High-precision non-node editing»

Try our revolutionary high-precision dragging approach with non-node editing, and let us know what you think!

1. Drag (or Alt-drag) a segment a little and the change in shape will be smaller than your mouse movement, so you can be very precise.
2. Drag the segment further and the change in shape will gradually match the movement speed of your mouse, so you can also easily drag far.
3. Release the mouse button and drag a little again, and your movement is high-precision again.
4. Change the precision in Preferences > Distances > Non-node editing changes contour by 1/2 of dragging distance from 5 (highest precision at short drags) to 1 (constant dragging speed like in previous versions).

Snapping Knife»

You can use the Knife tool (J) to add nodes (click a segment or drag across multiple segments), break contours (click a node or Alt-drag across segments), and to slice through contours (Ctrl-drag).

The Knife now uses View > Snap settings to snap to Outline, and to other view details if they are currently visible: Mask, glyph and font guides, hints, zones, grid, font metrics, the global Mask, glyph metrics, anchors and pins.

The Knife also uses View > Suggest to snap to:

• if Nodes is on: nodes from other contours, other elements (if Edit > Edit Across Elements is on), neighboring glyphs in the text (if Edit Across Glyphs is on) and other visible masters (if Edit Across Layers is on)
• if Bounds is on: the edges and the center of elements
• if Stems is on: distances defined in Font Info > Stems from contours in the element
• if Guides is on: guides, hints and zones, even if they’re not visible

Contour operations in the Node panel»

The icons in the Node panel are now slightly larger, and you can use the panel’s previous/next buttons to browse not just through nodes but also through components in a composite glyph.

The Node panel now has a set of action buttons for the most common Contour menu operations. These operations work the same way via the buttons or menu, but each has a slightly different scope: they can work on a single node, on a selection of nodes and segments, on the entire contour (all segments in a contour), on the entire element (all contours in the element), or on the entire layer (on one or more glyph cells selected in the Font window).

Remove Overlap»

Previously, Contour > Remove Overlap would sometimes perform a Clean Up operation after removing overlaps, which resulted in additional nodes being removed. When you choose Remove Overlap now, FontLab will keep unchanged all the nodes which were not part of the overlaps.

Glyph window zooming»

You can customize the speed (the intervals) of the Glyph window zooming in Preferences > Distances, separately for the keyboard zoom (Z or Y or Cmd= for zoom in, X or Cmd- for zoom out) and Alt-mouse wheel zoom. We’ve also harmonized the speed between the Z/X zoom and the Cmd=/Cmd- zoom (they were different).

Selection frame»

If Edit > Edit across Elements is on, and you select nodes and handles from several elements, you can now use the selection frame (View > Selection Frame) to instantly scale the entire selection. Previously, the selection frame was limited to selections from the current element only.

Italic contours: Follow Italic Angle»

In the Glyph window, you can now tap \ to make your up/down movements italic or upright. This turns on or off Contour > Coordinates > Follow Italic Angle:

• When it’s on, vertical Shift-dragging or using the Up/Down cursor keys moves nodes, selections, anchors, components and elements diagonally along the y-axis slanted by Font Info > Font Dimensions > Italic Angle.
• When it’s off, the movement is vertical.

Glyph window on-canvas text fields»

You can now use Up/Down keys to change the value by 1 or ShiftUp/ShiftDown to change the value by 10 in the text fields located directly on the Glyph window canvas (advance width, guide location, hint width etc.). The change will be reflected when you press Enter.

Guides, anchors, pins: snapping»

Previously, when you dragged a guide, hint or a zone, you could snap it to a node only if you dragged the mouse pointer directly onto the node. Now, snapping of guides to nodes behaves much like in FontLab Studio 5:

• when you create a horizontal or vertical guide by dragging it from the ruler, it will only snap to nodes or handles if you drag it directly onto the node or handle
• when you move an existing horizontal guide, a zone or a hint, it will snap to the y-coordinates of any node in any element in the glyph, including components (so you only need to move the guide to be at the same height as a node in order to snap)
• when you move an existing vertical guide or a hint, it will snap to the x-coordinates of any node in any element in the glyph, including components
• when you want to snap an existing guide, hint or zone to a handle, you need to drag the pointer directly onto the handle

The Guides tool now also uses snapping and suggestions (like Knife), so you can drag to measure, Alt-drag to add element guides or Alt-click to add a pin more precisely, utilizing snapping suggestions.

Measurement markers»

When you activate the Guides tool (tap G or hold G to activate temporarily), and you drag across contours, the measurement vectors appear. They now show automatic measurement markers that show distances where the measurement vector intersects with some contours. This way, you instantly can see the stem thickness at different areas of your glyph.

The Guide panel and the Glyph window property bar for a guide also has a new toggle Measurement markers that allows you to add or remove the automatic guide measurement markers. You can now select a font guide, a glyph guide or an element guide, press CmdA to select all other guides of the same type, and click the Measurement markers toggle to make the markers appear in all guides at once. .

Previously, you had to double-click each guide individually to add or remove the measurement markers.

Autohinting glyphs with overlaps»

If your contours have overlaps, and you autohint them (using Tools > Autohint / F7, or during export into OpenType PS .otf or Type 1), FontLab now performs the autohinting on contours that have their overlaps temporarily removed.

This generally produces much superior results, and no longer produces odd hints in the middle of overlapping contours.

Problematic zones»

When you export OpenType PS .otf or Type 1 fonts, FontLab will now issue warnings in the Output panel if any zones overlap or if zones are closer than the distance specified by Font Info > Other Values > BlueFuzz.

Converting thick guides to zones or hints»

In FontLab, alignment zones are special a kind of font guides, and hints are a special kind of guides. All guides can have a width (thickness). If you turn on View > Rulers (CmdR), you can drag a glyph guide or Shift-drag a font guide from the ruler.

In 6.1.4, when you Shift-drag such a guide to give it some width, the Guide panel and the Glyph window property bar will show a new button that, for a horizontal font guide says Make alignment zone, and for a horizontal or vertical hint says Make hint. Click those buttons to convert a thick guide to a zone or hint, click again to convert back to a guide.

Anchors: Anchor cloud only for selected»

When you turn on the new Preferences > Glyph window > Show cloud only for selected anchors setting and turn on View > Anchor Cloud, the anchor cloud will appear only for the anchor(s) you select in the Glyph window or the Anchors & Pins panel.

Activating components in Glyph window.»

When you navigate to a composite glyph in the Glyph window, you can now use Page Up/Page Down (FnUp/FnDown on the Mac) to activate the components and walk through them.

Anchors in auto layers and composites»

Auto-layers inherit anchors from their source glyphs automatically, composites inherit anchors when you generate or decompose them — but none of them inherit glyph guides.

Previously, if glyphs inherited anchors that had expressions linking them to the source glyphs’ guides, FontLab produced error messages in the Output panel. FontLab now removes expressions when it inherits the anchors.

Gallery panel»

Remember how we’ve told you that in FontLab VI, any graphical object inside a glyph is an element? A set of contours in an element, a component is an element, a bitmap or SVG image is an element, a group is an element, any element with special filters (like PowerBrush, or Fill) is an element etc.

Any glyph layer can have one or more elements. These elements can have names, which are independent of glyph names. Elements can be shared across glyphs (within the same font layer). Such shared elements are called element references — you can change them wherever they appear, and the change will affect all occurrences.

In FontLab VI before 6.1.0, we simulated components with element references. Since then, we’ve implemented components as a special new kinds of elements that point to source glyphs — and are distinct from references. You can still convert between components and references using Element > Element Reference menu items.

The Gallery panel shows elements that have names and that are found across all glyphs of the current font layer. (It does not show glyphs.)

FontLab automatically assigns element names if you make element references. You can also manually assign elements names in the Elements panel (click Show element properties and use the 1st text field). Those elements then appear in the Gallery panel.

