Setting the Bearing of Multiple Selected Contours to the Same Value Changes Their Positions

[faisal.quadirey]

FontCreator 16.0.0.3080 (64-bit)

Problem Description

I have encountered a reproducible problem when changing the bearing of multiple selected contours simultaneously.

If multiple contours have different existing bearings and I select all of them and set their bearing to the same value—for example, 0—FontCreator changes the position of the actual contour shapes instead of changing only their bearing/positioning relationship.

As a result, the contours are visibly displaced from their original positions. In my case, the shapes generally shift toward the right after setting the bearings to 0.

This is particularly problematic because changing the bearing of a contour should not unexpectedly move the actual drawing relative to the glyph’s intended coordinate system.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Open a font in FontCreator 16.0.0.3080 (64-bit).
2. Open a glyph containing multiple contours.
3. Select multiple contours at the same time.
4. Make sure the selected contours have different existing bearings.
5. Use the bearing function to set the bearing of all selected contours to the same value, for example:
   0
6. Observe the position of the contours before and after applying the change.

Actual Behavior

After applying the same bearing value to the selected contours, the actual contour shapes move from their previous positions.

In the attached screenshots, the “before applying bearings” screenshot shows the original positioning of the shapes. After setting the bearings to 0, the “after applying bearings” screenshot shows that the shapes have shifted, generally toward the right.

The operation therefore appears to be modifying the contours’ actual X positions/geometry rather than simply normalizing their bearing values.

Expected Behavior

When applying the same bearing value to multiple selected contours, FontCreator should change the relevant bearing/side-bearing information without unintentionally changing the actual position of the contour artwork.

In other words:

Changing a contour’s bearing should not cause the contour itself to move unexpectedly unless the user explicitly requests a geometric transformation.

If the bearing operation is mathematically supposed to reposition the contour relative to the glyph origin, then FontCreator should at least make this behavior explicit and consistent. However, when multiple contours are selected and their bearings are normalized to the same value, the operation should preserve their intended relative positioning and should not produce an unexpected horizontal displacement of the artwork.

Why This Is Important

This becomes especially problematic when working with complex glyphs containing many contours.

A common workflow is to select multiple contours and normalize their bearings to a particular value. If FontCreator moves the artwork as a side effect, the user can unintentionally corrupt the positioning of the glyph components/contours.

The problem is also difficult to detect numerically because the operation appears to be a simple bearing adjustment, while the visible result is a change in the actual contour location.

Request for a Permanent Fix

Please investigate how FontCreator calculates and applies bearings when multiple contours are selected simultaneously.

In particular, please check whether the bearing operation is incorrectly applying the bearing difference as an X-coordinate transformation to each selected contour.

I would request that this behavior be corrected so that:

1. Setting the bearing of multiple selected contours does not unexpectedly move their artwork.
2. The operation produces the same predictable result regardless of the original bearings of the selected contours.
3. The relative positions of the selected contours are preserved.
4. If changing the bearing necessarily requires moving the contour geometry, the operation should clearly distinguish between changing bearing/metrics and performing a geometric translation.
5. Applying a bearing of 0 to multiple selected contours should not cause their shapes to jump horizontally unless that movement is explicitly intended by the user.

Attachments

I have attached two screenshots for comparison:

• Before applying bearings — shows the original contour positioning.
• After applying bearings — shows the result after setting the bearings to 0, where the contour artwork has shifted, predominantly toward the right.

Please compare the two screenshots to observe the unexpected displacement.

This appears to be a bug in the multi-contour bearing calculation/application rather than an intentional geometric transformation, and I would appreciate a permanent fix in a future FontCreator update.