Test Language Specific OpenType Features

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1

For some people it might be obvious, but in case you wonder how to test and/or use language specific OpenType features:

In advanced text processing software (e.g. Microsoft Word, Adobe Illustrator, Serif Page Plus, etc) you just type text, select it, and apply the font, enable OpenType features, and define the language.

To test your font in a web browser, just select Test WOFF from the Font menu or press CTRL-F5. With the next upcoming release you’ll be able to set a specific language as shown here:

Sample Page To Test Language Specific OpenType Layout Features in a Font in a Web Browser

2

In the Mandala font used on the sample page, the ‘dlig’ feature is applied first, so in the line

Ordinals: 1st 2nd 3rd

the ‘st’ is replaced by a discretionary ligature, preventing the ‘ordn’ feature from working as expected.

3

The test page uses an old version, which may actually be useful since it illustrates that the order of lookups is important.

There is a previous thread discussing the topic of OpenType Feature precedence.

My latest version of Mandala does not suffer from the above problem. However, I did not yet find any way to avoid the conflict between fractions and ordinals.
OpenType Feature Precedence.gif
Feel free to download my Mandala font and see if you can come up with a solution. The linked thread would be a good place to report your findings.

4

Thanks for the link.

My latest version of Mandala does not suffer from the above problem. However, I did not yet find any way to avoid the conflict between fractions and ordinals.

OpenType Feature Precedence.gif

Feel free to download my Mandala font and see if you can come up with a solution. The linked thread would be a good place to report your findings.

Hmm … tricky one. (Wish me luck. I’ll need it if someone with your breadth and depth of experience hasn’t found the answer!)