascender and 410 for descender to approximate the default
UPMs 800/200 split.
To generate Macintosh TrueType fonts:
1.

Choose Generate Font Files from the File menu.

2.

If you are not already in the Advanced mode, click the Advanced radio button
in the Generate Font Files dialog box.

3.

Select Mac OS X and 9 from the Platform pop-up.

4.

Select Mac TrueType Suitcase from the Font Format pop-up. A TrueType
Options dialog box appears when you click on the Format Options button.
The contents of the dialog are described above in the "OpenType Options"
section.

5.

In the Glyph Names pop-up, you have two choices. Select Make PDFcompatible glyph names here.

6. Bitmaps are not needed for Mac TrueType fonts.

7.

Check the Overwrite existing files option. When this option is not checked,
any file name created that conflicts with an existing file name in the same
folder will have a number (2, 3 etc.) appended to its name.

8.

Point Fontographer to the folder where you wish to save your fonts, via
the Change button.

9.

When all the options have been selected, press Generate to close the dialog
box and generate the font.

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PostScript Type 3
The steps for generating a Type 3 font are almost identical to those for generating
a Type 1 font. But why would anyone want to generate a Type 3 font, since it wont
work with ATM and is not as legible as Type 1 when printed to a 300-dpi printer?
The advantage is the flexibility of the Type 3 format.

Lets assume you want an ornaments font that uses several tonal variations and
filled-and-stroked objects in the same character. No problem with Type 3 fonts;
absolutely impossible with Type 1 or with TrueType. The general rule is: for plain
text fonts, go Type 1 or TrueType; for decorative or special-use fonts, experiment
with Type 3. The rewards of this flexible format may surprise you.
To generate Macintosh PostScript Type 3 fonts:
1.

Choose Generate Font Files from the File menu.

2.

Click the Advanced button, and then select the Mac OS X and 9 option from
the Platform pop-up.

3.

In the Font Format pop-up, select Mac PostScript Type 3.

4.

The Type 3 Options dialog box appears when you click on the Format
Options button. For more information on the Absolute coordinates and
Compress checkboxes, see the section Other Type 3 Formats on page 314.

5.

The Overwrite existing files checkbox is provided as a means to prevent the

accidental removal of original files. If checked, Fontographer will replace older
files with the same names as those currently being generated.

If deselected, Fontographer will leave the older files alone, and change the
name of the conflicting file by appending a number (2, 3 etc.) to its name.

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Generating and Exporting Fonts

6.

AFM files are not used on the Macintosh. This option is turned off by default.
If you think youve got a use for the AFM, then click the checkbox to turn it on.

7.

The default directory is indicated in the Save to field. If you press

the Change button, you are presented with a standard file dialog box. Select
the destination folder in the dialog box and press Choose.

8.

Press Generate to create your font files and close this dialog box.

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Other Type 3 Formats

The Absolute coordinates checkbox creates a file extension of .abs. This ASCII
text file is often used by sign-cutters in their plastic cutting machines, which
require absolute coordinates, rather than the usual relative coordinates.
PostScript-Absolute requires a compressed file so when that option is checked, the
Compress option should also be checked.

If you deselect the Compress checkbox, Fontographer will create a plain

PostScript file. PostScript programmers use this to generate standard PostScript
definitions of all the characters in the font. This will create a usable, if very large,
Type 3 PostScript font.
!

Note: You cannot create uncompressed Type 1 fonts, because Type 1 fonts are
compressed by definition.
Compressed is the standard Type 3 font format. This font file can be used for both
automatically downloadable fonts or fonts that are to be downloaded to the
printers hard disk. Compressed PostScript is the preferred form for generating
Type 3 fonts. PostScript is stored very inefficiently inside the printer, so
compression is necessary to pack as much information into the memory as
possible. Fontographers compression scheme generates fonts that take up onefifth the space, on the average, of uncompressed fonts. Nevertheless, a Type 3
compressed font is still larger than a Type 1 font.

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When should you use hints?

Hints are information placed into a characters outline definition that adjusts it in
a way that improves the characters perceived shape when it is drawn on the
screen or on the printer. Hints almost always enhance the look of your font.
Fontographer generates hints by default. You would do well to leave hinting on
unless you have found some problem with the printing of your font that seems to
indicate inaccurate hints.

A word about flex

Flex is helpful only for Type 1 PostScript serif fonts that meet very specific design
criteria. If your font doesnt match this exact model, then dont use flex. Heres
what it does:
The purpose of flex is to eliminate slight indentations in the fonts outline at small
sizes if possible, while still keeping those same indentations at larger sizes. When
the Flex box is checked, Fontographer applies subtle effects to cupped serifs and
tapered stems. Garamond is a good example of a font that needs flex to properly
render its serifs.
A segment will only respond to flex if it meets certain requirements:

The segment must be composed of exactly two Bzier curve segments,

typically created by placing a corner point, a curve point, and a corner point.

The outer points must be perfectly vertical or horizontal (meaning that they
have the same x or y coordinate).

The difference between the end points x/y coordinates and the middle point
(known as flex height) must be 6 units or less in the flex direction.
Y=-6

Y=0

Thus, for a serif flex, the middle point should be at Y = 0, and the end points
should be at or above Y = -6.
!

Note: Applying flex to your font can add as much as 10K to the size of your font
file.

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Generating Windows fonts

PostScript Type 1
Windows Type 1 PostScript fonts also called ATM fonts are intended for use in
Microsoft Windows.
Microsoft Windows 2000 and later support Windows Type 1 fonts by default.
Older Windows operating systems (3.1, NT, 95, 98, ME) require Adobe Type
Manager (ATM) 2.x (or higher) to be installed. ATM doesn't work anymore on
Windows Vista and Windows 7.
Windows PostScript fonts consist of two mandatory files: PFB and PFM. In
addition, the font can include optional files: AFM and INF.
In the Advanced dialog box, you also get to choose which files should be output,
whether or not the use of Flex is appropriate, and if hints should be included in
the font.

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To generate Windows PostScript Type 1 fonts:
1.

Choose Generate Font Files from the File menu.

2.

Select Windows from the Platform pop-up.

3.

Select the Windows Type 1 option in the Font Format pop-up.

4.

The Type 1 Options dialog box appears when you click on the Format
Options button. We recommend that you accept our default settings for
the Include hints and Use "Flex" checkboxes. If you want more information
on these fields, then refer to When should you use hints? and A word about
flex on page 315.

5.

Create PFM file should be checked; the AFM and INF options should be
deselected in most situations.

6.

Point Fontographer to the destination folder, via the Change button.

7.

When all the options have been selected, press Generate to close the dialog
box and create your font files.

Other Options
Overwrite existing files
When this option is not checked, any file name created that conflicts with an
existing file name in the same folder will have a number (2, 3, etc.) appended to its
name.
Output AFM file
The AFM file is not used by Windows in normal installations. If you have a use for
this metrics file, then check the box to generate the file.
Output PFM file
The PFM file is required by Windows. This option is on by default. This is a binary
file containing metrics information (similar to information found in the AFM).
Output INF file
The INF is an information file used by some older DOS applications for name and
style information. In rare situations, it can also be read by ATM and used with the
AFM file in lieu of the PFM. Only generate this file if you know you will use it;
otherwise, its presence may cause confusion when installing fonts in Windows.

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Symbol encoded Windows fonts

When you generate a Windows OpenType TT/TrueType font, a checkbox allows
for a special symbol encoding option. This is the same encoding format used in the
dingbats font in Windows, Wingdings. Rather than converting your Windows font
to the ANSI key layout (which results in some missing characters), Symbol
encoding will output every character in your database from the Dec 32 (space) to
Dec 255 (caron), except 127 and 160. All characters in the normal ASCII (Dec 32
126) sequence will remain accessible by striking the alphanumeric keys. But since
extended ASCII characters on the Windows are accessed by typing the ALT+0XXX
key combination, if you want the copyright symbol (), hold down the ALT key
and use the numeric keypad to type 0 followed by the decimal number for the
copyright symbol, which is 169. Do likewise for every other extended ASCII (Dec
128255) character. If you have any characters mapped to decimal 031, they
wont be output to the Windows with Symbol encoding, nor will anything in Dec
127 (delete) or Dec 160 (nonbreaking space).
When Symbol encoding is selected, sequential character ordering should also be
used. All other TrueType preferences do apply.

PostScript Type 3
This option has become a relic. We include it for those one or two folks who are
using older applications that may require it. The instructions for using Type 3
fonts are very similar to the Type 1 discussion. The only additional note is that you
will have to provide a bitmap screen font for the application. You can start with
our BDF format (File > Export > BDF) and use some conversion tool in DOS to
make it into a usable format.

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Pack your suitcase: bitmap

fonts
Bitmaps vs. outlines
In these days of OpenType fonts, the relationship between screen fonts and
printer fonts is getting blurred. There was a time when they were both represented
by individual files. But in the present day of OpenType and TrueType every
platform we support can render the outline file to both the screen and the printer.
So does that mean we never have to deal with bitmaps again? Not really.
Think about your screen image. It is represented by a lot of pixels, each either
turned on or turned off. When the font is rendered to the screen, the font display
driver maps out the bits it wants turned on. That is essentially a bitmap created on
the fly.
Now, consider the printed image. What is the resolution of your printer? Most
laser printers print at least 300 dots (read bits) per inch. Thus, in one letter-size
page, the particular page description driver determines which of the 8,145,000 dots
it wants on; the ones turned on attract the black toner, the others dont. But before
the page is printed, the intelligent printer has mapped out each bit and saved the
page in RAM as a bitmap image. You can imagine how much memory that 300-dpi
bitmap can consume.
While bitmap font files are rapidly becoming obsolete, bitmaps themselves
whether they are screen images or page descriptions are always with us.
Understanding their relationship will enable better use of fonts in general.
Fontographer 5 generates two varieties of bitmap fonts: one specifically for use as
a screen image on the Macintosh, the .bmap (NFNT resources in the suitcase file),
and one intended for distribution to other platforms (which may require further
customization) the BDF.
The bitmap sizes entered in the Bitmap Information dialog box are stored in your
database.

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Fontographer 5

These are not output to a file until you say so in the Generate Font files dialog box.
If you wont be hand-editing your bitmaps, then there is no compelling reason to
use this dialog box.
!

Note: It is not necessary to enter all the sizes you will ever want to output into the
Bitmap Information dialog box prior to generating fonts. Any new sizes that you
enter when generating fonts will be built on the fly and output to the bitmap file as
is. (They will then be retained in the database file.)

Adding bitmap sizes

Type the desired point sizes in the Bitmap point sizes field and click OK. Adding a
new size will automatically generate all the characters for the newly added size(s).
They are limited to sizes between 1 and 255 points.

Deleting bitmap sizes

Unwanted bitmap sizes can be removed from the database file by removing the
size from the Bitmap sizes field in the Bitmap Information dialog box.
Fontographer will display a warning message before it deletes the bitmaps.

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Bitmap format
NFNT
This information is specific to the Macintosh. If you have no desire to comprehend
the mysteries of the NFNT and FOND, then you can proceed to the next section.

Fontographer generates NFNTs (New FoNTs) for the Macintosh Type 1 or

TrueType suitcase.
The NFNT is the repository for the bitmaps. The spacing, kerning, naming, and
metrics information is handled by the FOND. With the arrival of TrueType fonts
on the Macintosh and System 7, the NFNT is being phased out and in many
situations today, it is not even required. But the FOND remains a necessary part of
the font handling equation on the Macintosh.

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Exporting files
Fontographer is equipped with an Export menu item. From within its submenu
you may export EPS, BDF, .vfb or metrics files. In this section we will discuss
exporting your font characters as graphics for use in applications such as Adobe
Illustrator or Adobe Photoshop. For more about exporting metrics, and the
Fontographer Metrics file, refer to Chapter 6, Metrics Spacing and Kerning.

Exporting EPS files

The EPS option generates an Adobe Illustrator 1.1-style EPS (Encapsulated
PostScript) format file. Programs such as Adobe Illustrator can open this file
format directly for editing purposes. And once you open your EPS file, you can add
or delete points, reshape, distort or fill characters with a specific color or pattern,
or change the stroke weight.
To export an EPS file:
1.

Select the EPS format from the Export pop-up in the File menu.

2.

Select the point size necessary for your intended use.

3.

Choose an Export option.

All glyphs will export all the glyphs in your font.

Selected glyphs will export only the glyphs currently selected in the font
window or from the outline window (the active glyph).
Choosing Sample text will bring up a text entry box for you to type the text
string you would like to export.

322

4.

When you export an EPS file, Fontographer allows you to choose your own file
name.

5.

Once youve chosen the folder to export the file to, press the Export button
and the file will be exported without further comment.

Generating and Exporting Fonts

Exporting BDF files

This option is provided to generate Adobe Bitmap Distribution Format (BDF)
files. BDFs can be used for creating screen fonts on computer systems such as the
Sun, DEC, and DOS. Information on the format of the BDF file can be found on
the web:
http://partners.adobe.com/public/developer/en/font/5005.BDF_Spec.pdf
To export a BDF font:
1. Select the BDF format from the Export pop-up in the File menu. If the item is
not available this means you must create bitmaps with the Element > Bitmap Info
command.
2.

Select the bitmap size necessary for your intended use.

Only existing bitmap sizes are listed here.

3.

When you export a BDF font, Fontographer allows you to choose your own file
name.

4.

Once youve chosen the folder to export the file to, press the Export button
and the file will be exported without further comment.

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Creating a Font Family

Just as your own family has differences and similarities, so do your fonts.
A family of fonts is defined as all the styles of one typeface. The group shares a
common design but can differ in attributes such as character width, weight, and
slope that is, Roman and Italic.

10

Fontographer 5
A typical computer (font) family unit frequently contains four fonts Plain, Italic,
Bold, and BoldItalic. But this is not mandatory.
To appreciate the advantage of font families, imagine having twenty typefaces with
four styles each installed in your system. In your font menu, there would be 80
fonts, since every typeface would appear four times, representing each of its styles.
It would be inconvenient to search through the 80 entries every time you wanted
to make your existing font bold. Using font families improves this scenario in two
ways: it lets you use command keys to change the style of the font, and it shortens
your font menu since there is just one listing for each family rather than one for
each font.
In order to build families, you must use appropriately named fonts. In other
words, their names must have the same base part. So you cannot choose
Helvetica-Bold as the bold style in the Nova family; you must choose a font whose
name starts with Nova.

When you name your font in Fontographers Font Info > Names dialog box be
sure to name each font properly. Make sure the Typographic Family Name text
box has the same name in it for all the styles of the family youre building and
every font in the family has it's own Typographic style name. This is important to
remember for making families on all platforms.

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Generating a Font Family

Menu grouping and style

linking
Traditionally, the Mac OS platform has always allowed typographic family
grouping of fonts: an arbitrary number of fonts can appear in the font menu
under one family name, with every font having a distinctive style name. This
allows typographically authentic representation of font families. Many font
families consist of a number of styles with different weights (light, regular,
semibold, bold, black etc.), sometimes different widths (condensed, normal,
extended) and often with accompanying italic styles.
Some of the fonts within one family are linked together through styling links,
also known under the name style-linking associations. A typical styling link is
this font acts as the bold style of another font and this font acts as the italic
style of another font. Through styling links, the application knows which font
should be used when the user applies italic or bold formatting typically through
clicking on an I or B icon in the applications toolbar. In the past, other styling
links were also used such as this font acts as the underline style of another font,
but they are no longer relevant. These days, underlining is usually done by the
application through drawing a line under the characters (the thickness of this line
is specified in the fonts parameters, but not all applications use that information).
In the Mac Type 1 format, multiple and complex styling links are possible. The
Black member of the family font could act as the bold style of the Bold font,
and at the same time, the Bold font could act as the bold style of the Regular
font.
The original Windows graphic subsystem (GDI), still used by most Windows
applications, only permits a more simplistic approach of forming font families:
within one family, all fonts except one must have a styling link to another font,
and the styling links cannot repeat or recurse. Since the two typical styling links
are is bold and is italic, a font family on Windows could have up to four
members: the bold italic font acts as the italic style to the bold font and as the bold
style to the italic font, the bold font acts as the bold style to the regular font, and
finally, the italic font acts as the italic style to the regular font. All fonts that are
linked to each other through a styling link for use in Windows GDI applications
form a styling group.

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Every font format (Mac Type 1, Windows Type 1 and OpenType/TrueType) has
properties that represent both the typographic family grouping and the styling
links, but they are stored or distributed in different ways, and sometimes there are
more than one to choose from. Fontographer 5 suggests the optimal way to
automatically create proper parameters for new fonts or translate those properties
between formats.
In addition to the naming fields, Fontographer introduces a number of four design
parameters that you need to define to build proper font family:

width (also called FontStretch)

weight (also called FontWeight)

slope (also called inclination or slant, or FontStyle)

The design parameters of a font describe typographic properties of the underlying

typeface. These parameters (width, weight and slope) are essential in the font
selection model introduced by WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation).
According to the WPF model, each font in a family must have a unique
combination of those three parameters.
So your basic task is to choose the design parameters from dropdown lists.

Fontographer then can generate family naming and styling links based on your
selection. When opening existing fonts, Fontographer tries to deduce the values
for these parameters, and also preserve as much of the original family naming and
styling links as possible.
In addition, you can specify a design parameter called Other. This parameter is
just a text value where you can describe a design parameter of a typeface that is
not width, weight or slope. For example, the optical size parameter can be set
here. Also, if you do not wish to use OpenType Layout features for some reason,
the Other parameter can be used to describe stylistic variations in the character
set such as Alt or Swash or OsF.

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Families: Windows, Sun,

NeXTSTEP
Making the typographic family name the same is all you need to do to create a font
family for Windows, NeXTSTEP and Sun environments. For more information
about these systems, see Chapter 9, Generating and Exporting Fonts.

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Font families on the Macintosh

If your font is a logo typeface or one that contains special symbols, you probably
dont need to make a family of fonts. In fact, many people use Fontographer to
make only one version of a typeface. In these cases, family information is not
important. But if you are ambitious, and have made more than one member of a
font family, you can use Style Merger or TransType Pro to bring those styles
together into a family of Macintosh typefaces. This concerns only Mac Type 1 and
TrueType font families. If you generated your fonts in the OpenType TT or
OpenType PS format you then already have everything set and you do not need
further manipulations.
!

Note: Style Merger, an old Macromedia utility, works only in classic Macintosh
systems. In Mac OS X you can merge your fonts with the help of TransType Pro
another product from Fontlab Ltd.
Style Merger and TransType Pro take styled Macintosh screen fonts and merge
them into one Macintosh screen font family. Macintosh font family relationships
are coordinated by special resources located in the screen font suitcases (FOND).
Style Merger and TransType Pro will work with both PostScript and TrueType
fonts. They never affect any fonts or font files already on your system; they simply
read existing fonts and create a new file containing a family.
This allows you to quickly and easily build a family containing Plain, Bold, Italic,
and BoldItalic fonts. If you use Fontographer to create four styled fonts of the
same typeface, Style Merger and TransType Pro can merge the four separate fonts
into one family, thus saving space in your font menu.
Before you run Style Merger or TransType Pro, generate any fonts you want to
include in your family (see Chapter 9, Generating and Exporting Fonts). For this
example, we started with these font files:

Now lets run Style Merger. It is so easy to use that the complete process takes
only four steps.

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Generating a Font Family

To create a font family with Style Merger:
1.

Double-click Style Merger icon.

Style Mergers main window appears.

2.

Click the button marked Plain and then choose the bitmap or TrueType file
that contains the Plain style of your font (Nova-Normal.bmap in this
example).

3.

Click the applicable buttons and then choose the appropriate bitmap font files
for your Bold, Italic, and BoldItalic faces.

Note: If your typeface has fewer than the four base styles, then press only the
relevant buttons, bypassing the button(s) that do not apply to your typeface.
4.

Click the Save Family button and click OK to save your new family. You can
even change the name of the suitcase file if you like. Thats all there is to it.

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Fontographer 5

How Style Merger works

Style Mergers main window is mostly a collection of buttons. The button that you
should click next always has a bold outline around it to guide you through the
family building process (clicking the RETURN key always has the effect of clicking
the currently bolded button). Buttons that you are not supposed to click yet are
dimmed so that you cant click them by mistake.
On the left side of the window are the style buttons: Plain, Bold, Italic, and
BoldItalic. When you start up Style Merger, Plain is the only button you can
initially click (other than the Help button, which is always available). In addition,
Plain has a bold outline around it, indicating that this is the button you should
click first.
Clicking the Plain button begins the process of creating a family.
A file selection dialog box appears, allowing you to choose your fonts. Suppose you
choose Nova-Normal, because that is the Plain style of Nova. Clicking Plain always
wipes out any previously selected fonts and allows you to start over. So if you are
making a family, and you choose the wrong fonts by accident, simply click Plain to
automatically remove your mistakes and start over.

Once youve chosen the Plain face and clicked OK, you will see the name of your
Plain font appear to the right of the Plain button.
After you choose the Plain bitmap, the little suitcase file image to the right of the
button changes from gray to black, indicating that youve already selected a Plain
font. In addition, a proposed new family name appears just above the Save Family
button on the right. This name isnt set in stone: you can change it when you click
the Save Family button. Notice that the Save Family button is disabled until you
choose the second font to merge into the family.

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Generating a Font Family

Now that youve chosen a Plain face, Style Merger enables the Bold, Italic, and
BoldItalic buttons, and it also puts a bold outline around the Bold button,
directing you to click this button next. Of course, you can choose to add Bold,
Italic, and BoldItalic styles in any order you want, so you can choose Italic next if
you feel like being a rebel. To continue with the example, just click the Bold button
and add fonts in order. Clicking the Bold button brings up the file selection dialog
box again, just like it did for Plain. This time, choose the Bold style, which in this
example is Nova-Bold. Once you have accepted the file selection dialog box, the
name Nova-Bold appears next to the Bold button, and the Save Family button
becomes active. This is because you could save the family at this point and be
finished. This is useful when you dont have all four styles to merge into a family.
Style Merger bolds the Italic button next, so just choose Nova-Oblique as the italic
face, and Nova-BoldOblique for the bold italic face. If you look at the Style Merger
window, you can see that each style button has a name beside it, indicating that
you can build a complete family now. And sure enough, Style Merger has bolded
the Save Family button to tell you to do so. When you click that button, a dialog
box appears asking where you want to save the family and what it should be
called.

Typically, Style Merger suggests names like Nova-Normal.fam. This will be the
name of the suitcase file Style Merger creates. The part of the name before the
period is what the font will be called in your font menus (it becomes the name of
the FOND resource). For instance, if you accept the name Nova-Normal.fam, Style
Merger creates a file named "Nova-Normal.fam", and when you install that new
family, youll see Nova-Normal in your font menus. If you want to see just Nova,
you should tell Style Merger to save the family as Nova.fam. After you press OK in
the standard file dialog box, Style Merger builds the family and saves it. Then it
cleans out all the font selections, and is ready to build another family. The window
now looks exactly as it did when the program first started.
If you just want to build one family, you can quit now. To do so, type COMMAND-Q,
choose Quit from the File menu, or simply click in the close box of Style Mergers
window. If you want to create more families, you can leave Style Merger running
to make some more.

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Things you should know about Style Merger

Style Merger wont prevent you from choosing incorrect faces for particular styles.
For instance, you could tell Style Merger to use Nova-Bold for the italic face. Your
family will work just the way you set it up, but it would be a little confusing.

Tip: If you make a mistake and choose the wrong font for a particular style, its
often easier to simply click Plain again and start from scratch. This is because
fonts youve already selected will no longer appear in the file selection dialog box.
This is really convenient for building a family because the names disappear once
theyve been used, but it is not so convenient when you make a mistake.
Fortunately, choosing all the font names again takes only about 30 seconds.

Note: Please, do yourself a favor and always make sure the fonts you use to build
families with are not installed. Always close any fonts installed with Suitcase,
Master Juggler, Font Porter or whatever you installed them with; then build your
family and reinstall your fonts. If you are using Style Merger and notice that the
little suitcase icons change from capital As to Bs, that means that the font you
have just chosen was already installed. You may have to restart your Macintosh. If
you have never heard of Suitcase, or Master Juggler, or installed fonts, then dont
worry; you most likely will not encounter this situation.
Never try to open fonts that are in your System Folder.

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Installing and Removing

Fonts
Youve devoted a lot of time to getting your font ready to use. Youve tweaked,
scaled, and skewed the characters; adjusted the kerning and spacing; printed out a
sample to see what the characters look like; and finally generated the font. And
since youre perfectly happy with your creation, youre ready to install the font and
actually use it. Telling your system about your new font is the final step toward
this goal. The manner in which the system is made aware of the font depends
totally upon system configuration and computer platform. Well examine the
specific steps for each platform. You only need to install a font once to make it
usable in all the programs on your computer.

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Fontographer 5

Installing Macintosh
Type 1 fonts
Macintosh Type 1 fonts consist of two parts: the printer font file which contains
the PostScript outline data in the Type 1 format, and the bitmap font file, which
is sometimes known as the font suitcase or the screen font.
In Mac OS X, the printer font files carry a font icon with the descriptor LWFN and
the bitmap font files carry a font icon with the descriptor FFIL, and occasionally a
.bmap file extension (but it is not mandatory).

Mac OS X doesnt use pfb, pfm, afm or inf files.

Installing Type 1 fonts in Mac OS X

If you double-click the suitcase font file in the Finder, a window opens in Font
Book so you can preview the font. If you click Install Font, it's installed in the
Library/Fonts/ folder in your home folder.
After you install a font, it appears in the All Fonts collection.
To make the font available to all users of the computer, drag it to the Computer
folder in the Collection column of Font Book. You can change the default install
location so that fonts are always available for all users of the computer. You can
make this change in Font Book Preferences.
There are many third party utilities for installing and managing fonts in Mac OS
X. Here are some names: Font Explorer X Pro, Suitcase Fusion, FontAgent Pro.

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Installing and Removing Fonts

Installing Other
fonts in Mac OS X
Mac TrueType, Windows OpenType TT (ttf) and OpenType PS (otf) fonts exist all
in one file. There are no separate screen and printer files like there are for Type 1
fonts. Instead, everything comes in a single file (resource or data-fork based).

Note: When you install the font, both the outline and any bitmaps you have in the
same file will be installed. The Macintosh Operating System will defer to the
TrueType bitmaps over the TrueType outlines. Fontographer will not
automatically generate TrueType bitmap sizes. You must specify the sizes for them
to be included in the file if you need.
Installing other fonts in Mac OS X is the same as installing Type 1 fonts. You may
refer to Mac OS X help for details.

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Fontographer 5

Installing Windows fonts

Windows fonts generated by Fontographer can be used in any version of Windows
starting from Windows 3.x but we will consider the most recent versions here:
Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7. Windows XP and later directly
support Type 1, OpenType TT and OpenType PS fonts. There is a difference in the
implementation of Type 1 and OpenType fonts in Windows, but they do have one
similarity: neither depends upon a bitmap file for the screen image.
Multiple Master Type 1 fonts can be installed on Windows XP with the help of
ATM 4.1 (Adobe Type Manager). Since ATM doesn't work properly on Windows
Vista and was reported by Adobe as a discontinued project, Multiple Master fonts
become more obsolete. Here is what Thomas Phinney said:
"Well, the title pretty much says it all. ATM Light and Deluxe don't appear to
work properly under Vista, and we don't currently have any plans to update
them (we stopped selling and supporting ATM Deluxe quite some time back).
However, multiple master (MM) fonts also don't really work at the system
level under Windows without ATM (Light or Deluxe). With Adobe
applications that use our shared font engine, you can still put MM fonts in a
shared Adobe fonts folder, whether it's "C:\Program Files\Common
Files\Adobe\Fonts" or the "Fonts" folder within an individual application
folder. So it will still be possible to get MMs working under Vista for, say,
InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop. But not for Microsoft Office,
QuarkXPress, Adobe Freehand, or many others.
Sorry for the bad news. But I trust it was apparent that this sort of thing was
coming sooner or later."

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Installing and Removing Fonts

Installing fonts in Windows XP

To install both Type 1 and OpenType (ttf and otf) fonts follow these
steps:
1.

Open the Fonts control panel by choosing it from the Start menu. Youll see a
fonts folder that lists all of the fonts currently installed on the system.

2.

Select Install New Font from the File menu to bring up the Add Fonts dialog
box.

Youll see three windows labelled List of fonts, Folders, and Drives to help
you in locating the fonts to be installed.
3.

Find and click the folder where you told Fontographer to generate the fonts.
The fonts will now display by name in the List of fonts window directly above
the Folders.

4.

Be sure that the Copy fonts to Fonts folder option is checked.

5.

Select the fonts you want to install, or click Select All, click OK and the fonts
will be copied into the system fonts folder.
You can look in the fonts folder to verify that everything copied okay and
youre done.

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Fontographer 5

Installing fonts in Windows Vista/7

To install both Type 1 and OpenType (ttf and otf) fonts follow these
steps:
1.

Find and open the folder where you told Fontographer to generate the fonts.

2.

Open the Fonts control panel by choosing it from the Start menu. Youll see a
fonts folder that shows all of the fonts currently installed on the system.

3.

Select and drag-drop your fonts to this folder. In the case of Type 1 fonts,
select and drag-drop only the file with .pfm extension.

Another method:
1.

Find and open the folder where you told Fontographer to generate the fonts.

2.

Double-click on your font to open it for preview (or right-click and select
Preview in the pop-up menu). In the case of Type 1 fonts, double-click on the
file with .pfm extension.

3.

In the font preview window click on the Install button to copy the font to the
system Fonts folder.
You can look in the fonts folder to verify that everything copied okay and
youre done.

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Installing and Removing Fonts

Removing installed fonts

Its a rare occasion when you want to remove a font from your computer.
Removing a font is not necessarily the same as updating a font. On most
platforms, replacing an old version of a font with a newer one is simply a matter of
installing it again. If you do remove a font, any documents youve created with that
font will revert back to some default font, a situation you should generally avoid.
But if you dont have any documents that contain a certain font, you might want to
remove it to save space on your computers disk or to reduce clutter in your font
menus. Disks containing fewer files generally work faster, and font menus with
fewer fonts display more quickly. Its also true that programs start more slowly
when there are lots of fonts installed. So there really are some valid reasons why
you might want to remove unused fonts from your computer. Done carefully, font
removal can speed your work and brighten your day.

Removing a Macintosh font

If the font was installed just by copying or moving it to the fonts folder:
1.

Open one of the font folders (/Library/Fonts or /UserName/Library/Fonts).

2.

Drag the font files (both bitmap and PostScript if its a PostScript font) out of
the Fonts folder and into some other folder on your disk or into the Trash.

If the font was installed with Font Book or some other font management utility
then use this utility to disable or completely remove the font.

Removing a Windows font

If you were using Font Explorer or some other font utility for font installation then
use it to disable or completely remove the font.
Otherwise:
1.

Open the Fonts control panel by double-clicking its icon or choosing it in the
Start menu.

2.

Select the font you want removed.

3.

Move it to some other place on your disk.

4.

If you want the font permanently removed from your disk, move it to the
Recycle Bin or choose Delete in the File menu.

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OpenType Fonts
The OpenType font format, jointly developed by Microsoft and Adobe, allows us to
combine the best features of the TrueType and Type 1 font formats.
OpenType fonts are stored in a single font file, use Unicode as their encoding and
work in Windows and Mac OS X. They do not require bitmaps.
This all has been true for older TrueType fonts but the advantage of OpenType
against older font formats is the support of layout features, which allow better
typographic layout, and precise support of complex scripts.
OpenType fonts come in two sub-formats, so-called flavors:

OpenType PS, with the file extension .otf, also called OpenType-CFF or
PostScript-flavored OpenType.

OpenType TT, usually with the file extension .ttf (but the extension .otf
is also permitted), also called TrueType-flavored OpenType. This format is
backwards compatible with Windows TrueType (.ttf) fonts. In practical terms, any
PC TrueType font is automatically an OpenType TT font.

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Fontographer 5

Font Features
Both sorts of OpenType fonts may include so-called OpenType Layout features.
For example, the small caps layout feature (abbreviated smcp) may change all
lowercase glyphs to their small caps counterparts.

Small caps
The standard ligatures layout feature (abbreviated liga) can replace some letter
combinations with ligatures.

Ligature
The old-style numerals layout feature (abbreviated onum) can replace lining
figures with old-style figures.

Old Style Numerals

OpenType Layout features can serve typographic purposes like shown above. In
this case, applications such as Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator CS, Adobe
Photoshop CS, Apple Pages or Apple Keynote on Mac OS X offer the user some
interface to turn selected features on an off.
OpenType Layout features also play a crucial role in rendering complex scripts, i.e.
writing systems such as Arabic, Devanagari or Thai. These writing systems have
complex rules for displaying characters. For example Arabic uses different forms
of letters if a letter is found at the beginning, in the middle or at the end of the
word. Also, complex scripts often use vowel marks that are positioned dynamically
over consonant letters. In all these cases, the layout features contain mapping
rules that are automatically applied by the layout application.

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OpenType Fonts
Note that not all layout applications offer the same level of OpenType support. For
example, Microsoft Word 2003 for Windows supports complex-script layout
features for Arabic and Devanagari but does not support Western typographic
layout features. Adobe InDesign CS2 U.S. English and Apple Keynote on Mac OS
X support Western typographic layout features but do not support any complexscript layout features. Adobe InDesign CS Middle East edition supports Western
and Arabic layout features, but does not support Devanagari.
Information about using OpenType fonts can be found at:
http://www.myfonts.com/info/opentype/
http://store.adobe.com/type/opentype/
Information about developing OpenType fonts can be found at:
http://www.microsoft.com/typography/SpecificationsOverview.mspx
http://www.microsoft.com/typography/developers/opentype/
http://partners.adobe.com/public/developer/opentype/
Probably the best thing about OT features is that they do not change the source
string of characters.

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Fontographer 5

Features and Lookups

Every feature consists of one or more lookups. A Lookup is an elementary
procedure performed on a glyph sequence or positioning data. For instance,
replace the sequence of f and l with the fl ligature glyph is a lookup. A
combination of similar lookups forms a feature.
The sequence of lookups is important. They are applied in the order they are
defined. The sequence of features is also important, but the application or
operating system may make changes in the feature preference.
By default all features and lookups are defined for the default language of the
Latin script.

Scripts and Languages

The second great OpenType feature is support for multiple scripts and languages.
With an OpenType font you can define different behaviors of the font when it is
used to type text in different languages. For example, some ligatures that are
necessary in English are not applicable to Turkish. Other features, like support for
initial, medial and final forms of the characters are applicable only to Arabic
script, and so on.
OpenType allows us to define script and language dependence at the lookup level,
so the same feature may work differently when different languages are supported.

