Font Forum

I am trying to learn how to map a cell to a codepoint in a Unicode High Plane.

Here is the transcript thus far.

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Start a new font using FontCreator 5.6.

Save as HIGHM001.TTF High Plane Mapping 001.

Please consider the following document.

http://www.unicode.org/~scherer/emoji4u ... t/utc.html

The rightmost column has plane 15 Private Use Area mappings.

Choose U+FE00D RAINBOW for this example as a glyph with the general shape can be easily produced.

Back to fontmaking.

Add a new cell at the end.

Add a glyph to the cell.

How do I map the newly-added call to U+FE00D as in the emoji document please?

If mapping to U+FE00D can be achieved, how can the font be used please?

Readers are welcome to copy the font, rename it, add the mapping and upload the result to the thread please.
William Overington

29 December 2008

If you have the Professional Edition, I suggest you use the Insert Characters Feature.
Users with the Home Edition should read this topic:
How to add characters defined in the Supplementary Planes...

Thank you Erwin.

Here is some more transcript.

Some of the sentences in the transcript are either copied directly from Erwin's document or are based on sentences in Erwin's document.

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Save a copy of the font in HIGHM002.TTF.

Use Tools AutoNaming... to change the name to High Plane Mapping 002.

Follow the instructions which are in the "How to add characters defined in the Supplementary Planes..." thread to which Erwin referred me.

Add the Microsoft UCS-4 platform through the Platform Manager (Format -> Platform Manager) by selecting Microsoft Unicode Full-repertoire choosing the option button Copy from Microsoft Unicode BMP only and OK.

Then use Format Mappings... Microsoft Unicode full repertoire, note that Segmented coverage is displayed, highlight the glyph of the Rainbow which is at the bottom of the list, enter $FE00D in the Value box and click Add and then click OK.

In the Glyph Overview window, right click on the glyph and check the mapping.

Now update the range settings on the Ranges page on the Font Settings window (Format -> Settings). Here set the Contents and Layout version to 3. then select the 'Edit' button within the Unicode Character Ranges area. Check 'Non-Plane 0 - implies that...' and press the 'OK' button.

Format Post... Generate Names OK.

Validate the font.

Install the font.

Use Microsoft Calculator to calculate that the decimal equivalent of $FE00D is 1040397 as that number may be useful in testing.

Try the font in WordPad on this PC which has Windows xp professional.

Key the following.

12345

It works well.

Try Alt 1040397 to observe what happens.

Rainbow! Wow! It works!

In WordPad, File Save As... choose a Unicode Text Document named 12345rainbow.txt and click OK. Click OK to accepting that all formatting will be removed.

Close WordPad.

Start WordPad.

Open the file 12345rainbow.txt.

12345 followed by a black rectangle is displayed as the font is Courier and the size is 10 point.

Highlight the text and change the font to High Plane Mapping 002.

The rainbow is displayed.

Change the size to 72 point.

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William Overington

29 December 2008

Earlier this morning I tried adding another glyph to the font.

Here is a transcript of the notes which I made in WordPad as I proceeded.

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Friday 2 January 2009

08:38 am

Save a copy of HIGHM002.TTF in HIGHM003.TTF.

Use Tools AutoNaming... to change the name to High Plane Mapping 003.

Try to add another glyph to the font in plane 15.

http://www.unicode.org/~scherer/emoji4u ... t/utc.html

Try U+FE008 NIGHT WITH STARS

Insert a cell before the rainbow glyph as U+FE008 is before U+FE00D.

Start a new font, just as a temporary workspace.

Copy the star glyph from the Stardisc font.

Scale the glyph by 25% both horizontally and vertically about the point(1152, 1024).

Build my design for NIGHT WITH STARS in the High Plane Mapping 003 font, using a surrounding background and two stars with each of the stars having the contour direction reversed.

Calculate the decimal equivalent of hexadecimal FE008 as 1040392 using Microsoft Calculator for use in testing with WordPad.

Map the glyph, using the Microsoft Unicode full repertoire platform to be U+FE008.

Format Post... Generate Names OK.

Validate the font.

Save the font.

Install the font.

Try the font in WordPad on this PC which has Windows xp professional.

Try Alt 1040392 to observe what happens.

My design for NIGHT WITH STARS is displayed.

Try Alt 1040397 to observe what happens.

My design for RAINBOW is displayed.

9:10 am.

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William Overington

2 January 2009

In the original instructions, Erwin wrote:Now update the range settings on the Ranges page on the Font Settings window (Format -> Settings). Here set the Contents and Layout version to 3. then select the 'Edit' button within the Unicode Character Ranges area. Check 'Non-Plane 0 - implies that...' and press the 'OK' button.

I am making a font, by editing a copy of my Poetry font, (Poetry being BMP only) to include Tags and some emoji and so went through the adding of a platform process again.

I found that on the Ranges page on the Font Settings window (Format -> Settings), that the Unicode Character Ranges list has checkboxes for Tags and 'Private Use (plane 15) and Private Use (plane 16)' as well as for 'Non-Plane 0 - implies that...'. I found that the Calculate button will set all three of those checkboxes when Tag characters and some plane 15 Private Use Area characters are present.

Now the thing is, the fonts HIGHM002.TTF, HIGHM003.TTF and HIGHM004.TTF fonts did not have the 'Private Use (plane 15) and Private Use (plane 16)' flag set, but seemed to work alright in WordPad, though I am wondering whether any characters in planes 15 and 16 would not be picked up by some applications if the flag were not set.

Any thoughts about the above please?

William Overington

5 January 2009

The thread entitled "Font with some Emoji in a high plane Private Use Area" refers to this thread.

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=2530

A related thread that is well worth studying is "Obtaining a hexadecimal dump of a Unicode Text Document".

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2529

In that thread Erwin kindly uploaded a utility program. This is an extremely useful program.

William Overington

10 May 2010