Previously, when you opened a font in an external format (.ttf, .vfb, .fog, .ufo, .glyphs), FontLab automatically assigned names to elements that were used in glyphs which were used as sources of components. These elements got the same name as the source glyphs. This led to confusion: element names are not linked to glyph names — they’re independent. So when you renamed the source glyph, the element name stayed the same.

Now, FontLab no longer automatically assigns element names if you open such fonts with Preferences > Open Fonts > Composite glyphs > Use components on. So when you open a .vfb, the Gallery panel will be empty. When you perform Element > Element Reference > Component to Reference, FontLab will assign element names and those elements will show up in Gallery. This was the intended behavior and is by design.

FontLab will not automatically un-assign element names when you open existing .vfc or .vfj files, so you’ll still see entries in the Gallery panel even if you only use components and no references. You can select all or some elements in the Gallery panel, and press the – button in the panel’s bottom bar — this will un-assign names from those elements, so they’ll disappear from the Gallery. This will not decompose any glyphs or remove any glyphs, because the Gallery panel just lists elements that have names, and – just removes element names.

Images»

Previously, you could only use the Element tool (V) to select (activate) image elements within the Glyph window and on the Sketchboard. Now, you can also use the Contour tool (A).

Metrics and Kerning: Clean view»

When in the Metrics or Kerning mode, press Esc to hide spacing controls, clouds etc., and get a clean view at just the glyph shapes.

Switching masters»

• Previously, you could switch masters in the Font and Glyph windows using Alt, (previous) and Alt. (next), and by pressing 1-9 digit keys with Alt for direct access to the first nine masters.
• Now, in the Glyph window, you can also get the previous master with FnCmdLeft (Mac) / CtrlHome (Windows), and get the next master with FnCmdRight (Mac) / CtrlEnd (Windows).

Metrics and Kerning: Smart navigation with the up/down keys»

Previously, the Up/Down arrow keys were “smart” in Metrics and Kerning modes. Some might say, a bit “too smart”. You can now turn off the setting Preferences > Spacing > Smart navigation with the up/down keys, and the Up/Down arrow keys in the spacing modes will just go to the previous and next line, that’s it.

But if you keep Preferences > Spacing > Smart navigation with the up/down keys setting on, FontLab will continue the “smart” behavior, which is:

In Metrics mode:

• if the text is single-line, Up/Down get the previous/next phrase,
• if the text is multi-line, Up/Down go to the previous/next line, but if the line is first or last, they get the previous/next phrase.

In Kerning mode:

• if the both the Kerning panel and the Pairs & Phrases panel are visible, or if both panels are invisible:

  • if the text is single-line, Up/Down get the previous/next phrase,
  • if the text is multi-line, Up/Down go to the previous/next line, but if the line is first or last, they get the previous/next phrase;

• if the Pairs & Phrases panel is not visible and the Kerning panel is visible, Up/Down get the previous/next kerning pair.

Glyph window: Pairs and Phrases»

The Pairs and Phrases panel that has three views that you can toggle in its lower-left corner. The panel works in all modes (Metrics, Kerning, Text and all the other ones).

• The Texts view has a list of text phrases, which you can use during glyph drawing and spacing.
• The Pairs view has a list of pair phrases, which you can use a kerning plan, a “to do” list. The pair phrases are pairs or short phrases that are centered around pairs.
• The Auto view automatically switches between the Pairs view if you’re in Kerning mode, and the Texts view if you’re in other modes.

You can replace your Glyph window text with the previous or next phrase in all modes:

You can also click the Pairs and Phrases panel and use the arrow keys to get the phrase into the Glyph window. Hold Shift and click or use the arrow keys to get multiple phrases into the window.

Glyph window: get glyph by name»

Previously, when you tapped / in a Glyph window or a Font window, you could type in a glyph name, tap Enter and switch the current glyph to another glyph. In Kerning mode, it switches the 2nd glyph of the active kerning pair.

Now you can also tap Shift/, and you’ll switch the 1st glyph of the kerning pair (in Kerning mode), or the glyph that immediately precedes the current glyph (in other modes except Text).

Metrics and Kerning: walking in the Glyph window»

In both Metrics and Kerning modes, you can now consistently “walk around” the text in the Glyph window when you hold the Fn key and press the arrow keys, or use Home, End, Page Up, Page Down.

¹ To get this behavior, turn off the new setting Preferences > Spacing > Smart navigation with the up/down keys.

Kerning: get glyphs»

Previously, in all Glyph window modes, you could tap , or . to switch the 2nd glyph of the kerning pair to the previous/next glyph in the font, in the order that was used in the last active Font window.

Now, in Kerning mode, you can also tap Shift, and Shift. to switch the 1st glyph of the kerning pair to the previous/next glyph in the font.

To swap the neighboring glyphs in the text (i.e. the 1st and the 2nd glyph of a pair), tap | or W.

Kerning: get existing pairs»

The Kerning panel that shows the list of existing pairs in your master. If you make any kerning, the pairs you define will be added to the Kerning panel. If you or delete pairs, they will be removed from the Kerning panel. This is different from the pair phrases in the Pairs and Phrases panel, which are always defined by you as a “plan”, and don’t change depending on the font.

You can now use ShiftUp/ShiftDown to get to the previous/next existing kerning pair if Preferences > Spacing > Smart navigation with the up/down keys is off, if the Kerning panel is visible in Kerning mode, and if you’ve activated the Glyph window (i.e. it has the focus).

¹ Up/Down work if Preferences > Spacing > Smart navigation with the up/down keys is on, the Kerning panel is visible and the Pairs and Phrases panel is invisible.

If you’ve activated the Kerning panel (i.e. it has the focus), you can use ShiftUp/ShiftDown to select multiple pairs in the Kerning panel and get them into the text as new lines.

When the Context toggle (“HOH”) in the Kerning panel is off, and you get a different pair into the text, FontLab now no longer replaces the current text with the pair you chose, but instead only replaces the current pair in the text, leaving the rest of the text unchanged.

If you do want to remove the text and get a pair into a clean window, double-click the pair in the Kerning panel, or press Space while the focus is in the Kerning panel.

Kerning: get class pairs or exceptions»

When you’re looking at an exception, change the 1st or 2nd glyph to another glyph in the same class, and FontLab will then show and let you change the class-based pair.

Kerning: editing kerning»

In Kerning mode, you can change the value of the current kerning pair with the the Left and Right arrow keys, or with the - and = keys.

¹ Customize the step in Preferences > Distances > Metrics arrow key moves.
² Customize the step in Preferences > Distances > Metrics shift+arrow key moves.

To create exceptions, you need to hold one or two modifiers listed below, and then perform one of the kern operations listed above. This will create the exception.

Once the exception exists, you can kern it further by just using the keystrokes listed in the kerning table earlier, without the exception modifiers. If you’re editing an exception of a given type and hold its corresponding exception modifiers when editing, this has the same effect as not using those modifiers.

To delete exceptions, tap Backspace when you’re in the exception pair. The exception will be deleted and the text will show the kerning for the “higher-level” class-based pair, typically the class-to-class pair. However, if you’be just deleted a glyph-to-glyph exception, you may see the higher-level glyph-to-class or class-to-glyph exception. When you delete a pair that has no higher-level pair, you will see the text unkerned at your cursor.

To autokern a pair lightly, tap ;. The pair will only be autokerned if the optical algorithm determines that the kern value should be significant.

Kerning: class cloud no longer shown behind exceptions»

When View > Kerning Class is on, the Kerning mode shows a class cloud behind the 1st and 2nd class glyph in any class-based pair. Now, the glyphs that form exceptions on either side of that pair are no longer shown in the kerning class cloud.

Kerning: Show All Combinations»

When you select one pair that involves a class on either or both sides in the Kerning panel, and choose the new command Show All Combinations from the local panel “hamburger” menu, FontLab will replace the text with a combination of each glyph from the 1st class followed by each glyph from the 2nd class.

Previously, you could achieve it by CtrlAlt-clicking a pair entry in the Kerning panel or by an Alt-clicking a small gray rectangle next to a class name in panel pair entry.

