Support OpenType Features for Arabic

mohyeh77 · Post by **mohyeh77** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 8:34 am

Hello everybody.
this topic specially for FC Tech. support. I think you have heard about Arabic font and all user's problems. what you have done? I see. nothing. You must post your topic in technically way, I think you have to try develop Arabic font by yourself and tell us how it come? because you know much more about your software "FC". By the way you can get the Arabic characters & Unicode from any site on the internet.
please work a lot. and help us to make one Arabic font by your FC. I Got FC to create Arabic fonts not Latin. with Latin your FC working Good. so, why not working Good with Arabic.....
thanks شكرًا

Bhikkhu Pesala · Post by **Bhikkhu Pesala** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 11:38 am

Only speaking for myself here, as a FontCreator user.

There is no question that the author of FontCreator must not do what you demand. He should make decisions based on what he thinks that most users need. If he considers that there is some economic advantage to him by adding OpenType support, then no doubt he will add it, but it is not anything that he must do.

If you must have OpenType support, then you must buy a program that supports OpenType features, or you must use the free one that is supplied by Microsoft — VOLT.

For those of us who do not know Arabic, Hebrew, or Chinese, it is impractical to develop such fonts. I know Burmese, a little, so I could develop a Burmese font, but it may not be as beautiful as a Burmese person could make.

I think you have to try develop Arabic font by yourself and tell us how it come?

We do not know how Arabic glyphs should be designed, nor how they should be joined. Are you saying that the program author must learn Arabic so that he can improve his program?

I suggest that you learn C++ Programming so that you can design a FontEditor program to create OpenType fonts for Arabic.

Erwin Denissen wrote:The Font Creator Program cannot create right-to-left fonts because it requires the GSUB (glyph substitution) table which doesn't work with the product. This is a feature that does exist in OpenType fonts.

You can make a TrueType font and then use Microsoft, Apple or Adobe's free utilities to convert it to Opentype.

Check out the Microsoft Typography web site for information on making OpenType fonts. There are free tools, some specs, and even some articles explaining how to use VOLT (Visual OpenType Layout tool).
http://www.microsoft.com/typography

Bhikkhu Pesala · Post by **Bhikkhu Pesala** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 6:53 pm

Reply sent by email: (Please post all replies on the forum)
Dear Bhikkhu Pesala

First I want to thank you about your post, and your suggestion, I will tell you about my real prob.

Sorry for my bad English!!!!!!

You know there is a site for Unicode character Unicode.org and this site has Unicode range for any Lang.,

The Arabic Unicode has this range::::

Basic Arabic
Arabic supplement
Arabic Presentation Form A
Arabic Presentation Form B

Like any Language Arabic has Unicode Range, but How do you Organize and sort this range in FC. What is first Glyph should be? And what is next and so on to The last glyph and assign the Unicode for each glyph, all Unicode above shows us all Arabic char. (Isolated, initial, medial, final) and Ligature char. I know that FC doesn’t support Open Type features like VOLT and Font Lab, it doesn’t matter; because If you try to open any Arabic font (*.TTF) "Traditional Arabic.ttf" using FC you will get what I mean!

Erwin Denissen wrote:The Font Creator Program cannot create right-to-left fonts because it requires the GSUB (glyph substitution) table which doesn't work with the product. This is a feature that does exist in OpenType fonts.

You can make a TrueType font and then use Microsoft, Apple or Adobe's free utilities to convert it to Opentype.

Note: the first Bold text above tell me that FC program never develop Arabic font!!!!! So, The author of Font Creator must develop the program to include this feature....

The second Bold text tell me I can make True Type, I can't understand this line well, How FC cannot create right to left fonts and you can make true type in the same time!!!!! Be sure I know the different between OTF and TTF, but I wonder How do I make Arabic Font TTF, there is suggestion for Author of FC, I think they must develop FC with new features like add Templates to every Language and user choose his language from templates, then FC organize The Glyphs and put the Unicode range automatically and the user draw outlines in each Glyph and assign font's settings.

Thanks

Erwin Denissen · Post by **Erwin Denissen** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 7:16 pm

You could start with the Insert Characters feature, to add Arabic Unicode ranges.

Yehuda · Post by **Yehuda** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 11:57 am

I have some experience with Hebrew. Right-to-left isn't a problem under Windows XP, since the operating system knows which characters are supposed to go right to left. So it doesn't matter if it's a right-to-left font or not. If characters are mapped correctly, Hebrew (and Arabic) should automatically go right to left.

The problem with Arabic is the way the letters are connected. Here is where you need OpenType, which FC does not support. I don't think it's possible to make a workable Arabic font without the OpenType features. The alternative is to type in the connecting forms directly (which can be done in theory, since they have Unicode mappings in the "presentation forms" areas), but this is messy.