Version: Std or Pro?

FontCreator - Font Editor FontCreator - Discussion
1

Hi all..

I’m looking at buying a version of FontCreator but unsure exactly which version I need (I think std would suffice, but need to ask).

I’m a web developer and have the requirement more and more to generate / edit web fonts of icons. Occasionally I might also look at modifying a font slightly (I have a few monospaced fonts that are very easy on the eyes for developing, but alas, the difference between a capital O and a zero are almost nil, making things quite difficult to glance over).. so my question is, would the std version suffice for this?

The web fonts (glyphs / icons) I’d be creating from scratch in Illustrator.

Any info regarding this would be greatly appreciated :slight_smile:



Cheers..

Ian

2

If you look at the Feature Comparison Table, there are only two extra features in the Professional Version.

  1. Decompile OpenType Layout Features — Allows you to learn from and reuse OpenType Layout Features from other fonts.
  2. Optical Metrics

So, yes, if your main purpose is developing Web fonts, then the Standard version should be fine.

There are a few Monospaced fonts that have a slashed 0, which is easily distinguished from capital O:

  1. Bitstream Vera Sans
  2. Consolas
  3. DejaVu
  4. Liberation Mono
  5. OCR- A, B
  6. Source Sans Pro
3

Hi Bhikkhu..

Thanks for the confirmation… std license bought :smiley:

I know of a most of those fonts and have tried / used them over the years.. but now and again I come across one that I like that doesn’t but fancy using so would be nice to be able to “fix” that small issue (for personal use only).

Thanks again.



Cheers..

Ian

4

Hi

I have similar doubts here. I havent bought any software yet so i would like to clarify which version best suits my needs.

In my computer I already have the letters and numbers of the font i want to recreate in my computer as high resolution png images and only intend to use Font creator as a platform to upload these images and somehow generate nicely done outlines(is that possible?), play around with the kerning of the letters and thats about it. I plan to do a very good job for this font so i do want to pay good attention to the way stuff gets outlined and the individual kerning of the letter. I wonder if this means i should purchase the Font Creator software with more features.

Anyway I have looked at all the features in the comparison chart. Which version, out of all the three suits best for me? Thanks.

5

If you only intend to create one font, and don’t need to use the font for commercial purposes, the Home Edition may be enough. Otherwise, you need the Standard or Professional Edition

The Professional Edition has only two features lacking in the Standard Edition: Decompile OpenType features, and Optical Metrics.

Decompile OpenType features will create a script that can be used to export the OpenType features unchanged, or you can edit them to add more features, or add your own.

Optical Metrics will calculate the left and right side-bearings for (English) fonts. This can be done manually simply by dragging the bearing lines, but it’s an art requiring considerable experience to get the spacing right. Setting left and right side-bearings to a fixed value can be done with Autometrics in the Home Edition, or using the Glyph Transform wizard in the Standard Edition, but letters are all different shapes and require different side-bearings. Open any commercial font and scroll through A-z looking at the bearings in the Glyph Properties toolbar (F3) and you will see how much they vary, e.g. Tahoma:

Left, Right
A -10, -10,
B 151, 46
C 66, 34
D 151, 64
E 151, 67
F 151, 26
G 66, 98
H 151, 151
I 93, 93
J 9, 141, etc.

As you can see, they are nearly all different. Only H and I have equal side-bearings. Amateur designers may benefit more than Professionals by having the software suggest suitable values for them. Pro users, or artistic designers just know intuitively when the spacing looks right, but amateur users often waste far too much time kerning their fonts because the side-bearings are all wrong. If you don’t mind manually adjusting the side-bearings until they look right, the Standard Edition may be good enough for you.

See this thread for a few screen shots of the results of Optical Metrics for different fonts. After using Optical Metrics a few times, one gets to know what value needs to be used to generate a font that is spaced appropriately for the design.

Both Standard and Pro version offer a high level of automation missing from the Home Edition, for creating composites (áéíóú) and transforming glyphs.

6

I see. Thanks

Oh yes, a little off topic and it may be something everyone would know but what is High-Logic’s definition of Commercial Use?

I don’t remember seeing any definition of it in the EULA.

7

It’s not off-topic, and it’s not something that everyone understands.

See this earlier thread.

This is what it says in the EULA on installing FontCreator:

In the case you purchased a Home Edition license for SOFTWARE, and use it to create or modify a font, you are not allowed to use that font for commercial purposes.

Regarding the comments in that thread, at first I thought “Commercial Use” meant that one could not sell the fonts made with the Home Edition, but now I see that the terms are reasonable. If you use IrfanView commercially you also need to pay for a license. The pictures are your own copyrighted works, which you may do with whatever you wish, but if you use IrfanView to manage or edit them, you are using the software commercially and need to purchase a license.