Which sixteen supported tables? (name post OS/2, etc...)

FontCreator - Font Editor FontCreator - Discussion
1

Hi everybody,

Just purchased my own copy of FontCreator (6.0.1) Professional Edition! (intuitive design and automation…coool :bulb: ).

I read the help file end to end, and found it most illuminating :open_mouth: (I have a good understanding of FontCreator quid). However:

So:
My |File|New…| comes up with my new type design and gives us its eleven tables already enlisted.

So:
I then unset the four “Remove .. table” so all four are unchecked in |Tools|Options| and the ‘“Fonts” Tab’ on the subpage, the number of pages goes a little higher.

In |Help|Contents|Editing Fonts|Format|“Tables”| Help-Page refers to the sixteen supported tables, whereas some four of sixteen related to hinting are only partially supported.

So:
My question is: what is the names of each and of all the sixteen supported pages?

I will then focus my present studying of OpenType and TrueType down to just learning about the sixteen tables.

Thanks --John

2

I’ve been using FontCreator for years and never given much thought to Truetype tables. Your can find out more via Google, e.g. on this page.

Why do you need to know this technical info just to create fonts?

3

:astonished: Hi Bhikkhu Pesala,

Thank You, :smiley: for your reply!

Why the techie infos?

Well, I have heard of some fancy things in fonts, including that OpenType is like a superset of TrueType, so that tables and everything is largely the same for both.

I would like to make my English Language type designs having some nice vertical and horizontally displaying features.

I would like to do some graphic novel text, which might look kind of cool if the rules for the lettering were really good.


( :unamused: :cry: :mrgreen: :wink: <–this is me, shown here trying to do justice to your question, B.P.)What makes me or everybody think that the tables would be the way??

I just know that if the fonts require tables, then those affect the behaviours into the type designer’s workings tables, so that I seem to be 'oblivious to ignore that.

( :unamused: :unamused: <–me again, still working it out)Well, having learned somewhat about FontCreator, " tables, PCL-5, and MS Volt" are the complex things that I could not get all the information about via |Help| alone.

MS Volt is on the Microsoft (r web presence, and I will be looking into that shortly.

PCL-5 is clearly for some kinds of business use that are not much related to OpenType or two byte fonts or Unicode, it seems to me, and so that I am not curious about PCL-5 at this time.



So, that leaves finding out the names of the sixteen and how to use FontCreator’s supportable tables.


Now, :wink:
You say, B.P., that you have used FontCreator for years and have never had any need to think much about into tables, in that time?

That is a good thing to hear of.


So then, I have looked into resources to *'tables such as the one that you offered us the hyper-link to?

:arrow_right: Those include a lot more than sixteen tables!


Using internet resources, I can read up on tables.., :

I am hoping that by reading up on tables, and by learning some basic things with MS Volt, I will be able to do some nice things with my Type Design!

I suppose that the way that I see it, sixteen tables could be learned up, by studying, especially if that I can actually use those in my practices, type design with FontCreator.

On the other hand, since FontCreator does not presently support more than sixteen tables, I do not have a purpose into studying more than those sixteen supported.

Since some low number, “sixteen,” are supported, even if some only partially or incompletely, I feel that I could learn these; all, if I knew which were named in each case.


While it is true that I will need to know how to put currently unused tables into |Format|Tables…| to include this into listed since I do not see anything… :“add tables…” … :confused:

Your Servant,
–John

4

FC has been designed to be very user friendly.

Select Create a New File button and a blank template opens up with all the required tables, glyphs, and mapping appear ready for your input.

Other than an understanding of the bounding box and how on and off points change the glyph, how pixels inside and out of the glyph are turned on and off, Cap H height, X height, and design spacing, you are off to the races.

If you wish to delve into esoteric information, I hope you live a long life.

5

Off to the races indeed!!!

My use of FontCreator 6 Pro is showing me that this program is very supportive once you start to work with it, as you have described, Mr. Crosby!

Thank You, Dave Crosby.


Yes, Esoterics vs. Long Life aside; I hope that my efforts shape up well, as I begin this work.

Now, I am off to the MS Volt site, to read a bit!


–John