Last Saturday afternoon, it is now early on Monday morning, I obtained a copy of VOLT and tried to produce an experimental OpenType version of my Chronicle Text font with some automated ligatures in it. Chronicle Text contains many ligatures and the experimental font contains automated ligation for only a few of them. I produced a font, then in a file named CHRONTXE.TTF which I thought was what I wanted. However, I had not completed the process and that file is but a stage in the process, a stage which would not normally be published. However, that file is now renamed CHRONTE0.TTF and published as viewing it as a text file using WordPad is interesting as to how the VOLT system works.
The tutorial starts at the following page.
http://www.microsoft.com/typography/developers/volt/volt_indesign.htm
The next page is as follows.
http://www.microsoft.com/typography/developers/volt/volt_indesign_2.htm
The CHRONTE0.TTF file represents the situation after Stage 2 for the process as described on the following web page.
http://www.microsoft.com/typography/developers/volt/volt_indesign_3.htm
Stages 3, 4 and 5 are about adding other OpenType features which are not about ligatures and those features are not added in this learning experiment.
The newly produced file CHRONTE1.TTF represents the situation after Stage 6 of the process as described on the following web page.
http://www.microsoft.com/typography/developers/volt/volt_indesign_7.htm
The newly produced file CHRONTXE.TTF represents the situation after my doing as much of Stage 7 of the process as described on the following web page as I can without having access to using the InDesign package.
http://www.microsoft.com/typography/developers/volt/volt_indesign_8.htm
Thus the CHRONTXE.TTF file is the one to use for tests using InDesign, CHRONTE0.TTF and CHRONTE1.TTF are supplied as information in case any reader finds them useful for study, either using WordPad or maybe using VOLT.
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~ngo/CHRONTE0.TTF
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~ngo/CHRONTE1.TTF
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~ngo/CHRONTXE.TTF
The original Chronicle Text font is available on the web as follows.
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~ngo/CHRONTXT.TTF
If some readers find opening a font file as text using WordPad to be a problem, the thing to do is first to save the font file to local hard disc storage, then start WordPad, then use File Open… and then select the All Documents (.) choice from the Files of type: selection box.
This should allow the font file to be selected.
The information about the ligature substitutions is available in plain text form within the files CHRONTE0.TTF and CHRONTE1.TTF but not in the file CHRONTXE.TTF.
I started by loading Chronicle Text into FontCreator and producing Chronicle Text Experiments as a copy, just with a changed name and date.
Then, using VOLT, I altered the Chronicle Text Experiments font so as to produce what I hope is a font which will automatically display some ligature glyphs using InDesign or a similar OpenType aware application.
I have tried to add automatic ligature substitution for the following ligatures.
ffi ffl ff fi fl ct ba be bo
I have tried the font in WordPad to ensure that it still works as the original and that appears fine.
Yet I cannot test the font as to whether it can be used in an automated ligature producing manner using InDesign as I have not got access to InDesign, so I do not know whether the font works properly or not in regard to automatic ligature substitution within InDesign.
So, if anyone reading this does have access to InDesign and would be willing to test the font to observe whether it works as intended, then that would be appreciated please.
William Overington
19 March 2007