Font Validator confused by counterclockwise contours?

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Alfred
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Font Validator confused by counterclockwise contours?

Post by Alfred »

After using the Glyph Transformer to create an outline (hollow) version of a font, I ran the Font Validator to see what needed tidying up. As expected, there were quite a lot of glyphs with intersecting coordinates, but there were also a few 'Contours with incorrect direction' errors.

If I let the validator change the direction of the 'incorrect' contours in examples such as the attached '@' sign, I get black blobs instead of holes. Strangely, I get the same error with 'p' but not with 'q', and with the bottom storey of a two-storey 'g' but not with the top. I don't know whether this is a bug or just a limitation, which is why I'm posting about it here.
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CosmeticaOutline_amphora.png
CosmeticaOutline_amphora.png (13.28 KiB) Viewed 9178 times
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Bhikkhu Pesala
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Re: Font Validator confused by counterclockwise contours?

Post by Bhikkhu Pesala »

Hard to know what's up without the font.
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Alfred
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Re: Font Validator confused by counterclockwise contours?

Post by Alfred »

Sorry about that! It's MgOpen Cosmetica Regular, from here.
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Bhikkhu Pesala
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Re: Font Validator confused by counterclockwise contours?

Post by Bhikkhu Pesala »

I really meant the version that you have modified.

I applied the Outline Light transform script (Scale 99,99.33; Hollow 5,5, Move 0,5) to get a result similar to your screen shot. There were no validation errors.

So what did you do to get that result?
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Alfred
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Re: Font Validator confused by counterclockwise contours?

Post by Alfred »

Apologies once again. It's clear to me now that I overlooked the fact that I must have corrected the 'intersecting coordinates' errors to enable the 'contours with incorrect direction' tests to take place.

I simply chose 'Effects > Hollow' in the Transform Wizard; I don't seem to have an 'Outline Light' option here. I then corrected some of the 'intersecting coordinates' errors to arrive at the .fcp file which I've now zipped up and attached here. If you run the Font Validation Wizard and allow it to fix detected problems, you should find that it tells you "3 glyphs have been (partially) fixed."
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CosmeticaOutlineRegular.zip
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Bhikkhu Pesala
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Re: Font Validator confused by counterclockwise contours?

Post by Bhikkhu Pesala »

Yes. Not really a bug as the "Contour with incorrect direction" is just too big.

To access the Transform scripts from the Glyph Transform dialogue, click the Open folder.

Hollow 30 is just too much for a font with fine strokes like this, which are less than 60 funits in width in many places. Use Hollow 10, or open the Outline Light transform script, which attempts to keep the glyph roughly the same size after the transformation.
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Outline Light.png
Outline Light.png (22.18 KiB) Viewed 9170 times
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Re: Font Validator confused by counterclockwise contours?

Post by Alfred »

Thanks for that. Time to start again, methinks!
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Re: Font Validator confused by counterclockwise contours?

Post by vanisaac »

A contour with incorrect direction has counters that are also wound the wrong way. The validator will only correct the positive contour, though. I've always had to manually fix any counters. You often get an improperly wound contour when you make new characters by mirroring another - like p and q or L and Γ.
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