I’m eagerly looking forward to learning all that FC is capable of in this regard!
Fair enough. Once the lookup (e.g. padj_vwl) is selected in the left tree, what do I do with it? E.g., How do I view the individual substitution table (e.g. padj_vwl\RTm) and edit it?
For tables that don’t use classes the answers are clear, a viewing field comes up. But what about the case of the screenshot provided in the original inquiry? How can I view what’s happening when glyph classes are used instead of individual glyphs?
We’ve seen fonts which contain contextual lookups which refer to contextual lookups. This is not possible within VOLT for example. Also descriptions for stylistic sets are not possible with VOLT.
You can select all sub tables in the combo box as seen at the upper right area. In your example you are actually looking at padj_vwl\RTm. If you wish to see the substitution table you will need to look for the reference lookup named padj_vwl\RTm_ref which happens to be a SingleAdjustment lookup.
I’m confident we both agree the contextual lookups should be made more intuitive, but so far we’ve never heard any suggestions about how to accomplish this. So if you have ideas, let us know!
Hmm.. was aware that OpenType (but not VOLT) supported the second, but not aware of the first. Would like to learn more about this.
Can see the subtables combo box; to the right there is a “gears” button that brings up the Subtable Manager. And to the right there is a Substitution Tables column. But can’t find
i) the place where I’m supposed to edit XPlacement, XAdvance etc. for this subtable, nor
ii) a viewing field for glyphs in the subtable.
I assume that i) must be there but can’t find it.. e.g., XAdvance=200
Is ii) something yet to be implemented?
Will keep this in mind as I continue to study and, eventually, master OTD. Many thanks!
Ah! Was looking at the lookup under the Features tree, which was so long I didn’t see the Lookups tree underneath..
Yes, VOLT is “oversimplified” and hides things from the user in comparison to OTD, which appears to more precisely mirror the structure of the actual OpenType tables.
Question: Why are some tables editable under the Features tree and not others (e.g., contextuals)? With so many lookups, jumping from the Lookups tree to the Features tree and back is inefficient.
There seems to be enough space to the right of the Substitution Tables column to place a dialog for choosing and editing sublookups.
Or perhaps add a sublookups branch to the Features tree.
In any case these things no doubt require very careful thought. Upon getting more familiar with OTD, will be in a position to make better suggestions
Because those lookups will all be applied, so if you also included a lookup which is actually a substitution table of a contextual lookup, it would also be applied regardless of the context. I hope my explanation makes sense.
I think so.. contextual fields and substitution tables are decoupled, allowing for greater flexibility.
One idea for consideration: From a contextual lookup under a feature, perhaps under “Substitution Table”, perhaps add an option to right-click on the name of a particular substitution table and to jump to its place in the Lookups tree.
And from a substitution table in the lookups tree, perhaps add a way to see what contextual fields if any use that table and allow the user to select and jump back to that contextual field under the Feature tree.
Or something along these lines… Does that make sense?
Many thanks!