Add a Language Block using Tools.
Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2010 4:59 pm
Help your Font to be the best it can be:
Perhaps you have friends interested in Math, Music, and the language of Myanmar; the Buddhist nation previously known as Burma.
You can easily add pre-mapped blocks of glyph editing windows for whatever you want -IF the Unicode Consortium has accepted them. If not, you can request that your special symbols be added at
http://www.unicode.org/pending/proposals.html
(*NOTE from vanisaac: "It's not horrible, but it's not easy either. The process is definitely skewed towards the frustratingly lengthy, however. There may, in fact, be a dedicated Dantean circle of purgatory in which the Unicode Technical Committee operates. It definitely resides at a higher level than, say, the middle east peace process, but is, nonetheless, an exercise in patience and hoop-jumping."
Step 1: A quick glance at http://www.unicode.org/Public/UNIDATA/Blocks.txt provides most of the information you need.
To make sure your font covers most Latin based languages, you may wish to be sure your font contains:
0000-007F; Basic Latin
0080-00FF; Latin-1 Supplement
0100-017F; Latin Extended - A
0180-024F; Latin Extended - B
2C60-2C7F: Latin Extended - C
A720-A7FF; Latin Extended - D
How far do you want to go with Math? Do not assume I found every symbol. I'm NOT a Brilliant mathematician.
2070-209F; Superscripts and Subscripts
2150-218F; Number Forms
2200-22FF; Mathematical Operators
27C0-27EF; Misc. Math Symbols - A
2980-29FF; Misc. Math Symbols - B
1D400-1D7FF; Math Alphanumeric Symbols
If at some point an added block is larger than $FFFF, FC will automatically add the needed Unicode Platform to your font.
(NOTE from Erwin: This is only true when you use the Insert Character feature, but that is only available in the Professional Edition.)
To be sure it is there you may check at Select Format / Platform manager.
If it is not present it is easy to add. Continue with / Add / Windows / UCS-4. / OK Music is a snap.
1D100-1D1FF; Musical Symbols
And now for Myanmar:
1000-109F; Myanmar
AA60-AA7F; Myanmar Extended - A
Step 2: From Tools select Glyph transformer.
Select Characters and Glyphs, Insert Characters, and press the insert arrow. In the script box that appears below, type a Dollar sign "$" in front of each starting and ending block number so the computer will know the number is hexadecimal.
(NOTE from Erwin: Also you then need to select "Copy from Windows Unicode BMP (UCS-2)".)
This is a very powerful tool. a glimpse of it's possibilities can be found at:
http://www.high-logic.com/fontcreator/manual/index.html
Step 3: All that is left is to add the glyphs.
Scroll down to the last previous characters of your font and there you will find the new editing windows.
No matter what order you put them in, they always attach at the end. If this order bothers you, when you get through adding blocks you can always Sort Characters.
To check on which glyph belongs in each editing window, right click on the window and select the last option, Properties.
Select the Mapping Tab and you will see the Character expected in this glyph is the Myanmar Letter GA
If you don't know what a Myanmar GA looks like, Go to the Unicode Roadmap
Selecting any name will allow you to download a PDF about that block AND representations of the glyphs that go in each window.
Have fun!
Perhaps you have friends interested in Math, Music, and the language of Myanmar; the Buddhist nation previously known as Burma.
You can easily add pre-mapped blocks of glyph editing windows for whatever you want -IF the Unicode Consortium has accepted them. If not, you can request that your special symbols be added at
http://www.unicode.org/pending/proposals.html
(*NOTE from vanisaac: "It's not horrible, but it's not easy either. The process is definitely skewed towards the frustratingly lengthy, however. There may, in fact, be a dedicated Dantean circle of purgatory in which the Unicode Technical Committee operates. It definitely resides at a higher level than, say, the middle east peace process, but is, nonetheless, an exercise in patience and hoop-jumping."
Step 1: A quick glance at http://www.unicode.org/Public/UNIDATA/Blocks.txt provides most of the information you need.
To make sure your font covers most Latin based languages, you may wish to be sure your font contains:
0000-007F; Basic Latin
0080-00FF; Latin-1 Supplement
0100-017F; Latin Extended - A
0180-024F; Latin Extended - B
2C60-2C7F: Latin Extended - C
A720-A7FF; Latin Extended - D
How far do you want to go with Math? Do not assume I found every symbol. I'm NOT a Brilliant mathematician.
2070-209F; Superscripts and Subscripts
2150-218F; Number Forms
2200-22FF; Mathematical Operators
27C0-27EF; Misc. Math Symbols - A
2980-29FF; Misc. Math Symbols - B
1D400-1D7FF; Math Alphanumeric Symbols
If at some point an added block is larger than $FFFF, FC will automatically add the needed Unicode Platform to your font.
(NOTE from Erwin: This is only true when you use the Insert Character feature, but that is only available in the Professional Edition.)
To be sure it is there you may check at Select Format / Platform manager.
If it is not present it is easy to add. Continue with / Add / Windows / UCS-4. / OK Music is a snap.
1D100-1D1FF; Musical Symbols
And now for Myanmar:
1000-109F; Myanmar
AA60-AA7F; Myanmar Extended - A
Step 2: From Tools select Glyph transformer.
Select Characters and Glyphs, Insert Characters, and press the insert arrow. In the script box that appears below, type a Dollar sign "$" in front of each starting and ending block number so the computer will know the number is hexadecimal.
(NOTE from Erwin: Also you then need to select "Copy from Windows Unicode BMP (UCS-2)".)
This is a very powerful tool. a glimpse of it's possibilities can be found at:
http://www.high-logic.com/fontcreator/manual/index.html
Step 3: All that is left is to add the glyphs.
Scroll down to the last previous characters of your font and there you will find the new editing windows.
No matter what order you put them in, they always attach at the end. If this order bothers you, when you get through adding blocks you can always Sort Characters.
To check on which glyph belongs in each editing window, right click on the window and select the last option, Properties.
Select the Mapping Tab and you will see the Character expected in this glyph is the Myanmar Letter GA
If you don't know what a Myanmar GA looks like, Go to the Unicode Roadmap
Selecting any name will allow you to download a PDF about that block AND representations of the glyphs that go in each window.
Have fun!