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OpenType Fonts

Feature Definition Language

Information about OpenType features is stored in a binary form inside the font
file. This is not easy to modify and not easy to handle with visual tools (like the
tools that Fontographer provides to edit outlines that are also stored in a binary
form).
To define features in human-readable form Adobe has developed the feature
definition language (FEA). It is very easy to read and it is the most compact way to
represent OpenType font features.
Lets take a simple example: a ligature feature that covers the basic fi and fl
ligatures that are present in almost every Western font. In feature-definition
language this feature will be defined as follows:
feature liga{
sub f i by fi;
sub f l by fl;
} liga;

Other possible features are defined in a similar way, keeping the feature definition
both compact and readable.
When Fontographer generates an OpenType font file it can try to compile the
feature file (.fea) into the binary OpenType tables. With a few exceptions it works
for most possible combinations of substitution and/or positioning features
supported in Adobe OTFDK v2.5.
In the following sections we will describe the feature definition language in more
detail. The next section covers the basic rules of the language.

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Fontographer 5

Language Syntax
Information in this section is partially taken from the official Feature File Format
specification by Adobe with their permission. Only those parts of the language
that are supported by Fontographer are described.

Comments
The "#" character indicates the start of a comment; the comment extends until the
end of the line.

Special characters
#

pound sign

Denotes start of comment

semicolon

Terminates a statement

comma

Separator in various lists

at sign

Identifies glyph class names

backslash

Distinguishes glyph names from an identical keyword

hyphen

Denotes glyph ranges in a glyph class

equal sign

Glyph class assignment operator

'

single quote

Marks a glyph or glyph class for contextual substitution or

positioning

"

double quote

Marks a glyph or glyph class for contextual substitution or

positioning

{ } braces

Enclose a feature, lookup, table, or anonymous block

[ ] square brackets Enclose components of a glyph class

< > angle brackets

Enclose a device, value record, contour point, anchor, or caret

( ) parentheses

Enclose the file name to be included

Number
A <number> is a signed decimal integer (without leading zeroes). For example:
-150
1000

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OpenType Fonts
Glyphs
These are represented by the glyph name. A glyph name may be up to 31
characters in length, must be entirely comprised of characters from the following
set:
A-Z
a-z
0-9
. (period)
_ (underscore)

and must not start with a digit or period. The only exception is the special glyph
".notdef".
"twocents", "a1", and "_" are valid glyph names. "2cents" and ".twocents" are not.
An initial backslash serves to differentiate a glyph name from an identical keyword
in the feature file language. For example, a glyph named "table" must be specified
in the feature file as:
\table

Glyph classes
A feature file glyph class, <glyphclass>, represents a single glyph position in a
sequence and is denoted by a list of glyphs enclosed in square brackets.
For example:
[endash emdash figuredash]

An example of a sequence that contains a glyph class is:

space [endash emdash figuredash] space

This would match any of the 3 sequences "space endash space", "space emdash
space", or "space figuredash space" during OpenType layout.
A feature file glyph class that contains only one single glyph is known as a
singleton glyph class.
A feature file glyph class is also used to represent the set of alternate glyphs in an
alternate substitution lookup type rule.

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Fontographer 5
Ranges
A range of glyphs is denoted by a hyphen:
[<firstGlyph> - <lastGlyph>]

Spaces around the hyphen are not required since hyphens are not permitted in
feature file glyph names. For example:
[A-Z]

Named glyph classes

A glyph class can be named by assigning it to a glyph class name, which begins
with the "@" character, and then referred to later on by the glyph class name. For
example:
@dash = [endash emdash figuredash];
space @dash space # Usage

# Assignment

The part of the glyph class name after the "@" is subject to the same name
restrictions that apply to a glyph name, except that its maximum length is 30.
Glyph class assignments can appear anywhere in the feature file. A glyph class
name may be used in the feature file only after its definition.
When a glyph class name occurs within square brackets, its elements are simply
added onto the other elements in the glyph class being defined. For example:
@Vowels.lc = [a e i o u];
@Vowels.uc = [A E I O U];
@Vowels = [@Vowels.lc @Vowels.uc y Y];

Here the last statement is equivalent to:

@Vowels = [a e i o u A E I O U y Y];

No square brackets are needed if a glyph class name is assigned to another single
glyph class name. For example:
@Figures_lining_tabular = @FIGSDEFAULT;

Ranges, glyphs, and glyph class names can be combined in a glyph class. For
example:
[zerooldstyle - nineoldstyle ampersandoldstyle

@smallCaps]

In Fontographer, you can define glyph classes in the external feature file.

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OpenType Fonts
Including files
Including files is accomplished by the directive:
include(<filename>)

In this Fontographer implementation an included file must be located in the same

folder.
A maximum include depth of 5 ensures against infinite include loops (files that
include each other).

Specifying features
Each feature is specified in a feature block:
feature <feature tag> {
# specifications go here
} <feature tag>;

For example:
feature liga {
# ...
} liga;

A feature file "rule" is a statement that specifies glyph substitution or glyph

positioning. A feature block may contain glyph substitution rules, glyph
positioning rules, or both.

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Fontographer 5
Language system
In practice, most or all of the features in a font will be registered under the same
set of language systems, and a particular feature's lookups will be identical across
the language systems that the feature is registered under.
The "languagesystem" statement takes advantage of this fact. It is the simplest
way to specify a language system in the feature file. One or more such statements
may be present in the feature file at global scope (i.e. outside of the feature blocks
or any other blocks) and before any of the feature blocks:
languagesystem <script tag> <language tag>;

When these statements are present, then each feature that does not contain an
explicit "script" or "language" statement will be registered under every language
system specified by the "languagesystem" statement(s).
If no "languagesystem" statement is present, then the implementation will behave
exactly as though the following statement were present at the beginning of the
feature file:
languagesystem latn DFLT;

Script and Language

Occasionally you may need to specify a feature whose lookups vary across the
language systems of the feature, or whose language systems vary from the set of
language systems of the rest of the features in the file (specified by the
"languagesystem" statements).
In these cases, the "script" and "language" statements should be used within the
feature block itself. (A "script" and/or "language" statement must be present
before the first rule in the feature in order to indicate to the feature file parser that
this feature is not to be registered under the language systems specified by the
"languagesystem" statements).
The feature's lookups will be registered under the script and language attributes
current at the definition of the lookup. The attributes may be changed as follows:
"script" statement:
script <script tag>;

For example:
script kana;

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OpenType Fonts
When a "script" statement is seen, the language attribute is implicitly set to
'DFLT', and the lookupflag attribute is implicitly set to 0. The script attribute stays
the same until explicitly changed by another "script" statement or until the end of
the feature.
"language" statement:
The language attribute stays the same until explicitly changed, until the script is
changed, or until the end of the feature. To change the language attribute, use the
"language" statement:
language <language tag> [excludeDFLT|includeDFLT] [required];

The script and lookupflag attributes stay the same as before. (If no "script"
assignment statement has been seen thus far in the feature block, then the script
attribute is set to 'latn', but it is recommended that an explicit "script" statement
be used in such cases for clarity.)
Here is an example statement:
language DEU;

As a result of this statement, (a) the language attribute is changed to 'DEU ', and
(b) the 'DFLT' lookups of the current script are automatically included into the
language system specified by the current script and language attributes. If (b) is
not desired, as may occasionally be the case, then the keyword "excludeDFLT"
must follow the language tag. For example:
language DEU excludeDFLT;

The keyword "includeDFLT" may be used to explicitly indicate the default 'DFLT'
lookup-inheriting behavior. For example:
language DEU includeDFLT; # Same as: language DEU;

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Fontographer 5
lookupflag
The chapter "Common Table Formats" in the OpenType Font File Specification
describes the LookupFlag field in the Lookup table.
The lookupflag attribute defaults to 0 at the start of a feature block.
The lookupflag attribute stays the same until explicitly changed, until a lookup
reference statement is encountered that changes it, until the script is changed, or
until the end of the feature.
To change the lookupflag attribute explicitly, use the lookupflag statement, which
takes two formats:
lookupflag format A:
lookupflag <named lookupflag value> (, <named lookupflag value>)*;

Here, the individual lookup flag values to be set are expressed in a commaseparated list of one or more <named lookupflag value>s, in no particular order. A
<named lookupflag value> is one of the following:
RightToLeft
IgnoreBaseGlyphs
IgnoreLigatures
IgnoreMarks

At most one of each of the above 5 kinds of <named lookupflag value> may be
present in a lookupflag statement. For example, to skip over base glyphs and
ligature glyphs:
lookupflag IgnoreBaseGlyphs, IgnoreLigatures;
lookupflag format B:
lookupflag <number>;

Here the entire lookup flag value is specified simply as a <number>. The format A
example above could equivalently be expressed as:
lookupflag 6;

Format A is clearly a superior choice for human readability when the lookupflag
value is not 0. However, a lookupflag value of 0 can be set only with format B, not
with format A:
lookupflag 0;

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OpenType Fonts
lookup
You can label a set of rules and refer to it explicitly later on; in order to have
different parts of the font tables refer to the same lookup. This decreases the size
of the font in addition to freeing the editor from maintaining duplicate sets of
rules.
To define and label a lookup, use a named lookup block:
lookup <label> {
# rules to be grouped
} <label>;

To refer to the lookup later on, use a lookup reference statement:

lookup <label>;

For example:
lookup SHARED {
# ...
} SHARED;
# ...
lookup SHARED;

# lookup definition

# lookup reference

Since the labelled block literally defines a single lookup in the font, the rules
within the lookup block must be of the same lookup type and have the same
lookupflag attribute. The lookup block must be specified within a feature block
and may not contain any other kind of block.

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Importing OpenType Fonts

Fontographer 5 can now import and generate OpenType PS (.otf) fonts. But it
cannot read and decompile OpenType Layout features.
To open an OpenType PS font, choose Open Font or COMMAND-O from the File
menu. A file selection dialog box appears that works in the standard fashion. Once
the selection dialog box is open, you can select a font file by clicking its name and
then Open, or simply by double-clicking its name.
Fontographer shows the font contents in the font window. It also reads OpenType
'kern' feature code from the font and tries to decompile it to build a list of kerning
pairs. You can then edit kerning in the Metrics window.
If you now export the font back into the OpenType PS format it will loose all its
original OpenType Layout features found in the source font except kerning.
Imported kerning will be automatically transformed into the new 'kern' feature.

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OpenType Fonts

Generating OpenType Fonts

When you generate your font in the OpenType TT/TrueType or OpenType PS
format you can choose whether you want or not to include OpenType features in
your font.

Choose the Do not generate OpenType Layout code option to generate font
without OpenType features or choose the Use external file (AFDKO .fea
syntax) option and select the external .fea file where you have the code for
OpenType features prepared.
It is useful to name your file with features the same as your .fog database. For
example, if your font file was named MyFirstFont.fog then name the file with
features MyFirstFont.fea.
Fontographer will generate an OpenType "kern" feature in the GPOS table
regardless of the option selected. Surely kerning pairs must be defined in the
Metrics window in advance.

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Fontographer 5

Preparing OpenType features

In the following sections we will discuss the different types of substitution and
positioning lookups. Please note that you may combine substitution and
positioning lookups in the same feature.
The algorithm that Fontographer 5 uses to generate OpenType layout code relies
primarily on glyphnames found in the font. To generate proper OpenType features
you must name your glyphs properly and write proper code.

Naming your glyphs

Each glyph in a font must have a unique glyphname, i.e. each glyphname may only
occur once in a font.
Any glyphname must not be longer than 31 characters. The glyphname consists of
a basename, optionally followed by a period (.), which is then followed by a
suffix. Both the basename and the suffix may only include: uppercase English
letters (A-Z), lowercase English letters (a-z), European digits (0-9), and
underscore (_). Other characters such as spaces are not permitted. A glyphname
must start with a letter or the underscore character with the exception of the
special glyphname .notdef that must start with the period. A glyphname must
not start with a digit.
For example, twocents, a1, a.1, and _ are well-formed glyphnames
(according to those minimal limitations), while 2cents, two cents and
.twocents are not well-formed.

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OpenType Fonts
Substitution lookups
Substitution lookups (GSUB) deal with the replacement of the source glyph(s)
with some other glyph(s).
The simplest example of a substitution lookup is the replacement of lowercase
characters by small-caps versions.
Lookups may be context-free or context-dependent. Context-free lookups are
applied every time the source sequence of glyphs is present, like when you want to
replace the f and l sequence with the fl ligature. In other cases you may need to
apply a substitution only when a source sequence of glyphs is surrounded by some
other glyphs. For instance, you may want to replace an uppercase character with a
lowercase when it is followed by another lowercase character.
The OpenType specification declares the following types of basic substitutions:
Single

Replaces a single glyph with another single glyph: a->A

Ligature

Replaces multiple glyphs with a single glyph: f l -> fl

Multiple

Replaces a single glyph with multiple glyphs: $ -> d o l l a r

Alternate

Replaces a single glyph with one of the glyphs in a list: A -> A.version1
or A.version2

All these substitutions may be context-free or context-dependent.

Fontographer 5 supports all of the substitutions supported in AFDKO
v2.5.

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Single Substitution
This is the simplest substitution it replaces a single glyph with another glyph or
a class of glyphs with another class. The Class form of the substitution requires
that the number of glyphs in the source and destination classes be the same.
A single substitution rule is specified in one of the following formats:
substitute <glyph> by <glyph>;
# format A
substitute <glyphclass> by <glyph>;
# format B
substitute <glyphclass> by <glyphclass>; # format C
You can use the codeword sub instead of the longer substitute.
Format B specifies that all glyphs in the target glyph class will be replaced by the
same replacement glyph.
Format C specifies that any of the glyphs in the target glyph class must be
replaced by its corresponding glyph (in the order of glyphs in the glyph classes) in
the replacement glyph class. If the replacement is a singleton glyph class, then the
rule will be treated identically to a format B rule. If the replacement class has
more than one glyph, then the number of elements in the target and replacement
glyph classes must be the same.
For example:
sub
sub
sub
sub

a by a.smcp; # format A
[one.fitted one.onum one.taboldstyle] by one;
[a - z] by [a.smcp - z.smcp];
# format C
@Capitals by @CapSwashes;
# format C

# format B

The third line in the above example produces the same effect in the font as:
sub a by a.smcp;
sub b by b.smcp;
sub c by c.smcp;
# ...
sub z by z.smcp;

Sample applications of this rule:

Replace different types of figures:
sub @figs_lnum by @figs_onum;

Replace lowercase glyphs by small-caps:

sub @lc by @sc;

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OpenType Fonts

Ligature Substitution
The ligature substitution rule replaces several glyphs in sequence with a single
glyph.
A Ligature substitution rule is specified as:
substitute <glyph sequence> by <glyph>;
<glyph sequence> must contain two or more <glyph|glyphclass>es. For example:
substitute [one one.onum] [slash fraction] [two two.onum] by onehalf;

Since the OpenType specification does not allow ligature substitutions to be

specified on target sequences that contain glyph classes, the implementation
software will enumerate all specific glyph sequences if glyph classes are detected
in <glyph sequence>. Thus, the above example produces the same effect in the
font as if the font editor manually enumerated all the sequences:
substitute
substitute
substitute
substitute
substitute
substitute
substitute
substitute

one slash two by onehalf;

one.onum slash two by onehalf;
one fraction two by onehalf;
one.onum fraction two by onehalf;
one slash two.onum by onehalf;
one.onum slash two.onum by onehalf;
one fraction two.onum by onehalf;
one.onum fraction two.onum by onehalf;

Note: Variant glyphs should be named just like their default counterparts but
with a suffix appended after a period. The suffix can typically be the feature tag for
the layout feature the variant glyph will be most likely accessed with. So, a small
cap a can be named a.smcp and an old-style digit 2 can be named two.onum. Nonstandard names should be avoided.
Almost all fonts contain at least two ligatures: fl and fi which can be easily
encoded as:
substitute f l by fl;
substitute f i by fi;

Some fonts add longer ligatures:

substitute f f i by f_f_i;

Note: Ligature glyphs should be named using the underscore rule, e.g.
f_f_odieresis for an ff ligature. Only the fi and fl ligatures should be named
without the underscores.

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Multiple Substitution
The multiple substitution rule replaces a single glyph with a sequence of glyphs. It
is specified as:
substitute <glyph> by <glyph sequence >;
<glyph sequence> contains two or more glyphs. It may not contain glyph classes.
(If it did, the rule would be ambiguous as to which replacement sequence was
required.) For example:
sub f_f_l by f f l;
sub $ by d o l l a r;

Note that "d o l l a r" is not the word "dollar" but the sequence of glyph names "d",
"o", "l", "a", "r".

Alternate Substitution
Alternate substitution replaces a glyph with one of the glyphs in a pre-defined list
of alternatives. The application that uses the font is expected to decide which
glyph to choose. A good example of this lookup is to provide several versions of
some glyph, like the ampersand. Another application is the selection of several
different forms of ornaments.
An alternate substitution rule is specified as:
substitute <glyph> from <glyphclass>;
For example:
substitute ampersand from [ampersand.1 ampersand.2];

or ornament variations:
sub asterisk from [asterisk.ornm1 asterisk.ornm2 asterisk.ornm3 asterisk.ornm4];

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OpenType Fonts

Context Dependent Substitutions

A context-dependent rule can be any of the rules described above with one
important difference: it defines a context that must include a target sequence of
glyphs (or glyph classes).
In the simple form of, say, ligature substitution we simply write:
sub a b c by D;

In context-dependent substitution we can declare that abc, which is a target

sequence of glyphs for a ligature substitution rule, must be a part of a larger
context:
sub period a' b' c' period by D;

Only when abc is surrounded by two period glyphs will substitution take place.
Note that we have marked the target glyphs with the single quote character
positioned immediately after the glyph name.
The rule is specified as follows:
substitute <marked glyph sequence> # Target sequence with marked glyphs
by <glyph sequence>;
# Sub-run replacement sequence
A <glyph sequence> comprises one or more glyphs or glyph classes.
<marked glyph sequence> is a <glyph sequence> in which a set of glyphs or glyph
classes is identified, i.e. "marked". We will call this marked set of glyphs a sub-run.
A sub-run is marked by inserting a single quote (') after each of its member
elements.
This sub-run represents the target sequences of the lookups called by this rule.
The lookup type of the lookup called by this rule is auto-detected from their target
and replacement sequences in the same way as in their corresponding stand-alone
(i.e. non-contextual) statements.
Example 1. This calls a lookup. The rule below means: in sequences "a d" or "e d"
or "n d", substitute "d" by "d.alt".
substitute [a e n] d' by d.alt;

Example 2. This also calls a single substitution lookup. The rule below means: if
a capital letter is followed by a small capital, then replace the small capital by its
corresponding lowercase letter.
substitute [A-Z] [a.smcp-z.smcp]' by [a-z];

Example 3. This calls a ligature substitution lookup. The rule below means: in
sequences "e t c" or "e.init t c", substitute the first two glyphs by the ampersand.
substitute [e e.init]' t' c by ampersand;

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Fontographer 5
Positioning lookups
The OpenType specification allows you to define many positioning lookups
(GPOS). The lookup types may be separated into three groups:
1.

Basic lookups, single and pair positioning:

2. The Cursive attachment lookup that allows smooth connection of script and
cursive glyphs:

3. Mark attachment lookups that define relative positions of glyphs and marks:

Fontographer 5 supports all of the positioning lookups supported in AFDKO v2.5

(http://partners.adobe.com/public/developer/opentype/). As with substitution
lookups you must write positioning code in the external .fea file in order
Fontographer could compile it at the font export stage.
As in the case with substitution, positioning lookups may be context-free and
context-dependent. Context-dependent lookups are the same as context-free but
add a context that is verified against the source sequence of glyphs. Only when the
context is matched is positioning performed.
Please note that glyph positioning is performed after substitution and that all
positioning lookups must be defined for the glyph string that is a result of
substitution.
Glyph positioning rules begin with the keyword "position"; this keyword may be
abbreviated as "pos". (The "enumerate" or "ignore" keywords may precede the
"position" keyword in some cases.) The GPOS lookup type is auto-detected from
the format of the rest of the rule.

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OpenType Fonts

Glyph Geometry
Positioning lookups may change one of the glyph positioning metrics:

A single positioning lookup may tweak any of four values: placement_X,

placement_Y, advance_Y and advance_Y.
Modification of the origin point of the glyph will shift it and all following glyphs.
Modification of the advance vector will shift the next glyph in the glyph string.

Value Record
A <valuerecord> is used in positioning rules to define offsets to shift glyph origin
or advance vector. It must be enclosed by angle brackets, except for format A, in
which the angle brackets are optional. Note that the <metric> adjustments
indicate values (in design units) to add to (positive values) or subtract from
(negative values) the placement and advance values provided in the font (in the
'hmtx' and 'vmtx' tables).
Value record format A:
< <metric> >

# Angle brackets are optional

Here the <metric> represents an X advance adjustment, except when used in the
'vkrn' feature, in which case it represents a Y advance adjustment. All other
adjustments are implicitly set to 0. This is the simplest feature file <valuerecord>
format, and is provided since it represents the most commonly used adjustment
(i.e. for kerning). For example:
-3 # without <>
<-3>
# with <>

Value record format B:

< <metric> <metric> <metric> <metric> >
Here, the <metric>s represent adjustments for X placement, Y placement, X
advance, and Y advance, in that order. For example:
<-80 0 -160 0>

# X placement adj: -80; X advance adj: -160

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Fontographer 5

Anchor
An <anchor> is used in some positioning rules. It takes 5 formats:
Anchor format A:
< anchor <metric> <metric> >

#X coordinate, Y coordinate

For example:
<anchor 120 -20>

Anchor format B:
<anchor <metric> <metric> #X coordinate, Y coordinate
<contour point> >
For example:
<anchor 120 -20 contourpoint 5>

Anchor format C:
<anchor <metric> <metric> # X coordinate, Y coordinate
<device><device> > # X coord device, Y coord device
For example:
<anchor 120 -20 <device 11 1> <device NULL>>

Anchor format D, the null anchor:

<anchor NULL> # Anchor not defined
Anchor format E, the named anchor:
<anchor <name> >
For example:
<anchor TOP_ANCHOR_1>

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OpenType Fonts

Single Positioning
A Single Pos rule is specified as:
position <glyph|glyphclass> <valuerecord>;
Here, the <glyph|glyphclass> is adjusted by the <valuerecord>. For example, to
reduce the left and right sidebearings of a glyph each by 80 design units:
position one <-80 0 -160 0>;

To shift the glyph up by 100 units:

position A <0 100 0 -100>;

Note that we changed the placement by 100 units but compensated for that with a
-100 change applied to advance. This is needed to shift only the current glyph and
not the following glyphs in the string.

Pair Positioning
Rules for this lookup type are usually used for kerning and must follow this
format:
position <glyph|glyphclass> <glyph|glyphclass> <valuerecord format A>;
This format is provided since it closely parallels the way kerning is expressed in a
plain pair kerning table. Here, the <valuerecord> must be of value record format
A only, and corresponds to the first <glyph|glyphclass>.
Kerning can most easily be expressed with this format. This will result in adjusting
the first glyph's X advance, except when in the 'vrkn' feature, in which case it will
adjust the first glyph's Y advance. Some examples:
pos
pos
pos
pos

T a -100;
#
[T] a -100;
#
T @a -100;
#
@T [a o u] -80; #

specific pair (no glyph class present)

class pair (singleton glyph class present)
class pair (glyph class present, even if singleton)
class pair

Note that if at least one glyph class is present (even if it is a singleton glyph class),
then the rule is interpreted as a class pair; otherwise, the rule is interpreted as a
specific pair.
In the 'kern' feature, the specific glyph pairs will typically precede the glyph class
pairs in the feature file, mirroring the way that they will be stored in the font.
feature kern {
# specific pairs for all scripts
# class pairs for all scripts
} kern;

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Enumerating Pairs
If some specific pairs are more conveniently represented as a class pair, but the
editor does not want the pairs to be in a class kerning subtable, then the class pair
must be preceded by the keyword "enumerate" (which can be abbreviated as
"enum"). The implementation software will enumerate such pairs as specific pairs.
Thus, these pairs can be thought of as "class exceptions" to class pairs. For
example:
@Y_LC = [y yacute ydieresis];
@SMALL_PUNC = [comma semicolon period];
enum pos @Y_LC semicolon -80;
# specific pairs
pos f quoteright 30;
# specific pair
pos @Y_LC @SMALL_PUNC -100;
# class pair

The enum rule above can be replaced by:

pos y semicolon -80;
pos yacute semicolon -80;
pos ydieresis semicolon -80;

without changing the effect on the font.

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OpenType Fonts

Subtable Breaks
The implementation software will insert a subtable break within a run of class pair
rules if a single subtable cannot be created due to class overlap. A warning will be
given. For example:
pos [Ygrave] [colon semicolon] -55; # [line 99]
In first subtable
pos [Y Yacute] period -50; # [line 100]
In first subtable
pos [Y Yacute Ygrave] period -60; # [line 101]
In second subtable

will produce a warning that a new subtable has been started at line 101, and that
some kern pairs within this subtable may never be accessed. The pair (Ygrave,
period) will have a value of 0 if the above example comprised the entire lookup,
since Ygrave is in the coverage (i.e. union of the first glyphs) of the first subtable.
Sometimes the class kerning subtable may get too large. The editor can force
subtable breaks at appropriate points by inserting the statement:
subtable;

between two class kerning rules. The new subtable created will still be in the same
lookup, so the editor must ensure that the coverages of the subtables thus created
do not overlap. For example:
pos [Y Yacute] period -50; # In first subtable
subtable; # Force a subtable break here
pos [A Aacute Agrave] quoteright -30;
# In second subtable

If the subtable statement were not present, both rules would be represented
within the same subtable.

Cursive attachment positioning

A Cursive Pos rule is specified as:
position cursive <glyph|glyphclass> <anchor> # Entry anchor
<anchor>; # Exit anchor
The first <anchor> indicates the entry anchor point for <glyph|glyphclass>; the
second, the exit anchor point.
For example, to define the entry point of glyph meem.medial to be at x=500, y=20,
and the exit point to be at x=0, y=-20:
pos cursive meem.medial <anchor 500 20> <anchor 0 -20>;

A glyph may have a defined entry point, exit point, or both. <anchor> format D,
the null anchor, must be used to indicate that an <anchor> is not defined.
pos cursive meem.end <anchor 500 20> <anchor NULL >;

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Known Features
OpenType feature processing is an application-centric system. The application
knows which features it needs to apply and then searches the font for these
features. If a feature is present in the font, it is applied. To implement this system
features must be standardized and registered so everybody will know what is done
by a feature with a particular name.
The Microsoft Typography group performs feature registration:
http://www.microsoft.com/typography
The full list of registered features may be found in this document:
OpenType Layout tag registry
http://www.microsoft.com/typography/otspec/ttoreg.htm
This document contains descriptions of all name tags that can be used in an
OpenType font for script, language and feature names.
We will provide brief definitions of the most commonly used features.

init, medi, fina and isol Features

These features are most commonly used in Arabic scripts and allow one to define
four forms of Arabic characters: initial, final, medial and isolated:

Isolated Final Medial Initial

Note that Arabic text is written right-to-left.
Please note that it is the application or the operating system that detects word
boundaries and applies one of the features. You are not expected to pay attention
to that in the feature definition.
Usually these features are simple substitutions:
feature init{
sub @isolated_forms by @initial_forms;
}init;

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Latin Features
cpsp

Capital Spacing

Globally adjusts inter-glyph spacing for all-capital text.

feature cpsp {
pos @uppercase <7 0 14 0>;
} cpsp;

pnum

Proportional
Figures

Replaces figure glyphs set on uniform (tabular) widths

with corresponding glyphs set on glyph-specific
(proportional) widths.
feature pnum {
sub @figures by @figures_prop;
} pnum;

lnum

Lining Figures

This feature changes selected figures from oldstyle to the

default lining form

hist

Historical Forms Replaces glyphs with their historical forms, like long
form of s or Fraktur form of k.
feature hist {
sub s by longs;
} hist;

ordn

Ordinals

Replaces default alphabetic glyphs with the

corresponding ordinal forms for use after figures

smcp

Small Capitals

This feature replaces lowercase characters with small

capitals

sinf

Scientific
Inferiors

Replaces lining or oldstyle figures with inferior figures

(smaller glyphs which sit lower than the standard
baseline, primarily for chemical or mathematical
notation)

ornm

Ornaments

This feature lets the user access ornament glyphs in the

font

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liga

Standard
Ligatures

Replaces a sequence of glyphs with a single glyph, which

is preferred for typographic purposes. This feature
covers the ligatures that the designer/manufacturer
judges should be used in normal conditions
feature liga {
sub f f i by f_f_i;
sub f i by fi;
sub T h by T_h;
sub f f j by f_f_j;
sub f f l by f_f_l;
sub f f by f_f;
sub f j by f_j;
sub f l by fl;
} liga;

case

Case-Sensitive
Forms

Shifts various punctuation marks up to a position that

works better with all-capital sequences or sets of lining
figures; also changes oldstyle figures to lining figures

dlig

Discretionary
Ligatures

Replaces a sequence of glyphs with a single glyph, which

is preferred for typographic purposes. This feature
covers those ligatures that may be used for special effect,
at the user's preference
feature dlig {
sub c t by c_t;
sub s t by s_t;
sub longs h by longs_h;
sub longs i by longs_i;
sub longs l by longs_l;
sub longs t by logs_t;
sub longs longs by longs_longs;
} dlig;

372

frac

Fractions

Replaces figures separated by a slash with 'common'

(diagonal) fractions

afrc

Alternative
Fractions

Replaces figures separated by a slash with an alternative

form

dnom

Denominators

Replaces selected figures that follow a slash with

denominator figures

c2sc

Small Capitals
From Capitals

This feature replaces capital characters with small

capitals

OpenType Fonts
numr

Numerators

onum

Oldstyle Figures This feature changes selected figures from the default
lining style to oldstyle form

sups

Superscript

Replaces lining or oldstyle figures with superior figures

and replaces lowercase letters with superior

sinf

Scientific
Inferiors

Replaces lining or oldstyle figures with inferior figures.

Replaces all with numerator figures

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Expert Advice
The Preferences dialog box is like the dials on your television: its where you
control the way Fontographer looks and behaves, customizing your work
environment. Many of the commands and tools behave in several different ways,
and you can easily choose between the various items in Preferences. Items chosen
in Preferences are remembered, so the next time you run Fontographer, your
customizations remain set.

13

Fontographer 5
Choose Preferences from the Fontographer menu.
A dialog box will appear and images at the top of the dialog box allow you to
navigate through the various Preferences screens. Preferences are divided into six
areas:

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Expert Advice

General preferences
International

Use this setting if you are going to work with Asian CJK fonts. It allows you to
define vertical kerning and vertical glyph metrics: the vertical advance width
(called vertical advance vector) for Asian glyphs used to type in vertical direction
from top to bottom. If this option is on the additional Vertical button appears in
the Metrics window:

Autosaving
Use the Autosave function that will periodically save the current font to protect
your work from program or system crashes.

Use the check box to activate Autosave and enter the time interval (in minutes) at
which you want to save the font. The font will be saved into the same folder where
your font was last saved and will be named using the following structure:
FontName-Regular(Autosaved).fog

If Autosave was active and you have a system or program crash, you can open your
last autosaved font.

Undo Settings

This is where you can set the number of undo levels and redo levels. You can have
Fontographer remember up to 256 things to undo or redo. The penalty for this is,
as usual, memory: the more undo levels you request, the more memory
Fontographer will use. We recommend setting this preference between 10 and 100,
depending upon how often you like to undo (and how far back you like to go).

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Fontographer 5
When Fontographer runs out of memory (if this ever will happen in Mac OS X), it
can throw away undo levels to free up some memory. If this happens
Fontographer asks if you want Fontographer to throw away the undo levels.

Sounds
Fontographer 5 has the ability to play sounds during certain actions. It can play
sounds when you snap to a point or snap to a guide in the outline window, and it
can play a sound whenever the Please Wait dialog box closes. To turn sounds on,
click on the Application sounds.

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Expert Advice

Fonts preferences
Linespacing Auto-Calculation

These two options define how Fontographer behaves when it needs to import,
calculate and export different linespacing font values. Unless you do not need this
for some special purpose leave the first option selected. This will keep linespacing
in your font the same for all platforms and applications.
If Asian CJK editing option in General Preferences is on additional linespacing
option becomes available:

Use this option when working with Asian CJK fonts.

Opening Type 1 fonts

Many PostScript Type 1 fonts are saved using the Adobe Standard Encoding. This
preference item allows you to either see the font in its original encoding (which is
Adobe Standard), or to change native encoding to the default encoding, which is
MacOS Roman on Macintosh.

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Editing preferences
Smooth outline
This setting lets you to select between non-anti-aliased and anti-aliased rendering
of the outline. It doesn't influence the generated font but only the screen preview.

smoothing is off

380

smoothing is on

Expert Advice

Distances

The Move selection by field lets Fontographer move points around by specified
amounts when you press the ARROW keys. For instance, if you set this value to be
2.7, every time you press an ARROW key the selected points will move exactly 2.7
units in the direction of the arrow. In addition, if you hold down the SHIFT key and
an ARROW key, the amount moved is ten times the normal value. Holding down the
OPTION key moves by one-tenth the normal amount.
The Grid spacing field is for setting up an invisible grid that the Snap To Grid
function snaps to. The Align Points to Grid command also uses this as the grid.
One popular use for gridding is to have all your coordinates be on integral-number
coordinates. Simply set a grid spacing of 1 em unit, make sure Snap To Grid is on,
and then as you drag points around, they will always fall on em unit boundaries
(that is, coordinates will always be 120, 66 rather than things like 120.223, 65.97).

Snapping
Snapping distance specifies how close something has to be before a snap will
occur. For instance, if Snap To Point is on, this preference states how close in
pixels the object youre dragging has to be to another point before it automatically
snaps to that point. If you are having trouble moving points around because they
seem to be snapping to everything too often, try using a lower value in this field.
Snap to Point is a mode that makes aligning points much easier. Points you drag
around with the mouse will snap to other points as you drag by them, as if they
were magnets. This is how snap-to-point works when you have set the Only snap
to the closest point mode. Automatically align with all points, on the other
hand, makes objects snap to point extensions rather than just the points. In other
words, lets say you have a point at x = 50, y = 100. In the Only snap to the closest
point mode, you will snap to that point only when the point you are dragging
comes close to 50,100. In the Automatically align with all points mode, however,
the point you are dragging will snap anywhere along a vertical line at x = 50, or
anywhere along a horizontal line at y = 100.

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Paths
When a path is clicked on influences what happens when you click and drag
the mouse on an actual path (that is, the line between the control points), as
opposed to clicking one of the points. What you would expect to happen in this
case depends upon your prior drawing program experience.

Do nothing is a good setting if you want to prevent yourself from modifying a path
by clicking it accidentally.
Select and drag the path is a Adobe FreeHand-style operation. If you want to
move an entire path, this preference allows you to do so merely by clicking it with
the mouse and dragging it around. (This can also be accomplished, as in previous
versions of Fontographer, by double-clicking one of the points and dragging the
path around by a point.)
Select and edit the path is more of an Adobe Illustrator-style edit. This allows
you to edit the path without having to click control points or BCPs; simply click
directly on the path, and drag. This is especially fun to do in Preview mode, with
the points turned off. This is a very exciting path editing feature, but it makes it
easier to accidentally modify paths.
!