Linked metrics»

We have refined the engine that controls linked metrics (metrics expressions). Their results are now no longer immediately rounded to integers, so rounding errors no longer accumulate if you have expressions that refer to glyphs that also have expressions. Previously, FontLab was always “hard-rounding” all metrics, including those that resulted from metrics expressions. This was a problem in glyphs without an extrema at one side, or if you used italic metrics, and used more complex expressions (esp. with multiplication and division).

Because of that, we’ve changed how metrics work depending on the Contour > Coordinates > Round when Editing setting:

If Contour > Coordinates > Round when Editing is on (which is ), then FontLab will:

• immediately round to integers any metrics values that you set or change in the Metrics mode, that you enter into the Metrics Table or into the Glyph panel, or that result from metrics transformations such as scaling glyphs or sidebearings via Actions
• allow fractional in glyphs that use linked metrics

If Contour > Coordinates > Round when Editing is off, then FontLab will:

• keep any fractional values that you enter into the Metrics Table or into the Glyph panel or that result from metrics transformations as fractional values internally, but will display them as integers in the user interface (you can see the fractional values in the Source panel)
• it will also allow fractional values that result from linked metrics

Known issue: FontLab currently stores the Contour > Coordinates settings per app, and does not save it in the VFC/VFJ. So if you open VFCs/VFJs, and some of them are designed to work with integer coordinates only, and others are designed to work with fractional coordinates, set Contour > Coordinates accordingly when working on each font.

Italic metrics»

If you turn off Preferences > Grid > Follow the font’s Italic Angle, then the italic angle View menu item will only two states:

• when the metrics are upright, the menu item will say Apply Italic Angle to Metrics
• when the metrics are italic, the menu item will say Do Not Apply Italic Angle

If you turn off the preference, then the italic angle View menu item will have three states:

• when the metrics are upright and the grid is upright, the menu item will say Apply Italic Angle to Metrics
• when the metrics are italic and the grid is upright, the menu item will say Apply Italic Angle to Metrics and Grid
• when the metrics are italic and the grid is italic, the menu item will say Do Not Apply Italic Angle

FontLab will now correctly recalculate the linked metrics when you change this setting. Previously, if you used metrics expressions and you changed the setting, the resulting metrics would be incorrect.

Known issue: FontLab currently stores the View italic angle setting per app, and does not save it in the VFC/VFJ. So if you open a VFC/VFJ that uses italic metrics expressions and your FontLab has this setting set to upright, you’ll see incorrect metrics. Choose View > Apply Italic Angle to Metrics and you’ll see correct metrics.

From Glyph window to Font window»

When you work in a Glyph window and you want to run an Action or operation from the Font window, choose the new Window menu item named Open Font Tab or Open Font Window (depending on your Preferences > General configuration), or press CtrlW on the Mac or CtrlAltShiftW on Windows. Then:

• If the Glyph window is in Text mode, the Font window will open and select all glyph cells of your Glyph window’s text.
• If the Glyph window is in any other mode, the Font window will open and select the glyph cell for the Glyph window’s current glyph.

Example: you have a set of glyphs in the Glyph window and you want to remove overlaps in all of them? Tap T for Text mode, then CtrlW (Mac) / CtrlAltShiftW (Win), then choose Tools > Actions > Basics > Remove overlap, click All Masters, then OK — done!

You can also open the font window this way if you double-click on any empty space in the Glyph window property bar.

Note: If the Font window has Hide unfiltered glyphs on and the glyphs that were in the Glyph window are not visible, they will not be selected. Turn Hide unfiltered glyphs off, switch back to the Glyph window and press CtrlW (Mac) / CtrlAltShiftW (Win) again.

Auto layer and composite glyph cell icons»

If you turn on Preferences > Font Window > Show auto layer and composite icons, the Font window glyph cells will now display additional tiny informative icons that indicate how the current glyph layer shown in the cell is built:

• ☗: auto layer if the icon is an upwards-pointing bright blue “shogi piece” shape,
• ☗: partial composite (has both components and simple contours or other non-component elements) if the icon is a downwards-pointing dark rouge shogi piece shape,
• ☗: full composite (has only components) if the icon is a downwards-pointing light gray shogi piece shape.

The cells shown these icons at the top of the cell if Preferences > Font Window > Cell caption is set to be at the bottom, and vice versa.

Keyboard zooming»

Keyboard shortcuts for zooming now work in the Font window:

• Cmd= zooms in and Cmd- zooms out: they switch between the different column presets, and if you choose the Flex cell mode in the bottom-right corner of the Font window, change the zoom in smaller steps.
• Cmd1 goes (scrolls the window) to the current glyph cell.
• Cmd2 sets the Font window zoom to 64 columns (very small cells).
• Cmd3 sets the zoom to 32 columns.
• Cmd6 sets the zoom to 16 columns.
• Cmd7 sets the zoom to 8 columns (very large cells).

Sidebar, virtual tags and expressions»

In the Properties section of the Font window sidebar:

• There is a new Non-Composite font filter that lists glyphs in which no master contains any component. Those glyphs also have the nocomposite virtual tag assigned. This is complementary to the Composite font filter (and the corresponding composite virtual tag) that lists glyphs in which at least one master contains at least one component.
• The Auto font filter is now called Auto Layers. It lists all glyphs that have an auto layer in at least one master. Such glyphs also have the virtual tag auto.
• There is an Update button which refreshes the results of the automatic filters of this section. It also updates the contents of the Virtual Tags section of the Classes panel.

You can also update the results of filters and virtual tags with Font > Update Glyphs.

Keep source glyphs»

If you choose Keep source glyphs, FontLab may delete fewer glyphs that you’ve selected.

It will not delete the glyphs that are used as component sources in glyphs that you are not deleting.

To references»

If you choose To references, FontLab will delete all glyphs you’ve selected.

In the affected composite glyphs, it will convert the affected components into element references. (This was the previous behavior of FontLab VI).

FontLab will delete the source glyph, but will keep the contours of that source glyph as a named element in the Gallery, and will place a reference to this element in all the glyphs that included the component that pointed to the deleted glyph. This way, all occurrences of the element are still linked together.

Note: If you create a new glyph and place that element as a reference and the only element in the glyph, you can then run Element > Element Reference > References to Components, and FontLab will seamlessly convert all these element references back into components that now point to the new glyph.

Decompose»

If you choose Decompose, FontLab will delete all glyphs you’ve selected.

In the affected composite glyphs, it will decompose the affected components, i.e. convert them to simple independent contours. (This was the behavior on FontLab Studio 5).

Note: Some glyphs may become “partial composite glyphs” that will have both components and simple contours as a result. When you export them into OpenType TT, they will be decomposed.

Auto layers»

The Auto layers section lets you decide what to do with glyphs that have auto layers which rely on glyphs that you’re deleting.

Turn Preserve recipes on to keep the logical structure of the auto layer, but the appearance may change. The affected auto layer glyphs will keep the auto layers property but may change visually.

• If the affected auto layer uses a custom recipe, that recipe will stay unchanged. The component whose source was deleted disappears. However, if you add a new glyph with the name used in the recipe or assign that name to another glyph, the new component will reappear in the affected auto layer.
• If the affected auto layer uses a built-in recipe, FontLab will try to fully rebuild the auto layer using the next-best recipe for as long as possible. For example, if your font has the glyphs A, acutecomb and acute and you turn on auto layer on Aacute, FontLab will build it from A+acutecomb. But if you delete the acutecomb glyph, FontLab will rebuild Aacute from A+acute. If FontLab cannot fully rebuild the auto layer, the component whose source was deleted disappears.

Turn Preserve recipes off to keep the appearance of the auto layer, but not its logical structure. FontLab will first convert the auto layer into a composite glyph, and will then work on the composite according to your Composite glyphs choice above.

No style linking»

In File > Font Info, if you Alt-click Names > Build Names, FontLab will build the names without style linking, so the typographic Style name such as “Bold Italic” gets appended to the Style group and the Style link always becomes Regular.

