The integration between FontCreator and FontLab for Arabic font weight generation and kerning: A necessity or just an extra option.? ؟"

General
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There is no doubt that FontCreator is almost fully self-sufficient, offering powerful tools to build a complete font project from start to finish—especially for Arabic fonts that involve cursive connections, contextual substitutions, ligatures, and diacritics.

At this point, I would also like to sincerely commend Mr. Erwin for the tremendous effort he has invested in developing FontCreator. Thanks to his remarkable work, many of us feel a great sense of confidence and reassurance while working within this environment, which is indeed a major advantage for type designers.

That being said, I have recently come across discussions regarding the capabilities of FontLab, particularly in the area of smooth and effortless weight generation using tools like Power Nudge and other AI-powered features. It is said that FontLab greatly simplifies the process of creating new weights, with automatic outline adjustments and interpolation between masters.

This brings me to a simple, yet important, practical question:

Would it be advisable or beneficial to combine FontLab with FontCreator—using FontLab solely for generating new font weights and perhaps adjusting kerning—then returning to FontCreator for the final OpenType feature programming and font export?

Or, in your experience, is FontCreator fully capable of handling the entire process—including Arabic font weight generation and kerning—without the need for external tools?

Personally, I feel very comfortable within FontCreator and prefer not to leave its environment. However, at the same time, I care deeply about achieving the best possible result for my current Arabic font project.

I truly believe this kind of discussion will serve as a valuable source of inspiration for all of us, including the developers, as we strive to improve our tools and workflows.

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Thanks so much for the kind words. Much appreciated!

For Arabic weight development you can stay entirely inside FontCreator using a Variable-font workflow:

Create a Weight axis, draw a Light and a Bold master. Or simply draw a regular one and then use Tools → Glyph Transformer to generate Light and Bold layers. You can then use File → Export Font to output any intermediate weights you need. Your OpenType features, anchors, mark positioning, and cursive attachments stay intact because they all live in the same project.

AutoKern then builds class-based pairs; tweak them in the Kerning panel—all without leaving FontCreator.

So while FontLab’s Power Nudge can be handy, especially for changing the width of your font, FontCreator already covers variable-font interpolation, weight generation, Arabic mark positioning, and kerning in one place—no round-tripping required.

Here is a tutorial about:
How to Make a Variable Font

Hope that helps, and happy font-making!

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Dear Mr. Erwin,
It gives me great pleasure to extend my sincere thanks to you for your thorough response regarding the topic of Arabic font weights. Your reply was precise, detailed, and technically insightful, and I greatly appreciated the educational resources you kindly shared. I truly value your patience, clear communication, and dedication to providing accurate information to every inquirer, myself included.

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