I ran some tests using FontDrop.info to review the metadata. I can now understand what the problem is, and I see multiple problems. This is all for exporting via ‘Statics from Instances’:
Additional Naming Fields > “Generate the Following naming fields on export” is UNCHECKED
- Fontcreator ignores Instances > General > Style Name. This field should probably be written to ID 2, font subfamily.
- Fontcreator does not write our entries for Typographic Family to ID 16, Preferred Family.
- Fontcreator does not write our entries for Typographic Subfamily Name to ID 17, Preferred Subfamily for the Regular instance
Additional Naming Fields > “Generate the Following naming fields on export” is CHECKED
- Fontcreator creates its own Font Family name, ID 1, which it builds out of the Font > General > Family Name and Instances > General > Style Name
- Fontcreator takes the Font > General > Family name and uses it as the Preferred Family, ID 16, but only for Instances that are not the Regular instance
- Fontcreator takes the Instances > General > Style Name and sets it as the Preferred Subfamily Name, ID 17, but only for Instances that are not the Regular instance.
Nothing about this behaviour is predictable, intuitive, or documented correctly in this master post: How to Group Widths and Weights as font styles inside one Typeface - #3 by outofstepfontco
I see from this analysis that it is absolutely necessary to check the “Generate the Following naming fields on export” for the first four fields under Instances > Additional Naming Fields. You execute a strategy where each Instance has a unique ID 1 Family Name, but share the ID 16 Preferred Family name.
I think the bigger issue is that we as Fontcreator users have not been left with any ability to write a common ID 1 Family name, unique ID 2 subfamily name, or ID 16 Typographic Family Name. Leaving the “Generate the Following naming fields on export” box unchecked writes only two metafields in a predictable and reliable manner: ID 1 Family name, and ID 17 Typographic Subfamily, but only for non-Regular instances.
