The Font Creator Program v4.0.4 (v4.0.4.141)

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Bhikkhu Pesala
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The Font Creator Program v4.0.4 (v4.0.4.141)

Post by Bhikkhu Pesala »

Validation Wizard
I like this feature. It is now easy to focus on problems of a particular type. The automatic fixing of problems is a great time saver. Not checking for errors you don't want to fix simplifies the Problem Report. Automatically fixing errors simplifies the Problem Report even further as there are no problems to report. :lol:

:?: Perhaps the warning about loss of hinting information needs to be in bold, though people making new fonts will not be affected by this.

Glyph Sorting
This only seems to work for Macintosh mappings, not for Unicode. :(
Rather pointless since Font Creator doesn't produce fonts for the Macintosh. Is this hard to change?

Zoom Tools
  • The zoom out tool is redundant
  • Zoom to selected can easily be done by dragging a marquee with the zoom in tool.
  • Fit on screen doesn't fill the screen.
  • Zoom factor percentage might be better as a drop down list with standard percentages. As it stands I never use it.
  • Zoom to fit could be replaced and set as the default for the drop down list.
A Few Other Points
  • The new advanced tab on the Options Dialogue is helpful.
  • Font smoothing in glyph overview helps when viewing at small sizes, but it slows down screen redraw noticeably on my slow PC (Now a 1 Ghz Athlon is slow :roll: )
  • Is there any likelihood that we will see automatic hinting feature in the near future :?:
  • Search glyph in the insert glyph dialogue now works much better
My FontsReviews: MainTypeFont CreatorHelpFC15 + MT12.0 @ Win 10 64-bit build 19045.2486
Erwin Denissen
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Post by Erwin Denissen »

Bhikkhu,

Thanks for your fast response to the new release!
Perhaps the warning about loss of hinting information needs to be in bold, though people making new fonts will not be affected by this.


Good point. The warning is only necessary when working on hinted fonts. I'll make sure this warning won't pop-up when working with unhinted fonts.
Glyph Sorting
This only seems to work for Macintosh mappings, not for Unicode.
Rather pointless since Font Creator doesn't produce fonts for the Macintosh. Is this hard to change?


I should have explained this new feature in the first place...

Sorting first sorts glyphs by their Macintosh mappings as this is somehow requested by the TrueType/ OpenType specifiactions.

After all glyphs are sorted by their Macintosh mappings, sorting will be based on the Microsoft mappings. Finally glyphs without Macintosh and Microsoft mappings will be sorted by the postscript names.


Zoom Tools

The zoom out tool is redundant
I know but I'm not sure whether all users are familiar with the new zoom functionality. I might remove it later.
Zoom to selected can easily be done by dragging a marquee with the zoom in tool.
True, but to be honest I use it quite often.
Fit on screen doesn't fill the screen.
I will look into it.
Zoom factor percentage might be better as a drop down list with standard percentages. As it stands I never use it.

Zoom to fit could be replaced and set as the default for the drop down list.
Unfortunately a drop down list is not possible with the technology used to build the toolbars.
A Few Other Points

The new advanced tab on the Options Dialogue is helpful.
Perfect!
Font smoothing in glyph overview helps when viewing at small sizes, but it slows down screen redraw noticeably on my slow PC (Now a 1 Ghz Athlon is slow )


I'm glad you have noticed this setting; it is available since version 4.0 :)
Is there any likelihood that we will see automatic hinting feature in the near future
I would like to include hinting support but it is too complicated to implement it in the near future. Maybe one day...
Search glyph in the insert glyph dialogue now works much better
Thanks!
Erwin Denissen
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Bhikkhu Pesala
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Post by Bhikkhu Pesala »

I have edited my macros for inserting glyphs into composite glyphs.
They are now much easier to edit and to understand. Even without Perfect Keyboard Pro, I exepct you can understand how it works.

Macro to Insert Combining Grave Accent
<alt>ILP<alt><tab>768<enter><tab><tab><enter>

Macro to Insert Combining Acute Accent
<alt>ILP<alt><tab>769<enter><tab><tab><enter>

Macro to Insert Combining Dot Below
<alt>ILP<alt><tab>803<enter><tab><tab><enter>

This really speeds up the process of creating composite characters.
Last edited by Bhikkhu Pesala on Mon Jul 28, 2003 9:57 am, edited 1 time in total.
My FontsReviews: MainTypeFont CreatorHelpFC15 + MT12.0 @ Win 10 64-bit build 19045.2486
Bhikkhu Pesala
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Post by Bhikkhu Pesala »

Removing the Zoom-out Tool
Users who don't know about Alter Zoom-in may never learn if you leave the zoom-out tool there. If you remove it, they will soon learn.

New users will not miss what they never had.

Is it possible to add a Pan tool to Control Zoom-in?
My FontsReviews: MainTypeFont CreatorHelpFC15 + MT12.0 @ Win 10 64-bit build 19045.2486
Bhikkhu Pesala
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Post by Bhikkhu Pesala »

Sorting of Glyphs
I wonder if sorting glyphs for display could not be completely independent of sorting within the font data. After all, that is all that really matters when looking for a glyph in the Overview.
My FontsReviews: MainTypeFont CreatorHelpFC15 + MT12.0 @ Win 10 64-bit build 19045.2486
Erwin Denissen
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Post by Erwin Denissen »

Is it possible to add a Pan tool to Control Zoom-in?
I've added it to the todo list.
I wonder if sorting glyphs for display could not be completely independent of sorting within the font data. After all, that is all that really matters when looking for a glyph in the Overview.
The whole overview window is based on the actual glyph order. It would take a lot of rework to change this.
Erwin Denissen
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Proven Font Technology
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