How to do 2 versions same letter in font program?

[backpacking_momma]

Hi. Does anyone out there know of a way to do 2 versions of a letter in the same font (like the letter r for the middle of words and a different looking r for the end of a word)? Is this even possible for the keyboard to recognize? I have created the 2 versions of the letter r, but don't know how to get the keyboard to recognize the 2 styles and when to use them?

Any help would be appreciated since I don't have any further information.

Thanks!

[William]

> Hi. Does anyone out there know of a way to do 2 versions of a letter in the same font (like the letter r for the middle of words and a different looking r for the end of a word)?

Whether this can be done and to what extent depends upon which software package or packages are used to produce the font, and upon the operating system of the computer.

Excellent results can be obtained by producing an OpenType font and using an application software package such as Adobe InDesign. However, InDesign is an expensive package. I do not have it. FontCreator does not at the time of writing this note support OpenType font production directly, though a font made using FontCreator can be converted to OpenType to some extent using some other software.

However, using FontCreator to produce a TrueType font and then using the font with Microsoft WordPad can produce good results for display and printing: the problem is that the text will not be transferable to other users in a standard format, though it can be transferable with a private arrangement as to the meanings of the characters.

> I have created the 2 versions of the letter r, but don't know how to get the keyboard to recognize the 2 styles and when to use them?

Some time ago I produced a font named Sonnet to a Renaissance Lady where I have several versions of a lowercase g.

The font has its own thread in the Gallery forum of this webspace.

viewtopic.php?t=1476

The direct download link for the font is as follows.

http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~ngo/SONNETRL.TTF

An interesting learning experiment is to install the font, then open WordPad and then copy and paste the following two lines of text into WordPad and then reformat so that the Sonnet to a Renaissance Lady font is being used at 24 point.

Spring Fashion Show
Sprin Fashion Show

The question is now as to where the swash tailed g is stored in the font.

In fact, it is stored in a cell mapped to U+E424 in the Unicode Private Use Area. The choice of U+E424 rather than some other place within the Unicode Private Use Area was made by me. Anyone is entitled to make such an allocation within the Unicode Private Use Area.

In order to insert the character into WordPad one needs the Alt code. The E424 in U+E424 is a hexadecimal number. It can be converted to a decimal value. Microsoft Calculator in View Scientific mode is good for doing that. The answer is 58404. So, entering the character into WordPad is by holding down the Alt key, keying 58404 on the number keys that are at the right of the keyboard and then releasing the Alt key.

In fact, the font has several versions of lowercase g. One, the simplest design, is at the normal place for g. The others are in U+E421 to U+E425, for which the Alt codes are 58401 to 58405 respectively. I used the one at U+E424 in this example as it provides the most swash without looking too close to the descender of the p.

My allocation of U+E424 to a swash-tailed g in this particular font is just my allocation. It is not in other fonts. That is why a black rectangle or something similar shows in one of the two lines of specimen text above.

I hope that this helps.

William Overington

27 February 2008

[Dave Crosby]

Hi. Does anyone out there know of a way to do 2 versions of a letter in the same font (like the letter r for the middle of words and a different looking r for the end of a word)?

The easiest way is to simply place the Alt in the space for any seldom used glyph such as ^, <, >, or ~.
The problem is remembering where you put it.

The best way to do it is to place them in Italic, bold, and bold Italic versions in a font family.
This way, just change the text to italic and type the regular r key then change the font back to normal.

From the manual:
http://www.high-logic.com/fontcreator/manual/index.html

To change the font type (for example from Regular to Bold) you need to change a few settings:

Things that need to be done in order to change an existing regular font to italic, bold or bold italic are:
• Mac Style fields - on the Format menu, click Settings and then click the Metrics tab.
• Font Design - on the Format menu, click Settings and then click on the Metrics tab.
• All font subfamily name fields in the Naming window. This can be done through the AutoNaming feature.
• For a bold or bold italic version:
• Set Classification Weight to Bold - on the Format menu, click Settings and then click on the General tab.
• Set PANOSE Weight to Bold - on the Format menu, click Settings and then click on the Classification tab.
• For an italic or bold italic version:
• Set Italic Angle to a negative value (e.g. -16.33) - on the Format menu, click Settings and then click on the Post tab.
• Set Caret Slope values through Calculate Rise and Run - on the Format menu, click Settings and then click on the General tab.

See:

viewtopic.php?t=555

viewtopic.php?t=1413

[Bhikkhu Pesala]

The "official" way to do it is to use Glyph Substitution. This has the disadvantage that it doesn't work in programs that don't support OpenType features yet (which means most programs). Perhaps that will change in a few years.

GSUB.png (26.19 KiB) Viewed 3941 times

In this font (Yolanda), I set up glyph substitutions for r. and (note that this forum makes its own Gylph Substitution for colon followed by right parenthesis).

With the Discretionary Ligatures feature turned on, the substition takes place. Note that I haven't yet set up a GSUB for r, or r? You would need quite a few substition pairs to get the desired change at the end of a word.

I think using the Private Use Area is currently still the best option.

[William]

The following page has some information about OpenType.

http://www.adobe.com/type/opentype/

In particular, there is a link to the OpenType user guide. A direct link follows.

http://www.adobe.com/type/browser/pdfs/OTGuide.pdf

OpenType is not prescribed in the Unicode Standard, the standard is more general as regards using an advanced font format. There are several such advanced font formats. OpenType is perhaps the most prevalent, yet I think it important to understand that OpenType is a proprietary solution and not necessarily the only advanced font format.

http://www.unicode.org/mail-arch/unicod ... /0106.html

Some years ago I tried to design an advanced font format myself. As far as I know it has never been implemented.

viewtopic.php?t=696

William Overington

28 February 2008