Is it possible (or are there plans) to support a mechanism where a single decorative glyph can serve as a fixed frame that dynamically wraps around a sequence of Arabic numerals (e.g. from 1 to 999)?
The idea is to create one decorative shape — similar to the verse markers used in the Qur’an — and insert a changing number inside it, without the need to design hundreds of separate glyphs like ﴿1﴾, ﴿2﴾, …, ﴿999﴾.
Could this be implemented using a smart GSUB rule, a contextual substitution, or possibly GPOS positioning? For example, by treating the numerals as base glyphs and positioning them within a larger decorative container?
Importantly, we hope such a feature would give the font designer full creative freedom to design the decorative frame — just like designing any other glyph — and not rely on predefined system shapes.
The goal is to allow typographic elegance, cultural authenticity, and practical font efficiency by merging dynamic content with stable design.
It would be a truly innovative and valuable addition for designers of Arabic and culturally rich scripts. Perhaps it could be considered for future versions of FontCreator.