Changing Key assignments for an Existing Font

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sundar
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Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 12:50 am
Location: Vancouver, Canada

Changing Key assignments for an Existing Font

Post by sundar »

I like the Valaisri font for the Tamil language spoken in southern India, but I do not like the keys assigned to each symbol.

Therefore, I opened that font in the Font Creator. I right-clicked on a glyph whose key (on the regular 101 keys keyboard) I did not think was logical enough. So I selected Properties from the drop-down list and changed the Postscript to a key that I liked.

I saved the font under a new name and installed it using the Control Panel and deleted the Valaisri font. Yet, when I used Microsoft Word, the key assignments were exactly the same as before.

What am I doing wrong?

Can the Font Creator even do what I am trying to do?

I cannot use Microsofts Key Reassignment program, since I am using Windows 98.

Sundar Narayan
Vancouver, Canada
Bhikkhu Pesala
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Post by Bhikkhu Pesala »

Though it would be possible to remap the characters in Font Creator, what would happen if you needed to exchange documents with others? For example, if you remapped ABC to abc, and remapped abc to ABC, then everything you typed in lowercase would be in capitals for anyone using the unmodified font. (I know you don't have lower and uppercase in Tamil, but this is easier to explain and type here). Changing the mapping would do what you want, but I would look for a key mapping program. Wordperfect allows the remapping of alphanumeric keys.
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Dick Pape
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Post by Dick Pape »

Hello Sundar.

Yes, Font Creator can remap keyboards. You were close to the solution.

Adding nothing to what Bhikkhu Pesala recommended, the action you wished to do is called Glyph Mapping and starts with a right click on the glyph you want to change. I'm going to assume you are able to figure out the gaps in the following!

1. Select Properties to bring up a General tab and a Mappings tab.

2. Select Mappings. (You likely used General to change the Postscript name - which has no impact on the operation of any font. I believe the name could be anything you wanted to make it).

3. Select a platform. Eventually you should change all platforms.

4. In the Mappings window will be a Value and Character Name showing how the glyph is currently assigned.

5. Clicking on Select brings up a table of Unicode Blocks on top and a list of Characters below.

6. Scroll down the list of characters until you find the keyboard character you wish to use for this glyph, such as LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A. Press OK to return to the Properties menu.

(If you don't find the keyboard character you are looking for change the Unicode Block in the upper window and try again. You will learn where certain characters reside after awhile.)

7. When you return to the Properties window there should be at least two mappings shown. One for where it was originally mapped and now for the keyboard letter. You can delete the original mapping if you wish.


You might allow FCP to install the font. In Win XP, it makes it into a shortcut rather than loading it into the Fonts file. There is other help getting the font installed and reinstalled. And as you know, you'll have to close MS Word every time to free up the font to be changed.

You need only remap one key to make sure this works correctly. Then there would only be 100 keys left to change!

Good luck,

Dick Pape
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