Code Pages

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pentool
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Code Pages

Post by pentool »

Is there a way to switch/view code pages in MT? I particular, I'm browsing this website here:
http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/ascender/o ... select=CP5

There's that dropdown menu where you can select code pages. In this case the font is "Old English". I can browse it's 'Win 1250 CE' page for Slovakian character sets.

I have the OpenType 'Old English Text MT' font installed, but can't seem to be able to switch code pages (particularly to the Win 1250 CE) so I could see the Slovakian characters.

Any way to do this in MT? I can browse the Unicode blocks, but not the code pages (...I have to admit, I'm not sure what the difference is, but I'm just going by what I see and use on that website and can't do the same in MT)
=LES=
Bhikkhu Pesala
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Post by Bhikkhu Pesala »

You should be able to do that with the Samples Toolbar. I cannot test it on Windows ME which has some limitations, but you should be able to create a text sample consisting of all the glyphs in any code page if you want to check the code page coverage. Any glyphs not supported will show up as the not defined rectangles.

The Letter Database is a very useful resource for that kind of information.

In Font Creator you can find that information for any font from Format, Settings, Ranges, Code Pages, Calculate and Edit.
My FontsReviews: MainTypeFont CreatorHelpFC15 + MT12.0 @ Win 10 64-bit build 19045.2486
pentool
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Post by pentool »

I'm not understanding something correctly here.

If you go to that weblink I posted, you can select 'Win 1250 CE' from the codepages dropdown. That codepage contains Slovakian characters.

I have the same 'Old English Text' opentype font installed. I see all the character sets in MT in the 'Characters' panel where I can select (amongst others):
- Basic Latin
- Latin-1 Supplement
- Latin Extended-A
- Latin Extended-B
etc, etc, etc

I do not see code pages, such as on that website, like 'Win 1250 CE' (where I just assume CE means Central European), or 'Win 1253 Greek'. As such, my opentype 'Old English Text' font does not show those Slovakian characters that are shown on that website under 'Win 1250 CE' codepage.

That is the codepage I'm looking for. Where is it? Why can't I see it if I have the same opentype font? What am I missing?
=LES=
Bhikkhu Pesala
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Post by Bhikkhu Pesala »

Any code page contains a fixed number of selected glyphs from many different Unicode Blocks.

The Samples toolbar contains user definable text samples such as the ANSI character set, which also contains a fixed number of selected glyphs from many different Unicode Blocks.

You could easily add a new text sample of all the glyphs included in the Windows 1250 CE code page including all the glyphs contained in Windows 1250 CE codepage

None is currently defined, so you cannot select it. The Character toolbar only shows Unicode blocks, not codepages. The samples toolbar can show any user-defined character set that you want. Except that the function is not fully functional in Windows ME due to some limitation in Unicode support in that OS.
  • Right-click in the Samples toolbar.
  • Edit Text Samples
  • Add a new text sample
  • Name it Windows 1250 CE
  • Cut and paste ASCII set, then cut and paste the extra glyphs found in the Windows 1250 CE codepage — €°ŔĐŕ𑡱ÁŃáń‚’˘˛ÂŇâň etc.
You can then select that text sample to see if any font has full coverage for that codepage.
My FontsReviews: MainTypeFont CreatorHelpFC15 + MT12.0 @ Win 10 64-bit build 19045.2486
pentool
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Post by pentool »

Are you saying that the Win 1250 CE codepage is not a built-in "table" (or whatever you wanna call it) within the opentype font? Based on the website, I thought it's a selectable option (like Latin Extended-A)

You are confusing me. I do not need a text sample. Here's a character from the Win 1250 CE page (I copied it from the website):

Image

The only way I can see this character is if I select the Win 1250 CE codepage option on the above mentioned webpage. I DO NOT have this character in the 'Old English Text' opentype font. So, my confusion is, that I was looking for the 1250 CE codepage, where this character is located. But I do not have it.

Therefore, I don't need to use the Sample window in MT. The characters panel displays all available characters in a font. But the characters I'm looking for are in no sight. Yet, they are available from the 1250 CE codepage.

So. Since I assumed I have the same opentype font, I didn't understand why I do not have that character available.
=LES=
Bhikkhu Pesala
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Post by Bhikkhu Pesala »

If you open the font in Font Creator, and go to Format, Settings, Ranges, Code Pages, Edit, you can see which code pages are covered by the font.

I think Windows 1250 CE is the same as Latin Extended-A Central European (which is shown in Font Creator).

The C caron is decimal 0268 and 0269 Čč which can be found in Latin Extended-A in the Unicode Blocks in MainType's Character pane.

A code page includes characters from more than one Unicode Block. As far as I know Code Pages are limited to 256 characters. To type in Slovakian you select a Slovakian keyboard in Windows which will support the CE code page.

MainType uses Unicode blocks rather than Code Pages, because Unicode blocks do not overlap. A glyph found in Latin Extended-A is not found in any other Unicode block.

Code pages overlap a great deal. Most code pages contain ASCII characters, but not all contain Č and č because those characters are not needed for typing Western European languages.

Maybe you don't have a CE version of the font. Font foundries sell different versions of their fonts to different customers. Take a look in Latin Extended-A at decimal 0268 and 0269.
My FontsReviews: MainTypeFont CreatorHelpFC15 + MT12.0 @ Win 10 64-bit build 19045.2486
pentool
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Joined: Tue Dec 20, 2005 9:11 am
Location: Seattle, WA

Post by pentool »

Bhikkhu Pesala wrote:Maybe you don't have a CE version of the font.
Hmmm... that might be true. But then again, I don't have Font Creator either so I can't look. Anyway, I might buy that version of Old English Text and see if that solves the issue.

Thanks for all your help and input! Even though I was a little confused first (should I say, a lot). But I guess it's coming slowly together...
=LES=
Bhikkhu Pesala
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Post by Bhikkhu Pesala »

If you want to send the font to me, I'll take a look at it for you.
My FontsReviews: MainTypeFont CreatorHelpFC15 + MT12.0 @ Win 10 64-bit build 19045.2486
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