Typing in text to make it a ligature

FontCreator - Font Editor FontCreator - Support
1

Hello everyone,

I’m using FontCreator 13. I bought it to edit music fonts that, as is, are not working correctly in Sibelius (such as November 2).

I have also made some figured bass glyphs that I can use in word processors instead of relying on superscript/supscript editing, or kerning the first superscripted character so it can be on top of the subscripted one.

However, I also want to make ligatures out of standard text fonts, meaning, instead of having to type in “It.⁶” (each character individually) I can just type in “I6” an it will show up the complete text with the (native) superscripted 6. I managed to do that, but maybe using an unnecessary hard way: I inserted the necessary characters in an empty glyph and moved them, calculating each size and bearing, to give them the exact space from each other they would get if each were to be typed in manually. And obviously I could use the opportunity to alter the spacing, for aesthetics, if necessary now that it is a ligature, but that is besides the point.

The main question is, can I type in the loaded font on an empty glyph to make it as a ligature so that the software automatically puts them next to each other using the already calibrated bearings, rather than having to manually adjust their horizontal spacings from each other?

2

To create a ligature glyph with automatically aligned components, you can use the Custom Formula feature in FontCreator. Here’s how:

  • Go to the Edit menu and select Custom Formula.
  • In the formula box, add the names of the individual glyphs you want to combine, separated by a plus sign (+) or a space.
  • Apply the formula, and FontCreator will automatically position the glyphs next to each other using their existing bearings.

The metrics of the composite glyph will also be calculated, and any available kerning between the individual glyphs will be applied. This method saves you from manually adjusting the spacing between components and ensures proper alignment based on the original glyph metrics.

3

Dear Mr. Denissen,

Thank you so much. That was so helpful.