If you Alt-click From Axes or From Masters on the Instances page, the predefined instance names will be built without style linking (this only makes a difference if you export instances as static fonts, not in a variable font).

Easier to click buttons»

The buttons in the property bar are now easier to click — you can click slightly outside the button. This is consistent with Apple’s user interface guidelines.

Better optical separation»

When you drag-and-drop or File > Import Artwork a bitmap image or a vector graphic that represents an entire alphabet or multiple glyphs onto the Sketchboard or into a Glyph window, that image or graphic arrives in FontLab VI as one element.

If you’ve imported an SVG, you may need to first choose Element > Image > Make SVG Editable. Once you have the element, you need to separate it into smaller elements that represent single glyphs. Finally, you can Element > Place As Glyphs to put them into a font.

Switch to the Element tool, turn on View > Element Frame, click the image and choose Element > Optically Separate. FontLab will automatically split the image or graphic into smaller pieces. If you don’t like the result, undo, go to Preferences > Operations > Optical separation and adjust the following new options that let you better control how FontLab splits the image. Then repeat Optically Separate.

• Merge overlapping cells

  • Turn in on if glyph images like % where there is a horizontal overlap of the bounding boxes, or glyph images made of separate close-by elements (like dots), are being separated but you’d like them to be merged.
  • Turn it off if the separation produces too large elements that include several glyph images next to one another.

• Merge stacked cells

  • Turn it on if fragments that are on top of other fragments, such as the dot over the “i”, are being separated but you’d like them to be merged.
  • Turn it off if the separation merges together fragments that are above one another but actually belong to separate glyphs.

• Detect text baseline

  • Turn it on if the glyph images on your graphic sit on a common baseline.
  • Turn it off if the glyph images on your graphic are irregularly arranged and don’t sit on a common baseline.

Opening and exporting .glyphs files»

With FontLab VI 6.1.4 (both the Mac and the Windows version), you can now export .glyphs files, and you can also open .glyphs files much more faithfully!

So now, you can easily exchange source files with users of Glyphs.app, or you can quickly switch from one app to another (and back, if need be), depending on the tasks you’re facing and the tools you need. FontLab VI also opens and exports .designSpace files and .ufo packages (both UFO 2 and UFO 3), and in the past few versions, we’ve greatly improved the support for these formats. So it has been really easy to collaborate with users of RoboFont, Superpolator or FontForge as well, and to use those apps along FontLab VI.

Note: export to .glyphs is “beta” functionality, so in this release, the Glyphs font export profile is hidden by default. Go to File > Profiles, turn on the blue checkbox next to the Glyphs entry, and click OK. Now go to File > Export Font As and choose the Glyphs profile. The Glyphs export profile exports the entire font with multiple masters into one file (into the Source-Glyphs subfolder if you turn on Subfolders by: Profile).

When FontLab VI opens or exports .glyphs, it correctly translates the most essential info:

• masters and instance defintions
• glyphs and layers
• contours and ordinary components
• guides and anchors
• kerning and kerning groups
• some font custom parameters such as naming
• some master custom parameters
• the font note, TrueType stem info and various other details

But FontLab does not read or export all data. Below are some known limitations in 6.1.4:

When FontLab opens a .glyphs file, it converts all automatically aligned components into normal manually positioned components, and reads smart components and serif components as plain contours.

FontLab does not read or export many font or master custom parameters, the do not export glyph flag, stored tabs or windows, info about the automatic alignment of components, some hinting info.

FontLab reads metrics keys from .glyphs as metrics expressions, and exports metrics expressions to .glyphs as metrics keys. However — while the syntax of the FontLab metrics expressions and that of Glyphs metrics keys is similar in many aspects, there are differences. At this point, FontLab does some conversion, but you may get keys or expressions that are valid in one app but invalid in another.

However, since both apps also store the actual glyph metrics, if you want to quickly “hop over” from one tool to another and back for a little fix — you can, and your metrics keys/expressions will survive. But if you set up more complex keys/expressions in one app and then change the spacing in another app, and go back to the first app — you may get unexpected results. You can always check which glyphs have expressions in FontLab’s Font window list view and remove them with Font > Remove Metrics Links.

If you open a .glyphs file in FontLab, and then export a new .glyphs file, you can open both files in the MergeGlyphs utility to compare what has changed, and you can even copy over some info that’s missing.

Exporting masters, DesignSpace+UFO, OpenType Variations»

When FontLab exports masters (into any format, including DesignSpace+UFO and OpenType Variations), FontLab will no longer remove final node of a contour that is on the same coordinates as the startpoint.

Previously, FontLab would replace that final node with a “closepath”, which was appropriate behavior for single-master fonts, but which made the masters no longer match if one had the final node on top of the start point, while in another, the coordinates of the two nodes would differ.

Exporting OpenType Variations TT (.ttf)»

Variable fonts that you export in FontLab VI will:

• no longer cause horizontal shifting of composite glyphs in macOS
• have a more compact GPOS table
• have more correct STAT and MVAR tables

(FontLab VI now bundles version 3.40.0 of the wonderful fontTools library, and owes the variable font export improvements to the tireless fontTools project contributors. Thanks!)

Exporting OpenType PS (.otf) and Type 1»

(See Hinting above and Bug fixes > Hinting below.)

Move nodes and handles along the vertical italic axis»

☆ If you have a non-zero Italic Angle in Font Info > Font Dimensions, you can now use the new menu item Contour > Coordinates > Follow Italic Angle to decide how “vertical movement” of nodes and selections works (vertical Shift-dragging or using the Up/Down cursor keys).

• When it’s off, the movement is truly vertical, i.e. happens along the vertical axis.
• When it’s on, the movement is actually diagonal, i.e. happens along the vertical axis slanted by the italic angle.

If Follow Italic Angle is on, moving a node or selection with Up/Down while holding Shift or Cmd will result in diagonal movement. But the results of tapping Up or Down without modifier keys depends on the font’s italic angle and the Contour > Coordinates > Round when Editing setting:

When Round when Editing is on, Up/Down will move the node or handle by 1 unit up or down. If the italic angle is within ±26.6°, the node or handle will not move horizontally as the vertical movement by 1 unit would result in a horizontal movement by less than 0.5 units. If the italic angle is outside these values, the node or handle will also move to the left or right.

Previously, this toggle was coupled with View > Apply Italic Angle to Grid, but now that three-way toggle lets you only decide between seeing upright sidebearings and grid, slanted sidebearings but upright grid, or slanted sidebearings and grid. Using this setting now no longer affects the contour editing behavior.

Selection remembered when changing glyphs or layers»

☆ FontLab now remembers which components, contours, or elements you selected in a particular glyph. If you select some things in a glyph layer, then open a different glyph or switch to another layer and back, your previously stored selection will be restored.

Active elements when you open a glyph»

☆ When you open a glyph in a Glyph window that doesn’t have a stored selection, FontLab will no longer automatically make a component or the first locked element active. So when you open a composite glyph, no component is active by default. You can click a component, or use the < or the > key, to select the first component and iterate through the other components.

FontLab will by default make the first unlocked element active, which typically is the default element that holds the glyph’s contours.

Context menu»

☆ The context menu for nodes now includes the commands Duplicate and Retract Handles.

Free Transform across elements and layers»

☆ When Edit across Elements is on, and if you select contour portions (nodes, handles, segments) from multiple elements with the Contour tool, Tools > Free Transform (CmdT) now works on the entire selection.

If Edit across Layers is also on, this even works across multiple layers. Previously, it only worked on the contours of the active element.

Class glyphs behind exception glyphs»

☆ FontLab will now no longer show class glyphs behind an exception glyph if you have View > Kerning Classes on.

So if you’ve created a _T ydieresis class:glyph exception with Alt, and you have the Tÿ text in Kerning mode (so T is a class glyph and ydieresis is the exception glyph), then the _T class glyphs will still appear behind T, but the _y class glyphs will no longer appear behind ÿ. Previously, the contents of a kerning class was shown behind any glyph that belonged to a class, regardless of whether the glyph was part of a class pair or an exception pair.

