I have been waiting for free applications before trying to make any Opentype fonts.
I now find that Firefox 21 supports at least ligatures. (I have yet to test which other features are supported. I don’t know in which version of Firefox it started.)
I have tried to use VOLT, but there are so many things one must get right! The most detailed guide I have found so far is: “VoltTrainingVideo_WMV.wmv” (from “http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download ... x?id=21959”).
I am enjoying investigating the subject. I was impressed to see that “Promocyja_096.otf” (a Polish script font made by gluk) has a double ł ligature supported by Opentype.
Alan Bernard Hughes
Adding OpenType features
-
honest.bern
- Posts: 42
- Joined: Mon May 05, 2008 8:28 am
- Location: England
- Contact:
-
Bhikkhu Pesala
- Top Typographer
- Posts: 9877
- Joined: Tue Oct 29, 2002 5:28 am
- Location: Seven Kings, London UK
- Contact:
Re: Adding OpenType features
I took a look at VOLT but it seemed too complex to me.
When I came across the method explained in this Tutorial threadI found I could understand it quite easily. Ever since, I have been adding OpenType features to my fonts.
The OpenType Compiler is free, so whichever version of FontCreator you have, or even if you have none, it can be used to add features to your fonts.
Although it is not free, FontCreator 7 can now add OpenType Features. It uses scripts very similar to those used by the OpenType Compiler, so if you understand that method, you can soon learn to use FC7. The Home Edition uses a default script, but to use custom scripts you will need the Standard or Professional editions of FontCreator.
The main advantage over the OpenType Compiler method is the ability to test scripts and see the results immediately within FontCreator. The built-in compiler will tell you if there are any errors and makes it easy to debug scripts.
The export to WOFF feature and WOFF test in Firefox, makes it easy to see how the OpenType features in your fonts interact. If necessary, you can change the order of priority simply by changing the order of the features at the beginning of the script. Firefox supports most features, but Stylistic Alternates require interaction from the user, so you will need to test those in a program that supports OpenType features.
With the OpenType Compiler method, one needs to reorder the features and lookup tables too, making the whole process more long-winded and error-prone.
When I came across the method explained in this Tutorial threadI found I could understand it quite easily. Ever since, I have been adding OpenType features to my fonts.
The OpenType Compiler is free, so whichever version of FontCreator you have, or even if you have none, it can be used to add features to your fonts.
Although it is not free, FontCreator 7 can now add OpenType Features. It uses scripts very similar to those used by the OpenType Compiler, so if you understand that method, you can soon learn to use FC7. The Home Edition uses a default script, but to use custom scripts you will need the Standard or Professional editions of FontCreator.
The main advantage over the OpenType Compiler method is the ability to test scripts and see the results immediately within FontCreator. The built-in compiler will tell you if there are any errors and makes it easy to debug scripts.
The export to WOFF feature and WOFF test in Firefox, makes it easy to see how the OpenType features in your fonts interact. If necessary, you can change the order of priority simply by changing the order of the features at the beginning of the script. Firefox supports most features, but Stylistic Alternates require interaction from the user, so you will need to test those in a program that supports OpenType features.
With the OpenType Compiler method, one needs to reorder the features and lookup tables too, making the whole process more long-winded and error-prone.