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Note: This mode is meant to be used for minor path changes large-scale
movements may become unwieldy and difficult to predict.

Expert Advice

Point display

The picture area of this dialog box is the most important part of this screen. It lets
you see the effect of each of the items in the dialog box: simply change the state of
one of the checkboxes, and look at the picture to see how that will affect the
outline editing environment.
Rather than document all of the 128 different combinations of checkbox items and
their effects, well just comment on a few of the items.
The first point in each path, when checked, draws a square around the first
point in each path. This information is useful for doing font blending or for
multiple master font creation. Some people objected to the visual clutter of
showing that, and so we made it a preference so it can be turned off.
The end points of unclosed paths is a way to tell at a glance whether a path is
opened or closed. Sometimes it is not clear in the outline window whether a path
is opened or closed. (It is easy to lay down the last point of a path a little too far
away from the first point, and so the path doesnt close like you think it did.)
When this preference is on, big gray circles will appear around the two end points.
The purpose of this preference is not to have it on all the time. What you should do
is turn this preference on, flip rapidly through all the glyphs in the font, see if any
have this problem of paths being left open, and then turn off the preference when
you have finished.
Adjacent points that overlap, when checked, causes a double circle to appear on
adjacent points (in the same path) that are on top of each other. This is a condition
you almost never want, but that can occur by an inadvertent double-click of the
mouse while laying down points. This preference should probably always remain
on.

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Fontographer 5
Points while dragging paths, when checked, will display all the control points as
you drag something around. Turning this off causes all the control points to
disappear when youre editing. Some think this results in a cleaner image to view
while performing an edit.
Border around paths when in Preview mode, when checked, causes a dashed
border to appear around lines during edits in Preview mode. This lets you always
see your lines even when dragging them over black areas, which is not an
uncommon occurrence in Preview mode. This preference makes editing somewhat
slower, however, and can distort the image of the glyph while you are editing it.
Points to label is useful for font blending and multiple master font creation. This
preference causes a small figure specifying point number to appear to the right of
each control point, and BCP, if desired. This option can be used to determine path
direction and path order. Having this on will slow editing performance a bit.
Points with coordinates is a way to have coordinates appear next to points, right
in the outline window. It is probably most useful to show coordinates of only the
selected points. That helps keep screen clutter down. Choosing to show
coordinates will also slow editing.

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Expert Advice

Windows and dialog boxes

Windows

Automatically fit glyphs to windows, when checked, essentially performs an

automatic Fit in Window command to be performed every time the outline
window gets resized.
Move palettes with windows, when checked, locks the positions of the palettes
with respect to the window frame. So if you always place your tool palette one inch
in from the left of the outline window, and two inches down from the top, this
preference will make sure thats where the palette stays, even when you move the
window around on the screen or switch from one outline window to another.

View by
Use View by to choose whether you want to display your font windows by Font
name, File name, or Both.

Dialogs

Remember position, when checked, tells Fontographer to open up each dialog

box at the same place where that particular dialog box was last positioned. This is
a handy way to have different dialog boxes appear in different places, rather than
always centered in the screen.
Remember values, when checked, will cause Fontographer to remember all the
values of all the controls in each dialog box (even if you quit Fontographer and
start it up later). This is a time-saver for those dialog boxes where you frequently
have to enter the same values, or choose the same settings.

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DSIG preferences
This section controls settings for digital signatures that can be included in the
OpenType (TT or PS) fonts that you generate. Please refer to
http://www.microsoft.com/typography/developers/dsig/default.aspx
for more information about digital signatures.

When Generate digital signature is enabled, a DSIG table will be generated that
includes a digital signature. Note that you need to own a valid code signing digital
certification to be able to digitally sign fonts. You should point Fontographer to
your certificate file and private key file that you will receive from your certification
authority. It is a good idea to store the private key file in a safe location, e.g. on a
floppy disk or USB key, although you can use any location.
If the Request private key password every time option is selected,
Fontographer will ask you for the password for your private key every time you
generate a font in OpenType format.
Use the following password will remember the password for your private key.
The Generate the time stamp option tells Fontographer the time stamp must be
generated and added to the font.
Please refer to the link above for more information.

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Expert Advice

Restore Defaults
This button is a fast way to throw away all of your Preference customizations and
start again, with Fontographers out of the box defaults for everything.
!

Note: Pressing the Restore Defaults button only sets the current Preference
screen back to the default values.

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Fontographer 5

Font blending the technical

details
Font blending, introduced earlier in Chapter 2, Modifying Your Fonts, is a very
easy, intuitive, and powerful feature of Fontographer. For casual use, you dont
have to know much about it. For more industrial-strength use, however, there are
some technical issues you might want to know about. Mastering a few key
concepts will allow you to get the most out of font blending.
Fontographers font blending, or interpolation, allows you to take two extreme
variants of a typeface, and then automatically generate any number of
intermediate versions within that range (or extrapolate to obtain versions outside
of this range). You can edit those intermediate versions as desired, and quickly
produce a family of weights, from just two master designs like Extra Light and
Extra Bold.
The basic idea behind font blending is to create a few key designs, then let the
computer do the work of producing a family of variants. Fontographer even gives
you some powerful tools like Change Weight and Remove Overlap to help
produce those key designs quickly, from a single base font.
Typically, you will not be able to successfully blend two entire fonts together; there
will always be a few problem glyphs that cant be interpolated. You will know
when this has happened, because Fontographer will display an alert saying that a
problem occurred during blending. Usually almost every glyph will be interpolated
(unless you have chosen two very disparate fonts). Glyphs that dont get blended
are frequently some of the seldom-used symbol glyphs, because the upper 128
glyphs can vary greatly from font to font. If this is the case, you can decide you
dont care because you never use those glyphs, and go on and use the font
successfully. Or you can try to figure out why those several glyphs couldnt be
interpolated like the rest, which is what this section is about.

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Expert Advice

The blending process

Font Blend is very much like the Adobe FreeHand blending of one object with
another. The mathematical process for interpolation is very straightforward.
Given two points, Fontographer will calculate another point that lies some
specified fraction of the way between those points. Referring to Figure 1, assume
we drew the inner and outer bold rectangles on the left, with the numbers
indicating the ordering of the points.

Figure 1

Figure 2
If you want to interpolate another rectangle that is 50% of the way between them
(the gray rectangle on the right), you draw lines connecting the corresponding
points of the two figures to be interpolated, then mark a point on each line that is
50% of the way from the outer point to the inner point. Connecting those points
gives us the gray interpolated figure. You could interpolate 25% by marking the
point 25% of the way from the outer to the inner point (or from the inner to the
outer it depends on how we set up the interpolate operation).
So far, the process is fairly simple. Now lets consider what can go wrong if the
points of the two master figures dont correspond (like not having the path
direction correct or the ordering of points be the same). The points in Figure 2
again have been numbered so you can see what is going on.

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The only change from the first example is that the inner figure has its points
permuted (or reordered) slightly. You should remember this rule: Connect likenumbered points, then add a point halfway between the connected points, and
connect those halfway points. Note in the example how, unlike the desired
rectangle, the resulting diamond shape appears. It is likely that you will see
something similar as you begin using Font Blend to make fonts. Clearly this is not
an interpolate bug; Fontographer does exactly what it is supposed to do
mathematically, and exactly what you asked it to do when you permuted the
points.

Other aspects of blending make it a little difficult to use but follow clearly from the
mathematics. Consider the case where the outer figure is a square, but the inner
figure is a triangle. If you deselect Insert points to force a match, you run out of
points to connect before you are done with the square, so it is pretty hard to know
what to do with the extra point.
Similarly, if the outer figure is two squares and the inner figure is a single
rectangle, you dont have enough figures to connect; Fontographer would prompt
you that the number of paths didnt match. A more subtle error occurs when the
two figures have the same number of points, but the points dont correspond well.
Consider the case shown in Figure 1, but where the outer rectangle had four
points inserted into the line from point 1 to point 2, and the inner rectangle had
four points in the line from point 3 to point 4. Even though the point count is the
same, the points dont correspond in a way that will give a pleasant result.
To make glyphs interpolate more easily, Fontographer reorders the points (and
the paths) if you click the Correct path directions checkbox. If you correct path
directions on all glyphs of each font you are trying to interpolate, Fontographer
will almost always arrange the points so that they match up, and interpolating will
give you the right result. On rare occasions, due to the way some glyphs might
have been drawn, you can confuse Fontographers point ordering technique. If this
occurs, you will know it from the interpolate results (glyphs will appear imploded,
or turned inside-out). Those cases will require manual point reordering with the
Point Information dialog box. Select a point on the glyph, choose Selection Info,
then move to the next or previous point until you are at the desired starting point.
Click on the Make It first button, and Fontographer will make that point the first
point of the path.
!

390

Note: The origin point of paths may be indicated by a box drawn around it. There
is a preference to enable this feature.

Expert Advice

Tips: Choose one of the entries in the Points to label pop-up in the Point
Display dialog box in Preferences, and numbers will appear in the outline window
next to each point, showing point ordering information. Having this preference
active is a good way to tell at a glance whether pairs of glyphs are likely to
interpolate well or not.

In some glyphs, Fontographer will be unable to automatically correct path

ordering for blending. When this happens, you can fix the problem by selecting
the offending paths, and choosing Bring to Front from the Arrange pop-up in the
Element menu.
The Point Information dialog box also shows the total number of path contours
and the total points in the current contour. See Point and Path in the illustration
below.

This dialog appears when you select a single point in the Outline Window and
choose Selection Info from the Element menu.
This is useful for finding mismatches between the same glyph in different fonts.
You will have to figure out the best technique for getting the points to match on a
glyph-by-glyph basis. Sometimes it is better to remove extra points from a glyph
with too many points, and sometimes it is better to add points to a glyph with too
few. Just remember how the points get matched up, and let that guide you as to
where to insert or delete points.

Tip: A quick way to see how many points are in a particular path without going
into the Point Information dialog box is to double-click the path in the outline
window, then read the value displayed under the number of selected points
indicator in the info bar, as shown below.

total number of points

number of selected points

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Font hinting
Only about two percent of our Fontographer customers need to concern
themselves with hinting. This statement is not meant to demean the other ninetyeight percent; Fontographers autohinting abilities are quite good and should
serve most cases well. Think of it like this: most people fly on commercial
airplanes. They get around without any problems, and are usually happy with
their flights. Very few of the people who take airplane rides need to know all the
physics controlling airplane lift and related phenomena. Some people might want
to know: they could be curious, or they might be interested in piloting their own
airplane. The point is, however, that in some cases it isnt necessary to become an
expert in all the details.
Hints are just like that. Fontographers autohints will take you where you want to
go; only those few who want to be pilots really need to manually edit them. So
dont feel you need to read this section and master these concepts, or that you
should go into the Hints layer and start changing things around. Feel free to check
it all out, but be assured that you absolutely do not have to know a thing about
hinting in order to success-fully use Fontographer.

Are you still with us?

We highly recommend that you obtain and read Adobes Type One Font
Specification before getting too involved in hint editing. Although that publication
deals entirely with PostScript Type 1, the concepts covered will be valuable no
matter what font format you want to use.

What is hinting all about?

Hinting is a process by which the computer makes type look good at small sizes
and low resolutions (72600 dots-per-inch, or dpi). To understand hinting, you
first have to understand a bit about how computers print.
The reality of laser printing is that the smooth lines you get out of your printer
arent really smooth at all. They are composed of little dots (called pixels) which,
like a mosaic, are all assembled on a grid to form a picture. At high enough
resolution, your eye perceives smoothness even though there really is jaggedness.

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Expert Advice

Close-up of a printers output.

When the printer prints, it has to choose which pixels to turn on or off to best
achieve the desired image. As you can imagine, it isnt quite as nice as just drawing
smooth curves on paper with a pen.
To see how that relates to glyphs and hinting, lets do an example. Well follow
along as the computer constructs the letter H at a small point size, on a lowresolution printer. First, the computer must get the mathematical outline of the
H, scale it to the requested size, and position it in memory over the pixel grid at
the requested location:

Remember that the printout you get is composed entirely of pixels, so if we were
to print now, we would get a blank sheet because the computer hasnt yet turned
on any pixels. Thats the hard part; drawing the pure mathematical outline was
easy.
The trick is to figure out, by examining the outline, which pixels to turn on and
which to leave off. A reasonable start is to simply turn on all the pixels that are
entirely contained by the glyph outline. That gives this result:

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Or, shrunk down to size, this:

Since that was less than an ideal H, we obviously need to be cleverer. Lets try
turning on all the pixels that are mostly contained in the outline (that is, at least
half of the pixel must be in the outline in order for it to be turned on). That yields
this result:

Or, scaled down, this:

That didnt turn out very well either. Note that, although we have at least a
semblance of the four serifs, we still dont even have a cross bar.
Lets try one more way: well turn on all the pixels that have any portion
whatsoever of the outline touching them:

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Expert Advice
When scaled down, it looks like this:

To review, here are the three Hs thus far:

And here is what the mathematical outline looks like:

The last of our Hs looks better than the other two, but unfortunately, it is still a
terrible-looking letter. The left stem is 50% wider than the right stem; the serifs
are chunky and irregular; the cross bar is too heavy; and most importantly, it
doesnt match the outline.
What we would like is something like this:

Thats where hinting comes in. As weve shown, you cant simply turn on pixels
just by looking at the outline if you expect to wind up with a decent glyph. More
intelligence has to be added in.
Hinting works by feature recognition. Hints basically define interesting features
such as vertical stems, horizontal stems, serifs, cap heights, x-heights, and so
forth. For example, in the case of the H, there is information in the font that says
things like: where on the pixel grid the outlines fall; the left stem and the right
stem must be the same width; and so forth. Hints can also control global font-wide
attributes such as x-heights, so the tops of glyphs like x, n, c, m, and so on, are all
aligned properly at all sizes.

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Fontographer 5
Hinting is most important at low resolutions, because there are fewer pixels to
define the glyph image. At high resolutions, its easy to get a good image; there are
so many pixels to deal with, the differences hinting makes are not normally
noticeable or important. The figure below is how our H example might look on a
Linotronic at very high resolutions.

Since hinting can control at most one pixels difference either way, the human eye
cant usually perceive the difference hinting makes at high resolutions.
To sum up: A hint is special information placed into a glyphs outline definition
that causes the glyphs outline to be adjusted in a way that improves the glyphs
perceived shape when printed.

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Expert Advice

Hinting controls
Fontographer lets you control hints from two places: the Hints layer of the outline
window, and the Hints menu.
To see actual hints, open an outline window, and make the Hints layer visible by
clicking the box next to its name in the layers palette. Here is an example of a
glyph with hints:
Vertical serif hints
Vertical
stem
hints indicate the presence of hints.
The small
arrows
Diagonal stem hints

Horizontal stem hints

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Autohint
Hinting in Fontographer is always in one of two modes: automatic or manual.
Automatic means that Fontographer will recalculate hints automatically when you
edit glyph outlines. Manual means that you have actually edited some hints.
Manual mode tells Fontographer not to replace your manually edited hints with
its own. Fontographer automatically switches to manual after you have edited
hints.
Automatic or manual hinting varies from glyph to glyph. Whenever you open a
PostScript font, Fontographer reads in the hints from that font and turns
autohinting off. Note that Fontographer hasnt made up any new hints yet. It is
waiting for the outline to be edited first. Once an outline has been edited, new
hints may be calculated to match the new outline. When you open an existing
TrueType font, Fontographer cannot read in the hints, which are compiled into
the font. Fontographer will automatically turn autohinting on.
You can tell if Fontographer is on automatic by looking in the Hints menu. This
menu contains an item called Autohint; a checkmark indicates that Fontographer
will recalculate hints for the selected glyph every time the outline gets edited. If
you dont want that, choose Autohint from the menu. The checkmark will go
away, and autohinting will be turned off for that glyph. Be careful, because if you
then turn Autohint back on by reselecting it from the menu, Fontographer will
recalculate new hints for that glyph.
When autohinting is on, you can watch Fontographer come up with new hints as
you edit a glyph. Just make the Hints layer visible, check to see that Autohint is
on, and edit the glyph outline. You will see the hints adjust, disappear, move, and
change, depending upon what you do with the outline. This is a good way to get a
feeling for how Fontographer finds hints.

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Expert Advice

Editing hints in the outline window

You must make the Hints layer active before you can edit hints. You do this by
clicking the Hints layer name in the Layers palette.
You can select hints with the mouse, just like you select points. Selected hints have
a hollow looking arrowhead:

You can select more than one hint by dragging a marquee around a group of hints
or by using the standard SHIFT-select method.
You can reorder hints by dragging them around (this is useful in the case of
overlapping hints: PostScript fonts will get the hint that appears closest to the
glyph outline in the case of overlap). Hints may also be reordered from the
Common Stems dialog box, as described in Common Stems on page 405.
Changing the direction of a hint can be done by selecting the hint, and then
clicking the arrowhead of the hint. To see what points were responsible for
creating a particular hint, simply OPTION-click the hint, and those points will
become selected:

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Removing hints
Removing a hint is simple. Just press the DELETE key, or choose Clear from the
Edit menu. Be careful if you have just OPTION clicked on a hint to study the
points that made it, you will remove both the hint and those points if you press the
DELETE key. Be sure to deselect the points, by pressing TAB or clicking somewhere
else, then select just that hint before deleting anything.

Making new hints

Creating new hints is done in the Hints menu. To make this process faster, we
have made sure each command in the Hints menu has its own keyboard
equivalent.
To make a new vertical stem hint:
1.

Select two points that define the stem.

2.

Choose Make Vertical Stem from the Hints menu.

To make a new horizontal stem hint:

400

1.

Select two points that define the stem:

2.

Choose Make Horizontal Stem from the Hints menu.

Expert Advice

Selection Info for hints

Selecting a hint and then choosing Selection Info from the Element menu brings
up a dialog box that is somewhat analogous to the Point Location dialog box. It
lets you traverse through all hints in the glyph and modify them.

Start of hint

End of hint

Hint type
Hint type is a pop-up showing which kind of hint you are currently examining.
The message to the right, 1 of 2, means that you are currently looking at the first of
two hints of the indicated type (Vertical stem, in this case). To look at the other
hints, simply choose the hint type you are interested in from the Hint type popup.
The area directly under the Hint type pop-up changes depending upon which kind
of hints you are viewing. For Vertical stems, it lists the x coordinates of the stem
(that is, the locations of the sides of the stem). These values can be edited by
entering new ones.

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The buttons
Flip Direction will change the direction of the current hint.
Add hint is a way to make a new hint anywhere you want; simply fill in the
location fields in the left side of the dialog box to position the hint. Since most
hints must involve actual points, this is really useful only for ghost hints (hints
that exist only to pull part of a glyph into an alignment zone).
Remove hint deletes the current hint.
Forward and Back move the hint around, relative to the other hints of that type.
This is the same thing as dragging a hint with the pointer tool, except that with the
buttons, you only move in or out one hint level with each click. To move a hint all
the way out or all the way in, keep clicking the appropriate button until it dims,
which indicates thats the farthest the hint can go in that particular direction.
Hint Automatically performs the same task as the Autohint item in the Hints
menu it will turn on autohinting and rehint the glyph.
Next and Previous are the controls that change the currently selected hint. Next
will choose the next-outer hint of the currently selected type, and Previous will
choose the next-inner hint of that type. To move on to examining other groups of
hints, choose a different hint type in the Hint type pop-up.

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Expert Advice

Vertical Alignment Zones

In addition to stem width hints, Type 1 font hints also control the vertical
positions of glyphs. Due to the way the human vision works, curved letters like the
O should be drawn taller than straight letters like an E if they are to appear to
be the same height. The technical term for this is overshoot. However, at small
sizes this overshoot should drop out and the letters should be the same height. The
oversize is typically 4%, which means that if 4% of the em square is less than one
pixel, there should be no overshoot. The way overshoot is controlled in a Type 1
font is through a blue zone. Only Adobe knows how they derived that term, but the
concept is to specify important vertical alignment coordinates in a table.
Blue zones are not associated with particular glyphs; they apply to the entire font.
However, it is helpful to think of them as corresponding to certain groups of
glyphs. When Fontographer computes or recomputes the vertical alignment zones,
the first pair of values is based on glyphs such as A and C, which are normally
drawn with the bottom of the letters on or near the baseline. The first value of the
pair is the baseline overshoot (glyphs such as C and O). The second value is the
normal baseline.
The remaining blue zones are computed from the tops of glyphs and the x-height
(glyphs such as c and x), the cap height line (H and O), and the ascender
line (d and l). Since the zones cannot overlap, the ascender zone may not be
found. The Other blues are based on the bottoms of glyphs such as the descender
line in glyphs g and y.
Choosing Alignment Zones from the Hints menu brings up this dialog box.

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Fontographer 5
We dont really know why the PostScript hinting variables these fields were named
after have anything to do with the color blue. But they do, and once again, you are
encouraged to look at Adobes Type One Font Specification, which covers
PostScript hinting quite admirably. Be aware that, although the nomenclature in
this dialog box is PostScript-centric, these values are used by Fontographer for
vertical alignment in TrueType as well.
You can edit any of these values by entering new numbers into the various fields.
If you ever have occasion to go back to how they used to be, you can press the
Recalculate button. If that button is inactive, that means you havent edited
anything yet, so the recomputed values would be the same as those that are
currently showing.
Fontographer will read in all the blue values from PostScript Type 1 fonts. It can
also calculate blue values itself, by examining glyphs $21-$7E (decimal 33126) to
see where the topmost and bottommost parts of those outlines lie. Those areas are
typically what should be included in the vertical alignment zones.
The fields in the Vertical Alignment Zones correspond exactly to the little I-beams
that appear along the left side of the outline window, when the Hints layer is
visible.
These I-beams are the vertical alignment zone indicators. You select them by
clicking them with the mouse; selected zones appear to be hollow on each end.
When a zone indicator has been selected, horizontal lines go through it to make it
easier to tell which points fall inside the zone. You may change the size of any of
the zones by dragging either the top or bottom part of the indicators. To describe
the location of the zone numerically, you must use the Vertical Alignment Zones
dialog box.

To remove a zone, you can select it and then press the DELETE key. You may also
go into the Vertical Alignment Zones dialog box and enter 0 for both the low and
high value for a particular zone.
To create a new zone, go into the Vertical Alignment Zones dialog box, find a zone
that has zeros in it, and enter new values. If there are no zones with zeros, that
means all the available zones are used up, and you will have to remove an existing
zone in order to add a new one.

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Expert Advice

Common Stems
Choosing Common Stems from the Hints menu brings up this dialog box.

Note: The Common stems values always apply to the entire font.
Changing these fields is useful for PostScript Type 1 and TrueType fonts. These
fields are calculated by examining all the stems in the font and finding which
widths are the most popular (that is, which widths occur the most). These values
appear here, and get output in the PostScript font as StdHW, StdVW, StemSnapH,
and StemSnapV. See the Adobe Type One Font Format book for more information
on these fields. To throw away your edits to these values, or to get new values after
substantially editing the font, press the Recalculate button.

What happens when Fontographer

opens up PostScript Type 1 fonts
When a PostScript Type 1 font is read, Fontographer always keeps the hints that
were defined as part of the font. Each glyph is marked as having user-edited hints.
This lets you generate a Type 1 font and still leave the original hints unchanged.
Before generating a TrueType font, however, you should select all glyphs and
choose Autohint from the Hints menu. This will remove the original stem hints
and find new ones.
Autohinting is on by default, so when you edit a glyph, its hints get recalculated.
This is usually what you want to happen. If you change the outline, you dont want
to still have the hints for the old outline you want new hints to match the new
outline, which is what autohinting gives you. However, sometimes you may want
to make minor tweaks to the outline, and keep the exact original hints. You can
accomplish this by turning utohinting off, in the Hints menu (the Autohint item
is essentially a toggle; when it is on, as indicated by a checkmark, you turn it off
simply by selecting it).

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Fontographer 5
!

Note: If you turn autohinting back on, it will re-hint the selected glyphs. Usually,
thats not a problem, because you either want autohinting or you want manual
hinting you rarely want to switch between them. To preserve hints for the entire
font, go to the font window, Select All, and then turn Autohinting off. To rehint
the entire font, go to the font window, Select All, and turn Autohinting off and
back on again.

What happens when Fontographer

opens TrueType fonts
Fontographer completely hints TrueType fonts when it opens them. This happens
for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that Fontographer has to change
the outline format from quadratic to cubic.

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Expert Advice

Using a text editor to tweak

Fontographer 5 on your
Macintosh
The tips and notes in this section are highly technical.

Adding custom encodings

Encoding tables are a useful mechanism to filter and view your glyphs in different
arrangements. You can put a large number of glyphs into one font, assign a unique
name to each character, and supply several encoding tables, allowing you to select
different sets of characters in the font when you use different encodings.
For example, in symbol fonts the Greek characters take places that are usually
occupied by Latin characters. With the encoding tables you can include both sets
of characters. Just assign the correct names (like alpha for the A character and A
for the A character) and later you can choose the symbol encoding to work with
the Greek version of your font or choose Roman encoding to use the Latin
characters.
In Fontographer you can include up to 32,000 glyphs in a font. If you need a font
editor that supports more glyphs (up to 65,535), Fontlab Ltd. offers AsiaFont
Studio, a multibyte font editor that is the bigger brother of Fontographer.
All encodings are stored in text files that can be edited in any text processor.
To create a custom encoding file:
1.

Copy the .enc file located in the [Shared default data

folder]/Encoding/T1 non-Western folder (typically, Macintosh
HD/Library/Application Support/FontLab/Encoding/) to use as the basis for
your new encoding file.

2.

Open the copied file in any text editor (Macintosh TextEdit will do) and then
edit it, following the same structure that you find in the original file.

3.

Change the name of the encoding and the encoding index in the first line of
the file. The first line should have the following structure:
%%FONTLAB ENCODING: 7; Type 1 Adobe Symbol

%%FONTLAB ENCODING: is the prefix of the file used to detect

properly made encoding files and must not be changed. Note the space
between : and the encoding index.

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Fontographer 5
7 is the index of the encoding vector. You must not change the encoding
vector indexes of any of the encoding vectors or they will become unusable. If
you make your own encodings the indexes of your files should not be used in
any of the other files. The actual value of the index is not important, so you
can assign indexes like 1001 or 10001.
The last part of the first line, Type 1 Adobe Symbol, is the name of the
encoding vector. It starts at the first non-space character after ;. Pick a name
on your own and type it there e.g. A Glyph Definition Encoding use plain
English letters, digits or simple punctuation such as [ ] ( ) but avoid too many
special characters in the encoding name. Do not use ampersand (&).
4.

Change the name of the group in the second line of the file:
%%GROUP:My Custom Encodings

The group name will become the submenu title in the Encoding popup menu.
Note that there is no space after the ':' character. We recommend using your
foundry name or your personal name in the encoding group name.
5.

Edit the contents of the encoding table, e.g.:

%%FONTLAB ENCODING: 1001; A Glyph Definition Encoding
%%GROUP:My Custom Encodings
%
A.smcp
A.titl
A.swsh
A.subs

If the encoding table will be used as source of Type 1 encoding on export, each
glyphname should be followed by a space, followed by a decimal character
code, e.g.:
%%FONTLAB ENCODING: 1001; A Glyph Definition Encoding
%%GROUP:My Custom Encodings
%
A 65
B 66
C 67
D 68

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Expert Advice

6.

Save this encoding file with a different file name but be sure to use the .enc file
extension. Put the .enc file in the [Shared user data folder]/Encoding
folder (typically Macintosh HD/Users/Your Username/ Library/Application
Support/FontLab/Encoding/) if you want to make the encoding available to
all recent Fontlab Ltd. applications, or in the [Application user data
folder]/Encoding folder (typically Macintosh HD/Users/Your
Username/Library/ Application Support/FontLab/Fontographer
5/Encoding/) if you want to make the encoding available
within Fontographer only. All custom .enc files should be located in these
folders!

7.

Open Fontographer and create a new font. Choose Font Info from
the Element menu, click on the Encoding tab and select your own encoding
from the Encoding pop-up. Now copy your glyphs into their proper locations
in this font database.

Note: Mistakes in name entries will manifest themselves in the font, so be careful
and accurate in your editing.
While in the font window, select Unicode from the View by pop-up. If a **
appears in the glyph label over the custom glyphs, then you know that your
custom names did not map to known Unicode numbers. All of the Unicode
data in Fontographer is stored in [Shared default data
folder]/Mapping/standard.nam file. If you want to edit it, be extremely
careful, or your other encodings will not work correctly. We strongly
recommend against making any changes to standard.nam. Its better to
make further changes to the specific glyph in the Glyph Info dialog box.
8.

When your font is ready to generate, just choose Generate Font Files from
the File menu.

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Fontographer 5

A special note to designers

of non-Roman Macintosh fonts
In Mac OS 7.1-9 with WorldScript, fonts can be assigned to a particular script
system. WorldScript is also used for PostScript Type 1 in Mac OS X.
This assignment is achieved by using script ID number in the particular encoding
file. For example, the MacOS Cyrillic encoding file contains the following string:
%!Macintosh Script:7

where 7 is the Cyrillic script ID. Fontographer takes this ID from the encoding file
and assigns the exported Macintosh font the proper ID from the appropriate range
(19456 19967 for Cyrillic). In other words, the proper FOND ID is assigned
automatically according to the font encoding selected in the Font Info dialog box.
A table of the more popular script systems and their assigned ID range follows.
For more information, refer to Inside Macintosh Volume VI, pages 13-6 through
13-9.

410

Script system

Script ID

Font ID range

Roman

2 16383

Japanese

16384 16895

Traditional Chinese

16896 17407

Korean

17408 17919

Arabic

17920 18431

Hebrew

18432 18943

Greek

18944 19455

Cyrillic

19456 19967

Simplified Chinese

25

28672 29183

Vietnamese

30

31232 31743

Expert Advice

Setting developer IDs

If you are a font developer who has been issued a unique developer ID by
Microsoft, then we have provided a means for you to add that ID into
Fontographer by editing the vendor.dat file.
Find this file in the [Shared default data folder]/Data/ folder (typically,
Macintosh HD/Library/Application Support/FontLab/Data/) and add your
vendor ID followed by vendor name.

Customizing Sample Text printout

Yet another TextEdit trick is to edit the PageHeaderPS.list resource to change the
font used to label coordinates in the glyph points and coordinates printout. If you
have noticed that the coordinate locations run over each other on paper, then you
might try this quick fix.
1.

Right-click on a copy of Fontographer in /Applications/Fontographer 5.0/ and

choose Show Package Contents.

2.

Open /Contents/Resources/PageHeaderPS.list in TextEdit

3.

Change the following code:

(|______Helvetica) RF
/descFont /
|______Helvetica
findfont def

Simply replace Helvetica with HelveticaNarrow or Helvetica-Narrow or whatever

font you desire. Just be sure the font you specify is installed.

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Fontographer 5

Character palette
You can use the Character Palette as a reference on special characters, such as
mathematical symbols, letters with accent marks, or arrows and other "dingbats,"
which you may want to add to your font.
You can also use the Character Palette to view or enter Japanese, Traditional
Chinese, Simplified Chinese, and Korean characters, as well as characters from
other languages.
The Character Palette appears in the Input menu. The Input menu looks like a flag
in the top-right corner of your menu bar. If you don't see the Input menu in the
menu bar, open System Preferences and click International. Click Input Menu,
then click the checkboxes next to Character Palette and Show Input menu in
menu bar.
To use the Character Palette:
1.

Open the application you want to type in, and place the insertion point where
you want the special character or symbol to appear.

2.

Click the Input menu icon in the menu bar and choose Show Character
Palette.

3.

Choose the type of characters you want to see from the View pop-up menu at
the top of the Character Palette window.
If you don't see the View pop-up menu, click the button in the upper-right
corner of the Character Palette to show the top portion of the window. Click
this button again to hide the top portion of the window.

412

4.

Click an item in the list on the left to see the characters that are available in
each category.

5.

Double-click the character or symbol in the right column that you want to
insert into your document. You can also select the character and click Insert.
To see more options for each character, such as the variations in glyphs for
some characters, click the Character Info triangle and then the Font
Variation triangle at the bottom of the Character Palette window.

Expert Advice

Multiple master fonts

You can use Fontographer to create multiple master fonts that can be used with
Fontlab's TransType Pro. TransType Pro gives the type designer the ability to
generate (or interpolate) different versions of master font designs. This means
that you can customize your type to fit your design needs (almost literally on-thefly). Suppose, for example, that you have a banner in your newsletter that needs
its display type to be wider (and even heavier). You can use TransType Pro to
make a wider version of your existing multiple master font, while still retaining
the size and weight of the original typeface. TransType Pro has many potential
benefits for graphic designers and publishers, such as copy and headline fitting,
and the ability to adapt the design of a font to the point size at which it is imaged.
The multiple master technology can take interpolation to even higher dimensions.
Instead of requiring merely two master fonts (as when using Fontographers Font
Blend feature), with multiple master typefaces you can utilize sixteen fonts (or
more) for the most complex multiple master fonts.
!

Note: You must have TransType Pro or you may put multiple master fonts in the
Library/Application Support/Adobe/Fonts/ folder. If you need more information
about this contact Adobe: http://www.adobe.com/support/. There are also some
fairly substantial technical notes available from Adobe about how to best design
multiple master fonts.

Note: Multiple master PostScript fonts are supported in Mac OS X starting with
version 10.2.

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Fontographer 5

A quick overview
Actually, the term quick overview is somewhat of a misnomer since creating
multiple master fonts is definitely not a simple procedure, so for your first font
exercise we recommend that you create a one-dimensional font. In fact, if you
have created an Extra Light and Extra Bold for interpolation, those would be
excellent fonts to use as the basis for a one-dimensional multiple master font.
For one dimension, picture two fonts at opposite ends of a one-dimensional line
segment. Typically, this single dimension could be weight, width, contrast, or
optical size.
Light
R

Normal

Bold

In our example, we made a one-dimensional font that TransType Pro can use.
To create a one-dimensional multiple master font:
1.

Open the thin version of your font (ours is PetesFontLight).

2.

Now open the wider version of your font (ours is called PetesFontBold).

3.

Choose Multiple Master from the Element menu.

The Multiple Master Setup dialog box appears.

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Expert Advice
The proper number of dimensions (1) is automatically selected in the pop-up
at the top. The next two pop-ups show the names of the two open fonts. If
there are other fonts open, you can select them by accessing these pop-ups.
The final pop-up is the axis name. To change it to another name, select it and
choose another. You can name your own axis by choosing Other from this
pop-up. For this exercise choose Width.
Now your job is to decide how much wider youd like your base font to be. We
recommend that you examine existing multiple master fonts, including those
from Adobe, for help in determining consistent numbering schemes.
4.

Deselect the options Insert points to force a match and Correct path
directions first.

5.

Type in your values.

We will discuss both these options later.

Tip: Choose the Width option in the View by pop-up in each font window to view
the different widths in your two fonts and get an idea of the minimum and
maximum values youd like to set here.
6.

Press OK to close the Multiple Master dialog box.

7.

Choose Generate Font Files to generate a multiple master font.