Editing kerning exceptions»

☆ When an exception pair is active in the Kerning mode, you can now edit its value visually using arrow keys (Left, Right, with Shift as accelerator) or by dragging the 2nd glyph.

Previously, arrow keys changed the current exception pair but dragging changed the parent class pair even though you thought you were changing the current exception pair. It was very confusing.

TrueType curves»

• ☆ Converting to TT curves. When you converted PS curves to TT curves, the change is now instantly reflected in the Glyph window.

Right-click improvements»

• You can now easily delete nodes, handles, anchors, pins and guides using a two-button mouse, like in FontLab Studio 5: press-and-hold the left mouse button on the object, and, while holding the left button, click the right mouse button, then release both buttons. If you do the same on a curve segment, it will be converted to a line segment.

• You can now easily insert a node on a segment using a two-button mouse, like in FontLab Studio 5: press-and-hold the the right mouse button on the outline of a curve or line segment, and — while holding the right button — click the left mouse button. FontLab will insert a smooth node on a curve segment or a sharp node on a line segment where you clicked.

• The context menu in the Glyph window now opens when you press the right mouse button (or, on the Mac, also press Ctrl and the left mouse button). Previously, the context opened when you right-clicked (i.e. pressed and released the button), and it was possible to accidentally drag objects or start a selection with the right button pressed. Thanks to this small change, users of tablets and styluses should find it much easier to open the context menu on nodes, handles, guides etc. Note: dragging a segment with the right button pressed still performs non-node editing.

“Pantograph” non-node editing»

If you don’t have any nodes or segments selected, you can edit a segment directly via non-node editing: place your pointer over the outline (not a node) so that a blue rhombus appears, and drag it. Previously, the change of the segment directly corresponded to the distance you dragged.

Now, the segment changes by the half of the dragging distance, so you can control the curve more precisely without zooming in. You can customize this ratio in Preferences > Distances > Non-node editing changes contour by 1/2 of dragging distance. Change 2 to 1 to get the old behavior, or enter a larger number (up to 5) for even more precision. A hundred years ago, type designers used a pantograph for the same purpose!

Scale and flip selections with Selection frame»

In the Glyph window, you can now use the new Selection frame to instantly scale or flip contour selections (in Contour mode) as well as elements and contours (in Contour and Element modes). Turn on View > Selection Frame and a light gray rectangle will be shown around your selection or element with scaling handles at the sides and corners:

• To scale the selection, drag any of the handles.
• To also scale in the opposite direction, Alt-drag.
• To scale proportionally, Shift-drag.
• To flip the selection vertically, Alt-click on the left or right round handle, or tap E.
• To flip the selection horizontally, Alt-click on the top or bottom round handle, or tap W.

Note: Choose Tools > Free Transform (CmdT on Mac, CtrlT on Windows) for more advanced transformation that includes rotation, slanting and the ability to move the center of the transformation.

Move nodes or handles with cursor keys after dragging»

When you drag a node or a handle to move it, it now becomes selected, so you can instantly move it further using cursor keys. Previously, clicking a node or handle selected it, but just dragging it left it unselected.

Tunni lines»

☆ When you turn on Tunni lines (View > Tunni Lines or L) and click a Tunni line, you can edit the line using the cursor keys. As in previous versions:

• Up moves both handles closer to their intersection point
• Down moves both handles further away from their intersection point

Now, you can use additional keystrokes (the direction of the movements is always from the point of view of a convex segment):

• AltLeft moves the Tunni point to the left, parallel to the current angle of the Tunni line, by making the left handle shorter and the right handle longer
• AltRight moves the Tunni point to the right, parallel to the current angle of the Tunni line, by making the left handle longer and the right handle shorter
• AltUp moves the Tunni point away from the segment, orthogonally to the current angle of the Tunni line, so it increases the tension
• AltDown moves the Tunni point closer to the segment, orthogonally to the current angle of the Tunni line, so it decreases the tension

When Preferences > Editing > Live preview is on, editing Tunni lines show live preview in the Preview panel. The preview was only refreshed after releasing the mouse button before.

If Preferences > Editing > Clicking on outline selects segment is off and you click a segment, you can perform non-node editing using the cursor keys, just as before. But now, pressing CmdAltL (Contour > Edit Tunni Lines) activates the Tunni line of the current segment for editing. Previously, this activated Tunni lines of all contours for editing.

When a Tunni line is active, you can press Esc to deactivate it.

Deselecting nodes and handles»

The Preferences > Editing > Marquee selection ignores handles when selecting nodes setting controls how the “marquee selection” (rectangular selection that appears when you drag over some nodes and handles) works. When it is off, the marquee will select both nodes and handles. When it is on:

• When you drag the marquee over some nodes and handles, the nodes will be selected, and handles will be only selected if they belong to a segment between two nodes that you select. In other words, “free-standing” handles will not be selected.

• When you drag the marquee only over handles, they will be selected.

Previously, when this setting was on, FontLab used the same behavior when deselecting with Shift-marquee. Many users found that confusing because some handles would not be deselected. Now, Shift-marquee always deselects whatever it captures, nodes or handles.

Make slanted glyph guides»

If you create a horizontal or vertical glyph guide, you can now click on a tiny circle on the guide to convert it to a “vector” guide. The tiny circle is then replaced by an arrow that you can drag to change the angle of the guide. Previously, converting a horizontal/vertical guide to a slanted vector guide was more cumbersome (right-click, choose Vector, click again to see the arrow).

Improved: Set Start Point»

If a node is selected in the Glyph window, the new Contour > Set Start Point command makes the node the first node of the contour.

If you use the command in the Font window with one or more glyph cells selected, or in the Glyph window with no node selected, Set Start Point will relocate the start point to the “optimal” node in each contour of the current glyph layer. FontLab will chose the sharp node point at the end of a straight vector closest to the origin point (0,0) as the “optimal” node; or if that is not found, the sharp node closest to the origin; or otherwise the node closest to the origin.

Because it is now a menu item, you can assign a keyboard shortcut to Set Start Point via Tools > Commands.

New action: Add Nodes»

Tools > Actions has a new Effects > Add nodes action, familiar to FontLab Studio 5 users. The action lets you specify a desired segment length in font units.

It divides the real length (along the curve) of each existing segment by the desired segment length, and then splits each segment into a number of new segments equal to the rounded result of the division. When splitting, it keeps the existing nodes and inserts new nodes, either at equal distances (so the length of each new segment approximates the desired segment length), or at random distances (if Randomize is on). Optionally, it converts all curve segments into line segments.

For example, if you specify the desired segment length of 100 and turn off Randomize, a line segment that is 752 units long will be split into 8 equal segments of 94 units each.

Improved action: Set Contour Direction»

Tools > Actions > Basics > Set Contours Direction now works better. If different parts of a glyph have different contour direction, they will get the proper TrueType or PostScript direction, depending on your choice.

Drawing ellipses and rectangles»

When you started to draw an ellipse or a rectangle at a sidebearing, FontLab VI used to move the sidebearing instead of drawing the contour. This no longer happens, but you can still move the sidebearing using the Spacing Controls triangles.

When View > Suggest > Stems is on, FontLab now suggests stem distances (defined in Font Info) as you draw with the Rectangle tool.

Smart Corners»

• The rounding of coordinates when applying Smart Corners was much improved, so the results (especially very small ink traps) are much smoother now.

• When a Smart Corner handle is on top of a node, you can now use Alt-drag to grab and manipulate the Smart Corner handle instead of the node.

Esc key in the Glyph window»

When you have selected some object (contour, element etc.) in the Glyph window, the Esc key moves the focus up one level. If your glyph has several levels, such as groups of elements inside other groups, tapping Esc multiple times activates the higher-level object and ultimately deselects the selection. When nothing is selected, tapping Esc deactivates the glyph, so no glyph is active. This is especially useful to preview a longer text in Glyph Window.

You can now reactivate a glyph with a single click anywhere in the Glyph Window. Previously, reactivation needed a double-click on the glyph contour.

