Open contours possible?

FontCreator - Font Editor FontCreator - Support
1

Hi,
I just dl’d your demo to see if I could make a font with the contours not closed. I need them that way for a particular application. They will be used for generating CNC cutter paths and I don’t want to re-trace the strokes.
I know its possible within TrueType because I have a couple of fonts like that.

It seems like the contours I add are always automatically closed even if I turn off validation. Also, I don’t seem to be able to make a contour with just 2 points.
Is that right?
Is there a way to make open cotours?

Thanks,
Lowell

2

Hi Lowell,

I know its possible within TrueType because I have a couple of fonts like that.

I assume they fake it, as contours are alway closed. Could you please send those fonts to me so I can look into it?

3

Contours with two points or even with only one point are certainly possible, but I don’t know whether they would work as Truetype Fonts. It might open up new creative possibilities.

An experimental glyph composed of only 2-point contours didn’t show up on screen when tested. It showed up in the overview of FontCreator, but nowhere else.

4

“I assume they fake it, as contours are alway closed. Could you please send those fonts to me so I can look into it?”

Can I email it somewhere? I’d rather not post it.
Thanks,
Lowell

5

Did you spot it yet?

at the bottom of Erwin’s post.

6

I guess I don’t know what’s really in the ttf file, but if I use GetGlyphOutline in Windows GDI, lots of fonts deliver lots of open contours. If I don’t add a closing segment to them before trying to make regions, it doen’t work right for rendering normal text.
Maybe that’s a part of GetGlyphOutline.

It just that for this cutter path application, I need ttf files made to be single stroke and not closed contours.

I was hoping to not have to learn too much about ttf files.

-Lowell

7

Bhikkhu,
Thanks, I emailed Erwin.

When I tried to make two-point contours, they just didn’t show up at all and the character listed as having the number of contours that had more than 2 points.
It probably doesn’t matter if I won’t be able to make open contours anyway, but thanks for the answer.

-Lowell

8

I have seen fonts with “open contours.”

Actually, the lines began as three points, making a closed contour.
Then one point was moved, and placed on top of the closest point.

This made it appear to have only two points.

9

Hi Lowell,

Thanks for the font, I now understand how it is used. It seems only engraving-specific software support these special fonts. Just in case more people are interested in “Stroke Fonts” (also known as Single Stroke, ) I’ve found some more similar fonts here:
http://www.featurecam.com/general/support/engrave_fonts.asp

It is possible to design Stroke Fonts with FontCreator, but it is rather difficult because a glyph is always shown with closed contours. I might add a setting that forces FontCreator to not close the contour and maybe give the line a thickness, so it better represents the output that you get when the font is used with a CNC or engraving machine.

10

Erwin,
Thanks for looking into it.
I don’t suppose its a big commercial necessity for you though.

-Lowell