If there are any conflicts between your two fonts (like discrepancies in points,
paths, and hinting values) Fontographer will notify you and generate an error
report, known as the Fontographer.log file.

The Fontographer.log report will appear in your Fontographer folder.

Due to the precision required in multiple master fonts, this will probably happen
during your first few attemptsbut dont give up. Open the Fontographer.log file
with any word processor or TextEdit. Scroll through your error report to see which
characters have conflicts, make the changes indicated, and try again.

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Fontographer 5
Next is a sample of an error report you will probably receive when generating a
multiple master font.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
>>>>>>MultiMaster setup complete<<<<<
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Character 37 (%) failed compatibility check in Font 3
(Check your hinting)
hsbw 385 1000
hsbw 24 1000
Mismatched number of hints in character 41 (")")
Font 1 has 1 horizontal hints,
0 vertical hints
Font 2 has 2 horizontal hints,
0 vertical hints
Path 1 of character 97 in font 2 has a different number of points than the other
fonts.
Character 101 in font 2 has a different number of paths than the other fonts.

This file has four basic error types:

Character 37 (%) failed compatibility check in Font 3. This refers to the origin
points. The % sign in the third font (remember the cube idea) has a different
starting point than the other three fonts. Following this comment is a
PostScript dump of the character provided as an aid for those who understand
it.

Mismatched number of hints in character 41 ())

- Font 1 has 1 horizontal hints, 0 vertical hints
- Font 2 has 2 horizontal hints, 0 vertical hints

Path 1 in character 97 in font 2 has a different number of points than the other
fonts.

Character 101 in font 2 has a different number of paths than the other fonts.

When you are finished generating your font, drag the bitmap and PostScript file
into the multiple masters folder. If you are using Suitcase or Master Juggler, youll
need to open your font (to link it) before youll be able to apply effects.
Now you can open your font in TransType Pro and create as many new versions of
your font as there are combinations between your preset width values of 50 and
500.
Once youve got the knack of one-dimensional fonts, you can move on to two-,
three-, and yes, even four-dimensional fonts. The next section gives you valuable
information about how to start planning your multiple master fonts.

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Expert Advice

The genesis of a multiple

master font
By Greg Thompson
When you draw a multiple master font, there is only one rule that you must obey:
each corresponding character, A for example, must be drawn with the same kind
and number of points in each of the 2, 4, 8, or 16 master fonts that together
constitute the end points on the axes of your font. Oh yes, one other thing: if your
multiple master font is to be hinted, each corresponding character must be hinted
with the same kind and number of hints in all the fonts, and all the hints must also
be in the same order and going in the same direction.
To avoid the process of making major family design changes to four different
master fonts, I started NewtechMM as one medium weight normal width font,
even though Newtech Medium would not be used as a master in the completed
font. (I try out heavier or lighter drawings of certain characters as I go along just
to see how they will translate later on, but for the most part I dont concern myself
with other style variations until later.) When I am satisfied with Newtech Medium,
I copy it two times and create Light Extended and Black Extended by modifying
the original medium drawings. I use a combination of Fontographers Scale
horizontally, Change Weight, Move, and Set Width and manually move points.
Some of the extended characters may require the addition of an extra point or two
to remain true to the Newtech design. I chose to make the difference in weight
dramatic, but it could be subtle.
These extremes are made as light and black as possible while still retaining the
Newtech family resemblance. I then quickly check the extended styles for visual
and technical compatibility by applying Fontographers Blend Fonts feature. I use
interpolation (font blending) extensively when working on a multiple master font
to check progress since it allows me to find any problems while staying within
Fontographer.
After Im pretty sure everythings okay with the weight extremes (Light Extended
and Black Extended), I copy and modify them to create the width extremes of
Light Condensed and Black Condensed. If some characters require more or fewer
points, I immediately make the same changes to the already-existing Extended
styles. I might have to make slight design changes at this point to maintain
familial resemblance or axis independ-ence.

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Fontographer 5
Now Im ready for the first attempt to generate an actual multiple master font
from the Newtech masters. Turn hints off and generate Type 1 fonts from the four
masters. Then follow Fontographers documentation instructions for setting up a
multiple master font, making sure to turn off Correct Paths and Insert Points.
Multiple master font technology is really just interpolate and name technology.
Why not try letters that bounce up and down, letters that flip around, or a little
man that jumps around the screen?

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Expert Advice

Planning multiple master fonts

Start by planning very carefully just how many dimensions you want to deal with.
For your first font, we recommend one or two dimensions. In fact, if you have
created an Extra Light and Extra Bold for interpolation, those would be excellent
fonts to use as the basis for a one-dimensional multiple master font. Adobe
Systems, the developer of multiple master font technology, currently has only used
one, two, or three dimensions; both three- and four-dimensional typefaces are
very ambitious undertakings. Each dimension you add doubles the number of
master fonts you will need.
Terminology: Master design: one of the PostScript Type 1 fonts a multiple master
typeface is comprised of. Master design fonts do not show up in the font menu.
For illustrative purposes, we shall refer to the font design space as a hypercube,
although it should be understood that a cube, square, and line segment are simple
cases of the general hypercube.

As we stated in the overview, for one-dimensional fonts, the two fonts are at
opposite ends of a one-dimensional line segment. Typically, this single dimension
could be weight, width, contrast, or optical size.
Two dimensions require four fonts at the corners of a square. Typically the two
dimensions might be weight and width. Three dimensions require eight fonts at
the corners of a cube (adding optical scaling), and four dimensions requires
sixteen fonts at the corners of a hypercube. The generated multiple master font
combines all the master design fonts into one gigantic PostScriptlanguage font,
so a four-dimensional multiple master font is fairly large (probably 350K or more).
Terminology: Normalized coordinates (also known as font space coordi-nates) the
coordinates varying from 0 to 1 that label each corner of the multiple masters
hypercube. Each master font has a coordinate in each dimension of either 0 or 1.

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Fontographer 5
At this point, we encourage you to get a pad of paper and a pencil to sketch out a
plan for creating your multiple master fonts. Draw out a picture of your font
coordinate space, and sketch the font variations for each corner of the hypercube.
Normalized font coordinate space always runs from 0 to 1 in each dimension.
Label each corner with a coordinate of 0 or 1; this will be the font space coordinate
of the corresponding master font. We recommend labelling the upper left corner
0,0 (or 0,0,0,0 for four-dimensional space), as shown here.

Font coordinate space

You can change the exact arrangement of fonts in this coordinate space, but you
must be consistent in your labelling. Thus, you could make width vary from left to
right, and weight vary from top to bottom; but you could not vertically interchange
the two fonts on the right side and get meaningful results. Be advised that you will
get neither predictable behavior from such a font, nor an error message from
Fontographer. In addition, it is not particularly recommended; you should strive
for consistency among different multiple master fonts, so applications can do
intelligent things with them.

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Expert Advice
Notes about optical scaling
Including an optical size axis in your multiple master font provides a unique
opportunity to optimize legibility for the entire range of sizes at which the font will
be used. Traditionally, punch-cutters developing metal type would alter various
aspects of a design depending on what looked correct for the size they were
working on. With digital type, one master design gets scaled to all sizes, thus you
lose some of the subtleties available in the best of the metal type era. Optical
scaling gives this ability back to you.
Compared to a design intended for large point sizes, a small-size master design
would have a larger x-height, wider counters and inter-character spacing, less
contrast between thick and thin strokes, and heavier serifs. In designing an optical
size axis, it is important to remember that the variations along an axis might be
very subtle, and not always apparent when proofing on low-resolution laser
printers.
You can now assign design coordinates to your font space coordinates.
Terminology: Design coordinate: a meaningful integer number used to relabel
normalized coordinates the only number a multiple master font user ever sees.
Multiple master space cannot be divided any finer than integer design
coordinates.
When running Adobes Font Creator program, the numbers it displays are in their
defined design coordinates. These are integers that map onto the fonts
normalized coordinate space. These numbers are basically arbitrary integers
(related to the range of variation of any particular design, which you may assign as
you wish, but should probably be related to Adobes fonts for consistency). For
example, if a design varies only slightly in width, the range should be smaller than
if it varies greatly. For illustrative purposes, let us say the lightest weight font has
a weight of 100 and the heaviest font has a weight of 900. The thinnest font has a
width of 50 units, and the widest font is declared to be 200. (With these values, we
have [(900 - 100) + 1] x [(200 - 50) + 1], or 120,951 possible derived fonts the
square is divided into 801 x 151 discrete positions by those numbers.)

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Fontographer 5

Set ranges in Multiple Master Setup

Now that you have mapped out your multiple master design coordinate space, you
should assign names to the master fonts. Lets call them:

Test-LightCondensed (position [0,0])

Test-BoldCondensed (position [1,0])

Test-LightExpanded (position [0,1])

Test-BoldExpanded (position [1,1])

Dont get too carried away with long names; remember that the Macintosh is
limited to 29 characters in a PostScript font name.
Next, you should select an em square. When creating multiple master fonts, it is
important for a number of font parameters to be the same, and the em square is
the first place to start. The value 1000 is Fontographers em square default, as well
as the value Adobe uses for all Type 1 fonts. Its the number you should use for
multiple master fonts. You can divide it up differently between ascent and descent
if you like, but the font could have problems if you use something other than 1000
for your em square.
Now you can determine which fonts you would like to start with when you
generate a multiple master typeface. Fontographer will generate any number of
predefined variants (known as primary fonts, in multiple master lingo) when you
create the multiple master face.

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Expert Advice
Terminology: Primary font: a generated font that, unlike a master font, need not
lie on the corners of the design hypercube, but that can have any position desired
in multiple master space. Primary fonts show up on the font menu; master design
fonts do not.
The purpose of primary fonts is to have some fonts that correspond to the
standard styles and weights of a typeface family, such as bold, black, light, and so
on. Therefore, primary fonts are extremely unlikely to be at corners or edges of the
cube; rather, they should be at the interior of the hypercube, which is where the
more normal (read: less extreme) fonts will be found. Primary fonts are totally
optional; their purpose is to have a selection of default, prebuilt fonts that will be
compatible with existing applications, for users who havent used the Font Creator
yet.
Referring back to our illustration of the font coordinate space, you might want to
create some intermediate fonts near each corner, but not at the extreme positions
(which might be too extreme for general use). You might also want a font near the
middle of the square, which could be a typical example of the regular or plain style
of that typeface. Mark the positions where you would like a font, and write down
the user coordinates of that position. You can choose [200 70], [200 150], [800 70],
[800 150], and [400 150] as the primary fonts.
Ready to begin work? Great. Now just draw the four master designs. Be sure to
make all the master fonts blendable. Corresponding characters in each master font
must have the same number of contours and points, and each master design font
must be able to be interpolated with the other masters.

Tip: The easiest way to test this is to attempt to interpolate each master design
with the design at the origin (0,0) of multiple master space. This process will
interpolate along each diagonal of the hypercube and assures a high degree of
compatibility between the master fonts (but not perfect compatibility).
If the results of the blend are what you expect, you are almost ready to generate a
multiple master typeface.

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Fontographer 5

Set up from file

Fontographer offers you the option of creating your one- and two-dimensional
fonts via easy controls in the Multiple Master Setup dialog box. To set up more
complicated multiple master fonts, you need to choose the Load parameters from
file option, which allows for three- and four-dimensional fonts. Rather than build
the worlds most incredibly complex dialog box and interactive editing sequence,
Fontographer uses a simple text file to control the creation of more complicated
fonts. Simply create this file with any text editor, save it as a text-only file, and
point Fontographer at that file via the Choose button.
Before you rush off to create your own control file, perhaps a bit of explanation
will help you get it right. Please note that:

Fields shown in double quotes should always be defined in straight double

quotes (not typographical curly quotes).

Fields in brackets should always be defined in brackets.

All values should be defined in the order shown.

You should never use commas between numbers in brackets.

A sample multiple master file follows, complete with explanation. Note that lines
starting with a percent sign are comments and are ignored by the control file
scanner. Do not use a tab or space at the beginning of your comment; you must
use a % sign.
% Multiple master setup information for font Test
% Created on Dec 30, 1992 by jve for multiple
% master tutorial.
% First, define the PostScript font name.
% Its recommended for ATM that all multiple
% master fonts end in MM.
% An optional second entry flags the
% existence of an Italic face for this font
"TestMM" " TestMM-Italic"
% Next define the prefix name for this font. This is
% prepended to the primary name suffixes below to
% make a complete font name.
"TestMM_"
% This name must end in an
underscore.
% Now we must specify the number of dimensions
% of multiple master space. We call
% these axes. This example is two dimensional.
2 axes
% type
long lbl short lbl [[des_coord norm_value]...]
"Weight" "Weight"" wt"
[[100 0] [900 1]]
"Width"
"Width" " wd"
[[50 0] [200 1]]
%
%
%
%

424

We have to declare how many master designs

there are. This should be related to
the number of axes as described in the text
above.. The FOND name suffix is

Expert Advice
%
%
%
%

automatically built from the prefix above,

prepended with %M, thus the names are
"%MTestMM_100 50", etc. This %M is so the
master fonts dont show up in the font menu.

4 masters
% Fonto. file name FOND suffix
normalized coord
"TestExtraLightExtraCond" "%MTestMM_100 50"
[0
"TestExtraBoldExtraCond" "%MTestMM_900 50"
[1
"TestExtraLightExtraExt" "%MTestMM_100 200"
[0
"TestExtraBoldExtraExt"
"%MTestMM_900 200"
[1
%
%
%
%
%
%

0]
0]
1]
1]

The style controls how much weight to add to

get a bolder font. You can theoretically do other
neat things with styles, but I dont believe in them
yet... The style table below adds 200 to the weight
of a 100-weight font, and 100 to the weight of a 900weight font to get a bolder variant.

1 style
%Mac style
1 0
1

flag
axis
entries
[[100 200][900 100]]

% Now define our primary fonts

primaries
% name suffix
[user coord]
[FOND NFNT]
file name
"200 LT 70 CN"
[200 70]
[12345 23456]
"200 LT 150 EX" [200 150]
[12346 23457] "TestLTEX.bmap"
"800 BL 70 CN"
[800 70]
[12347 23458]
"800 BL 150 EX"
[800 150]
[12348 23459]
% Now, to turn ON the "Insert points to force match"
% and
"Correct path directions first" options, be
% sure to include the word "flags" in the last line of
% the setup file. If you want those options OFF,
% leave the flags out.
% That does it.!

Fontographer does very little checking of this input, assuming that you are a
careful person. (And if you arent now, thats fine; you will be by the time you get
one of these to work.)
We break out sections of the setup file here. An explanation follows each section.
% First, define the PostScript font name.
% Its recommended for ATM that all multiple
% master fonts end in MM.
% An optional second entry flags the
% existence of an Italic face for this font
"TestMM" " TestMM-Italic"

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Fontographer 5
First, you need to declare the PostScript name of the font. This could be a name
like MyFontMM-Roman, MyFontMM-Italic, or simply MyFontMM. We
recommend that the name include MM to flag it as a multiple master font. A
truncated version (truncated by the 5-3-3 rule used for all PostScript fonts) of this
name will be used to name the PostScript-language font file. If the optional second
entry on that line is present, it should contain the font name of the associated
italic face. It informs Fontographer that there is an italic (or bold, bold italic, and
so on) face defined for this plain face, and Fontographer will automatically build
the correct style table to associate the italic face with this plain face. When you
generate the associated italic face, the first name would be, in this example,
TestMM-Italic, and the PostScript-language font file name would be TestMMIta.
% Next define the prefix name for this font. This is
% prepended to the primary name suffixes below to
% make a complete font name.
"TestMM_"
% This name must end in an
underscore.

The second declaration is that of the prefix name for the primary font names. It
should be a 5-3-3 truncated version of the font name, ending in an underscore
character. This is the name that will be added to the primary font names to make a
complete font name. Adobe recommends the following naming convention:
FamilyNameMM_[Style/Char Set]
Number1
[Label1] Numbern
[Labeln]

In the example above, the first primary font would thus be named TestMM_200
XL 70 XC (where XL and XC are the labels). Of course, this name would not be
a legal PostScript font name; Fontographer replaces blanks with underscore
characters when generating the actual font name, giving a PostScript font name of
TestMM_200_XL_70_XC. It is important that the name, up to the first
underscore, be the same as the PostScript font file name, so the font file may be
found. The Style/Char Set which is used when more than one MM font per
family is required and labels are optional, but recommended for clarity.
% Now we must specify the number of dimensions
% of multiple master space. We call
% these axes. This example is two dimensional.
2 axes
% type
long lbl short lbl [[des_coord norm_value]...]
"Weight" "Weight"" wt"
[[100 0] [900 1]]
"Width"
"Width" " wd"
[[50 0] [200 1]]

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Expert Advice
The axes are defined next, and you should label them properly. Adobe has set up a
registry for axis types (the first keyword). Currently defined axis types are Weight,
Width, and Optical Size. These should be in English. If you want to define more
axis types, you should register them with the Adobe PostScript Developer Support
Group. This first axis keyword is intended to allow applications to determine the
axis type, so standardization is pretty important if you want to be a good citizen
and create a multiple master font that works with most applications. It is highly
recommended that you list the axes in this order (weight, width, then optical
scale) if those are the axes you are using.
The second keyword is the long label presented to the multiple master user and
may be translated into other languages as required. It is used in user-interface
dialog boxes.
The third keyword is a short label and should be wt (Weight), wd (Width), or
op (Optical Size). It is used in font name construction and may be language
dependent. Like the long label, it is used in user-interface dialog boxes. Following
the labels is the declaration of the user coordinate to design coordinate mapping.
There may be several bracketed numbers in the outer brackets. In the example
shown, the first line maps user coordinate 100 to design coordinate 0, and user
coordinate 900 to design coordinate 1. The second line maps user coordinate 50 to
0, and user coordinate 200 to 1.

Notes about point mappings

Normally, the design coordinates of an optical size axis might vary from 6-point to
72-point the normal range of use for most publishing purposes. Although linear
interpolation over that range provides better quality than simple scaling of a single
master design, the results can be significantly improved by using a nonlinear
interpolation. This is necessary because design features must change more rapidly
in the lower range of sizes than they do in the high range. Nonlinear mappings
may be specified only in the Set up from file option.
For example, Adobes Minion multiple master font maps the 6-point design
coordinate to 0.0 of the normalized coordinates, 8-point to .35, 12-point to .5, 18point to .75, and 72-point to 1.00. In the control file, that would look like this: ([6
0] [8 .35] [12 .5] [18 .75] [72 1]).
These values are a good starting point for text faces with similar design
parameters; optimal values for any given typeface would depend both on the
characteristics of the face and the dynamic range of the axes in the font.
In multiple master fonts, you can do this non-linear, piece-wise linear mapping for
other axes than just optical size, but were not sure if it has much of a design need
for weight and width axes. Someone will probably find some creative use of it for
Weight or Width, or they may dream up other axis types where it might be useful.

427

Fontographer 5
!

Note: Nonlinear mapping can only be specified in the setup from a file option.
The master declaration section declares the name of the font files containing the
master design. These files may be in any format that Fontographer normally
opens. Fontographer will look for the master fonts in the same folder or directory
where the setup file is located and will open each, one at a time. You dont have to
open them yourself.
% Fontographer file name

FOND name suffix

Normalized coord

"TestExtraLightExtraCond"

"%MTestMM_100 50"

[0 0]

"TestExtraBoldExtraCond"

"%MTestMM_900 50"

[1 0]

"TestExtraLightExtraExt"

"%MTestMM_100 200"

[0 1]

"TestExtraBoldExtraExt"

"%MTestMM_900 200"

[1 1]

Plan out your FOND ID and, optionally, NFNT ID numbers. Each primary font
requires a FOND, but the NFNT for the 10-point bitmap of that primary font is
optional. Fontographer automatically pulls the 10-point font from the master font
file closest (in design space) to the primary font it is generating; so you may want
to create a 10-point bitmap font for each master design. You can override this
automatic font selection by specifying a bitmap file that will be opened during
multiple master generation, if you want to make custom bitmaps for the primary
fonts.
!

Note: This is optional since Adobe makes dummy bitmaps.

The FOND name for the master fonts is special. It should be preceded by a percent
sign and an M. The percent sign creates a FOND with a hidden name, and the M
signifies a multiple master font. The rest of the name, up through the underscore
character, should be the same as the prefix name defined on the second
noncomment line of the control file. The numbers following the name indicate the
design space weights for each of the master fonts. Since this name is hidden, it
isnt terribly clear why it is needed, but these FONDs seem to be necessary.
Finally, the normalized coordinate of each master design font should be declared.
This is the label for the corner of the hypercube that the font is positioned on.
Adobe recommends that you use the lightest, most condensed, smallest opticallyscaled design as the origin font.
The style table controls how automatic bolding changes the design. Many
applications have a technique for getting a bold face by typing COMMAND-B (or
some similar sequence). If you would like your font to respond automatically to
this, you can define a style table that will automatically generate a bold version of
any weight. If you dont want this, specify zero for the number of styles.
% The style controls how much weight to add to
% get a bolder font. You can theoretically do other
% neat things with styles, but I dont believe in them

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Expert Advice
% yet... The style table below adds 200 to the weight
% of a 100-weight font, and 100 to the weight of a 900% weight font to get a bolder variant.
1 style
%Mac style
1 0
1

flag
axis
entries
[[100 200][900 100]]

You can easily make fonts bold with a simple menu selection. This ability has been
carried over to multiple masters. You should decide, for each weight, how much to
add to the weight to get a bold version. Thus in the above example, let us say that
at the minimum weight of 100 we can produce a bold version of that weight by
adding 200 to the weight. At a weight of 900, we can produce a bolder version by
adding 100 to the weight. Multiple master fonts, when emboldened, will produce a
bolder version by interpolating the weights. Thus at the intermediate weight of 500
(halfway between 100 and 900), a bolder version could be generated by adding 150
(halfway between 200 and 100), giving a total weight of 650. A bold version of the
900 weight face would be given a weight of 1000. You should think about the
embolded weights, since you will have to specify them later.
You should specify the style code for bold (1), a flag (always 0 for now), the design
axis that is to be varied (1 in this case, since the first axis is the weight axis that we
wish to change), and the entries. The entries are more powerful (that is, complex)
than necessary. You can have one or two pairs of entries. The first pair of numbers
should be the starting design coordinate weight for boldness (100 in this case),
followed by the weight to add at that design coordinate (200 in this case). The
second (optional) pair of numbers is the ending design coordinate for boldness
(900 in this case), followed by the weight to add at that ending coordinate (100 in
this case). You can specify a single pair of numbers if you wish; then the second
number is the boldness to add to all values, and the first number is meaningless.
!

Note: The first primary font is used as a default. It must not have the same design
coordinates as a master design font or Font Creator might crash.
% Now define our primary fonts
primaries

% name suffix

[user coord]

[FOND NFNT]

"200 LT 70 CN"

[200 70]

[12345 23456]

"200 LT 150 EX"

[200 150]

[12346 23457]

"800 BL 70 CN"

[800 70]

[12347 23458]

"800 BL 150 EX"

[800 150]

[12348 23459]

file name (opt.)

"TestLTEX.bmap"

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Fontographer 5
The primary table is the last one in the control file. Primary font names consist of
a prefix and a suffix. The prefix has already been defined, so these entries need
only define the suffix. The suffix name uses two-letter abbreviations for humanreadable indications of weight and width, interspersed with numeric values for
those parameters. The numeric user coordinate position of this primary font is
declared next, followed by the FOND and NFNT IDs. Optionally, you can specify a
file name that Fontographer will open and pull a 10-point bitmap from when
generating that primary font. If this file isnt specified, Fontographer will take the
closest master designs 10-point bitmap, copying and renumbering as necessary.
The source bitmap need not have the same FOND or NFNT ID as specified here;
Fontographer renumbers properly as it copies.
!

Note: Putting a0 in for the number tells Fontographer to pick a nonconflicting

number. It will pick a different one each time you run. The Fontographer.log tells
you which one it picked.
Suggested values for the two-letter abbreviation are shown here.

430

Axis

Long name

Abbreviation

Weight

Extra Light

XL

Weight

Light

LT

Weight

Regular

RG

Weight

Semibold

SB

Weight

Bold

BD

Weight

Black

BL

Weight

Extra Black

XB

Width

Extra Condensed

XC

Width

Condensed

CN

Width

Semi Condensed

SC

Width

Normal

NO

Width

Semi Extended

SE

Width

Extended

EX

Width

Extra Extended

XE

Expert Advice
When you make a new font derived from your multiple master font by using
Adobes Font Creator, the names generated are always the two-letter abbreviation
given with the axis specification. The only way to get fonts named with the twoletter abbreviations above is to create them as primary fonts when the multiple
master font is generated.
We allow for the inclusion of one more entry in the setup file: determining the
status of the checkboxes in the Font Blend and Multiple Master dialog boxes. By
default, these boxes are checked when Fontographer is launched. However, since
those using Load parameters from file will be the super-expert font designers
creating three- and four-dimensional fonts, it is unlikely that any of them would
want Fontographer to insert points to force a match or reset predetermined origin
points. Therefore, these options are turned off when selecting Load parameters
from file. You can turn them back on by typing the word flags anywhere in the
last line.

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Fontographer 5

Generating a multiple master font...

Now that your font is designed and the setup file is complete, you are ready for
your first attempt at multiple master generation.
1.

Open your first master font.

2.

Go to the end of the Element menu and select Multiple Master.

3.

When the dialog box appears, choose Load parameters from file.

4.

Click the Choose button, and Fontographer will put up the standard file dialog
box so you can locate your multiple master setup control file. (The one in our
test sample is named Test.MM.setup.) Once you locate that file, Fontographer
reads it, echoing what it read to a file named Fontographer.log so you can
later consult that file for a list of the errors (most likely generated by your first
attempts). Fontographer will automatically open the other master fonts
designated in your setup file.

5.

Then you select Generate Font Files, choosing Multiple Master, and
Fontographer will produce a multiple master font in the PostScript-language
font file (the one with the LaserWriter icon). It also produces a bitmap file
named the same as the master font, but with a suffix of .mmbm (multiple
master bitmap). This corresponds to the .bmap file of normal Macintosh
font generation.

6.

These fonts may be installed in the normal way.

Of course, there are still a few things that can go wrong. Not only must the points
of corresponding master glyphs be compatible, but the same type of hints must be
defined in each glyph. If you were unlucky enough to create a font that
automatically hinted differently in the different glyphs, you will have to manually
edit the glyphs that are different. See Font hinting on page 392 for details on how
to do this.
The log file produced by Fontographer gives precise information about where the
hints differ between glyphs. When it finds a mismatch, it tells you how many it
found, the glyph(s) containing the error, along with an indication of the type of
error. Instead of stopping, Fontographer continues on with the rest of the font, so
it can find all the problems with one run. If the problem is a point mismatch, the
error report lists the glyph in the font (1, 2, 36, 54, and so on) and tells you there is
a different number of points. Similarly, if the curves and lines dont match
properly, the error report tells you the point at which things went wrong, so you
can go into the outline window and step through the points and contours until you
find the one with the problem.

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Expert Advice
A more difficult-to-correct class of error occurs when the points match, but the
origin points differ. In this case, Fontographer makes a complete error list of the
Type 1 font instructions generated by each glyph. These are called compatibility
check errors. You can look at this list to see how the glyphs differ. For help in
understanding the instructions, we recommend getting a copy of Adobes Type 1
Font Specification. A couple of the more frequently encountered instructions are
vstem (vertical stem) and hstem (horizontal stem). If you have a hint mismatch,
Fontographer informs you that you can typically open the offending glyphs in each
master font, and correct the one that is wrong by manually adding or deleting
hints.
!

Note: If you dont care whether or not your multiple master font has hints, you
can ignore hinting by turning hints off in the Generate Font Files dialog box. This
is a good way to avoid problems when generating Multiple Master fonts, but this
approach involves the high penalty of making fonts without hints.

433

Reference
The Reference chapter contains detailed descriptions of every element of the
program, menu commands, window options, and tools.

14

Fontographer 5

Windows in Fontographer
1. Font window
The font window shows you all the glyphs in your font at approx. 24 points. The
View by menu at the top of the window allows you to change the label over each
glyph slot. The default choice display mode is Character, which shows the
character symbol above each slot.
If you choose Keystroke to display the keystrokes that correspond to each
character, and scroll the window down so that you can see the international
characters, you will see some cryptic things like SOe and Oee. SOe means that to
produce this character you need to press SHIFT, OPTION, and the e key
simultaneously, producing the character . In the case of Oee the procedure is
slightly different: press OPTION and the e key simultaneously, then release and
press the e key by itself.

436

Reference

View by menu
Character
The Character item shows the symbol that corresponds to each slot in the font
window.
!

Note: When you see a double-asterisk (**) above a glyph, it means that you
cannot access the glyph from the keyboard using the currently selected encoding
and keyboard layout. You can change encoding in the Font Info dialog box in
the Element menu.

Keystroke
The Keystroke item corresponds to the keyboard sequence used to enter the glyph.
!

Note: When you see a double-asterisk (**) above a glyph, it means that you
cannot access the glyph from the keyboard using the currently selected encoding
and keyboard layout. You can change encoding in the Font Info dialog box in the
Element menu or the keyboard layout in the Input menu.

Unicode
The Unicode item corresponds to the glyphs Unicode codepoint in hexadecimal
notation. For example: A displays as 0041.

Decimal
The Decimal item shows the decimal value of a glyphs current slot. For example,
A is in decimal location 65.

Hexadecimal
The Hexadecimal item shows hexadecimal (base 16) values. For example: A
displays as $41.

Octal
The Octal item shows octal (base 8) values. For example: A displays as o101.

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Fontographer 5
Width
The Width item shows the glyphs width in em units. Em units are not related to
point size or any other physical measurement.
!

Note: In the Width mode, when you see a double-asterisk (**) above a glyph, it
means that the slot is undefined.

Left sidebearing
The left sidebearing mode shows the measurement of the glyphs left
sidebearing the distance between the origin line and the left edge of the glyphs
outline in em units.
!

Note: A negative number indicates that some part of the glyphs outline extends
beyond the left sidebearing. A positive number means that space exists between
the sidebearing and the left edge of the outline. In the left sidebearing mode, when
you see a double-asterisk (**) above a glyph, it means that the glyph is undefined.

Right sidebearing
The Right sidebearing mode shows the measurement of the glyphs right
sidebearing (the distance between the width line and the right edge of the glyphs
outline) in em units.
!

Note: A negative number indicates that some part of the glyphs outline extends
beyond the right sidebearing. A positive number means that space exists between
the sidebearing and the right edge of the outline. In the right sidebearing mode,
when you see a double-asterisk (**) above a glyph, it means that the glyph is
undefined.

Fill Tint
The Fill Tint item shows the percentage of black that will fill the glyph when you
output a PostScript or Type 3 font. (We recommend using 100%.)
!

Note: In the Fill Tint mode, when you see a double-asterisk (**) above a
character, it means that the glyph is unfilled or that it is undefined using currently
selected encoding.

Stroke Tint
The Stroke Tint item shows the percentage of black that fills strokes when you
output a PostScript or Type 3 font. (We recommend using 100%.)

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Reference
!

Note: In the Stroke Tint mode, when you see a double-asterisk (**) above a glyph,
it means that the glyph is not stroked or that it is undefined.

Stroke Weight
The Weight item shows the glyphs stroke weight in em square units when you
output a PostScript Type 3 font.
!

Note: In the Weight mode, when you see a double-asterisk (**) above a glyph, it
means that the glyph slot is empty, includes no weight in em square units, or is
undefined.

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Fontographer 5

Glyph properties
You can see different properties of the selected glyph slot at the right of the View
by menu. Name, keystroke, Unicode codepoint, Unicode name, decimal or hex
values can be combined in any order or combination. The "plus" button adds an
item to the list. To remove an item, choose Remove Item in the item's pop-up
menu.

Searching for glyphs

The font window has the Spotlight field at the right top corner, which allows you
to quickly find particular glyphs in the font.
To search using the Spotlight:
1.

Click on the Magnifying glass icon in the upper-right corner of your screen
and select the criteria for the search: text ranges, glyph name, Unicode
codepoint or Unicode name.

2. Type in the field. Glyph cells that meet the criteria will be marked green in the
font window.
For example, typing "034" will find and mark glyphs "zero", "three" and "four"
when Search by text ranges was selected or it will mark glyph "four" if Search by
Unicode codepoint was selected.

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Reference

2. Outline window
The outline window shows you the outlines (or strokes) of the glyph named in the
title bar and allows you to edit them. At the top of the window (in the info bar) you
will see position indicators. The numbers below them are horizontal and vertical
distances measured in em units. These distances let you know the distance from
the cursor or selected points to certain objects in the window.
Whenever you select a tool from the tool palette in the outline window, the
information displayed in the information bar will update to accommodate the
specific tool and its behavior. Some of the indicators that appear are horizontal
and vertical displacement, angle indicator, and length. These indicators allow for
precise control of your tools.
The lock at the bottom of the window indicates that you cannot change from the
glyph in the outline window to some other glyph by merely typing the keystroke(s)
of that glyph. If you click the lock, it will open and you will then be able to change
glyphs simply by typing the keystroke(s) of the new glyph. You can also toggle the
lock icon on and off by pressing the RETURN or ENTER key. Fontographer will not
save the state of this lock when you quit the program.
You can close all open outline windows by OPTION-clicking the close box of any
open outline window. Any open bitmap or metrics windows will remain open.

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Fontographer 5

Tool palette
Pointer tool
The pointer tool is for selecting and dragging objects. To change to the pointer tool
when another tool is being used, while the lock icon is locked, type the ACCENT
GRAVE key (`). To temporarily use the pointer tool when another tool is selected,
press the COMMAND key and release to deselect the pointer tool.

Hand tool
The hand tool lets you scroll through the display area useful for large characters.
To temporarily change from the other tools to the hand tool, hold down
the SPACEBAR.

Rectangle tool
The rectangle tool is for drawing rectangles, squares, and rectangles with rounded
corners. To change the radius of curve at the corners of the square or rectangle,
double-click the icon and make changes from the dialog box. To constrain the
shape to a square, hold down the SHIFT key while dragging. Press the OPTION key
and drag with the mouse to change the shape of the rectangle to a square, using
the point clicked on as the center of the figure. To access the rectangle tool from
another tool, while the lock icon is locked, type the number 1.

Multigon tool
The multigon tool draws starbursts and regular polygons. Double-click the tool to
bring up a dialog box that controls the shape. From the dialog box specify polygon
or star shape, number of sides, and shape of points. To access the multigon tool
from another tool, while the lock icon is locked, type the number 2.

Oval tool
The oval tool creates ovals and circles. Hold down the OPTION key to draw the oval
outward from the center. To constrain the oval to a circle, hold down the SHIFT key
and drag. You can choose this tool, while the lock icon is locked, by typing the
number 3.

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Straight line tool
The straight line tool draws straight lines without requiring you to place points
manually. To constrain the line to the vertical, horizontal, and 45-degree angles,
hold down the SHIFT key while dragging with the mouse. To access the straight
line tool from another tool, while the lock icon is locked, type the number 4. Press
the OPTION key and click the mouse to draw a straight line that centers on the
point where you click, and extends outward as you drag.