Components: coordinates and index»

☆ When View > Show > Coordinates is on, FontLab will now show the component index (starting at 1), its coordinates (if they’re different than 0,0) and its scale and rotation (if non-default) below all components in the Glyph window. The readout for the active component is slightly darker.

Elements/components in Scoreboard»

If you turn on View > Scoreboard, the Scoreboard (the large resizable coordinate readout) now also appears when you move a component or an element, and shows the placement coordinates.

Better rendering of selected elements»

When using Preferences > Glyph Window > Outline thickness > Thick, the selected element now presents more contrast from the unselected ones. The difference is more visible when View > Show > Smooth Outline option is on.

Remove or reorder elements/components while in Font window»

While in the Font Window, you could use the Elements panel to reorder elements via drag-and-drop. You could also select an Element and change its properties. Now, while in Font window, you can also delete the selected element from Elements panel with the – button or Del, and you can reorder Elements using Element > Arrange: Send to Back (ShiftCmd[ which makes the element or component “first”), Send Backward (AltCmd[), Send Forward (AltCmd]) and Send to Front (ShiftCmd]).

Previously, you had to open the Glyph window to perform these operations. Note: Elements and components in the Elements panel are ordered in visual stacking order, like layers in design apps. The first element or component is listed at the bottom of the panel.

Gallery panel: filter and remove elements»

The Gallery panel lists all elements in the current font layer that have a name.

The panel now has a Filter bar that lists all unique prefixes and suffixes found in element names. This greatly simplifies navigation, especially if you use systematic element names like serif.bottomleft, serif.topright, bowl.topright etc.

The panel now also has a Remove element from Gallery button. When you select one or more elements in the gallery and click the button, the names of these elements will be removed so they will disappear from Gallery. However, all existing references to these elements in the glyphs will not change. To add an element to the Gallery, give it a name in the Elements panel.

Metrics when inserting a component or reference»

The Glyph > Add Component dialog, as well as the Add Element Reference and Replace Element Reference dialogs from Element > Element Reference, now remember whether you last chose Keep metrics or Replace advance width. However, if the glyph is blank, Replace advance width is always chosen.

Add new elements/components to a group»

Now you can add another element or component to an existing group of elements. To do so, select the group and the additional element/component, then choose Element > Group (CmdG). The new element will be added, preserving the group name. This is particularly important when the element group is referenced by other glyphs because the reference is fully preserved this way.

Previously, you needed to ungroup and then regroup the elements with the extra element included, losing references to the group.

Adding Glyphs»

☆ In Font > Add Glyphs:

• In the Categories, Scripts and Ranges tabs, you can now enter a Unicode codepoint (e.g. 0105), a Unicode character (e.g. ą) or a glyph name (e.g. aogonek) into the Filter text box. The group that contains the match will be shown in the list. If the list only shows one result, the map automatically shows the matching character cell.
• When you click a character cell, you can hold Space to display the character rendered in the system font, with additional information.

Append Glyphs now uses references»

When you copy and append glyphs to the same font in the Font window (Edit > Copy Glyphs and Edit > Append Glyphs), FontLab now builds the new glyphs with references instead of unlinked copies. It no longer changes the names of previously existing elements by adding numeric suffixes — the element names are preserved.

Filling layers with the content of other fonts or masters»

If you choose Glyph > Add Layer or click the Plus button in the Layers and Masters panel, and turn on Fill new layer with content of this font, you can add the content of a master layer of another open font or the current font (“content”) as a new layer to your current font. If you haven’t entered your own name for the new layer, FontLab automatically names the new layer .content font (previously, it would always overwrite your name with the autogenerated name).

For each glyph in your current font where you’re adding the new layer, FontLab looks up the glyph name in the content font and master, and when it finds a matching glyph layer:

• If the content glyph layer contains simple elements or contours, it copies them to the new layer.

• If the content glyph layer contains components, it copies them as components that refer to the new layer of your current font. If the content glyph layer was a composite, but you haven’t filled the new layer for the component source glyphs, the new layer of the composite glyph will have blank components.

• If the content glyph layer contains named element references, FontLab previously copied the content elements as standalone, unlinked elements. Now, if you turn on the new Reuse named elements that exist in new font layer setting, FontLab will instead check for any glyphs in the current font that contain a pre-existing layer with the same name as the new layer. If the pre-existing layer in any glyphs already contains elements with the same name as the element references you’re adding from the content font master, FontLab will add references to the pre-existing elements instead of adding standalone elements.

In other words: with Reuse named elements that exist in new font layer on, you copy the element structure from the content font master, but the appearance is taken from the current font. With Reuse off, you copy the elements’ appearance from the content font master.

If you work with element references, you can create different versions of the same-named element across different masters, and then use this new setting to copy the structure of elements of some compound glyph layers from one master to a second master, but use the appearance of the elements already defined in the second master.

Editing across exportable and service layers»

If Edit > Edit Across Layers is on, you can select objects on other exportable layers (e.g. master layers) if an exportable layer is active, or on other service layers (e.g. Mask) is a service layers is active, but you cannot select across both exportable and service layers at the same time. This should improve working with masks and other service layers.

Interpolation of named elements»

☆ FontLab now prefers names of elements over the element order when determining the order in which elements match across masters for interpolation. This change makes it easier to work with compound and color glyphs that use many elements. This does not affect components and elements that don’t use names.

When you interpolate (use the Variations panel to see an instance, generate or export instances), and if your glyph contains named elements:

1. FontLab now uses names of elements as the first step to identify elements as matching across masters. For each unique element name present in any master, FontLab finds matching elements with the same name in all masters. If more than one element have the same name in each master (when you use several element references within one glyph, e.g. for serifs), FontLab orders the same-named elements by their Elements panel order. If the number of elements with the same name differs across the masters, it matches the smallest common number of elements.

2. In the second step, FontLab uses the element order defined in the Elements panel to match the remaining elements (this was previously the behavior for all elements).

Locked metrics»

When you turn on View > Lock > Glyph Metrics, you can still edit the glyph metrics in the Metrics mode. The primary purpose of locking glyph metrics is to prevent users from accidentally changing glyph metrics while working with contours or elements.

Metrics Table»

The Metrics table (View > Metrics Table) now shows the metrics fields for the current glyph in bold on a slightly darker background.

Open glyphs for editing more easily»

Previously, in the Metrics and Kerning modes, you could Cmd-double-click (Mac) or Ctrl-double-click (Win) the visible glyph contents (the “black” portion), and the glyph would open in a Glyph window for editing. If Preferences > Spacing > Double-click to glyph in Metrics mode opens it for editing was on, a simple double-click would also open the glyph for editing, and if the setting was off, a double-click would activate the glyph.

Now, all this also works when you double-click (optionally with Cmd or Ctrl) the whitespace of the glyph.

Right-click to remove kerning pair»

In Kerning mode of the Glyph window, while you are changing a kerning pair by dragging either the kerning handle (with View > Show > Spacing Controls on) or the 2nd glyph, you can now remove the kerning pair by also clicking the right mouse button, while already holding the left mouse button (like in Fontlab Studio 5).

Auto layer for all layers»

To turn the auto layer property on or off for all layers of a glyph (in Glyph window) or of the selected glyphs (in Font window), hold Alt and choose Auto Layer from the Glyph menu or the context menu.

To toggle auto layer in all layers and also copy the auto layer recipe from the current layer to all other layers when turning auto layer on, hold Cmd (Mac) or Ctrl (Win) and choose Auto Layer from the Glyph menu or the context menu.

Auto layer contents»

Auto layers place components, anchors and guides automatically using recipes, so you cannot visually edit or move them. To indicate this more clearly, the Elements panel now shows names of components in an auto layer in lighter gray and no longer shows the color and the number of contours. This way, you can easily see if the current layer is an auto layer even if the Layers panel is hidden.

Also, previously, you could temporarily drag objects in an auto layer in the Glyph window, and those objects would “snap back” to their recipe-defined positions. Now, you can no longer drag them.

