Support backup / temporary layers

FontCreator - Font Editor FontCreator - Requests and Enhancements
1

Definition

A backup / temporary layer hosts a glyph outline. A user can view both the backup layer and the master layer. The backup layer can offer reference for drawing on the master layer. The backup layer must not be exported to the font.

Background

Recently I switched to FontCreator macOS version from Glyphs, the only feature I am missing from the Glyphs is the backup layers (Layers — Glyphs Handbook).

(Tip: If the Chinese character mentioned below is not rendered properly, you can install BabelStone Han from BabelStone Fonts : BabelStone Han)

In Glyphs, to draw a glyph for an unencoded Chinese character ⿰氵𭍬, reusing the glyph of U+2DC7F 𭱿 and U+2D36C 𭍬 from BabelStone Han, I will create two backup layers as reference for the new glyph:

  1. The glyph of U+2DC7F 𭱿
  2. The glyph of U+2D36C 𭍬, horizontally scaled such that the right component 𭍬 fits the right component of 𭱿, that is, 圊. The scaled version can not be used directly as a component of ⿰氵𭍬, because the width of any vertical stroke in the 𭍬 character will also decrease due to the horizontal scale.

Now in the master layer, I can remove the 月 component from 𭱿, and then copy & paste the 貝 component in U+2D36C 𭍬 to the master layer. Of course the 貝 component in 𭍬 is too wide to actually fit in the ⿰氵𭍬.

The next step, is to carefully scale the 貝 component such that it preserves the vertical stroke width, and then the y-coordinate of the scaled 貝 component should be aligned with the 貝 component in the second backup layer. Doing so ensure that the y-coordinate of 貝 component is consistent between 𭍬 and ⿰氵𭍬.

Here is the screenshot of Glyphs.app: I am working on the Regular layer, and mark the second backup layer visible

image
image1920×1435 204 KB

As we can see from the backup layer, to fit 貝 in the right hand side ㇯圊月 component, we have to also slightly lower the bottom 一 stroke, such that 貝 is not touching the 囗 component.

For reference here is outline of each backup layer:

Layer 1 𭱿:

image
image2628×1806 415 KB

Layer 2 scaled 𭍬:

image
image2644×1818 330 KB

I am still pretty new to the FontCreator, there is a high chance that a similar feature has been already implemented but I am not aware of. Thank you for reading.

2

Welcome to FontCreator! We see more and more people moving over to our font editor, especially since it’s available for both Windows and macOS.

Thanks for the detailed explanation (and a great real-world example).

FontCreator does have this concept in the Windows edition: a layer that can hold outlines, can be toggled visible while you edit the Master layer, and is never exported.

On macOS we don’t have that layer yet. The reason is we want to make some serious improvements to the layer implementation first, and when we do, we’ll bring it to macOS as well. We expect this to land within the next couple of months.

3

Thank you very much. I am glad to know that layers will be supported soon on macOS. I don’t have a Windows machine so I guess I will have to draw the glyph back and forth between Glyphs and FC. I am looking forward to the new macOS release. With that said, take a good rest and do not push too hard.

4

In the current toolset, there are three methods to achieve the function of masking and tracing:

  1. Use a character with a similar shape from the same font to create a stamped image.

  2. Import the same character from another font as a background image.

  3. Follow these steps:

  • Open the same font project twice.
  • In one instance, add a design axis and import the glyph outlines from the other instance.
  • Save it as a new variable font project.
  • Switch between different outline layers in the Masters and Layers panels, using them as background images for stamping and editing.
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