Freehand tool
The freehand tool can be used to draw paths freestyle or as either a variableweight or calligraphic pen tool.
The calligraphic pen tool draws calligraphic lines. You can set the pen width and
angle from the dialog box accessed by double-clicking the icon. To use the
calligraphy pen when the selection pointer or other tools are selected, while the
lock icon is locked, type the number 5.
From the dialog box (accessed by double-clicking the icon) you can choose the
freehand tool by selecting the pressure-sensitive option. Choose the maximum
and minimum widths of strokes, as well as the shapes of caps and joins.
The Tight curve fit option lets you increase how much the outline conforms to the
curved lines you draw. (The other option is normal fit, the default option,
ordinarily used if you ignore this choice.) Choose Draw dotted line to display your
lines as a series of hash marks; this option displays the strokes faster than does
the normal option.
!

Note: Your strokes will not appear as a dotted line or as hash marks when
printed.

Pen tool
The pen tool is for drawing outlines or strokes without having to change tools. You
can choose this tool, while the lock icon is locked, by typing the number 6.

Knife tool
Use the knife tool to cut paths or points. Access the knife when using another tool,
while the lock icon is locked, by typing the number 7.

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Fontographer 5
Curve tool
The curve tool creates a point with curves on both sides. The angle of the curve can
be adjusted from either of the incoming or outgoing BCPs, and the radius of the
curve can be adjusted individually by the BCP on the appropriate side of the point.
You can choose this tool, while the lock icon is locked, by typing the number 8.

Corner tool
The corner tool connects two straight lines or two curves at a cusp. Both the
incoming and outgoing paths can be adjusted with their respectively independent
BCPs. You can choose this tool, while the lock icon is locked, by typing the
number 9.

Tangent tool
The tangent tool is used to connect straight lines to curves for smooth joins. You
can choose this tool, while the lock icon is locked, by typing the number 0.

Rotate tool
Use the rotate tool to rotate a character or its parts, centering the rotation around
the place where the mouse clicks. Double-click the tool to access the Transform
dialog box and specify degrees of rotation.
Click the mouse and drag to display a radius used to rotate the image on screen.
(The rotation occurs around the point where the mouse clicked on the screen.) If
you press the SHIFT key and click with the mouse and drag, you will constrain the
movement of the radius to horizontal, vertical, and 45-degree angles.

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Reference
Flip tool
The flip tool functions similarly to the rotate tool by allowing you to flip a figure
horizontally or vertically, centering the movement around the click of the mouse.
Double-click the tool to get the Transform dialog box where you can choose either
direction, horizontal or vertical.
Click the mouse and press the SHIFT key to display a radius used to rotate the
image on screen. (The rotation occurs around the point where the mouse clicked
on the screen.) If you click with the mouse and drag, you will constrain the
movement of the radius to horizontal, vertical, and 45-degree angles.
!

Note: The rotate and flip tools are similar in function. The difference between the
two tools is that the flip tool constrains rotation to 45-degree increments unless
the SHIFT key is held down, while the rotate tool requires the SHIFT key be
depressed to constrain movement.

Scale tool
Use the scale tool to scale a figure horizontally and vertically, centering around the
click of the mouse. Double-click the tool to access the Transform dialog box, where
you can enter horizontal and/or vertical degrees for scaling. OPTION-doubleclicking the Scale tool brings up the Transform dialog box with Scale Uniformly
selected as the first transformation.
To scale horizontally and vertically, click the mouse and drag in either direction.
To constrain scaling to horizontal, 45-degree, or vertical axes, just press
the SHIFT key and drag to those locations.

Skew tool
The skew tool lets you skew figures, both horizontally and vertically, centering the
movement around the click of the mouse. Double-click the tool to access the
Transform dialog box where you can enter horizontal and/or vertical degrees to
skew the selection.
To skew horizontally and vertically, click the mouse and drag in either direction.
To constrain skewing to horizontal, 45-degree, or vertical axes, just press
the SHIFT key and drag in any of those directions.

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Fontographer 5
Measuring tool
The measuring tool measures distances in em units in the outline window.
Press the OPTION key and click the mouse to draw a measuring line that centers on
the point where you click, and extends outward as you drag. If you press SHIFT,
and click with the mouse and drag, you will constrain the movement of the
measuring line to horizontal, vertical, and 45-degree angles.

Magnifying tool
Use the magnifying tool to enlarge or reduce the image in the window. With the
tool selected, click the place you want to center in the window, to enlarge the
image (or type COMMAND-SPACE-click to temporarily invoke the tool). Press
the OPTION key and click with this tool to reduce the image.
With the magnifying tool selected you can drag a box around the area you wish to
magnify, and Fontographer will zoom into the area enclosed by the box. You can
also use this method to zoom out by holding down the OPTION key.
!

Note: The same key combinations may be assigned to switching keyboard layouts
in the Input menu. In this case pressing before COMMAND helps.

Perspective tool
The Perspective tool works in conjunction with 3D rotate to apply threedimensional rotations to two-dimensional objects, while still maintaining
perspective. OPTION-double-clicking the tool brings up the Perspective Setup
dialog box where you can set the Perspective Distance and select a Perspective
Point of Basepoint, Center of selection, Character origin, or Mouse click. Doubleclicking the tool brings up the Transform dialog box ready to apply a 3D move
transformation.

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Arc tool
The Arc tool allows you to create one-fourth of an oval and arc-like shapes.
Double-click the tool to access the Arc Tool Setup dialog box, where you can
choose to create Open, Flipped, or Concave arcs. You can also create different
types of arcs without changing the Setup dialog box by using modifier keys. Hold
down the COMMAND key while creating a new arc to toggle between creating an
open and a closed arc. Hold down the OPTION key to flip the arc both horizontally
and vertically. The CAPS LOCK key toggles between creating a convex and a concave
arc.
!

Note: Unlike COMMAND and OPTION, you do not have to hold down the CAPS
LOCK key while dragging the mouse.
To constrain the arc tool to create quarter circles, hold down the SHIFT key.
The OPTION key is the demagnified move modifier key. By holding
down OPTION when you create a new arc, you can increase/decrease the size of the
arc in one em-unit increments.

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Layers palette
The Layers palette displays in the outline window. It shows which layer is
currently active and which ones are visible. The highlighted layer shows which one
is currently in use. When an eye appears in the checkbox beside a layer, that layer
is displayed in the current window. You can click the checkboxes of the layers on
or off to show or hide them.

Outline layer
The Outline layer is where you will create and edit your outline glyph.

Template layer
The Template layer is where you will place images you want to use as a template
for drawing. Any points you draw here will not be used for PostScript creation, but
will show gray in the Outline and Guides layers. You can also paste artwork or
scanned images into the Template layer for hand-tracing or autotracing. Each
glyph in the font has its own Template layer.

Guides layer
The Guides layer is where you place guidelines and outlines to help you draw a
glyph. Dragging from the origin and baselines creates horizontal and vertical
guidelines that will appear behind every glyph in the font. Like guidelines, any
outlines drawn here will not be used for PostScript creation. They will appear gray
behind the glyphs.

Hints layer
The Hints layer displays hints that define vertical and horizontal stems. Here you
can adjust the hinting of individual glyphs and edit glyph outlines.

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Changing and hiding layers

You can turn layers on and off by clicking the checkbox next to their name in the
Layers palette. When the lock icon is in the locked position, Fontographer also
allows you to change layers simply by typing O, T, G, or H.
When the lock icon is in the locked position, you can also hide the Outline,
Template, Guides, and Hints layers from view.

Hold down the OPTION key, and type O to hide the Outline layer from view.
Repeat to bring the Outline layer back into view.

Repeat this procedure to hide the Template, Guides, and Hints layers,
substituting T, G, and H, for the O.

Magnification
You can change the magnification of the outline window with
the Magnification menu item in the View menu or you can use the magnifying
tool or keyboard shortcuts.
To increase the magnification, hold down the COMMAND-SPACEBAR keys and click
the place you want to center in the window.
To reduce the magnification, hold down the OPTION-COMMAND-SPACEBAR keys and
click in the window.
COMMAND-PLUS and COMMAND-MINUS can be used for the same purpose.

Switching glyphs
If you need to change the glyph in the outline window to the next sequential glyph,
you can use the View menus Next Glyph item COMMAND-].
To change to the previous sequential glyph, use the View menus Previous Glyph
item COMMAND-[. When the lock icon is off, you can change glyphs simply by
typing them on the keyboard. You also can type glyph names when the lock icon is
off. For example, typing "four" will show glyph "4" while typing "dollar" will show
"$". In fact, typing only first letters of the glyph name will be enough.

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3. Bitmap window
Use the bitmap window to edit the various sizes of bitmap fonts that Fontographer
creates. It works very much like FatBits in a paint-type program. You can use a
pencil or other tools to turn the dots in the bitmap on or off. The glyphs outline is
visible in the background to help you place the dots properly. Each of the dots in
this window is equivalent to one point (pixel) on the computer screen. At the top
left area of the screen, you will see the current size preview of the bitmap.
Maximum ascender and descender lines will appear if a glyphs outline extends
above the ascender line or descender line. If you have selected to preserve line
spacing (in the Recalc Bitmaps dialog box), these guides will not appear for that
glyph, as they will be the same as the normal ascender and descender lines.
At the bottom of the bitmap window is a lock icon. When the lock is closed, you
will not be able to change glyphs by merely typing the keystroke(s) for the new
glyph. If you click the lock, it will open and you will be able to change glyphs by
simply typing the keystroke(s) of the new glyph.
Press the ENTER or RETURN key to change the status of the lock.
You can close all open bitmap windows by OPTION-clicking the close box of any
open bitmap window. Any open metrics or outline windows will remain open.

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Tool palette
Straight line tool
The straight line tool draws straight lines without requiring you to place points
manually. To constrain the line to the vertical, horizontal, and 45-degree angles,
hold down the SHIFT key while dragging with the mouse. To access from another
tool, while the lock icon is locked, type the number 1.

Hand tool
Use the hand tool to move the display area this is useful for large characters. To
change from the other tools to the hand tool, hold down the SPACEBAR. You can
use the tool as long as the SPACEBAR is held down. Or, while the lock icon is locked,
type the number 2 to select the hand tool.

Pencil tool
Use the pencil tool to change the bits of a bitmap glyph in the bitmap window. To
access the pencil tool from another tool, while the lock icon is locked, type the
number 3.

Eraser tool
The eraser tool will remove pixels when you drag it across them. Double-click the
eraser tool icon to remove all pixels in the glyph bitmap. To use the eraser tool
when another tool is selected, while the lock icon is locked, type the number 4.

Marquee tool
Use the marquee tool to outline an area and display its pixel grid. The gridded
section can be moved around the window by dragging it. To place the moved bits
and deselect the marquee, click outside of the movable section. To use the
marquee tool when another tool is selected, while the lock icon is locked, type the
number 5.

Move tool
Use the move tool to move the bitmap away from its outline in any direction. Click
the glyph bitmap and drag to a new location. Access the move tool, while the lock
icon is locked, by typing the number 6 when another tool is selected.

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Measuring tool
The measuring tool measures distances in pixels. Press the SHIFT key and drag the
mouse in any direction to use a deconstrained measuring line. Press
the OPTION key and click to extend a measuring line that centers on the clicked
point, and that rotates constraining to 45-degree, horizontal and vertical angles.
Select the measuring tool when using another tool by typing the number 7.
!

Note: You may have noticed that the SHIFT key has an opposite effect on the
measuring tool in the bitmap window, when compared to the way it works in the
outline window mentioned earlier. We found that users in the bitmap window
most frequently want constrained measuring due to the organized way that the
bits align, while the more freeform nature of outline editing requires that the
measuring tool default to deconstrained measurement in the Outline layer.

Magnifying tool
Use the magnifying tool to enlarge or reduce the image in the window. With the
tool selected, click the place you want to center in the window to enlarge the image
or press OPTION-click with this tool to reduce the image. To temporarily invoke
this tool, press COMMAND-SPACEBAR-click to enlarge and COMMAND-OPTIONSPACEBAR-click to reduce. Select the magnifying tool when another tool is selected
by typing the number 8.
!

Note: The same key combinations may be assigned to switching keyboard layouts
in the Input menu. In this case pressing SPACEBAR before COMMAND helps.
COMMAND-PLUS and COMMAND-MINUS can be used for magnification as well.

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Ascent/Descent/Offset/Width
In the info bar at the top of the window, you find the glyphs ascent, descent,
offset, and width numbers. The ascent is the maximum distance above the
baseline measured in points. The descent is the maximum distance below the
baseline measured in points. The offset is the number of points between the origin
line and the leftmost point in the glyph. The width indicator shows us the width of
the glyph in points.

Recalculate From outline

When you press this button, the bitmap will be recalculated in order to correspond
with the outline of the glyph. This is useful when you change a glyphs outlines
after having created bitmaps. To recalculate bitmaps for more than one glyph at a
time use the Recalc Bitmaps command in the Element menu.

Scrolling
The SPACEBAR switches the current tool to a hand tool that will allow you to scroll
the glyph back and forth in the window.

Switching characters
If you need to change the glyph in the bitmap window to the next sequential glyph,
you can use the View menus Next Glyph item COMMAND-].
To change to the previous sequential glyph, use the View menus Previous Glyph
item COMMAND-[. When the lock icon is off, you can change glyphs simply by
typing in the glyph keystroke.

Changing point sizes

To select the Next or Previous bitmap point size choose one of these menu items
from the View menu. COMMAND-OPTION+DOWN ARROW will give you the next point
size up. COMMAND-OPTION+UP ARROW will give you the previous point size.
!

Note: If only one size exists these items will appear dimmed. To generate more
point sizes, go to the Bitmap Info item in the Element menu.

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4. Metrics window
The metrics window displays the metrics for characters you type into the textbox
at the top left. Here you can edit widths, sidebearings, and kerning pairs for those
characters. Underneath the characters is a table that displays the numerical values
in em units that apply to each character and its kerned pair. Changes to the
kerning and width appear in the table below the screen area.
Width is the distance in em units between the origin point and the width line.
Kern is the number of em units (negative) the character on the right overlaps or is
pushed away from the character on the left (positive). You can change kerning
distance, left and right sidebearings, and width by changing the numbers in the
table, or by using the kerning and sidebearing lines for each character.
You can close all open metrics windows by OPTION-clicking the close box of any
open metrics window. Any open bitmap or outline windows will remain open.
The keys to using the metrics window are:

454

The TAB and RIGHT ARROW keys allow you to move between slots from left to
right.

The SHIFT-TAB and LEFT ARROW keys allow you to move between slots from
right to left.

Typing a character when a slot is highlighted changes the character in that

slot.

Reference

Kerning and sidebearing lines

Use the kerning or sidebearing lines to adjust the amount of space that a character
has on its left and right edges. Click any character, and drag its sidebearings or
kerning line to the desired location to affect the amount of empty space that will
exist between that character and those on either side of it.

Key commands to change spacing and/or

kerning

OPTION-H

Toggles sidebearings and kerning lines on or off when you click the screen
area (not inside the textbox).

OPTION-G

Toggles Guides on or off when you click the screen area (not within the
textbox).

OPTION-LEFT ARROW/RIGHT ARROW

When a character cell is selected, changes the selected character to the

following character in the font sequence.

OPTION-LEFT ARROW/RIGHT ARROW

When a numeric cell is selected, adjusts the values up or down by one unit.
Holding down the SHIFT key simultaneously adjusts by ten units at a time.

COMMAND-

Views the Next kerning pair.

COMMAND-;

Shows the Previous kerning pair.

COMMAND-]

Shows the Next character.

COMMAND-[

Shows the Previous character.

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Show kerning
To display the characters in the textbox with or without kerning information, click
the Show kerning icon. When the option is switched on (K icon is filled), the
kerning information is displayed on screen. Use this option to see how your font
will appear in a program that does not support kerning.

Kerning is on

Kerning is off

Load Text
Use the Text link to load text from a file into the textbox and display area. Click
the UP and DOWN ARROWS at the right of the textbox to scroll vertically within the
file.

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Menus
The Fontographer menu
About Fontographer
This dialog box shows you information about your current setup. You can see the
version number in the right bottom corner. Click in the window to make it
disappear.

Preferences
By selecting Preferences you can alter the default settings for Fontographer. The
settings that you can change cover many aspects of the program, from the number
of undo levels allowable (up to 256), to how points display (large or small, with or
without BCP lines, and so forth), editing behavior of lines and points, and the way
windows and dialog boxes operate. For a detailed description of what you can do
from the Preferences dialog see Chapter 13, Expert Advice.

Quit
If you quit without first saving the changes you have made, Fontographer will ask
if you want to save those changes. You can discard those changes by clicking the
Dont Save button. The Cancel button stops the process. If you quit with multiple,
unsaved databases open, you will have the option to Discard Changes, Cancel, or
Review Changes.

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The File menu

New
In Fontographer when you select New, you automatically open a new font
window. The default values for font attributes (such as the font name, ascent,
descent, leading, and encoding) will be in use, unless you decide to change them
from Font Info in the Element menu. (See also Preferences on page 457.)

Open
Open shows you a standard file dialog box that allows you to open a Fontographer
(.fog) or Fontlab Studio (.vfb) database file, a PostScript font, a TrueType font, or
an OpenType font file. The dialog box also allows you to display files according to
their formats.

Open Recent
The Open Recent submenu contains the list of the most recently opened fonts.
Next time you want one of them, just select the font file in the menu
and Fontographer will open it.

Close
Use this command to close the active window. If you have made changes and close
the font window, Fontographer will ask you if you want to save your changes.

Save
The Save command saves any changes you have made since opening the font.

Save As
Save As allows you to save your file with a different name (but not your font in
use).

Revert to Saved
The Revert to Saved command restores your font to the last saved version on the
disk, throwing away any changes you may have made since you last saved it. You
can revert from any window.

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Generate font files
To make generating fonts a little bit easier, Fontographer includes two
approaches: Easy and Advanced mode. The Easy mode includes everything that is
usually required. And ordinarily you wont want to bother with the Advanced
mode. You just choose the platform and the type of font to output, the bitmap
sizes, and where you want the generated files to be placed. Fontographer no longer
creates AFMs unless you specifically ask for them in the Advanced mode. The
Advanced mode includes several other choices, including bitmap sizes, glyph
naming options, and so forth.

Import
Importing bitmap fonts, EPS, EPAR information or metrics into a font file is a
simple matter using the Import item in the File menu. Just choose one of these
three options from the submenu and import from another file. You can select
whether or not you want to import bitmaps into the internal bitmap list or just
into the Template layer, or you can do both. You can also import EPS outlines into
a character. When you import metrics you can choose to import only kerning
information or spacing information, both types, or ascent/descent. When
importing ascent/descent, Fontographer looks for a .bmap or a TrueType font.
When selecting the .bmap corresponding to the original PostScript font, we read
the original ascender/descender information found in the FOND resource. You
can also choose the kinds of files you want to appear in the dialog box display:
suitcases, AFM files, PFM files, etc. This allows you to easily recognize your files,
and select the right one for importing.
On the Macintosh, you can also import a specific character(s) from an installed
TrueType font. This comes in handy when you wish to use specific characters from
existing typefaces without disrupting changes you have already made to your open
font.

Export
When you want to export metrics information, bitmap BDF font or an EPS
graphic, just select Export from the File menu. You can choose Metrics, BDF,
EPAR or EPS from the submenu. When you choose EPS, a dialog box appears
allowing you to choose whether to export all characters or just a selected group, or
the sample text, and the point size to use. You choose the file to export to from
the dialog box. Exporting BDF and metrics works in pretty much the same way,
but for metrics you choose to export either kerning or spacing, or both types of
information, and you select the file format to use.

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If you wish to convert your .fog files created in Fontographer 3.5-5 to FontLab
Studio-compatible .vfb files, you can use the Fontlab Font File command.

Print
In the Print Sample dialog box, you can choose the sample type you want to print.
Choose Sample text, Sample file, PostScript file, Key map, Kerning pairs, or
Sample glyphs.
Printing Sample text offers three choices. All glyphs will print all the glyphs in the
font you are modifying. Selected glyphs will print only those glyphs you select
from the font window. Sample text will allow you to print the text you type in the
print sample text box. Choose Sample file to print a text file with the new font
style. PostScript file will print a custom PostScript file; some sample PostScript
files are available in the PSFiles folder. You can use these files as they are or
modify them with a text editor to define your own sample.
Key map prints all the glyphs in the font including offsets, widths and key codes,
and offers you the choice of Selected or All glyphs, and format types.
Kerning pairs prints the kerning pairs in the current font or in a monospaced
System font.
Sample glyphs prints four kinds of print samples: a single full-page sized glyph,
assorted sizes of the same glyph, a sample showing the points of a glyph, or one
that shows points and x/y coordinates.

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The Edit menu

Undo
Fontographer has 256 possible levels of undo. The default setting is 100. This
means that you can undo the last 100 things you did in Fontographer. The
operation that can be undone will appear in the menu after the undo if you are
using the outline or bitmap window. Undo is not available in the font window.

Redo
Redo allows you to undo an Undo. There are 256 possible levels of redo.

Cut
Cut deletes the selected object(s) and puts them in the Clipboard.

Copy
Copy makes a copy of the selected object(s) and puts them in the Clipboard.

Paste
Paste takes the object(s) in the Clipboard and puts them into the selected window
or character slot.

Clear
Clear deletes the selected object(s) without doing anything to the Clipboard.

Copy Widths
Copy Widths will copy the width of a selected glyph to the Clipboard.

Copy Component
Copy Component copies a reference of a selected glyph into the Clipboard, which
can then be pasted to allow layered objects. You must use Copy Component
instead of Copy if you want to create a composite character.

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Decompose Component
Decompose Component replaces a referenced glyph with explicit paths.

Select All
Select All selects everything in the currently active window and layer. From the
font window you can choose Select All to select all the glyph slots that are filled;
OPTION-Select All selects all slots, even if there are no paths in them.

Duplicate
Duplicate makes a copy of the selected object(s) and leaves it on the screen
slightly displaced from the original(s).
Power duplicating occurs when you duplicate the same object several times (in the
outline window).

Clone
Clone duplicates a point or path and places it directly over the original (in the
outline window).

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The View menu

Preview
In the outline window, the Preview mode displays the character or image filled,
and stroked (if its a stroked character), as it will appear when printed. You can
edit the character in Preview mode.

Show points
If this item is checked, Fontographer will show the points on the path(s) in the
outline window. When this item is deselected, Fontographer merely draws the
characters outline(s) and does not show the points.

Magnification
You can magnify an image in Fontographer by selecting any one of the
Magnification submenu options. Fit in Window will fit the character in the
window. The other choices magnify at various levels: 6.25%, 12.5%, 25%, 50%,
100%, 200% etc.

Next Glyph
This item switches the currently selected glyph to the next glyph of the font.

Next Kerning Pair

If kerning pairs have been created for a font, you can choose Next Kerning Pair in
the metrics window to change the currently selected kerning pair to the next one
in the sequence of kerned pairs.

Next Point
Next Point changes the selected point to the next one in the paths sequence of
points.

Next Point Size

If more than one size of bitmaps has been created for a font, you can choose this
item in the bitmap window to switch the size of the bitmap character to the next
larger point size.

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Previous Glyph
This item switches the currently selected glyph to the previous glyph in the font.

Previous Kerning Pair

If kerning pairs have been created for a font, choose Previous Kerning Pair in the
metrics window to change the currently selected pair to the previous one in the
sequence of kerned pairs.

Previous Point
In the outline window, choose Previous Point to change the selected point to the
previous point in the paths sequence of points.

Previous Point Size

This item switches the size of the bitmap character in the bitmap window to the
next smaller point size.

Snap to Points
Choose Snap to Points to turn this item on or off. Snap to Points will make the
selection snap to the nearest point within a certain number of pixels from the
pointer. Or you can choose to align the selection with all the points in the
Preferences dialog box.

Snap to Guides
Choose Snap to Guides when you want the selected point to snap to the nearest
guideline within a certain distance from the pointer.

Snap to Grid
Choose Snap to Grid when you want a selected point to snap to the nearest
intersection of invisible grid lines. You can change the grid size in Preferences.

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The Element menu

Transform
The Transform menu item displays a dialog box that lets you choose various
transformations in the outline window. You can choose to center transformations
around the origin, the basepoint, the center of selection, or the last mouse click,
and you can make up to four transformations simultaneously.

Flip
The Flip item allows you to flip any glyph(s) or selected parts of a glyph. The flip
can be either horizontal or vertical and will occur relative to the basepoint, or you
can flip around the center of selection or the glyph origin if you have selected
objects in the outline window.

Move
The Move item allows you to move selected objects a specified distance
horizontally, vertically, or both.

Rotate
The Rotate item allows you to rotate any glyph(s) or selected parts of a glyph. You
can choose for the rotation to occur relative to the basepoint, the glyph origin, or
around the center of selection or last mouse click if you have selected objects in
the outline window.

Scale
The Scale item allows you to resize selected glyphs. If 100% scaling is selected,
Fontographer does not change the size of the glyph(s). If you wish to make
selected glyphs smaller, use numbers below 100. If you wish to make them larger,
use numbers over 100.
You can scale the horizontal and vertical dimensions separately if you wish.
A 200% horizontal scaling coupled with 100% vertical scaling will make selected
glyphs twice as wide, while leaving them just as tall as they were before the scaling
operation.
You can choose whether Fontographer will scale from the basepoint, the glyph
origin, or around the center of selection or last mouse click if you have selected
objects in the outline window.

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Scale Uniformly
Uniform scaling will resize selected glyphs uniformly, with 100% representing the
current size. Scale relative to the basepoint, the glyph origin, or the center of
selection.

Skew
The Skew item allows you to skew any glyph(s) or selected parts of a glyph. The
skewing will occur relative to the basepoint, the glyph origin, or you can skew
around the center of selection or last mouse click if you have selected objects in
the outline window. Positive degrees of horizontal skew slant the glyph to the left;
negative degrees slant right.

Perspective
The Perspective item allows you to add perspective (slant) any glyph(s) or
selected parts of a glyph. Perspective transformation does nothing by itself but
works in conjunction with the 3D Rotate to apply three-dimensional rotations to
two-dimensional objects.

3D Rotate
The 3D Rotate item allows you to rotate any glyph(s) or selected parts of a glyph
around any of three axis in 3D space.

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Arrange
Arrange allows you four choices when you are working with referenced or
composite glyphs. It also can be used when youre reordering paths in font
blending, or when youre creating a multiple master font.

Bring to Front
This item brings a selected object all the way to the front layer.

Send to Back
This item sends a selected object all the way to the back layer.

Bring Forward
This item brings selected objects forward by one layer.

Send Backward
This item sends a selected object back one layer.

Font Info
The Font Info dialog box has an Easy and Advanced modes. In the Advanced
mode it consists of five sections: names, dimensions, encoding, credits and
licensing.

Names
In the top of the dialog box you will see the family name of the current font and its
style name. Next you will see the design parameters the group of controls to
build the style name. You should always fill the family name while the style name
can be auto-generated from design parameters or filled manually.
The two lower sections (Styling group names and Unique font names) can be
either auto-generated or filled manually (refer to Chapter 2, Modifying Your
Fonts and to Chapter 7, Font Info).

Dimensions
All the numbers in this dialog box are in font units (UPM). The ascender and
descender default to a sum of 1000 units for a PostScript font, or 2048 for a
TrueType font (refer to Chapter 8, Generating and Exporting Fonts and to
Chapter 7, Font Info).

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Encoding
Here you set how glyphs are ordered in the font window and in the exported font.
MacOS Roman encoding is the most relevant for Type 1 Roman fonts in Mac OS.
If you choose Adobe standard character encoding, Fontographer displays and
stores a font with Adobe encoding. Do not check this option if your fonts have all
the upper 128 characters defined.
!

Notes: If you change the encoding and regenerate a Macintosh Type 1 font from
an existing font file, you must regenerate, then remove and reinstall the bitmaps
(suitcase file). If you do not do this, any characters of the font above 127 will be
incorrect.
OpenType Layout options allow you to set your preferences in generating
OpenType layout features for the particular font. You can override this later in the
Format Options dialog box when generating the font (refer to Chapter 8,
Generating and Exporting Fonts and to Chapter 7, Font Info).

Credits
On the Credits page you can enter information about the creators of the font, font
version, creation date. If you have created a new font you should enter your
copyright data here. If you have edited an existing font that was not your creation
you must not remove the information contained on this page, or you may violate
copyright laws (refer to Chapter 7, Font Info for details).

Licensing
The Licensing page contains the End-User License Agreement (EULA)
information and the embedding information (Chapter 7, Font Info for details).

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Selection Info
When you choose Selection Info, a dialog box that relates to the type of selection
you have made will display. In the font window, this choice will display glyph
information, and in the outline window either glyph or point information will
appear, depending on your selection. In the Hints layer, you get the Hint Info
dialog box, and in the metrics and the bitmap windows the Selection Info menu
item displays glyph information.

Glyph Information
Use the Glyph Information dialog box to change the fill and stroke characteristics
of individual glyphs for Type 3 fonts. Normally a glyph will be either filled or
stroked, but you can use this dialog box to create glyphs that are both filled and
stroked. The Tint, Weight, Cap, and Join options allow you to set the
characteristics of a stroked font.
The Glyph Name textbox allows you to change the name of the glyph but be
warned that doing so will also change the type of encoding your font uses if the
current type does not include a slot with the name you select.
The glyph Unicode Codepoint textbox allows you to change the Unicode of the
glyph. Changing Unicode codepoint usually means you should change the glyph
name too.
The glyph Unicode Name shows the Unicode name of the glyph as it appears e.g.
in the Character Palette. It is changed automatically when you change the Unicode
codepoint.

Fill
If the Fill outline box is checked, you can change the percentage of black with
the Tint option: 100% is black; 0% is white.
The Normal fill will fill between paths that are alternately clockwise and
counterclockwise and can be seen in Preview.
The Even/odd fill will fill between every even/odd pair of paths, starting with
the outermost path.

Note: The Remove Overlap option is sensitive to fill type.

Stroke
If the Stroke outline box is checked, you can change the percentage of black
that fills the stroke with the Tint option: 100% is black; 0% is white.

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Weight
The Weight option allows you to change the thickness of this individual
glyphs stroke from the default set in the Font Info dialog box.

Cap and Join

In this dialog box, the Cap and Join options are for stroked fonts.
The Cap options determine the shape of the endpoints of a stroked path.
The Join options determine the shape of joins along a path.

Point Information
The Point Information dialog box appears when you select a point in the outline
window and choose Selection Info from the Element menu. Point Information
lets you change the location of a point horizontally and vertically, or designate it
the first point in the path. You can also alter the position of its BCPs, return the
BCPs to the point, or move to the next or previous point in the path.

Hint Information
The Hint Information dialog box appears when you select a hint in the outline
window and choose Selection Info from the Element menu. Hint Information lets
you navigate through your hints by hint type and set the starting and stopping
point of a hint. You can also add, remove, and flip hints, and apply them to Type 1,
TrueType, or bitmap fonts as applicable.

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Reference
Bitmap Info
When you choose Bitmap Info, a Bitmap Information dialog box will display.
The Bitmap Information dialog box allows you to specify the point sizes you want
to create. The bitmaps are stored in the Fontographer file. When you are ready to
create an installable bitmap font, use the Generate Font Files command in
the File menu.

Auto Trace
Auto Trace will auto trace any artwork or scanned image that you have pasted in
the Template layer or have brought in as a reference using the Import
Bitmap item in the File menu. You may use the Easy or Advanced mode to trace
images.
In the Easy mode, the tight end of the slider makes the trace follow every possible
contour on the image. The default normal or middle range of the slider is a good
compromise between the tight and loose options. The loose end of the slider
ignores little jagged edges and attempts to fit only the largest features of the
image.
Advanced mode specifies the kind of fit curves will take: normal, loose, tight, or
custom fit.
In the lower portion of the dialog box, you can click checkboxes that tell your
computer to treat nearly flat paths as straight lines or to find extreme points.

Change Weight
Change Weight allows you to change the glyphs thickness. You can choose to
correct path direction before changing the weight to maintain proper filling. You
can also limit the change in size to either vertical or horizontal size.

Clean Up Paths
Clean Up Paths improves the quality of your outlines. It removes unnecessary
points and adds points where they are needed. Simply create the paths any way
youd like, and Fontographer will automatically clean them up for you.

Expand Stroke
The Expand Stroke item is used to expand stroked glyphs (such as old versions of
Courier) into contoured (outline) or filled glyphs. You can choose cap and join
types, and if you are using the calligraphy option, the width and angle of the pen.

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Fontographer 5
Recalc Bitmaps
When you choose this item, selected bitmaps and point sizes will be recalculated.
You can recalculate all the glyphs in your font, selected glyphs, or just the glyphs
that are changed. You may also choose to preserve the line spacing, or the glyph
shapes. Recalculating bitmaps is useful when you change a glyph's outlines after
having created bitmaps.

Remove Overlap
The Remove Overlap item allows you to merge and remove overlapping areas.
Youll get the best results if your path has a normal fill. If the path has an
even/odd fill, you will be able to merge the paths, but youll need to remove the
overlapping segment(s) manually. Removing the overlap(s) may result in faster
printing fonts and help the hinting process and eliminate some TrueType printing
problems.

Correct Path Direction

Correct Path Direction examines all the selected glyphs or paths and, if
necessary, automatically reorders their path directions. Outer paths are set to
clockwise, the inner paths to counterclockwise.

Clockwise
This item will be selected if the selected path was drawn in a clockwise direction.
You can change the direction of a path to clockwise by selecting this item.

Counterclockwise
This item will be selected if the selected path was drawn in a counterclockwise
direction. You can change the direction of a path to counterclockwise by selecting
this item.

Blend Fonts
Blend Fonts takes two fonts you have selected and develops a third font that is the
offspring of this merger.

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Reference
Multiple Master
This dialog box controls the creation of multiple master typefaces. You can choose
the master fonts, as well as coordinate space and many other multiple master
variables. To actually generate a multiple master typeface, use the Generate Font
Files dialog box.

473

Fontographer 5

The Points Menu

Align Points
Align Points will align selected points along a horizontal or vertical axis.
Fontographer decides which axis they are closer to forming.

Align Points to Grid

Align Points to Grid will align the selected points with the nearest intersection of
grid lines. If no points are selected, then all points are aligned with the grid lines.
Hold down the OPTION key during the selection to align BCPs as well.

Merge Points
Selecting this item will remove the selected point without breaking the path it is
on. If you need to open a path, use the DELETE/BACKSPACE key or the knife tool.

Retract BCPs
This item will retract the extended BCP lines of selected points.

Split Points
Split Points will divide a selected point into two points. The path can be opened by
dragging one point from on top of the other.

Auto Curvature
This item automatically adjusts the slope of the BCPs of a selected point to
maintain a regular curve as the point is moved.

Curve Point
This item will be selected if the selected point is a curve point. Selecting this item
while other kinds of points are selected will change those points to curve points.

Corner Point
This item will be selected if the selected point is a corner point. Selecting this item
while points of other kinds are selected will change those points to corner points.