Note: If you want to change the contents of an auto layer, either adjust the auto layer recipe or turn off auto layer and edit the contents manually.

Live update of metrics and auto layers»

FontLab VI allows you to build complex relationships between and within glyphs using three mechanisms:

• auto layers: automatically build composite glyphs using “recipes” that you can specify per master; those recipes tell FontLab which glyphs to insert as components and where to position them; auto layers inherit glyph contours, metrics, guides, hints and anchors from the component glyphs; the recipes can also modify the metrics
• linked metrics: make glyph metrics (width and sidebearings) dependant on the metrics of other glyphs, using expressions
• location expressions: position guides, alignment zones, anchors and pins using expressions that can refer to positions of other objects (guides, anchors etc.) or to per-master named parameters

In previous versions, FontLab was always automatically recalculating (updating) the location expressions and auto layers whenever you changed some glyph, and was updating the linked metrics either automatically (when the global setting Preferences > Spacing > Automatically update linked metrics was on) or manually (when you triggered Font > Update Metrics).

We have now removed the preference and added a new submenu Font > Live Update. It contains two checkboxes: Live Metrics which causes FontLab to always update the glyph metrics that use expressions, and Live Auto Layers that causes FontLab to keep rebuilding the automatically generated composite glyphs.

If your font uses many auto layers or many linked metrics, live updating may be slow and can impact the performance of FontLab. If that’s the case, turn off either of those checkboxes and periodically trigger Font > Update Glyphs (AltCmdM) to force the update.

FontLab now saves the state of the Live Update checkboxes inside your VFC/VFJ, so you can easily set one font to have live update on and another font to have it off.

Location expressions»

We have also improved some aspects of location expressions for guides, anchors, zones and pins. Note: they are always updated automatically.

• ☆ You can now search for glyphs that contain a certain location expression (or its portion) in the Search box of the Font window property bar or in Edit > Find Glyphs.

• If a location expression contains an error, for example an unknown variable, FontLab shows an error message in the Output font whenever you open the VFC/VFJ or you edit an object of that type. These error messages are now more meaningful.

Strong ligature attachment in legacy recipe syntax»

Previously, when writing a glyph generation or auto layer recipe using the legacy syntax, if you wanted to build a ligature, you could use the _ ligature attachment operator. The _ operator had a limitation: the + non-spacing attachment operator ignored _ and always attached marks to the first component of the ligature. The recipe a+acutecomb_b+gravecomb resulted in both acutecomb and gravecomb being attached to a.

We have now added an additional, “strong” ligature attachment operator: &. The recipe a+acutecomb&b+gravecomb will first attach acutecomb over a, then attach gravecomb over b, and then assemble these results into a ligature.

Anchors when decomposing composite glyphs»

When you create an auto layer in a glyph using a recipe, the component glyphs specified in the recipe are used to build anchors in the auto layer as follows: First, the anchors from the source glyph of the first component are inserted, let’s say bottom and top. Then the anchors from the source glyph of the second component are inserted, let’s say left and top. The previously-inserted top anchor is replaced with the new top anchor, so the glyph now has bottom from the 1st component and left and top from the 2nd component. Then the anchors from the source glyph of the third component are inserted in the same way etc., so for any same-named anchors that exist in different source glyphs, the anchor from the last component ends up in the auto layer. When you turn off auto layer or decompose the glyph, those anchors are retained.

When you create a composite glyph by inserting components manually, the new glyph does not receive anchors automatically. When you decompose a manually-made composite glyphs, the anchors now get inherited in the same manner as described above. However, the anchors specified in the composite glyph itself have the highest priority, so decomposing the glyph will not replace those anchors by same-named anchors inherited from the component source glyphs.

Previously, the mechanism of inheriting anchors from component source glyphs was inconsistent. When you decomposed a manually-built composite glyph, the way anchors were inherited was different (the first component had priority rather than the last).

Calculations in numeric text fields»

You can now perform simple calculations in many numeric text fields in the user interface using + for addition, - for subtraction, * for multiplication and / for division. For example, if you select two nodes and the Width field of the property bar will say 400, you can add /2 there (so the field becomes 400/2) and press Enter, the value will become 200 and the horizontal distance between the nodes will be halved. To move a node horizontally by 25 units, just enter +25 after the current node position in the x field in the property bar or the Node panel.

Calculation of zones, hints and guides thickness»

In the fields where you’re supposed to enter a thickness of any guide (including a zone or a hint), you can now enter = followed by the absolute position of the “end” of the guide. For example, if you have a zone that starts at 700 and is supposed to be 20 units thick, in the thickness field, you can enter =720 and it will be recalculated to 20.

Ghost hints»

☆ When FontLab opens a VFB, OTF or Type 1, it now correctly reads the top ghost hints as -20 and the bottom ghost hints as -21. It also correctly exports the top and bottom ghost hints into VFB, OTF and Type 1.

You can now create horizontal ghost hints: select one node or several nodes that have the same y-coordinate, for example on the top or the bottom of the I, and choose Tools > Add Horizontal Hint (CtrlX) command. FontLab will pick the hint value depending on the geometry of the segments adjacent to the node.

Note: When you convert a bottom ghost hint to a link or add a horizontal bottom ghost link, that link gets the width 21 (because the nodes it links from are at the bottom), but FontLab will change the hint back to -21 when you export.

StdW vs. StemSnap PostScript stems»

☆ OpenType PS (.otf) and Type 1 fonts define have two kinds of stems for each direction: one standard stem (horizontal StdHW and vertical StdVW) and a list of common stems (horizontal StemSnapH and vertical StemSnapV). The standard stem is sometimes included in the common stems list, and sometimes it is not — FontLab now supports this distinction.

Previously, when FontLab opened a font, FontLab created the stems list in Font Info > Master Properties > Stems by first checking if the StdHW/StdVW values are also present in the StemSnap lists, and if they were not, it would it would always add them to those lists. Then, it would give the name Hstem name to the horizontal stem value that corresponded to StdHW, and give the name Vstem to the StdVW stem value. When FontLab exported the font to a format with PostScript outlines, it always wrote all Font Info stems into the StemSnap lists.

Now, if the StdHW/StdVW stem values are also found in the StemSnap list, FontLab will name these stems Hstem and Vstem. But if those stem values are not found in StemSnap, it will name them std.Hstem and std.Vstem. When exporting fonts, FontLab will export these stems with the std prefix as StdHW/StdVW stems, but will not include their values in the StemSnap list. If the stems don’t have the std. prefix, FontLab will export them as StdHW/StdVW and will include their values in StemSnap.

Note: When you open a Type 1 or an OpenType PS (.otf) font in FontLab Studio 5 and save a VFB, the app stores the values for StdHW/StdVW but, erroneously, does not expose them in the user interface. If you open such a VFB in FontLab VI, you’d see these stems in the stems lists even though you do not see them in Studio 5.

Wildcards in tags search»

☆ You can now search for partial tag names in the property bar search box and in Edit > Find Glyphs using the * wildcard. For example if you enter la* or *tn and choose the Tags results, all glyphs with the virtual tag latn will be shown.

Import and export classes»

Note: In FontLab VI, kerning classes are defined per master while tags and OpenType classes are defined per font.

We’ve improved the Classes panel’s local (“hamburger”) menu:

• Copy Classes From (renamed from Import Classes From) lets you copy classes into the current font and master from a different master or from another currently open font.

• Remove All Classes… now shows a dialog where you can choose to remove kerning classes (from current master or all masters) and/or OpenType classes from the font.

• Export Classes.. lets you export all class definitions into:

• a .classes.json file which will contain kerning classes for each masters, all OpenType classes and all manually assigned tags; tis format is recommended for use in FontLab VI and is based on the VFJ format

• an .flc file which will only contain the OpenType classes and the current master’s kerning classes; this format is intended for interchange with FontLab Studio 5

• Import Classes… lets you import class definitions from a .classes.json or an .flc file.

When you use Copy Classes From or Import Classes…, a dialog appears where:

• You can choose the type of classes to copy or import. OpenType classes are always copied from the selected font to the current font, and kerning classes are copied from the selected master to the current master.

