Glyph editing/selecting

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usw
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Joined: Sun Jul 22, 2018 7:57 am

Glyph editing/selecting

Post by usw »

Hi,

I'm a new user to FC14 (I most of the time have used FontLab and Glyphs).
I have two questions that are probably easy to answer:
How do I switch, e.g., in the glyphs window after zooming in to an editing tool to select nodes and handles?
Is there a way to show the connection between nodes and handles? And, is there a way to show the coordinates of a node and the corresponding handles. Like in the transform panel it would be helpful to see input boxes with x y positions plus length and offset of handles. Hopefully, my description is clear enough ...

Ulrich
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Re: Glyph editing/selecting

Post by Erwin Denissen »

usw wrote: Thu Jul 01, 2021 7:35 am How do I switch, e.g., in the glyphs window after zooming in to an editing tool to select nodes and handles?
Is there a way to show the connection between nodes and handles? And, is there a way to show the coordinates of a node and the corresponding handles. Like in the transform panel it would be helpful to see input boxes with x y positions plus length and offset of handles. Hopefully, my description is clear enough ...
Press the Esc key to get back to Selection tool. Double-click to switch between contour and point mode.

There is a toolbar button that toggles visibility of lines between points.
lines.gif
lines.gif (114.88 KiB) Viewed 1952 times
The Transform panel shows coordinates from the current selection. Right now there is no way to see coordinates within the glyph panel.
coordinates.png
coordinates.png (95.48 KiB) Viewed 1952 times
Erwin Denissen
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Bhikkhu Pesala
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Re: Glyph editing/selecting

Post by Bhikkhu Pesala »

The co-ordinates of the selected node can be seen in the Status Bar.

Hold down the Shift modifier key and press W or Q to include the next or previous nodes in the selection.
Status Bar.png
Status Bar.png (14.13 KiB) Viewed 1950 times
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usw
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Joined: Sun Jul 22, 2018 7:57 am

Re: Glyph editing/selecting

Post by usw »

Thank you both!

But I would like to see both the coordinates of the node together with the coordinates of its handles. Say, I have a node where both handles should have the same y value and both should have the same distance with respect to the node, e.g. ±30. If I could select a node and in the position window I could see and change all coordinates at once that would make it very comfortable ... Now I have to select a node, remember its coordinate, select one handle and correct/edit the coordinate, remember the offset in respect to the node, then select the other handle and correct/edit the coordinate respectively.
Was this clear? Or did I miss something? It's more difficult to describe this than it is in reality :)

Ulrich
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Re: Glyph editing/selecting

Post by Bhikkhu Pesala »

With Postscript CFF outlines the co-ordinates of the selected handle is shown. If two nodes are selected, the distance between them is shown. You can use the Align and Distribute tools to make the centre node of three symmetrical without having to calculate anything.
Postscript Handles.png
Postscript Handles.png (11.31 KiB) Viewed 1938 times
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usw
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Joined: Sun Jul 22, 2018 7:57 am

Re: Glyph editing/selecting

Post by usw »

Thank you very much. I will check this. I'd tested this with an exported version of a FontLab file which actually had TT outlines instead of Postscript CFF outlines.
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