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Reference
Tangent Point
This item will be selected if the selected point is a tangent point. Selecting this
item while points of other kinds are selected will change those points to tangent
points.

Set Basepoint
If you have not selected any points, choosing this item causes a dialog box to
appear that will allow you to set the horizontal and vertical location of the
basepoint. If youve selected a single point, Fontographer will move the basepoint
to that point. If you have selected more than one point, Fontographer will set the
basepoint to the center of the selections bounding box.

Reset Basepoint
Click Reset Basepoint to return the basepoint to its original location at the
intersection of the origin and the baseline.

475

Fontographer 5

The Metrics menu

Auto Space
Auto Space automatically spaces a font, setting widths for each glyph. You can
select the Easy or the Advanced mode. With the Easy mode, you just select the
spacing between glyphs that you prefer. Check the spacing in the metrics window
by typing text in to the textbox. See Advanced auto spacing in Chapter 6,
Metrics Spacing and Kerning, for a detailed explanation of the Advanced
mode.

Auto Kern
Auto Kern automatically kerns a font. In the Easy mode you can choose how
many kerning pairs you want, how close together you want the pairs kerned, and
whether or not you want Fontographer to change existing pairs. (Select this item if
you want to manually set some pairs but want Fontographer to set the others.)
The Advanced mode allows you to choose which glyphs to kern, how many pairs to
make, and a lot more. You can also specify the techniques to use, as well make
choices about special cases. See Advanced auto kerning in Chapter 6, Metrics
Spacing and Kerning, for more details.

Kerning Assistance
Kerning Assistance provides a table where you can name kerning pairs by typing
glyphs in to columns. See Kerning assistance in Chapter 6, Metrics Spacing
and Kerning, for a detailed explanation.

Metrics Assistance
Metrics Assistance allows you to set up a table for kerning that uses certain glyphs
as bases or prototypes for the rest of the glyphs in any class you set up. See
Metrics assistance in Chapter 6, Metrics Spacing and Kerning, for more
information and detail.

Set Metrics
Use Set Metrics to set width, as well as left and right sidebearings. You can also
apply values to specific sets of glyphs. Choose the glyphs you want to apply the
metrics settings to, from the categories under Which glyph. These categories
include: AZ, az, 09, Punctuation, Accent glyphs, Symbols, or Selected glyphs.
Add any other glyphs to apply the setting to in the provided textbox.

476

Reference
The next area in the dialog box tells you what to do. You can choose to set the
sidebearings or width according to a particular glyphs measurement, or you can
pick an em-unit value to type in to set the width, and/or sidebearings for the
selected glyphs. You may also add an amount to that specification either in em
units, as a percentage of the distance represented by the glyphs metrical
measurements, or the value you chose.

Set Width
This dialog box allows you to set the width of any selected glyph(s). If you are
creating a monospaced font, select all the glyphs and set their width to a chosen
number of units. Fontographer will set them all at once.
If the spacing of your glyphs is too tight or too loose, you can use the Change width
by em units option to change the width of selected glyphs by a specified number of
em square units.
If you need to increase or decrease the width of selected glyphs by a specified
percentage, you can do so with the Change width by % value option. Enter a
percentage change value in the box.

Equalize Sidebearings
If you want to make both left and right sidebearings for selected glyphs the same
size, choose Equalize sidebearings from the Metrics menu. This improves the
looks of typed columns of numbers. When points are selected, Equalize
Sidebearings will center them between the origin and the width lines.
If you press the OPTION key and choose Equalize Sidebearings, the right
sidebearing will become the same width as the left.

Clear Kerning Pairs

This option allows you to remove all kerning pairs from your font including
vertical kerning in CJK fonts. You may wish to do this before choosing Import
Metrics for a font. As a precautionary measure, a warning message allows you to
cancel this option before Fontographer deletes all the kerning pairs.

477

Fontographer 5

The Hints menu

Add Vertical Hint
To make a new vertical stem hint, select two of the points that define the stem and
choose this item from the menu.

Add Horizontal Hint

To make a new horizontal stem hint, select two points that define the stem and
choose this item from the menu.

Common Stems
You can change the hint parameters for selected characters using the Common
Stems dialog box. When you change hints for certain characters, you reset the
default hints for just those characters. Other characters in the font retain the prior
default hint settings.
See Chapter 13, Expert Advice, for more details on hints.

Alignment Zones
The vertical alignment zones correspond with the I-beam indicators appearing
along the left-hand side of the outline window when the Hints layer is visible.
When you click a zone indicator, the selected zone will appear with horizontal
lines defining its parameters. You can alter a zones size by dragging on the upper
or lower part of its indicator. Selected zone indicators appear hollow on each end.

Autohint
Use Autohint to recalculate hints automatically when you edit glyph outlines.
Once an outline has been edited, new hints will be calculated to match the new
outline. Autohinting is turned on if you see a checkmark beside it in
the Hints menu. To turn it off, select it from the menu and the checkmark will
disappear.

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Reference

The Window menu

Open Outline Window
Select Open Outline Window to view or edit outlines.

Open Bitmap Window

Open Bitmap Window will open an existing bitmap. If none exist, the dialog box
will ask if you want to create bitmaps.

Open Metrics Window

Open Metrics Window will display the metrics window for a selected glyph.

Show Layers Palette

This item displays or hides the movable Layers palette when you select it.

Show Tool Palette

Click this item to show or hide the movable tool palette.

The Window choices

In the lower section of the Window menu, there is a list of all open windows.
Selecting a window in the list will bring that window to the front.

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Fontographer 5

Special keys
Keyboard alternatives
To avoid having to constantly move the pointer back to the tool palette, you can
use the number keys on your keyboard to switch between tools. When the lock
icon is in the locked position, pressing the following keys will access the
corresponding tool:
Outline tools
`
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
0

Pointer
Rectangle
Multigon
Oval
Straight line
Calligraphy pen
Pen
Knife
Curve point
Corner point
Tangent point

Bitmap tools
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

Straight line
Hand
Pencil
Eraser
Marquee
Move
Measuring tool
Magnifier

In the font window, the LEFT and RIGHT ARROW keys will move you to the previous
glyph or to the next glyph. The UP and DOWN ARROWS select the glyph in the row
above or below the present glyph.
In the outline window, the ARROW keys will move selected points by ten em units
in the direction of the arrows. If the default setting in Preferences is changed, then
this number will reflect that change.
OPTION-ARROW moves selected points by one em unit in the direction of the arrow.

When the default setting in Preferences changes, this number will be 1/10th the
distance of the new setting.
SHIFT-ARROWS move the selected points in the direction of the arrows by 10 times
the default setting.

In the metrics window, use the LEFT and RIGHT ARROW keys to move to the next or
previous glyph in the screen display when a glyph is selected.

480

Reference

The Full List of Keyboard Shortcuts

Mac shortcut

Description

Used In

Menu

Windows
shortcut

Change window
zoom

Outline, Metrics, Bitmap

windows
Outline and Bitmap
windows
Outline, Metrics, Bitmap
windows
Outline and Bitmap
windows
Outline, Metrics, Bitmap
windows
Outline and Bitmap
windows
Outline, Metrics, Bitmap
windows
Outline and Bitmap
windows
Outline, Metrics, Bitmap
windows
Outline and Bitmap
windows
Outline, Metrics, Bitmap
windows
Outline and Bitmap
windows
Outline, Metrics, Bitmap
windows
Outline and Bitmap
windows

View >
Magnification

Point

Point

1
2
2
3
3
4
4
5
5
6
6
7

Selecting tool
Change window
zoom
Selecting tool
Change window
zoom
Selecting tool
Change window
zoom
Selecting tool
Change window
zoom
Selecting tool
Change window
zoom
Selecting tool
Change window
zoom

Selecting tool

Curve Point

Selecting tool

Outline window
Outline and Bitmap
windows

Corner Point

Outline window

Selecting tool

Outline window

Tangent Point

Outline window

Selecting tool

- (hyphen)
+ (grey plus
sign)
+ (plus
sign)
= (equal
sign)

Zoom Out

Outline window
Outline, Bitmap, Metrics
windows
Outline, Bitmap, Metrics
windows
Outline, Bitmap, Metrics
windows
Font, Outline, Metrics
windows

` (grave
accent)
` (grave
accent)

Zoom In
Zoom In
Equalize
Sidebearings
Activate the next
open window in
the application

1
View >
Magnification

2
View >
Magnification

Outline window

` (grave
accent)
, (comma)

Preferences

Application

3
3

View >
Magnification

4
4

View >
Magnification

5
5

View >
Magnification

6
6

View >
Magnification

7
7
8
8
9
9

Point

0
0

Metrics

- (hyphen)
+ (grey plus
sign)
+ (plus
sign)
= (equal
sign)
Tab
` (grave
accent)

Application

Selection tool
Activate the
previous open
window in the
application

Tab

Application
Application

481

Fontographer 5
[ (left
bracket)
] (right
bracket)
\ (back
slash)

Element

[ (left
bracket)
] (right
bracket)
\ (back
slash)

Application

Edit

Edit

Hints

Arrows

Autohint
Move 10 times
smaller distance
Move 10 times
larger distance

Font window
Font, Outline, Bitmap,
Metrics windows
Moving point(s) and
path(s)
Moving point(s) and
path(s)

Set Basepoint

Outline window

Send to Back

Outline window

Point
Element >
Arrange

Reset Basepoint

Outline window

Point

Copy

Application

Edit

Clean Up Paths

Font, Outline windows

Element

Copy

Application

Edit

n/a

Duplicate

Outline window

Edit

Down arrow
Down
arrow

Next Point

Outline window

View

/(slash)

Next Point Size

Bitmap window

View

Down arrow

Align Points

Outline window

Point

Expand Stroke
Align Points to
Grid

Font, Outline windows

Element

Outline window

Point

A
A
A
Arrows

(Return)
F
F

Next Glyph
Transform
Select All
Select Search
Results

Font, Outline, Bitmap,

Metrics windows
Font, Outline, Bitmap,
Metrics windows
Font and Outline
windows

View
View

Arrows
Arrows

Font window - open Outline window for the

selected glyph; Outline and Bitmap windows Lock/Unlock
Move focus to
Search field
Font window

(Return)
F
Element >
Arrange

Outline window

Bring to Front
Load Parameters
from File

opens Font Info

Font window

Element

Copy Component

Font, Outline windows

Edit

Generate font

Font window

File

Outline window

View

Snap to Guides
Activate Guides
layer
Change visibility of
Guides layer

Hide application

Application

Application

n/a

Hide Others
Add Horizontal
Hint
Activate Hints
layer

Application

Application

n/a

Outline window

Hints

H
H

482

Previous Glyph

Multiple Master dialog

n/a

Outline window
Outline, Bitmap, Metrics
windows

Outline window

G
n/a

Reference

Change visibility of
Hints layer
Change visibility of
sidebearings and
kerning line

Selection Info

Font, Outline windows

Element

Snap to Grid
Open Bitmap
window

Outline window

View

Application

Window

Common Stems
Open Metrics
window
Correct Path
Direction

Application

Hints

Application

Window

Font, Outline windows

Element

Outline window

View

Left arrow

Preview
Previous Kerning
Pair

View

L
;
(semicolon)

Merge Points

Point

Set Width

Metrics

Metrics

Mouse drag

Set Metrics
Draw square,
circle, etc

Outline window
Font, Outline, Bitmap,
Metrics windows
Font, Outline, Bitmap,
Metrics windows

New

Application

File

Snap to Points

Outline window

View

Open

Application

File

Font, Outline windows

Element

Remove Overlap
Activate Outline
layer
Change visibility of
Outline layer

Print

Application

File

Page Setup

Application

File

n/a

Quit application

Application

Application

F4

Retract BCPs

Outline window

Point

Recalc Bitmaps

Application

Element

Right arrow

Next Kerning Pair

R
' (single
quote)

Save

Application

File

Space

Zoom In

Space

Zoom Out

Application
Outline, Bitmap, Metrics
windows
Outline, Bitmap, Metrics
windows
Outline, Bitmap, Metrics
windows
Outline, Metrics, Bitmap
windows

File

Space

Save As
Select Hand tool
temporarily

View >
Magnification

Font, Outline windows

Element

J
J
K
K
L

Fit in Window

Auto Trace
Activate Template
layer

Outline window

n/a

Metrics window

n/a

Mouse drag

Drawing objects

Outline window

Outline, Bitmap window

n/a

View

Outline window

Space
Space
Space

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Fontographer 5

TAB

Change visibility of
Template layer
Deselect
everything in
Outline window

Show Points

Outline window

View

Auto Curvature

Outline window

Point

Up arrow

Outline window

View

,(comma)

Up arrow

Previous Point
Previous Point
Size

Bitmap window

View

Up arrow

Paste

Application

Edit

Add Vertical Hint

Outline window

Hints

Close

Application

File

F4

Application

Edit

Cut
Open Outline
window

Application

Window

Change Weight

Font, Outline windows

Element

Undo operation

Application

Edit

Z
mouse
wheel
arrows,
mouse button

Redo operation

Application
Outline, Metrics, Bitmap
windows

Edit

Y
mouse
wheel
arrows,
mouse button

Edit

n/a

Menu:
Edit->Paste
. (period)

Arrows

Arrows
mouse
button
Edit->Select
All

484

Zoom
Extent selection in
the font window
Shift-Option-Paste
(scale pasted
image in Outline
window)
Cancel operation
In spreadsheet
area of Metrics
window
increment/decrem
ent value by 1
In spreadsheet
area of Metrics
window
increment/decrem
ent value by 10
Option-click hint
selects hint and its
points
select all slots in
Font window

Outline window

n/a
TAB

Font window

Outline window
any dialog with Cancel
and OK buttons

Esc

Metrics window
spreadsheet

Arrows

Metrics window
spreadsheet

Arrows

Outline window

mouse
button

Font window

Edit

n/a

Appendix A. Tips
Wed like to share some tricks weve learned while using Fontographer. Some of
these are just reminders; others are shortcuts to solving typical problems. If you
have additions, please send them to us.

Minimize the total number of points when drawing characters. Smaller

characters draw faster, take up less space in the printer and on your disk, and
usually generate smoother characters. Most standard Roman characters can
be described in fewer than sixty points. Clean Up Paths makes sure your
characters include the optimal number of points.

Images that are imported or pasted into the Template layer are automatically
sized to fit the em square.
To maintain the original size of the image when pasting into the layer, hold
down the OPTION key when you paste or import the image. The size of the
image you see depends on the magnification level in the window.

Open a line by using OPTION-knife to click a point and remove the section of
line between the adjacent points on either side of it. You might do this to open
a sans serif character so a serif foot can be glued onto it.

To pull a BCP out of a point, select the point, press the OPTION key, and drag
until the BCP handle appears.

Move one or both BCP handles directly on top of their curve points to get
sharp corners with slope control.

Fontographer has vertical zones that are important for uniformity in the font.
If letters fall into these zones, the font will have uniform height. If not, your
characters could unexpectedly vary in height at small sizes. Some guidelines to
keep in mind:

Fontographer 5
Ascender
Cap-height
Baseline

Capital letters top coordinates should be between

the top of the H and the O.
x-height
Baseline
Descender

Lowercase letters top coordinates should be between the top of the x and
the o. Lower coordinates should be between the baseline and the bottom of
the O.
All characters upper and lower coordinates will be automatically aligned if
they fall into these zones.
Technically, the O and the o (and other curvy letters) are said to overshoot
the H and the x by about 4%, which makes them appear to be the same size
as straight letters. We take advantage of Type 1 fonts ability to align upper
and lower coordinates vertically within these overshoot zones, but only if the
font is drawn according to the above rules (or if you adjust the vertical
alignment zones from the Vertical Alignment Zones dialog box accessed
through the Hints menu).

Dont create outlines with overlapping paths.

For example, if you want to make a Choose Remove Overlap in the

dollar sign out of an S, you might Elements menu to remove the
add two rectangles in the center of
overlap in the paths.
the character and get this. Thats fine
for drawing programs, but not for
fonts.

486

Appendix A

Answers to commonly
asked questions
The Fontographer technical support group has compiled answers to our
customers most commonly asked questions. If you have any other questions,
contact the Fontlab Ltd. technical support at http://www.fontlab.com/support/.
Ive made a PostScript font using Fontographer and have printed it to my
printer. I then made some changes to the font and tried printing again, but the
changes didnt show up on the second printing. What is going on here and what
can I do about it?
This problem should not occur with modern printers but usually happens with old
PostScript Level 1 printers. Built into all Adobe PostScript printers is some
software called a font cache. This font cache holds the imaged bitmaps of each of
the characters that the printer has recently printed, so that it doesnt have to waste
time re-interpreting the PostScript description of the character, but can instead
pull the already imaged bitmap out of the font cache and place it on the page.
Fontographer Type 1 fonts normally have an Outline ID that can be changed in the
Generate fonts dialog box. This ID is the numeric handle by which the PostScript
interpreter references the font cache images. If you temporarily change the
number of the outline ID to zero (0), then the interpreter will not cache any of the
characters of your font and you wont have this problem. Be sure to restore the
original outline ID (or any random number between 4,000,000 and 4,999,999)
when youre finished with the font and are satisfied that you wont be making any
more changes. Another way to get around this is to flush the font cache after each
iteration of your font by either turning the printer off for a few seconds, then
turning it back on (for printers without hard disks) or by using Adobes Font
Downloader 4.x (or later), which can get rid of the font cache on a printer that has
a hard disk. The LaserWriter IIf and IIg do not store the font cache on the hard
disk, so it is merely necessary to restart these printers.
What is the difference between Type 1 and Type 3 PostScript fonts?
Type 1 fonts are smaller, faster to print, better looking, and work with the Adobe
font driver (ATM or built into Windows or Mac OS X). However, Type 1 characters
must be entirely black. Type 3, on the other hand, can have grayscale fills and
strokes and other special effects. Type 3 fonts are bigger, slower, look worse in
very small point sizes and at low resolutions (up to 600 dpi) and dont work on
Windows or Mac OS X. About 99% of the time, you will want to create Type 1
fonts.

487

Fontographer 5
I need to exactly duplicate a font, with just a few changes to a few characters in
that font. When I use Fontographer to open the font and get the outlines of the
characters of the font I want to duplicate, I find that the resulting font doesnt
have any of its characters kerned like the original. What should I do?
Choose Import from the File menu and then select its submenu Metrics to import
the kerning pairs from the original fonts AFM or PFM file or bitmap file.
Sometimes when I generate PostScript files with Fontographer, then look at
those files in a Macintosh Finder window by Name, I see that the document type
for those files contains the name of one of my other PostScript fonts. Why does
this happen and what can I do about it?
Weird and wonderful are the ways in which the Macintosh Finder gets the
information it shows you in the by Name view. We have found that if you wish to
avoid this problem, always generate your PostScript files into a closed folder. If
you have a lot of files that already have this problem and youd like to fix them,
you can use ResEdit or DiskTop to set the Bundle bit on each file, or you can use
the public domain BundAid program to set them all at once. After having set the
bundle bits, be sure to rebuild your desktop file by restarting your computer and
then holding down the Option and Command keys until you see a dialog box that
asks you if you want to rebuild your Desktop file. Answer Yes and your desktop file
will be rebuilt and you wont see those pesky names any more.
My logo font has a fairly complex drawing in it that prints just fine to my
LaserWriter at small point sizes, but wont print large sizes at all to my
Linotronic (or any other image setter). Why wont it print and what can I do
about it?

488

Appendix A
There is a limitation in Adobe PostScript Level 1 that limits the number of turn
points in a PostScript character. Turn points are required when PostScript images
any curved line because the PostScript imaging system really cant do curved lines
at all; it just fakes them with lots of very short straight lines all lined up at angles
to one another. Each time theres a new little straight line, you have a turn point.
PostScript level 1 font characters cant have more than 1500 of these per character,
and when you image a character on a 300-dpi printer like a LaserWriter, not as
many turn points are generated because fewer are needed to define a curve at this
low resolution. Thus, the LaserWriter will print the character because its low
resolution avoids exceeding the 1500 turn point limit, while the image setter with
its higher resolution exceeds the limit. Similarly, the number of turns required to
image the curve at 12 points is far fewer than the number required at 120 points.
The solution to this problem is either to make a Type 3 font with internal
composites (as described in Chapter 1, Basics) or to make a Type 1 font with the
character broken out into parts in various characters so that the first few parts
have zero width and the last part has the actual width of the entire logo. To get the
whole logo, simply type the character strings, each of which will pile on top of the
last one, until the final character in the series finally moves the cursor to the right
to give the character its true width.
My .ttf font shows open rectangles in the character slots instead of the
characters. What went wrong and how can I fix it?
If this is happening with signatures or symbols (logos, icons, and PICTs) your
character is probably too complex for the TrueType rasterizer. You can get around
this by either simplifying the object, or splitting it into multiple keystrokes (for
example, AB instead of A) to access the image. For a signature, place John in the J
slot and Smith in S. If the last name is too long, such as
Supercalafragilisticexpialadocious, youll need to split that too. This could take a
bit of experimenting until you get it working. If ALL of the characters appear as
rectangles in a non-pictorial font, it probably means the character mapping table
got corrupted. To fix this, go back to the Fontographer database and make a note
of the attributes (that is, family name, full name, ascent, descent, and so on) and
open a new font and give it those same attributes. Then copy your characters into
the new database, and save and regenerate the .ttf font. Uninstall the old font;
install the new one, and youre ready to go. Check the Fontlab Ltd. website for a
TechNote on this.
Ive imported some characters into Fontographer from FreeHand (or Illustrator)
by using Option-copy and the fonts seem to print OK, but I cant Convert to paths
in Illustrator 3.x. Why?

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Fontographer 5
Some further rules of Type 1 fonts state that no overlapping paths are allowed in a
Type 1 character. If your imported characters were drawn in such a way as to
overlap some of the paths, you will need to redraw those portions of the character
that overlap. Another reason for this problem can be that a path in a character was
accidentally left open (unclosed). Make sure that all outlines for a Type 1 character
are closed paths that dont overlap one another. Another possibility is that
somewhere in the font is a character where one point is exactly on top of another
point. This will also cause problems for ATM and Illustrator.
Ive been working on a font in Fontographer and suddenly, when I try to open
my font, Fontographer tells me it cant open the file and displays an Error #-54.
Whats going on here and what can I do about it?
You may be using FontPorter from Adobe (it came free with ATM 2.0) and have
dragged your bitmap file (the one with the .bmap extension on it) into the System
Folder rather than installing it with Font/DA Mover. FontPorter still has a hold of
the bitmap font and Fontographer is trying to get at it but cant, because
FontPorter already has first dibs. Error #-54 is a permissions error telling you that
Fontographer doesnt have permission to open the file because FontPorter already
has it opened. To fix this problem, drag the .bmap file out of the System Folder
and back into the folder where you were working on your font, then restart your
computer. This problem could also potentially occur if you are using Suitcase or
Master Juggler to attach the .bmap file to your system. Detach the file and
Fontographer will work normally.
All I did was load an existing font, generate it as a Windows TrueType, and
install it. It displays terribly, compared to the way it originally looked before I
opened it in Fontographer. How can I make it look good again?
First in case something got corrupted select all from the original font, and
copy and paste into a new font. If paste doesnt work, try copying one or two rows
of the database at a time. Next you will need to rehint the font as follows: from the
Hints menu select Vertical Alignment Zones, click Recalc, and click OK. Then
select Hint Parameters from the Hints menu, click Recalc, and click OK. Go to the
Hints menu and select Autohint twice to turn it off and back on.
!

Note: We are assuming you are creating a TrueType font. Also, if the above steps
dont improve the character, it may be because you have manually hinted the font.
The hinting may be causing the font corruption. Many commercial fonts (all of
Microsofts and Monotypes) use a delta hinting in their fonts. Delta hinting allows
for precise control of the fonts screen appearance. Fontographer doesnt work
with delta hints but Fontlab Ltd.s professional font editor Fontlab Studio does.
You can use Fontlab Studio to delta-hint your font.
I want to use Fontographer to create my own version of a non-Roman font. Why
cant I load an entire 2-Byte font into Fontographer?

490

Appendix A
2-Byte fonts contain tens of thousands of characters. Fontographer 5 has a limit of
32 000 characters. If you need to create a font with a larger number of characters,
Fontlab Ltd. offers AsiaFont Studio, a high-end Asian font editor for that purpose.
Characters above the code 256 are accessed via Unicode. Unicode is supported in
many applications on Mac OS X, many applications on Windows 2000/XP and
some applications running on Windows 98/ME.
Fontographer 5 for the Macintosh has a built-in Unicode font encoding option that
allows you to paste glyphs into 2,147 prenumbered Unicode slots. This makes life a
lot easier for those who are using standard systems such as Cyrillic, Hebrew and
most European characters.
For more information on Unicode, Code Pages, cmap tables, input systems,
keyboard drivers, localization, and so forth, refer to the users manual of Fontlab
Studio that contains more technical information on that topic. You can download
the Fontlab Studio manual in PDF format from http://www.fontlab.com/.

491

Appendix B. An
Annotated Bibliography
of Typography
and the other Arts of the
Book
by David S. Rose Five Roses Press
The explosion of desktop-based, digital pre-press technology at the end of the
twentieth century brought to a wider audience the previously specialized world of
typography. Modern type design applications such as Fontographer give users the
ability to create new digital typefaces from the imagination, to recreate classic
faces that are otherwise unavailable in digital form, and to adapt existing faces for
specific needs. For those artisans who still hand-set and print with traditional
letterpress technology, a dwindling number of type foundries continue to provide
classic metal faces. But for designers who combine the two worlds by printing
letterpress from photopolymer plates, the options are unlimited.
As with any powerful tools, the more one knows of the history behind them, the
better able one will be to utilize them. The books listed here are just a few of
hundreds that have been written on the subject of typography over three
centuries, but they will provide a solid start for reading in this area.
While many of the works listed are classics in the field, not all of them are
currently in print. Those that are not available from the publisher (or from reprint
houses such as Dover Publications) are generally available at most large libraries,
and may often be found at antiquarian dealers who specialize in the field of Books
about Books. The rapid adoption of the Internet by antiquarian book dealers now
means that most of these books are a simple click away, through searches on web
sites such as Bookfinder.com. Many of them may also become available as
electronic books through Amazon, Apple or Google Books.

Fontographer 5

Overviews of Printing Types

History and Development of Lettering and
Letterforms
Type Designs from Various Periods
Typography
Book Design
Type Designers
Typeface Reference Works
History of Printing
Letterpress Printing
Other Book Arts
Bibliographies

494

Appendix B

Overviews of Printing Types

Printing Types: An Introduction by Alexander Lawson with Dwight Agner
[Boston: Beacon Press, 1990] is a short (120 pages) easy-to-read overview that is
exactly as advertised: an introduction. For over thirty years, Lawson taught the
history of printing types at the Rochester Institute of Technology School of
Printing, and this book grew out of his need for a simple handbook on the subject
for his students. It is a well-designed and illustrated inexpensive paperback, and
would probably be your best bet if you have a casual interest in the subject and
only want to read one book. The latest edition, brought current through 1990,
covers early digital typography as well. Lawsons Anatomy of a Typeface (see
below) has become standard reading for many current courses on typography.
Printing Types: Their History, Forms, and Use by Daniel Berkeley Updike
[New York: Dover Publications, 1980. Reprint of the second (1937) edition]. This
is the classic work in the field of typographic history. Updike was a leader in the
revival of traditional printing typefaces in the United States, and was the founder
of the Merrymount Press (1893). A series of lectures he gave at Harvard from
1910-1917 served as the basis for Printing Types, which was first published in
1922. This Dover reprint is in two volumes, 618 pages of text plus 300 unnumbered
illustrations. As Dover says in the jacket notes, "Printing Types presents the
standards, the landmarks in typography that anyone connected with printing must
know. In its mammoth, illustrated coverage, it is without a doubt the definitive
guide to the subject."
Letters of Credit: A View of Type Design by Walter Tracy [Boston: David
Godine, 1986]. A beautiful and profusely illustrated step-by-step demonstration of
type-design aesthetics that traces the beginnings and the path of modern-day
typesetting.
Fine Print on Type: the Best of Fine Print Magazine on Type and
Typography by Charles A. Bigelow, Paul Hayden Duensing, Linnea Gentry [San
Francisco: Fine Print, 1988] is an excellent selection of articles from Fine Print
magazine, the late indispensable periodical with which anyone concerned with
type should be familiar. Each issue was designed in a different style, printed by
letterpress and included scholarly articles, typographic overviews, reviews, and
notices of new books on typography. Fine Print was published quarterly through
about 1990, after which the publication led a cliff-hanging existence as various
groups and institutions tried to save it. While Fine Print is long gone, a final
retrospective index is available from Oak Knoll Books (2003). It was succeeded
briefly by Bookways (1991-1995), and more recently by Parenthesis (1998-), the
journal of the Fine Press Book Association.

495

Fontographer 5
Type and Typefaces by J. Ben Lieberman [New Rochelle: The Myriade Press,
1978] is an alternative to the Lawson books, but less accurate, bigger (142 pages, 8
1/2 x 11, hardcover) and more enthusiastic. Ben Lieberman was a passionate
amateur printer and the father of the American Chappel movement of hobby
printers. An exuberant look at the history, classification, identification, and
personalities of typography, it includes examples of over 1,000 typefaces. This
book can be fun to read, despite its errors of both omission and commission.

496

Appendix B

History and Development of Lettering and

Letterforms
Letters by James Hutchinson [New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1983]. A
stylishly designed, very readable history of alphabets, writing, and printing types.
The History and Technique of Lettering by Alexander Nesbitt [New York:
Dover Publications, 1957]. A thorough history of type design from its origin
through the mid-twentieth century, this book includes information on the
development of letterforms since the invention of printing. It is written from an
artist's perspective, and has a how-to section on lettering.
The Alphabet and Elements of Lettering by Frederic W. Goudy [New York:
Dover Publications, 1963. Reprint of 1952 University of California edition]. This
book brings Goudy's unique perspective as the most prolific type designer of the
twentieth century to the letters of the alphabet and their development. More of a
beautiful schematic than a well developed historical book.
Roman Lettering by L.C. Evetts [New York: Taplinger, 1979. Reprint of 1938
Pittman edition] includes a character-by-character analysis of the letters on
Trajan's Column in Rome, which have served for centuries as one of the
foundations of roman (serif) letter design. Evetts also includes charts showing the
evolution of the roman alphabet through the centuries. Handsome lettering, with
little text to clutter the presentation.
An ABC Book: ABC of Lettering and Printing Types by Erik Lindegren
[New York: Greenwich House, 1982. Reprint of Vol. C of 1964 Museum Books
edition]. A survey of type, calligraphy, and design, with examples of work from all
periods, with an especially strong representation of lettering by Swedish, English,
German, and American scribes and designers. A lively, well-designed introduction
to letters.
Writing, Illuminating and Lettering by Edward Johnston [New York:
Taplinger, 1980]. The comprehensive calligraphy manual by the man who led the
twentieth century revival of calligraphy. Johnston's influence on English,
American and German lettering and design was immense.

497

Fontographer 5

Type Designs from Various Periods

Anatomy of a Typeface by Alexander Lawson [Boston: David R. Godine, 1990]
A great book from one of the leading typographic experts of the late twentieth
century, this substantial work examines a wide variety of typefaces in great detail,
and explains why they look the way they do. An excellent reference work for the
designer and printer that will both improve your eye for the detail of font design
and inform the choices you will make in specifying and setting type yourself.
From Gutenberg to OpenType: An Illustrated History of Type from the
Earliest Letterforms to the Latest Digital Fonts by Robin Dodd [Point
Roberts, WA: Hartley & Marks, 2006] A well-illustrated book of examples, Dodd
provides a useful short history of type and typography from Gutenberg onwards.
Art of the Printed Book, 1455-1955: Masterpieces of Typography
Through Five Centuries from the Collections of the Pierpont Morgan Library,
New York by Joseph Blumenthal [New York: Pierpont Morgan Library, and
Boston, MA: D.R. Godine, 1985]. Available both in hardcover and paperback, this
collection by one of the great printer/scholars of the twentieth century is a must
have for anyone interested in original source material. More than a hundred full
pages of facsimiles from the Morgan Library provide an instant overview of the
development of typographic design from Gutenberg to the mid-twentieth century.
Selected Essays on Books and Printing by A. F. Johnson [Amsterdam: Van
Gendt, 1970]. Johnson was a scholar at the British Museum and, along with
Daniel Berkeley Updike and Stanley Morison, was considered one of the experts in
the field of typographic history. This lovely, massive (500 pages), and very
expensive collection of some of his writings from 1927-1957 concentrates
primarily on the typographic work of sixteenth century calligraphers and printers.
A View of Early Typography Up to About 1600 by Harry Carter (The Lyell
Lectures, 1968) [London: Hyphen Press, 2002. Reprint of Oxford at the
Clarendon Press, 1969]. Modestly titled but a classic book.
A History of the Old English Letter Foundries: with Notes, Historical And
Bibliographical, on the Rise and Fall of English Typography by Talbot Baines
Reed, rev. and enlarged by A. F. Johnston [Folkestone: Dawsons, 1974. Reprint of
the 1952 Faber & Faber edition]. A classic history originally published in 1887.
Counterpunch: Making Type in the Sixteenth Century, Designing
Typefaces Now by Fred Smeijers. [London: Hyphen Press, 1996]. Before digital
fonts there was metal type, each letter of which had to be laboriously carved in
metal punches. Smeijers explains the techniques and how the technology
affected type design. He argues that digital techniques should shape contemporary
design. A fascinating advanced book, and a great read together with Theo Rehaks
up-to-date work on Practical Typecasting (below).

498

Appendix B
Notes on a Century of Typography at the University Press, Oxford,
1693-1794 by Horace Hart [Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1970. Reprint of the 1900
edition] with an introduction and additional notes by Harry Carter. History of the
types and typography of the Oxford University Press, generally regarded as the
preeminent scholarly press in the western world.
Nineteenth Century Ornamented Type Faces by Nicolete Gray [Berkeley:
University of California Press, 1976. Reprint of the 1938 Faber & Faber edition].
The definitive book on its subject.
American Wood Type, 1828-1900 by Rob Roy Kelly. [Liber Apertus Press,
2010. On-demand reprint of the 1977 Da Capo Press edition]. Notes on the
evolution of decorated and large wood types, and comments on related trades. As
with the Nicolete Gray book, this is the definitive work in its field. The book was
issued in several editions, of which this (paperback) is the least expensive. (Kellys
wood type collection is owned by the University of Texas, and parts of it are
online.)
The Typographic Book 1450-1935 by Stanley Morison and Kenneth Day
[Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1963]. A lush, expensive, visual treasury of
almost 500 years of typography, including 357 plates.

499

Fontographer 5

Typography
Thinking with Type: A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors, &
Students by Ellen Lupton. [New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2004] A
succinct and accessible guide about type, typography and design. Geared towards
digital typography, but thought provoking for all.
The Elements of Typographic Style by Robert Bringhurst. [Point Roberts,
WA: Hartley and Marks, 2004,3rd ed.] A highly acclaimed, although more
advanced, standard work in the field. Bringhurst, a poet and typographer, has
written a thoughtful book on fine design, which has gradually assumed a nearcanonical status among serious contemporary designers.
A Typographic Workbook: A Primer to History, Techniques, and
Artistry by Cynthia Busic-Snyder and Kate Clair [New York: Wiley, 1999. New
edition expected 2010]. A good place to start for a basic grounding in typographic
design.
Detail In Typography by Jost Hochuli [London: Hyphen Press, 2008] A
succinct guide to issues of legibility and spacing in setting digital type.
The Complete Manual of Typography: A Guide to Setting Perfect Type
by James Felici [Berkeley, CA: Peachpit Press, 2003] A practical manual for
selecting and working with digital type.
The Crystal Goblet: Sixteen Essays on Typography by Beatrice Warde
[Cleveland and New York: World Publishing Company, 1956]. From a major
woman in the field of typography come some thought-provoking pieces, including
the famous analogy that gave the collection its name. Mandatory reading for
would-be typographers.
The Case for Legibility by John Ryder [London: The Bodley Head, 1979] "Not a
typographer's manual nor a 'do-it-yourself' guide to book design, it is a personal
statement of great sincerity and conviction by a distinguished practitioner of the
art." Ryder also wrote Printing for Pleasure, one of the touchstones of the
avocational letterpress printing movement.
First Principles of Typography by Stanley Morison [Cambridge: at the
University Press, 1951]. An important book from the man credited with the
creation of the Times Roman typeface for the London Times.
Asymmetric Typography by Jan Tschichold, translated by Ruari McLean [New
York: Reinhold, 1967]. Jan Tschichold, a well-known typographer, inspired many
people to rethink "conventional" theories of typography when this seminal work
was published in the mid-1960s. Whether or not you agree with his approach, this
book will widen your typographic horizons.

500

Appendix B
An Essay on Typography by Eric Gill [Boston: D.R. Godine, 1988, 1st U.S. ed.].
A classic typographic manifesto on the art and craft of letterforms from the
designer of Gill Sans and the famous lettering for the London Underground.
Typography, A Manual of Design by Emil Ruder [Niederteufen, Switzerland:
Arthur Niggli Ltd, 1977, 3rd ed.]. A fascinating, disciplined, and very Swiss
analysis of typography and letterforms. Ruder's discussion and illustration of the
importance of white space in letterforms and graphic designs is excellent
background reading.
Report on the Typography of the Cambridge University Press by Bruce
Rogers [London: Wynken de Worde Society, 1967. Reprint of the Cambridge 1950
edition]. Bruce Rogers is regarded by many as having been the greatest
typographer and book designer of the twentieth century. After World War II he
was commissioned by the Cambridge University Press to undertake a thorough
review of all of the Press' publications and standards. The resulting Report had a
major impact not only on the C.U.P., but also on the general typographic theory in
both Britain and the U.S.
A Century for the Century: Fine Printed Books 1900-1999 by Martin
Hutner and Jerry Kelly. [Boston: David R. Godine, 2004, revised and enlarged
edition of 1999 Grolier Club exhibition]. Illustrated catalog from an important
1999 exhibition at the Grolier Club, which showed 100 beautiful and influential
books from the Twentieth Century. A lovely work, and very useful as inspiration
for typographers in seeing how type builds from characters, through paragraphs
and pages, into books.
Designing with Type: the Essential Guide to Typography by James Craig
and Susan E. Meyer [New York: Watson-Guptill Publications, 2006, 5th ed.]. A
modern how-to book, often used as the primary textbook in college design
courses. It is available at many large bookstores and from graphic arts dealers.
Finer Points in the Spacing & Arrangement of Type by Geoffrey Dowding.
[Point Roberts, WA: Hartley & Marks, 1998, rev. ed.].

501

Fontographer 5

Book Design
Methods of Book Design: The Practice of an Industrial Craft by Hugh
Williamson. [New Haven: Yale University Press, 1983]. An excellent book, not
only for the author's typographical observations, but also as a comprehensive
survey of printing at the height of letterpress. In some ways, a classic.
The Design of Books by Adrian Wilson. [New York: Reinhold Publishing
Corporation, 1967]. A classic on the design, layout, and typography of traditional
pages and books, written by a great letterpress printer and fine designer. Although
the technology is dated, the principles remain constant.
Bookmaking: Editing, Design, Production by Marshall Lee. [New York:
W.W. Norton, 2009] Originally written primarily about letterpress in 1965, this
500+ page work has recently been re-issued in a greatly updated third edition for
the computer era.
Printing Poetry: A Workbook in Typographic Reification by Clifford
Burke. [San Francisco: Scarab Press, 1980]. A very informative work on this
subject that also applies to other letterpress printing. A classic work in its field, the
book is a typographic example in its own right. Issued in an edition of only 1000,
and priced accordingly.

502

Appendix B

Type Designers
Twentieth Century Type Designers by Sebastian Carter [New York: Taplinger
Publishing Company, 1987]. An excellent look at the people behind the type faces,
with in-depth profiles of designers such as Goudy, Rogers, Morison, Zapf, et al.
An A-Z of Type Designers by Neil MacMillan [New Haven, CT: Yale University
Press, 2006]. Biographies of 260 type designers, from Gutenberg to the present,
intended to succeed Rookledges International Handbook of Type Designers
(1991). Includes essays by Jean Franois Porchez, Erik Spiekermann, and John
Downer.
Typologia: Studies in Type Design & Type Making, with Comments on
the Invention of Typography, the First Types, Legibility, and Fine
Printing by Frederic W. Goudy. [Berkeley: University of California Press, 1977.
Reprint of 1940 edition]. Written by the most prolific type designer of the 20th
century (creator of, among others, the eponymous Goudy Oldstyle, Copperplate
Gothic and University of California Oldstyle), this reprint discusses the history,
function, and meaning of type, and gives some very good insights into how a type
designer works.
Jan Tschichold: Typographer by Ruari McLean [Boston: David R. Godine,
1975]. This biography puts Tschichold's career and writings in the context of
developments in society around him. It is informative and thought provoking on
its own, and serves as useful background to his writings on the subject.
Manuale Typographicum: 100 Typographical Arrangements with
Considerations about Types, Typography and the Art of Printing
Selected from Past and Present, Printed in Eighteen Languages by
Hermann Zapf [Frankfurt, New York: Z-Presse, 1968]. Hermann Zapf is known
primarily in digital circles for giving his name to the Zapf Dingbat font. But to the
cognoscenti, he is also one of the most respected and creative typographers and
type designers of the twentieth century, who created not only the Dingbat and
Zapf Chancery fonts, but also Optima and Palatino and many other faces.
Manuale Typographicum is a breathtaking "tour de force," consisting of 100
broadsides about type design in a wide variety of faces and styles. A superb source
of inspiration and examples.
Hermann Zapf and His Design Philosophy by Hermann Zapf, Introduction
by Carl Zahn [New Haven: Yale University Press, 90 color plates]. While the
Manuale shows the master at work, this volume is a discourse on Zapf's insights
into type design. An excellent book.

503

Fontographer 5
Edward Johnston by Priscilla Johnston [New York: Pentallic, 1976]. This
biography of the twentieth century's most important calligrapher, written by his
daughter, traces his career and influence. Unlike many printing books, this one is
a delightful read.
Of the Just Shaping of Letters by Albrecht Drer [New York: Dover
Publications, 1965. Reprint of the Grolier Club translation of 1917]. Originally part
of Drer's theoretical treatise on applied geometry, here is the source for those
famous capital letters set against a gridded background.
Champ Fleury by Geoffrey Tory, translated into English and annotated by
George B. Ives [New York: Dover Publications, 1967. Reprint of the Grolier Club
edition of 1927]. The other famous humanistic alphabet similar to the one
discussed in the Drer book, but this is the one with the letters shown against
naked human bodies in addition to the grid system.

504

Appendix B

Typeface Reference Works

American Metal Typefaces of the Twentieth Century by Mac McGrew
[New Castle, Delaware: Oak Knoll Books, 1994, 2nd rev, ed.]. The definitive work
on the subject, and an essential reference for both graphic designers and current
letterpress printers. Currently in print from the publisher.
The Encyclopedia of Type Faces 55th Anniversary Edition by W. Pincus
Jaspert, W. Turner Berry, and A. F. Johnson [London: Cassell, 2009, 55th
anniversary edition]. A standard comprehensive reference in the field, this work is
a detailed listing of over 2,000 faces, arranged by name, with full information on
their history, designers, etc. Although even after several editions it has numerous
uncorrected errors (dates, foundries, names, even occasionally an incorrect
specimen shown) it is still a required reference work on the subject.
Type and Typography: The Designer's Type Book by Ben Rosen [New
York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., 1976 rev. ed.].
Fontbook: Digital Type Compendium, by FontShop International [Berlin:
FontShop International, 2006]. An expensive compendium of (nearly) all digital
fonts available at the time of publication, and perhaps the last time such a massive
type specimen book will be printed on paper.

505

Fontographer 5

History of Printing
A Short History of the Printed Word by Warren Chappell and Robert
Bringhurst [Point Roberts, WA: Hartley & Marks, 2000]. A once-over-very-lightly
history, hitting the highlights in the development of type, printing and
bookmaking. Updated by Bringhurst from 1970.
Five Hundred Years of Printing by S. H. Steinberg [New Castle: Oak Knoll
Books, 1996. Enlarged edition revised from Penguin Books, 1974]. A 400-page
small-print paperback, which is still in print, this covers Gutenberg through the
early 20th century. Steinberg's style is a little dry. Since his death, the book
(starting with the third edition) has been edited by James Moran.
Encyclopedia of the Book by Geoffrey Glaister [New Castle: Oak Knoll Books,
1996. Second edition of University of California Press 1979 edition issued
previously as Glossary of the Book]. "Glaister" is an essential book for
understanding terminology relating to the history of printing, the physical book
(typography, paper, binding), book collecting and publishing. It may be
supplemented by John Feathers A Dictionary of Book History (1986) and by
John Carters ABCs of Book Collecting (many editions).
The Book: The Story of Printing & Bookmaking by Douglas C. McMurtrie
[New York: Oxford University Press, 1943]. Almost 700 pages of large type devoted
to the history of the book, by one of the most prolific writers in the field. Easy to
read, anecdotal, and illustrated. Although out of print, it is not particularly scarce
and, if you can find it, probably the quickest way to get up to speed on printing
history.

506

Appendix B

Letterpress Printing
While the craft of letterpress printing may at first glance appear completely
archaic and anachronistic, the explosion of tools for digital typography,
combined with the new technology of photopolymer plate production, has led to
a resurgence of interest in this most fascinating, historic and rewarding craft.
Consider the works below as a way to introduce yourself to a fifteenth century
world that is still thriving in the twenty-first.
Introduction to Letterpress Printing in the 21st Century by David S. Rose
[www.fiveroses.org/intro.htm]. The complete online Getting Started Guide to
everything you need to know about acquiring a printing press, finding supplies,
learning to print, and setting up your very own letterpress shop. An unabashedly
enthusiastic primer by the author of this bibliography.
Letterpress Printing: A Manual for Modern Fine Press Printers by Paul
Maravelas. [New Castle: Oak Knoll Press, 2005]. The most recent printer's manual
for letterpress printing, oriented towards those who are repurposing old
equipment for producing fine and book arts printing. The book is a useful
introduction and compilation of information culled from sources online and in
print. Follow it immediately with Cleeton and Pitkin, General Printing.
General Printing by Glen U. Cleeton and Charles W. Pitkin. [Liber Apertus
Press, 2004. Reprint of the McKnight & McKnight Publishing Company, 1963
edition]. Probably the best all-around introductory book for traditional letterpress
printing, this manual is profusely illustrated with detailed and useful photographs.
The book appeared in three editions from 1941-1963 before the current reprint.
Copies of the older editions of this book are readily available in both paperback
and hardcover.
Printing Digital Type on the Hand-Operated Flatbed Cylinder Press by
Gerald Lange [Marina del Rey: Bieler Press, 2009, 4th ed.]. This is one of the few
letterpress manuals currently in print, and the only one specifically addressing
both Vandercook proof presses (the gold standard for current fine letterpress
printers) and photopolymer plates. This book is the authority on the technologies
of "modern" limited edition letterpress printing. Subjects covered include digital
type and computer practices; letterpress configuration; photopolymer plates, flatbases, and processing equipment; photopolymer plate-making; plate registration
and travel; impression; cylinder packing and makeready; presswork; ink and
inking; and press operation and maintenance. It also includes an updated listing
of manufacturers and distributors, as well as troubleshooting guides to problems
encountered during the processing and printing of photopolymer plates.

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Fontographer 5
Printing for Pleasure, A Practical Guide for Amateurs by John Ryder
[Published in multiple editions from 1955-1977, in England and the US, by
publishers including Chicago: Henry Regnery Co., (1977) and London: The Bodley
Head (1976) This is still in print from The Bodley Head in the UK or Oak Knoll
Books in North America]. A lovely, classy, little book, both pleasing to look at and
inspirational for the novice amateur printer. This introductory work gives a light
overview of the hobby of letterpress printing on both sides of the Atlantic,
covering how to choose a press, type, paper and ink, as well as planning, design
and production. A good place to start if you are just considering taking up this
avocation, and a nice place to come back to every now and then to remind you why
you are still printing.
Printing as a Hobby, by J. Ben Lieberman [New York: Sterling Publishing Co.
& London: Oak Tree Press, 1963.]. This book is the brash, bigger, and less
restrained American counterpart to the quintessentially British book by Ryder.
Lieberman was an enthusiastic amateur printer, and this book is an exuberant,
well-illustrated pitch for his hobby. The author was not a scholar (nor particularly
an aesthete), but if you don't mind his unabashed "boosterism," you might find
this book fun to read, despite its errors of both omission and commission (not
unlike his later book, Type and Typefaces, described above).

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Appendix B

Other Book Arts

Practical Typecasting by Theo Rehak. [New Castle: Oak Knoll Books, 1993].
The ultimate and definitive book on the subject, by the dean of American
typefounders.
Hand Bookbinding: A Manual of Instruction by Aldren A. Watson. [New
York: Dover Publications, 1996] A clear, thorough, inexpensive introduction to
hand binding.
The Papermaker's Companion: The Ultimate Guide to Making And
Using Handmade Paper by Helen Hiebert [North Adams, MA: Storey
Publishing, 2000]. Extensive step by step instructions.
How to Marbleize Paper: Step-By-Step Instructions for 12 Traditional
Patterns by Gabriele Grunebaum [New York: Dover Publications: 1984]. A slim,
inexpensive, but useful paperback.

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Bibliographies
A Typological Tally compiled by Tony Appleton [Brighton, Tony Appleton,
1973]. An enumerative list of thirteen hundred writings in English on printing
history, typography, bookbinding, and papermaking, compiled by the late dean of
book dealers in the field.
A Bibliography of Printing with Notes and Illustrations by F. C. Bigmore
and C. W. H. Wyman [London: Oak Knoll Books, 1978]. Universally known as
"Bigmore and Wyman," this is to printing bibliographies what Updike is to books
about printing types. Published in 1880 (editions since then have been reprints),
B&W provides excellent commentaries on just about every book that had been
written on the subject as of the year it was published. Richard Gabriel-Rummonds
two volume book, Nineteenth Century Printing Practices includes a complete
bibliography of letterpress printer's manuals, supplementing Bigmore and
Wyman.
Type History & Design at Briar Press [www.briarpress.org] is a current,
online directory to websites, organizations, museums, classified advertisements
and mailing lists relating to the subject, part of the webs most useful repository of
information about printing arts and history.

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Appendix B
Many thanks to Howard Gralla, Alvin Eisenman, Robert Fleck, Kathy Schinhofen,
Chuck Rowe, Earl Allen, Susan Lesch, Kathleen Tinkel, Michael J. Boyle, John
Horn, Chris Simonds, Fritz Klinke, Roberta Lavadour, David Norton, Tom Parson,
David Goodrich and the many members of the Letpress Internet mailing list for
their suggestions before and during the compilation of this bibliography. A major
debt of gratitude is particularly due to Paul Romaine, President of the American
Printing History Association, and Jerry Kelly, typographer extraordinaire, who
have been instrumental in helping update this bibliography for the 21st century.
An earlier version of this bibliography was originally published in conjunction
with a prior release of Fontographer back in the 20th century. That version was, in
turn, adapted and expanded from a still-earlier annotated checklist by the same
author prepared for members of the erstwhile MAUG Forums on Compuserve,
one of the first online services.

David S. Rose is a letterpress printer and graphic designer as well as a book

collector, writer and teacher on the subject of printing history and typography.
He is President of the Typophiles, the not-for-profit educational association of
type lovers who for more than three quarters of a century have shared their
abiding pleasure in fine printing through convivial meetings and handsomely
produced publications. He is Vice Chairman of the Center for Book Arts in
New York, Scribe of the Honorable Company of College Printers at Yale
University, proprietor of the Five Roses Press, and author of the Internet's
highest-ranked site on the subject of letterpress printing. He is a member of the
Grolier Club, the Amalgamated Printers Association and the Westchester
Chappel. More information is available at www.fiveroses.org.

Copyright 1988-2010 by David S. Rose [email protected]. For re-publication

inquiries, please contact the author. Revision: May 11, 2010

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Appendix C.
General Information
Fontographer background
Em square
Each character is described in terms of a rectangle called an em square, or the
UPM (Units Per eM) size. The em square is the basis of all font dimensions. It
defines the font height and the coordinate grid on which the characters are drawn.
Fontographers em square is used as a normalization value when generating
PostScript and also defines the precision possible in the font. The em square is
divided into font units (typically 1000). The ascent and descent (found in the Font
Info dialog) are measured in em units, as are all measurements in Fontographer.
When the font rasterizer produces an image of a letter at, say, 10 point, then the 10
point will correspond to the 1000 units. If your capital letter H is 700 units high, its
physical size at the 10 point font size will be 7 point.
If you print out your characters at the point size that corresponds to the em square
size (e.g. 1000 pt), then each font unit will have the size of exactly one point.

Fontographer 5
Unit
Fontographer units are values whose size is relative, varying with the size of the
em-square and the point size of the output. Because outline fonts are scalable,
units do not directly relate to points, pixels, or any physical distance. It is possible
to relate units to physical distance if the em square is set up knowing the printing
device resolution and scale at which the font is to be printed, but this defeats the
whole concept of outline fonts. Think of them as design units whose dimension
may vary.
Fontographer is capable of defining fonts with an em square of up to 8000 by 8000
units. This range is far greater than needed for any normal font. Most PostScript
fonts have an em square of 1000 units, which is also Fontographers default.
Precise work for high-resolution printers above 1000 dpi might benefit from an em
square of 2000 or more. The choice of em square size is left up to you.
Choosing a larger em square means that you have more precision when outputting
the character. It does not mean that the printed characters are larger. Since a font
is always normalized so that the em square is one point high, a font defined with
an em square of 4000 prints out at exactly the same size as a font defined with an
em square of 1000. It has four times the internal resolution, but that is
insignificant on a 300 dot per inch printer except at very large point sizes. A 1000point high character (almost 14 inches) would have at most 1/72 inch of
inaccuracy if drawn on a 1000-unit em square. If drawn with a 4000-unit em
square, the inaccuracy would be approximately one dot (1/288 of an inch). Proper
positioning of the control points, whatever em square size is used, is more
important than greater resolution.

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Bitmap background
Bitmap fonts (Macintosh)
MacOS 9 and earlier use bitmap fonts for screen display of Type 1 fonts. Bitmap
fonts are stored in the suitcase file, where they are accessible to all programs if
installed in the system. Bitmap fonts cannot be smoothly scaled, so each Type 1
font face usually had several bitmap fonts in different sizes for display purposes.
!

Note: Mac Type 1 fonts require at least one bitmap size, but TrueType fonts or
any Windows fonts dont require any.
Fontographer 5 for Mac can include bitmap glyphs in a Type 1 or TrueType
suitcase. It can also export them into a BDF bitmap font, which you can further
edit with a bitmap font editor such as Fontlab BitFonter. In Fontographer 5, there
are three ways to generate bitmap glyphs from font outlines, which will produce
different results. If you're interested in high-quality bitmap glyphs, you should
explore all three possibilities to determine which give you the most satisfactory
results.
Depending on the way you generate the bitmap glyphs, different rasterizers will be
used:
1. If you generate the bitmaps inside Fontographer (using Element>Bitmap
Info or Window >Open Bitmap Window), the bitmap glyphs will be generated
using the classic Fontographer rasterizer. This rasterizer will produce similar
results as older versions of Fontographer. Especially in small sizes, the results may
not be very satisfactory.
2. If you don't have any bitmaps included in your font, and you generate a Mac
Type 1 Suitcase font, the bitmap glyphs will be generated using a built-in version
of the Adobe Type 1 rasterizer. This rasterizer will process the Type 1 hints
specified in your font, and the result will be similar to the screen appearance of the
Type 1 font if it were installed in Microsoft Windows. To do this, choose File>
Generate Font Files, switch to Advanced mode, choose "Mac OS X and 9" as
platform and "Mac Type 1 Suitcase" as format. Then, specify the Bitmap Sizes to
Create and generate the suitcase. Typically, bitmaps generated this way will be of
higher quality than those generated inside Fontographer.

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Fontographer 5
3. If you don't have any bitmaps included in your font, and you generate a Mac
TrueType Suitcase font, the bitmap glyphs will be generated using a built-in
version of the Microsoft TrueType rasterizer. The Type 1 hints specified in your
font will be converted into TrueType hinting using the high-quality Fontlab hint
conversion algorithm, and bitmaps will be generated from the hinted TrueType
outlines. The result will be similar to the screen appearance of the TrueType font if
it were installed in Microsoft Windows. To do this, choose File>Generate Font
Files, switch to Advanced mode, choose "Mac OS X and 9" as platform and "Mac
TrueType Suitcase" as format. Then, specify the Bitmap Sizes to Create and
generate the suitcase. Typically, bitmaps generated this way will also be of higher
quality than those generated inside Fontographer, but will be different than those
generated using the Adobe Type 1 rasterizer.
If you generated your bitmaps using the Adobe Type 1 rasterizer or the Microsoft
TrueType rasterizer (i.e. method 2 or 3 described above), you can then choose
File>Import bitmaps, and pick the Mac Suitcase you just generated (a Type 1 or a
TrueType suitcase), and then Select All bitmap sizes to import. The bitmap glyphs
will be imported into your Fontographer document. You can edit them using
Window>Open Bitmap Window, or you can export them into the BDF format
using File>Export>BDF.

FONDs (Macintosh)
A FOND is a table that creates the link from the bitmap font to the outline font. A
FOND is automatically generated by Fontographer whenever a Mac Type 1
suitcase is generated. It contains several important types of information.
The Macintosh print manager examines the FOND, and if there is an outline font
file available in the same font folder, it is downloaded to the printer before
printing begins. If no outline font file is found, the bitmap font is used. The outline
font file must be in the same folder as the suitcase file in order to be found for
downloading.
The FOND also links all the bitmap fonts in a family so that custom-tuned italic or
bold faces may be used in place of inferior derived styles. This component of the
FOND is independent of outline fonts. FONDs also store additional information,
such as character metrics and kerning.

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Appendix C
PostScript
PostScript is a programming language developed by Adobe Systems, Inc. to drive
high-resolution printers. Invented as a standard page description language with a
well-documented behavior, it is used on printers produced by a number of
different manufacturers.
PostScripts generality allows any picture to be described as a program; this is how
fonts are constructed. Each letter is described by a small program that draws the
letter outline using PostScript graphic commands. In order to print the character
on a page, this character drawing program is run by the printer control software to
draw and fill the outline, generating a high-resolution bitmap. The bitmap is
generated at the current point size, and then copied to the page at the appropriate
location.

Bzier curve
The PostScript graphic commands available are straight lines, arcs, and Bzier
curves. A Bzier curve has control points that allow changing the shape of the
curve. An arc has uniform curvature everywhere, but a Bzier curve allows nonuniform curvature. This property is useful in describing complex shapes with only
a few well-chosen control points. Additionally, Bzier curves have desirable
smoothness properties that lend themselves to efficient generating programs.
Another useful property of Bzier curves is that it is very easy to guarantee smooth
joins at the endpoints of the curve. Smooth tangent joins are very important to
high-quality letter shapes. Fontographer supports automatic tangent joins during
character construction, so its characters are perfectly smooth where they should
be smooth (but can be discontinuous if necessary).

Caching
Translating from the program into a bitmap is a complex process that takes an
amount of time proportional to the complexity of the character. To minimize the
amount of time spent generating bitmaps from the letter drawing programs, the
bitmaps are saved on the printers hard disk or in memory for later use. This
saving process is called caching. The first time a particular letter is printed, its
bitmap must be generated and cached before it can be drawn on the page. Once a
letter has been converted, its bitmap is normally found in the cache, and is used
directly.

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Path
A path is composed of line or curve segments. These segments may be connected
(the normal case) or disconnected (such as the dot on a lower-case i). Paths may
be open or closed. A segment of a path is closed if the last point connects back to
the first point, otherwise it is open.
Characters may consist of open paths or closed paths, but not both. Normally a
character is constructed such that its outline is defined as a single closed path. The
program that generates the bitmap can then just fill in the outline. Some
characters, such as the letter O, have an inside and an outside. A simple-minded
approach to filling such a letter would fill both outlines, resulting in a single solid
circle. To handle this case, PostScript has two sophisticated approaches to filling.

Filling techniques
Winding number fill
The standard PostScript filling technique is called a winding number fill. This
relies on one path being described in a clockwise direction, and the other path
being described in a counterclockwise direction. A point is outside, and thus not
filled, if a line away from that point in any direction crosses exactly as many
counterclockwise paths as it crosses clockwise paths. In the case of the O, the
outer path should be drawn clockwise and the inner path counterclockwise.
Technically, it doesnt make any difference whether the outside path is clockwise
or counterclockwise, but for the sake of consistency between Fontographers fonts
and the proper operation of automatic hints, the outer paths should be clockwise
and the inner paths counterclockwise.

Even-odd fill (Macintosh)

The other filling technique is called an even-odd fill. A point is outside (and thus
not filled) if a line away from that point in any direction crosses an even number
of paths, regardless of the path direction. In the case of the O, even-odd filling
would have the desired result even if both paths were clockwise. Fontographer will
fill the paths properly as long as the paths do not self-intersect.

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Appendix C

Glossary
AAT (Apple Advanced Typography) fonts: The TrueType fonts especially
designed for use with ATSUI. Like OpenType fonts these fonts have special
features such as swashes, contextual forms, ligatures etc. These fonts are widely
presented among system fonts in Mac OS X and are supported in Cocoa
applications.
AFM (ASCII Font Metrics) file: a text file that contains the metrics information for
a PC Type 1 font.
Alphabet/Script: The collection of characters used to write a particular language.
The alphabet (as North Americans and English know it) is the script for the
English language; Latin script is the script for most European, South-American
and some Asian languages. Cyrillic script is used in all Slavonic languages
(Russian, Ukrainian, Serbian, Bulgarian and many others). Note that a script
usually includes many more characters than necessary for the one language. Latin
script, for example, includes more than 200 characters.
Aperture: The degree of enclosure within a letter. Larger apertures may improve
legibility if the increased space helps to differentiate similar letter forms (such as
the o, e and c).
Apex: The upper point where two strokes meet, as in the tip of the A.
Application: A computer program, designed to perform a specific function such as
word processing or illustrating.
Arm: A projecting stroke that extends from the vertical stem of a letter. The top of
the upper case T and the horizontal strokes of the F, L and E are arms. The
upward diagonals on the upper/lower case K/k may also be called arms.
Ascent / Ascender: A fonts maximum distance above the baseline.
Ascent line / Ascender line: The ascent line marks the top of the capital letters. An
ascent guideline is automatically drawn at the vertical position specified when the
font is created, and may be changed by using the Font Info command from the
Element menu. Characters should not normally appear above the ascent line.
ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange): A numbering
scheme used for identifying printing characters.
ATM (Adobe Type Manager): The program that improves your screen font
display by eliminating jagged edges on Type 1 fonts.

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Fontographer 5
ATSUI (Apple Type Services for Unicode Imaging): Apple's technology and a set
of routines that enable the rendering of Unicode-encoded text with advanced
typographic features. It automatically handles many of the complexities inherent
in text layout, including the correct rendering of text in bidirectional and vertical
script systems.AFM: (Adobe Font Metrics) A specification for storing (in a text
file) font metrics information such as character widths, kerning pairs, and
character bounding boxes.
Baseline: The baseline is the imaginary horizontal line upon which all letters sit.
When printing mixed fonts on a line, all baselines line up with one another. The
baseline position does not need to be explicitly specified, since it is always at a
vertical location of zero.
Basepoint: Fontographers reference point from which distances are measured,
and about which the special effect transformations may be performed.
BCP: Bzier control point. One of two points which guide a Bzier curve.
Bzier curve: Mathematical equations commonly used to describe the shapes of
characters in electronic typography. The Bzier curve was named for Pierre Bzier,
a French computer scientist who developed the mathematical representation used
to describe that curve.
Bit: A contraction of BInary digiT, this word signifies the smallest unit of data a
computer holds, and represents a two-way choice like on or off, or black or white.
Bitmap: A grid of individual dots or pixels that make up the graphic display. Each
pixel (or picture element) corresponds to bits in the computers memory.
Bitmap font: A character set created by turning on or off individual dots in a
rectangular grid of dots.
Bitmap window: The window used to view and edit character bitmaps.
Blend: To merge two different font shapes to create a third.
Bowl: The curved strokes that either partially or fully enclose the counters of a
letter (such as those in the lower case o, b, d or e, or the upper case B, C, D, etc.).
The bowl usually refers to the main circular portion of a character, and not the
subordinate curved loops or flourishes that may be part of ascenders or
descenders.
Brackets: The curved or diagonal shapes that connect a serif to a letter stroke.
These forms are also known as fillets. Brackets may be generous or reserved; they
may taper to the midpoint or end of a serif. Not all serifs have brackets.
Byte: A unit of data consisting of a small number of bits; usually a byte equals a
series of eight bits and signifies a character.

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Caching: The process that saves bitmaps in memory or on the printers hard disk
in order to minimize the amount of time spent generating bitmaps. The first time
a particular letter is imaged, its bitmap is generated and cached. Subsequent uses
of that letter can use the cached version for faster printing.
Cap height: The height of uppercase letters in a typeface.
Cap line: The imaginary line which represents the uppermost part of capital
letters and some characters ascenders.
Character: A symbol in writing. A letter, punctuation mark, or figure.
Character label: The portion including a characters name located above the
character slot in the Font Window.
Character set: The characters, symbols, and numbers that make up one single
font.
Character slot: The boxed area enclosing a font character in the Font Window.
Clipboard: The place where the most recent cut or copied image is stored.
CMap (character map): A table relating an encoding to a set of internal computer
codes. For instance the computer may use the numbers between 1100 and 1356 to
represent the characters in a font. When it needs character number 1234 it looks at
the CMap table to find the corresponding code, which, in turn, directs it to the
appropriate glyph.
Codepage: A 256-character portion of the Unicode encoding table (because thats
how much we can address with one byte of data). The Russian codepage, for
instance, contains the characters used in writing Russian:

Color: The visual tone or texture created by a block of type on a printed page. A
typeface is considered to be most readable when the regular text setting produces
an even shade of grey. Darker or lighter spots in text (caused by darker or lighter
letters) are believed to slow reading and create fatigue for the reader.
Composite characters: The characters that have no outline, but link to other font
characters. Good example of composite characters are accented characters, like
, or .

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Fontographer 5
Condensed: Characters which are narrowed to fit into a compact space. A properly
condensed character should fit into a smaller space without making it too thin or
reducing the characters height.
Contrast: The difference in width between the thick and the thin strokes of a
letter. Historically, contrast was created by writing letters with a calligraphic pen
(a pen with wide and narrow flat sides). Examples of high contrast typefaces
include Bodoni and Didot. In general, sans serif faces (such as Helvetica) have low
to medium contrast.
Counter: The negative space inside a letter. A counter can be fully enclosed (as in
the lower case o) or partially enclosed (as in the lower case c, e and n). The shape
and size of a counter can affect the legibility of a letter.
Crossbar: The horizontal stroke across the stem of the lower case letters t and f is
called a crossbar. The angle, position and endings (terminals) of a crossbar may be
unique, identifying features of a typeface.
Crosshair: The cross-like shape the pointer assumes when certain drawing tools
from Fontographers tool palette are selected.
Demagnified move: A special feature of Fontographer which allows precise point
adjustment without requiring a zoom-in.
Descent / Descender: A fonts maximum distance below the baseline.
Descent line / Descender line: The descent line marks the bottom of the lower case
letters such as p, q, y, etc. An descent guideline is automatically drawn at the
vertical position specified when the font is created, and may be changed by using
the Font Info command from the Element menu. Characters should not normally
appear below the descent line.
Dialog box: A window that displays when the computer needs more information
from the user.
Discontinuous: Not adjacent to each other (as in discontinuous characters).
Display type: Display type is generally used for headlines or advertisements and is
meant to attract attention. Display type is bold and heavier than text type because
it is used in larger point sizes. More often, display type is highly stylized to the
point where it is unreadable in small point sizes.
Downloadable font: A font that can be temporarily stored in the printers
memory.
Downloading: The process by which an outline font file is sent to a PostScript
printer.

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Appendix C
Dots Per Inch (dpi): The measure of resolution for a video monitor or printer.
High-resolution printers contain usually at least 1000 dpi. Laser printers typically
have a resolution of 300 dpi; monitors usually have 72, 75, or 90 dpi.
Ear: A small stroke that projects from the upper bowl of the lower case letter g,
usually on the right-hand side. The ear is a feature that usually appears in serif
typefaces. However, certain sans serif designs, especially grotesque or humanist
sans serif, also include an ear or ear-like projection.
Encoding: The linear arrangement (also called the encoding vector) of a script.
Alphabetical order, ABCDEFGHIJ, is the encoding of the English alphabet. In
earlier days (and on many older computers) ASCII (American Symbolic Code for
Information Interchange) was the standard symbol encoding for computing.
Em: A unit of measure, which is the square of a faces point size. Traditionally, the
width of a faces widest letter, the capital M. For instance, if the M is 10 points
wide, an em is equal to 10 points.
Em space: A space equal to the width of a typefaces point size. Often used for
paragraph indentations. Traditionally, the em space was created by non-printing
blocks of metal used to add space between words.
Em square: Each character is described in terms of a rectangle called an em
square, or the UPM (Units Per eM) size. The em square is the basis of all font
dimensions. It defines the font height and the coordinate grid on which the glyphs
are drawn. The em square is divided into font units. Typically, the em square
equals 1000 units. When the font rasterizer produces an image of a letter at, say, 10
point, then the 10 point will correspond to the 1000 units. If your capital letter H is
700 units high, its physical size at the 10 point font size will be 7 point.
This square is so named because historically, it used to be as wide as the letter M
and the same height.
Em units: Measuring units in Fontographer whose size is relative. The em square
can be visualized as being divided up by horizontal and vertical grid lines that
result in box-like units of equal size. Em units are relative to the size of the em
square and are not measured in points.
EPAR (Embedding Permissions and Recommendations): An extra OpenType font
table that contains the EULA, Recommendations, and Personalization data.
EULA (End-User License Agreement): In the proprietary software industry, an
end-user license agreement or software license agreement is the contract between
the licensor and purchaser, establishing the purchaser's right to use the software
(font). The license may define ways under which the copy can be used, in addition
to the automatic rights of the buyer.

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Fontographer 5
Expanded: A typeface whose letters have been made wider without visually
adding weight.
Extended: A typeface whose letters are stretched (or expanded) horizontally while
still retaining their original height.
Extenders: The parts of a letter that extend above the x-height or below the
baseline. Both ascenders and descenders are letter extenders.
Eye: The enclosed space inside the upper half of the lower case letter e. The eye of
the e must be large enough to avoid filling with ink when printed, even at small
size. Otherwise, the e may be confused with a lower case c or o, or the number zero
(0).
Face: A face (typeface) is a complete set of characters that share a similar
appearance. Typical methods of categorization consist of measures such as
thickness of stroke, angle of the stroke, roundness of letterforms, and many other
dimensions that lie beyond the scope of this guide. Fontographer was the first
consumer font editor that contributed to the popularization of type design outside
of the highly-specialized large font foundries. Before the advent of Fontographer,
the number of typefaces available for Windows or Mac OS was limited.
Family: All the type sizes and styles of one typeface. A complete character set of a
font. The group shares a common design but can differ in attributes such as
character width, weight, and posture (i.e., Roman vs. Italic). A typical computer
family unit frequently contains four fonts Roman, Italic, Bold, and BoldItalic in
all sizes.
Fill: In Fontographer, the degree of black within characters. (You can only specify
the degree of fill for Type 3 fonts.)
Flex: A means of automatically suppressing small details, such as cupped serifs,
that would print poorly at small sizes. At large sizes or high resolutions, the details
are automatically reinstated. (Applies only to Type 1 fonts.)
FOG format: The internal format of Fontographer databases.
FON: Windows bitmap font format.
FOND (FONt family Descriptor): FONDs define the relationship between a plain
Macintosh font and its styles (such as Bold, Italic, and BoldItalic). The FOND
groups a family of fonts and contains the family name, the style, and size, as well
as metrics information like fractional width tables and kerning tables.
FONT: Old Macintosh bitmap font size resource name. (See NFNT.)

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Font: A font (derived from found, as in typefoundry) of type is a particular style of
type in one body-size and one style of face. For Windows, the distinction between
fonts and faces is not always straightforward. Since the distinction between face
and font is not clear, the term font is used to describe both a particular size of a
face, and the underlying face itself. When talking about the face in the abstract
sense, the word face in its proper sense is used.
Font attributes: Characteristics which apply to the font as a whole (such as the
ascent, descent, leading, etc.).
FontLab format: see VFB format
Fontographer format: see FOG format
Font Window: The graphic display of a character set in Fontographer from which
individual character slots may be accessed.
Geometric Sans Serif: A subcategory of sans serif typefaces whose structure is
based on regular geometric forms (the circle, square and triangle). Examples
include Futura and Avante Garde.
Glyph: A graphic representation of a character. An A may appear in many
different ways:

They are all the letter A but each is a different glyph.

Grotesque Sans Serif: The first sans serif typefaces that appeared in Europe
during the nineteenth century were literally called 'grotesque' for their shocking,
unadorned appearance. Grotesques, or 'grots', as they were also called, differ from
later sans serif typefaces in that they are less unified and less systematic in their
structure. In the United States, grotesque typefaces were also called gothic (for
example, News Gothic, Franklin Gothic, and Trade Gothic).
Hints: Information embedded to enhance the appearance of characters printed or
imaged at low resolutions (72-600 dpi). ATM and TrueType can take advantage of
hints to render more uniformly shaped screen fonts across the character set.
Hints layer: The layer in the characters outline window that displays hint
information.
Hook: The descender on an upper/lower case J/j. If the lower case t has a curved
base, the ending may also be referenced to as a hook.

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Fontographer 5
Humanist Sans Serif: Sans serif typefaces influenced by humanist calligraphic
writing. The early humanist sans serif (created in the first half of the twentieth
century) are usually based on the proportions of ancient Roman inscriptions.
Contemporary humanist sans serifs tend to have modern proportions (optically
even widths), but calligraphic influence may still be seen in wider apertures
and/or angled stroke endings.
INF (Information) file: a text file that contains information about a PC Type 1
font.
Italic: Best used to set off quotes, special phrases, and foreign words, italic letters
have a redesigned structure that allows them to slant to the right. The first italic
type was designed by Aldus Manutius in AD 1501 and was based on the
handwriting style of that time.
Join: The intersection of two or more letter strokes, such as between a bowl and
stem.
Justified text: Text that lines up at both the left and right margins. Also known as
fully justified.
Kerning: Moving pairs of letters either closer together or farther apart to adjust
and improve the space between them.
Kerning pairs: Combinations of character pairs where the space between them
has been modified to improve readability.
Keystroke: A single pressing of a key on the keyboard.
Layers palette: The window of layers within the Outline Window.
Leading: The space, measured from baseline to baseline, added between
successive rows of text in a document.
Left justified: Type that is aligned with its left margin. Also called flush left.
Leg: The descending lower right strokes of the upper case R and the upper/lower
case K/k are called legs. The tail of a Q may also be called a leg if it extends to the
lower right.
Link: The small, usually curved or diagonal stroke that connects the upper bowl
and lower loop of a double story g. This feature may also be called the neck.
Linotype 100/300: High-resolution typesetting systems.
Lobe: The enclosed parts of the upper case B, R and P are called lobes.
Loop: In a double story g, the loop is the enclosed or partially enclosed lower curve
that descends below the baseline. This term may also refer to enclosed or partially
enclosed extenders on italic or script letters, or any other curved flourish.

526

Appendix C
Megabyte: A measuring unit; 1,048,576 bytes; denoted by the letters M or MB.
Mean line: The top (imaginary) point of all lowercase characters without
ascenders. Also called x-height.
Metrics: Font information such as ascent, descent, leading, character width, and
kerning.
MMPC2MAC: Macromedia PC to Macintosh font conversion utility. Converts files
created for the Macintosh on a PC into Macintosh font files ready for installation.
Monospaced type: Like typewritten characters, these all have the same width and
take up the same amount of space. Use of this type allows figures to be set in
vertical rows without leaving a ragged appearance (as opposed to proportional
type).
Multiple master font: A special type of font format that is an extension of the Type
1 font format. Multiple master fonts contain several font styles, called master
fonts, in one font file. A program that uses multiple master font can not only select
one of the master fonts, but it also can select an intermediate design created by the
linear interpolation of the master fonts.
Neo-Grotesque Sans Serif: Neo-grotesques are grotesque sans serifs that have
been adapted into new type designs with greater structural unity and visual
refinement. The rise of the Bauhaus and Modernism in the 1920's emphasized
simplicity and visual purity as design ideals; neo-grotesques evolved in sympathy
with these aspects of the streamlined 'machine age'. Examples of neo-grotesques
include Helvetica and Univers.
NFNT (New FoNT): Macintosh terminology for the part of a Type 1 or TrueType
Macintosh font that contains the bitmap font.
Oblique: A right-slanted version of a Roman typeface without changes to the
letters design. Often confused with Italic.
Old Style: Characterized by variations in stroke width, bracketed serifs, high
contrast, and a diagonal stroke. Some popular Old Styles include Garamond,
Janson, and Caslon.
OpenType: OpenType font format, jointly developed by Microsoft and Adobe.
OpenType fonts can be TrueType-flavored (or OpenType TT) and PostScriptflavored (or OpenType PS). Both are Unicode-encoded and support special
features like swashes, contextual forms, ligatures etc.
Outline font: A font created by drawing the outlines of each character. A
PostScript font is an outline font.
Outline layer: The layer in the Outline Window used in editing a characters
outline.

527

Fontographer 5
Outline Window: The window that displays a characters points and paths, used
for editing character outlines.
Overshoot: The degree to which a letter stroke extends over the cap-line or xheight.
Path: A sequence of points which may be connected, open, or closed.
Permanent font: A font which resides in a PostScript printer until the power is
turned off.
PFB (Postscript Font Binary) file: A binary file that contains the glyph outline
information for a PC Type 1 font.
PFM (Postscript Font Metrics) file: A binary file that contains the metrics
information for a PC Type 1 font.
Pica: A unit of typographic measurement equal to 0.166 inches or 12 points.
PICT: A Macintosh graphics format that Fontographer and other graphic and page
layout programs use.
Pixel (PICture ELement): Square dots that represent the smallest units displayed
on a computer screen. Typical monitors display about 72 pixels per inch.
Characters and graphics are created by turning pixels on or off.
Point: A unit of typographic measurement equal to approximately 1/72 inch
(0.01383 inches).
Point size: A letters type size is measured by its point size. The point system of
type measurement was invented in 1737 by Pierre Fournir, a Parisian
typefounder. Fournirs unit of measurement was 0.349 mm. In modern desktop
publishing, a point is defined as 1/72 of an inch this point is sometimes called
the PostScript point. The point size always corresponds to the em square. When a
font is set at 10 point, its em square (typically 1000 units) will be scaled to 10 point.
If your capital letter H is 700 units high, it will be 7 point high.
Pop-up: A menu (also referred to as pull-down or drop-down) that appears in a
dialog box or in a main menu when related information is selected.
PostScript: Adobe Systems page description language. Programs like Macromedia
FreeHand use PostScript to create complex pages, text, and graphics on-screen.
This language is then sent to the printer to produce high-quality printed text and
graphics.
POST resource: Macintosh terminology for the part of a Macintosh font that
contains an Adobe Type 1 font.
Preview: A mode for editing or viewing a character which shows a filled outline.

528

Appendix C
Printer font: A font that permanently resides in the printer.
Proportionately spaced type: Type whose character widths vary according to the
features of the letters (as opposed to monospaced type).
RAM: Random Access Memory. The computer printers temporary place for
storing data. When the computer or printer is turned off, the information in RAM
is erased.
Rasterization: The process of converting outlines into bitmaps. The outlines are
scaled to the desired size and filled by turning on pixels inside the outline. (See
pixel.)
Reference: An image that refers to an original character; a composite.
Rendering: The actual placement of rasterized pixels on the monitors display.
Refers both to graphic objects and type, particularly for fonts using hints. Also
called rasterization.
Resolution: The number of dots in an images screen display or printed output. A
monitors resolution refers to the number of pixels per linear inch. Printed
resolution refers to dots per linear inch. (See Dots Per Inch.)
Right justified: Type aligned with its right margin. Also known as flush right.
Sans serif: Typefaces without serifs are literally called 'sans serif'. Within this
broad category there are four main sub-classifications: grotesque, neo-grotesque,
geometric and humanist. Although sans serifs existed as early as 1816, the
Modernist design movement of the 1920's popularized these designs. This
manuals section headings are sans serif. Sans serif type is generally considered
more modern, while serif type is considered more readable. In the United States,
sans serif letters have been called gothic, which in Europe refers to black letters.
Helvetica is an example of a sans serif face.
Scale: To change the size of a character or image by altering it proportionally.
Scan: To digitally capture an image and save it in a format that can be
manipulated or altered from within a computer application; the image can be
autotraced in Fontographer, thus creating a character with editable outlines.
Screen font: Bitmap fonts used for screen display.
Script: Letters are joined and should not be confused with cursive, which are not
connected. Since script is difficult to read, its use should be limited to a few lines
at a time. Early script typefaces were developed in the sixteenth century, and were
based upon formal cursive handwriting.
Scroll bar: The window bars containing arrows that allow the document to be
moved so that other parts of it become visible.

529

Fontographer 5
Serif: A small form that has been added to the ends of larger letter strokes. There
are many different types of serifs, but in general, the main groups are pointed,
hairline, square/slab or wedge/triangular. Serifs may be subtle or pronounced and
bracketed or unbracketed. Serif ends may be blunt, rounded, tapered or pointed. A
serif typeface is one that has any type or style of serifs. Typefaces without serifs
are called sans serif.
Set-width: The width of a letter and its surrounding space; the space needed to set
a line of text in a specific typeface. Some programs have tracking to adjust the
typeface to make it set looser or tighter. Also known as advance width.
sfnt resource: Macintosh terminology for the part of a Macintosh font that
contains a TrueType font.
Sidebearings: The distance between the origin and the left edge of a character (left
sidebearing) and the distance between the width line and the right edge of a
character (right sidebearing).
Skew: Creating an oblique image by transforming paths.
Spacing: The amount of unused area that exists between characters.
Spur: A small, serif-like projection at the end of certain letter strokes, such as at
the base of the upper case G. Spurs are more common in serif typefaces, but spurlike projections exist in many sans serifs, especially grotesques and humanist sans
serifs.
Stem: The main stroke of a letter (usually vertical or diagonal). For example, the
center stroke of the T, or the left-hand stroke of the E, F or L. Not all letters have a
stem (for example, neither C nor S). Certain upper case letters have two stems, as
in the H, N and M. In diagonal letters, the stem is the downward stroke (i.e., the
left side of the A, and the right side of the V and y).
Stroke: Any letter part (such as an arm, stem or bowl) may be referred to as a
stroke.
Style: A visual variation of a basic typeface used to create emphasis. Type style is
important since it can attract (or repel) the readers eye. The four basic computer
styles are Plain, Bold, Italic, and BoldItalic. Other styles could be defined: Many
faces have condensed and extended versions, and some have light and heavy
versions. Ultra-bold is frequently used for headline text.
Style Merger: Macromedias utility that merges Macintosh styled fonts into one
font family.
Suitcase: Macintosh terminology for a file which contains information about a
font or family of fonts.

530

Appendix C
Swash capitals: Uppercase letters that have flourishes added to them. Originally
designed to go with Italic typefaces.
Table: A set of data defining behaviors or relationships of a font. Digital fonts
contain not only the drawings of their characters, but also information about how
those characters should behave. Information about the spacing on each side of a
character (metrics), how close particular characters should be to each other
(kerning), CMaps and many other things can be kept in tables in a font.
Tail: The diagonal stroke of the upper case Q and the descenders on the lower case
j and y. The legs of the K or R could be called tails if they are flowing/calligraphic
in style.
Template layer: The layer of the Outline Window where background images and
scans are inserted.
Terminal: When not finished with a serif, the shaped end of a letter stroke is
called a terminal. Terminals may be angled, flared, rounded, or formed into
circular/teardrop balls.
Textbox: Within a dialog box any rectangular outline that includes text.
Text type: Text type is used for larger masses of text and should be highly
readable.
TTF: see TrueType
Tool palette: The collection of drawing tools in the outline and bitmap windows.
Tracking: The overall letterspacing in text. Tracking can also be used to tighten or
loosen a block of type. Some programs have automatic tracking options which can
add or remove small increments of space between the characters.
Transform: To alter an image by rotating, flipping, scaling, or skewing.
Transient font: A font which stays in the printer memory only until the current
document is finished printing.
TransType: Universal font format converter for Mac and Windows from Fontlab
Ltd.
TrueType: A font format using quadratic b-spline mathematics to describe glyph
outlines. Developed and promulgated by Microsoft and Apple.
Type 1 (Adobe Type 1, PostScript Type 1): A font format using cubic b-spline
mathematics to describe glyph outlines. Developed and promulgated by Adobe
Systems.

531

Fontographer 5
Type 3 (Adobe Type 3, PostScript Type 3): Also referred to as user-defined fonts,
these are non-Adobe encrypted fonts. They will not render on-screen in usual
environments.
Typeface: A set of characters which share a similar appearance.
Undershoot: The degree to which a letter stroke extends under the baseline.
Unicode: A computing industry standard for the consistent representation and
manipulation of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems. The latest
version of Unicode consists of a repertoire of more than 107,000 characters
covering 90 scripts.
Unicode range: The portion of Unicode dealing with a particular language or
script. E.g. the Hebrew range, the Cyrillic range, the extended Latin
range. Unicode range is not limited to 256 characters. It is usually a contiguous
part of Unicode.
UPM size: see em square.
Vertex: A lower point where two strokes meet, as in the base of the V or N, or the
central low point of the M.
VFB format: The internal database format of Fontlab products.
Weight: The measurement of a strokes width; or, in general, the heaviness of a
character or font. Common names for weights include demibold, light, and bold.
Some typeface families have several weights, including ultra-bold and extra-light.
x-height: The x-height line marks the top of the lower case letters without
ascenders or descenders, such as x and o. This line may be positioned anywhere
you wish, since it is only a guideline. In general, typefaces with taller x-heights are
perceived as larger and more readable than those with small x-heights.

532

Index
A
Add Fonts dialog, 339
adding guidelines, 127, 129
Adobe Type Manager, 308, 316, 338
Adobe Type One Font Format book,
405
Adobe Type One Font Specificatio n,
392, 404
Advanced Auto Kerning, 256
Advanced Auto Spacing, 253
spacing direction, 255
spacing technique, 255
which glyphs screen, 253
Advanced Tracing Options, 111
allow curve fit errors, 112
AFM, 309
Arc Tool, 67, 69, 447
Arc Types, 67
arcs
keyboard shortcuts for, 68
arrow keys, 19, 39, 180, 234, 381, 454,
480
ascender, 22, 128, 265
ascent, 24, 35, 160, 198, 201, 453,
459, 513
Ascent Values, 201
ascent, 128
ASCII character, 318
ASCII glyph
representation of, 28
Asian CJK, 18, 377
assisted metrics, 245
auto curvature
example of, 192
Auto Kerning, 226
advanced, 256
easy mode, 226
technique screen, 257
Auto Spacing

advanced mode, 253

Auto Spacing, 216
easy mode, 218
autohinting, 398, 402, 405
Autosave
preferences, 19, 377
Autotracing, 107

B
baseline, 25, 102
basepoint, 25, 102
basic shape tools, 55
BCPs
for control points, 189
for curve points, 189
for tangent points, 191
placing, 188
retracting, 183, 191
Bzier control points, 45, 188
Bitmap
enlarging, 210
importing, 213, 459
recalculating, 212
reducing, 210
Bitmap Files
Exporting EPS, 322
Bitmap Fonts, 214, 319
Bitmap Format, 321
Bitmap Information dialog box, 197
Bitmap point sizes, 320
Bitmap Window, 30, 34, 197, 450
changing point size, 453
eraser tool, 205
hand tool, 204
lock icon, 198
magnifying tool, 207
marquee selection tool, 205
measuring tool, 207
move tool, 206

Fontographer 5
opening, 199
pencil tool, 201, 205
Recalculate from outline button,
35, 198
straight line tool, 204
switching glyphs, 210, 453
Blending fonts, 150, 388
Blue Zones, 403

C
Calligraphic Pen tool, 57
Cap and Join, 470
Change button, 88
Change Path Direction, 163
changing width, 99
Character Information dialog, 161
character mode, 26
Character Palette, 412
character(s)
viewing, 437
Choose letters option
in advanced autokerning, 257
clearing kerning, 237
click-selecting objects, 47
Clockwise, 163
Cloning, 173
Closing windows, 72
Composite Glyphs
creating, 93
constraining tools, 69
control point tools, 59
Control Point(s)
hiding, 187
Copy Component command, 93
corner point tool, 60
Corner Point(s), 167
Corner Tool, 444
Counterclockwise, 163
Creating
hints, 400
ligatures, 97
new fonts, 105
stroked fonts, 132
variable weight glyphs, 148
534

Cursor Key Distance, 19

curve point tool, 59, 166
Curve Point(s), 166
Curve Tool, 444
Custom Encoding, 268, 407

D
Database font, 86
Decimal viewing, 437
Decompose Component command,
96
Default Preferences, 387
descender, 22, 23, 128, 265
descent, 24, 35, 128, 201, 453
deselecting objects, 45
Design parameters, 262
Dialog boxes
placement, 21
setting preferences for, 21
Dialogs
preferences, 385
Dont kern lowercase to uppercase
in advanced autokerning, 259
dragging, 42
drag-selecting objects, 46
drawing layers, 50
DSIG preferences, 386
Duplicating, 173

E
editing behavior preferences, 19
Editing hints in outline window, 399
editing preferences, 380
EEULAA, 274
em square, 22
Embedding, 272, 273
Encoding
custom, 268
original, 268
preferences, 379
Type 1 Adobe standard, 269
End Caps
butt end caps, 135
round end caps, 135

Index
square end caps, 135
enlarging an image, 40
enlarging glyphs, 40
EPAR, 274, 281, 459
exporting, 283
importing, 283
EPS
exporting, 322
importing, 159, 459
Equivalence Classes, 245, 247
Eraser Tool, 205, 451
EULA, 274
Examine Average Distance
in advanced autokerning, 258
in advanced autospacing, 255
Examine Minimum Distance
in advanced autokerning, 258
in advanced autospacing, 255
Examine Weighted Distance
in advanced autokerning, 258
in advanced autospacing, 255
Exceptions screen
in advanced autokerning, 258
Excess Points
removing, 179
Expand Stroke, 136, 471
Exporting EPAR, 283
Exporting metrics, 238

F
feature definition language, 347
Fill Tint
viewing, 438
viewing by, 28
Fill(s)
even/odd, 162
normal, 163
winding number, 163
Fit in Window option, 41
flex, 315
Flip Tool, 62, 445
Flip Transformation, 114
font blending, 150, 388, 417
Font Families, 326

Macintosh, 330
Font Formats, 79, 299
Font Info, 467
advanced mode, 262
Credits, 270
Dimensions, 265
Encoding, 267
Licensing, 272
Names, 262
Font Info dialog box, 298
font label(s), 27
font preview window, 340
Font vendor, 271
font vendors, 271, 411
font window
selecting glyphs in font window, 38
view by, 437
Font(s)
installing in Windows, 340
Font(s)
adding bitmap sizes, 320
database, 86
families, 325
generating, 303
generating cross-platform, 305
generating families with Style
Merger, 331
generating for Macintosh, 307
generating for Windows, 316
interpolating, 389
new, 79, 81
non-Roman ID range, 410
OpenType, 305
script systems, 410
spacing, 219
suitcases, 319
window, 436
Fontlab Studio 5, 490
Fontographer Metrics File, 239
Fonts control panel, 340
Fonts preferences, 379
freehand drawing tool, 56, 140, 148
Freehand Tool, 443
full font name, 264
535

Fontographer 5
G
Generate digital signature
preferences, 386
Generating
multiple master fonts, 432
OpenType fonts, 305
other PostScript Type 3 formats,
314
PostScript Type 1 fonts for
Macintosh, 308, 310
PostScript Type 1 fonts for
Windows, 316
PostScript Type 3 fonts for
Macintosh, 312
PostScript Type 3 fonts for
Windows, 318
TrueType fonts, 311
generating font(s), 88
Ghost Hint, 402
glyph class, 349
Glyph Display
choosing new glyph, 232
in metrics window, 231
Glyph Information, 469
Glyph Information dialog, 268
glyph name, 349
glyph properties, 440
glyph slots, 28
glyph(s)
changing in outline window, 33
information, 469
select discontinuous, 39
selecting, 38
selecting a single glyph, 38
selecting range of, 38
selecting with arrow keys, 39
spacing, 219
undefined, 29
variable weight, 148
vertical spacing, 236
viewing in outline window, 40
Grid Spacing, 20
preferences, 381
Guidelines
536

adding, 127
changing, 52
display, 203
hide, 203
Guides layer, 52

H
Hand Tool, 42, 55, 442, 451
in bitmap window, 204
Hexadecimal viewing, 437
Hinting
automatic, 398
changing direction, 399
definition, 396
flipping direction, 399
fonts, 392
horizontal stem, 400
illustration, 397
manual, 398
vertical stems, 401
Hints
ghost, 402
removing, 400
Hints layer, 53
Horizontal Size
don't change option, 83
Horizontal Stem
hinting, 400
Hypercube, 419

I
image
enlarging, 41
reducing, 41
Importing
bitmaps, 459
EPAR, 283
EPS, 459
EPS images, 159
metrics, 459
outline path data, 159
Importing metrics, 237
info bar, 26, 31, 32
Input menu, 412

Index
installing
fonts in Windows, 340
installing font(s), 89
interpolating
fonts, 389

K
Kern Distance, 37
Kerning
definition, 454
tables, 237
Kerning Assistance, 249
dialog, 249
link all, 250
Kerning Direction
in advanced autokerning, 257
Kerning Pairs
printing, 293
Kerning Speed
in advanced autokerning, 258
Kerning Tables
storing, 237
Kerning technique
in advanced autokerning, 258
Key Map
printing, 292
keyboard shortcuts
arcs, 68
keystroke mode, 26
Knife Tool, 58, 443

L
language system, 352
Largest Pairs First
direction to kern, 258
in advanced autokerning, 258
Layer(s)
drawing, 50
guides, 52, 448
hints, 53, 448
outline, 50, 448
palette, 54, 448
template, 51, 448
visible, 203

leading, 23
Left Sidebearing, 37
viewing, 438
viewing by, 27
license, 272
ligatures, 97
Line gap, 23
Line Joins
bevel joins, 135
miter joins, 135
round joins, 135
Linespacing
preferences, 19
Lock Icon, 33, 198
locking glyphs, 33
Logo(s)
changing width, 159
scaling, 159
lookup, 346, 355

M
Mac OS X
installing OpenType fonts, 337
installing PostScript fonts, 336
installing Windows fonts, 337
Macintosh
font families, 330
installing PostScript fonts, 336
removing fonts in Mac OS X, 341
Magnification
command keys, 210
decreasing, 449
from the View menu, 210
increasing, 449
options, 41
Magnifying Tool, 66, 446, 452
in bitmap window, 207
using, 40
Marquee Selection Tool
in bitmap window, 205
Marquee Tool, 451
Measuring Tool, 66, 446
constraining, 70
in bitmap window, 452
537

Fontographer 5
menus, 71
Metrics
importing, 459
Metrics Assistance
link all, 247
link to base, 246
Metrics Display
activating a cell, 234
moving from cell to cell, 234
Metrics Window, 30, 36
glyph display area, 228
opening, 36
show kerning icon, 229, 456
spreadsheet area, 228
text link, 229, 456
Most Common Pairs First
in advanced autokerning, 258
Most Common Then Largest
in advanced autokerning, 258
Move selection distance, 381
Move Tools, 35, 451
in bitmap window, 206
Move transformation, 115
Moving
by dragging, 42
template images, 108
Multigon Tool, 55, 442
Multiple Master Font(s), 413
creating one-dimensional, 414
FOND name, 428
Greg Thompson article, 417
NFNT, 428
suggested name values, 430
Multiple Points
selecting, 169

N
naming font(s), 85
naming glyphs, 358
New Font, 79, 81
New Hints
creating, 400
Next Bitmap Point Size, 211, 453
Next Glyph Item, 449, 453
538

Next Point In Path

selecting, 182
NFNT Format, 321

O
objects
selecting, 45
Octal viewing, 437
Offset, 453
Offset Value, 202
ont version, 270
Open Font, 77
opening
bitmap window, 34
glyphs outline window, 31
metrics window, 479
windows, 30
OpenType features
preparing, 358
OpenType fonts, 305, 343
generating, 357
importing, 356
Latin features, 371
OpenType layout features, 306, 344
OpenType Options, 306
OpenType PS, 299
OpenType TT, 300
OpenType-CFF, 299
origin line, 25, 52
Original Encoding, 268
OTF, 299
Outline layer, 50
Outline vs. Stroked Glyphs, 132
Outline Window, 31
changing glyphs, 33
editing hints, 399
next glyph item, 449
previous glyph item, 449
viewing glyphs in, 40
Oval Tool, 56
Oval Tool, 69, 442
Overwrite existing files option, 88

Index
P
Pairs To Kern First
in advanced autokerning, 257
palettes
using, 54
Pasting Images
into template layer, 107
Path Direction indicator, 33, 165
Path(s)
closed, 162
correcting direction, 164
filling, 162
open, 162
reversing direction, 165
selecting parts of, 48
Pen Tool, 57, 443
Pencil Tool, 205, 451
Perspective Tool, 65, 446
Point Display, 21
preferences, 383
Point Information dialog, 182, 391
Point Mapping
multiple master fonts, 427
Point Size
bitmap, 197, 211, 308, 310, 320
Point(s)
corner, 167
excess, 179
moving with mouse, 180
tangent, 168
Pointer Tool, 55, 442
positioning lookups, 364
PostScript, 301
PostScript files
printing, 291
PostScript font name, 264
PostScript Font(s)
installing on Macintosh, 336
PostScript Type 1 Fonts
opening, 405
PostScript Type 3
generating for Macintosh, 312
generating for Windows, 318
generating other formats, 314

Preferences
automatically fit glyphs to
windows, 385
autosave, 19, 377
cursor editing behavior, 181
dialog boxes, 21
editing behavior, 19, 184
grid spacing, 381
linespacing, 19
move palettes with windows, 385
move selection distance, 381
point display, 21, 186
remember dialog box positions,
385
remember dialog box values, 385
setting, 18
snapping distance, 381
snap-to-point, 381
undo, 18
windows, 21
pressure sensitive tool, 57
Preview, 43, 463
Previous Bitmap Point Size, 211, 453
Previous Glyph Item, 453
Previous Point In Path
selecting, 182
Print Sample dialog, 286, 460
Printing
all glyphs, 287
glyphs, 460
kerning pairs, 293, 460
key map, 292, 460
PostScript file, 291, 460
sample file, 290, 460
sample glyphs, 294
sample text, 460
selected glyphs, 288
specific text samples, 289

Q
quitting Fontographer, 72

R
Recalculate from outline, 35, 198
539

Fontographer 5
recently used font(s), 78
recommendations, 281
Rectangle Tool, 55, 69, 442
Redo, 71, 209
reducing an image, 40
reducing glyphs, 40
Reference Glyph(s)
changing, 95
Remove Overlap command, 164
Removing
Macintosh font, 341
Windows font, 341
Removing Fonts, 341
Removing Hints, 400
Resizing
template image, 108
Restore Defaults, 387
reverting font, 87
Right Sidebearing, 37
viewing, 438
viewing by, 28
Rotate Tool, 61, 444
Rotate transformation, 117

S
safe zone bottom, 24, 265
safe zone top, 24, 265
Sample Glyphs
printing, 294
Sample Text
printing, 287
Saving font(s), 86
Scale, 118
Scale Tool, 63, 122, 445
script, 352
scroll bar, 27
scroll bars, 31, 36
scrolling
with hand tool, 42
Searching glyphs, 440
Selecting
all the points, 169
entire path, 169
glyph(s), 38
540

objects, 45
parts of a path, 48
path or points, 49
Set Basepoint dialog, 102
Set Width
change width by % value, 477
change width by em units, 477
Setting
basepoint, 102
guidelines, 127
preferences, 18
stroke attributes, 133
shift-selecting objects, 47
Show kerning icon, 36
Show Points option, 44
Sidebearings
viewing by, 27
Size
horizontal, 83
vertical, 83
sizing glyphs, 40
Skew glyphs, 91
Skew Tool, 64, 120, 445
Skew transformation, 120
Smooth outline, 19, 380
Snapping Distance
preferences, 381
Snap-to-Point
preferences, 381
sounds, 378
Spacing
key commands, 455
Spacing Direction
in advanced autospacing, 255
Spacing Technique
in advanced autospacing, 255
Special Keys, 480
Spreadsheet Area
in metrics window, 234
Straight Line Tool, 56, 204, 443, 451
constraining, 204
Stroke Tint
viewing, 438
viewing by, 28

Index
Stroke Weight
viewing, 439
viewing by, 28
Stroke(s), 469
expanding, 471
style linking, 327
Style Merger, 330
creating families, 331
substitution lookups, 359
Sutcliffe
Judy, 171
Switching Glyphs
in bitmap window, 210
Symbol Encoded Windows Fonts,
318
System 7.1
WorldScript, 410

T
Tangent point tool, 60, 168
Tangent Tool, 444
Technique screen
in advanced autospacing, 254
Template Image
moving, 108
resizing, 108
Template Layer, 51
pasting images, 107
Terminology
design coordinate, 421
master design, 419
normalized coordinates, 419
primary font, 423
Text String Notation, 230
title bar, 26
tool palette, 54
Tool(s)
arc, 69
arc tool, 67, 447
calligraphic pen, 57
constraining, 69
control point, 59
corner, 444
corner point, 60

curve, 444
curve point, 59
eraser, 451
flip, 62, 445
freehand, 443
freehand drawing, 56
hand, 55, 442, 451
knife, 58, 443
magnifying, 66, 446, 452
marquee, 451
measuring, 66, 446, 452
move, 451
multigon, 55, 442
oval, 69, 442
palette for, 54
pen, 57, 443
pencil, 451
perspective, 65, 446
pointer, 55
pressure sensitive, 57
rectangle, 69, 442
rotate, 61, 444
scale, 63, 445
skew, 64, 445
straight line, 443, 451
tangent, 444
tangent point, 60
transformation, 61
Tracing
images, 109
Transform command, 100
transformation tools, 61
TransType Pro, 330
TrueType, 300
TrueType Collection, 81
TrueType Font(s), 196
generating, 311
importing characters, 459
TrueType Fonts
opening, 406
TTC, 81
Type 1, 301
Typographic family name, 262
Typographic style name, 262
541

Fontographer 5
U
Underline position, 266
Underline width, 266
Undo, 71, 209
preferences, 18
Unicode Codepoint, 469
Unicode Name, 469
UPM size, 22, 265

V
Value(s)
ascent, 201
descent, 201
offset, 202
width, 202
Variable Weight Glyphs
creating, 148
Vertical Alignment Zones, 403
Vertical Alignment Zones dialog, 403
vertical kerning, 236, 237
Vertical Size
dont change option, 83
Vertical spacing, 236
Vertical Stem
hinting, 400
View By Character
in font window, 437
View By Keystroke
in font window, 437
View by menu, 27
in font window, 437
View By Unicode
in font window, 437
View menu
changing point size, 453
next glyph item, 453
previous glyph item, 453
using, 33
Viewing by
character, 27
code, 27
fill tint, 28
keystroke, 27

542

sidebearings, 27
stroke tint, 28
stroke weight, 28
Unicode codepoint, 27
viewing glyphs, 40
viewing modes, 43

W
Weight, 470
changing, 82
When a path is clicked on
preferences, 382
Which Glyphs screen
in advanced autokerning, 256
in advanced autospacing, 253
Width Value, 202
Width(s), 25, 453
changing, 99
definition, 454
in metrics display, 37
viewing, 438
Win Ascender, 265
Win Descender, 265
Winding Number Fill, 162
window
preferences, 385
windows
closing, 72
opening, 30
setting preferences for, 21
windows placement, 21
Windows Type 1 Font(s)
generating options, 317
Wingdings, 318
WorldScript, 410

X
x-height, 24, 265

Z
zooming in on glyphs, 40
zooming out on glyphs, 40

Acknowledgments
Originally written and edited at Altsys and Macromedia by Katharine Green, Pete
Mason, Jim Von Ehr, and Taeza Pittman.
Revised at Fontlab Ltd. by Alex Petrov and Adam Twardoch.