• You can turn on Replace existing classes to completely replace the selected type of classes, or turn it off to only import classes with names that don’t already exist in the font (so existing classes will be preserved).

Adding glyphs into a Kerning Class»

When you drag-and-drop or paste some glyphs into a “1st” or “2nd” Kerning class, FontLab checks if the glyphs are already included in another same-side Kerning class. Previously, FontLab silently removed these glyphs from the old classes and placed them in the new class.

Now, FontLab shows a dialog that tells you which glyphs are already part of another same-side Kerning class. You can choose to:

• Move the glyphs to the new class,
• Keep the glyphs in the old class and only paste those glyphs that were not part of a class,
• Cancel the paste operation.

Tags in Classes panel»

• The Classes panel now works much faster when you create tags, delete tags, or add/remove glyphs in a tag.
• The Classes panel now sorts tags alphabetically by default and shows larger icons. Text display in the status bar was also improved.

Virtual tags»

FontLab automatically assigns virtual tags to your glyphs based on:

• linguistic criteria (e.g. uc for uppercase glyphs, lc for lowercase glyphs, fig for figures, and 4-letter tags for glyphs belonging to a particular Unicode script),
• technical criteria (e.g. blank if all printing layers in the glyph have no contents, composite if any of the layers uses components, references if any of the layers is used as a component or element reference),
• the OT Glyph Definition Class entry in the Glyph panel (corresponding to the virtual tags otnone, otsimp, otliga, otmark and otcomp), that translates into the GDEF table classes.

In this version:

• We’ve added the noblank virtual tag that is automatically assigned to all glyphs where at least one visible layer has some visible content (contours, components, images).
• We’ve added the ALL virtual tag that is automatically assigned to all glyphs in the font.
• We’ve added the svg virtual tag for all glyphs where at least one exportable layer has an SVG element, and the image virtual tag for all glyphs where any of the layers includes images.
• The Categories > Properties section of the Font window sidebar now includes additional entries based on virtual tags: Blank, Color, Image and SVG.
• The color virtual tag no longer appears erroneously.

Applying features in Glyph window and Preview panel»

The setting Preferences > Open Fonts > Compile feature definitions now works as expected.

• When it’s on, FontLab will compile the feature definitions so you can use features in the Glyph window.
• When it’s off, FontLab will open the font, but not compile the features. You can now turn on the Features checkbox in the Glyph window sidebar or in the Text mode property bar to compile the features in this situation. Previously, you had to manually compile the features using the Compile features button in the Features panel.

The Script selector in the Glyph window sidebar, in the fi Features dropdown of the Text mode property bar and in the Features popup of the Preview panel now lists:

• The Auto script that performs automatic script identification and text run segmentation depending on the text that you’re testing.
• The Default script that lets you test the features defined in the DFLT script.
• The scripts that the font’s Unicode coverage actually supports.

Previously, the selector listed Auto and all Unicode scripts, which wasn’t useful.

Features panel»

When you add a feature in the Features panel, FontLab asks you to type in the 4-letter feature tag, and then generates the feature code snippet.

The Go to glyph or class at cursor button in the Features panel has a new icon.

Import features»

We’ve improved the Features panel’s local (“hamburger”) menu:

• Import Features… (renamed from Import Features File) now lets you import feature definitions not just from .fea files, but also from .ufo, .vfb, .vfj or .vfc.
• Copy Features From was renamed from Import Features for clarity. It lets you copy feature definitions from another open font.

Classes and tags in feature definitions»

When you compile the features in the Features panel or when you export a font into OpenType, FontLab automatically performs a conversion of FontLab classes defined in the Classes panel into “FEA classes”, and includes them on-the-fly into the feature definition code (“FEA code”).

We have now extended how the conversion of FontLab-to-FEA classes works. The Features panel local menu now includes a Include Classes submenu with four checkboxes:

• Kerning (off by default): this replaces the previous Include Kerning Classes checkbox. If turned on, FontLab also automatically converts and includes in the FEA code on the fly the FontLab Kerning classes defined in the Classes panel. Normally, you should turn this off, because our algorithm that creates the kern feature converts the FontLab Kerning classes into FEA classes in an optimized way that prevents subtable overflows, and writes their definitions inside the feature.
• OpenType (on by default): this converts OpenType classes from the Classes panel into FEA code, and includes them on the fly when you compile the features or export the font. This setting exposes the functionality that was previously always happening. You may want to turn it off if you prefer to write your own class definition entirely in the FEA code.
• Tags (on by default): this converts Tags that you can manually define (in the Classes panel or in the Glyph panel) into FEA classes, and includes them on the fly when you compile the features or export the font.
• Virtual Tags (off by default): this converts the Virtual Tags into FEA classes, and includes them on the fly when you compile the features or export the font.

Below the Include Classes submenu, there is an Import Classes and Tags menu item. Its label changes depending on which checkboxes are on in the Include Classes submenu. When you click Import Classes and Tags, FontLab converts the enabled types of classes and/or tags into FEA classes, and writes them explicitly into the Features panel’s Prefix section.

The types of classes turned on in Include Classes will also be written into the FEA file when you use Export Features….

Why are tags useful in OpenType features when we have OpenType classes? Since you don’t explicitly control the order of the glyphs in tag-based classes, they are not very useful in class-by-class substitutions, but they can be very useful in contextual lookups. For example, you can easily write a contextual substitution that occurs if a glyph is not followed by a noblank glyph (is at the end of a word), or if it’s not followed by an ALL glyph (is at the end of a line or a text run):

feature swsh {
  ignore sub [c e]' @ALL; sub [c e]' by [c.fina e.fina];
  ignore sub f' @noblank; sub f' by f.fina;
} swsh;

If both Tags and Virtual Tags are turned on, FontLab will create FEA classes that are the result of merging a tag and a virtual tag with the same name.

If Tags and/or Virtual Tags are turned on, and also Kerning and/or OpenType are turned on, and there is a kerning or OpenType class with the same name as a tag or virtual tag, FontLab will create an FEA class from the kerning or OpenType class and will ignore the tag. This way, you can define your own ALL or noblank class at any time which will override the classes generated from virtual tags.

Note: glyphs in an OpenType class have an explicit order that you can define in the Classes panel. Glyphs in a tag-based FEA class are ordered by their glyph index.

Font window cells»

☆ You can now view the glyph tags in Font window cell captions: choose Tags in the Cell caption dropdown in the Font window property bar.

☆ The text of the glyph notes will start showing in Font windows cells at a smaller cell size than previously.

Font window filters»

In the Font window property bar, the underlined Filter label now correctly shows any current font filter that is applied to the window, including font filters applied via the Search box or the Sidebar. The if you click on the Filter label, you can still choose the most popular types of font filters there.

The Font Window presents six filter kinds: Encoding, Unicode, Codepage, Category, Script, and Index. Each (except Index) offers several additional options. Now, when you change the filter type, FontLab VI remembers the last choice used for that type (for example, Script: Greek or Category: lowercase), and restores it.

☆ When you click Categories > All in the sidebar, the Font window will retain its filter type but will set the filter value to None or All, which always has the effect that no glyph cells are filtered. Previously, Categories > All was less intuitive.

Opening Glyph tabs/windows from a Font window»

When you select many or all glyphs in the Font window, and you open a Glyph window (by tapping Enter, clicking one of the Toolbar buttons or choosing Window > New…):

• If you’ve selected fewer than 5000 glyphs, FontLab will now open all selected glyphs in the Glyph window.
• If you’ve selected 5000 or more glyphs, FontLab will show a warning that opening so many glyphs in a Glyph window may slow down the app and offer you to open all selected glyphs or just the first 5000 glyphs.

Previously, FontLab only opened the first 200 selected glyphs in the Glyph window.

Measurements panel»

☆ You can now make the text in the Measurements panel larger or smaller using the two new buttons in the panel’s control bar.

Output panel»

In various cases, FontLab prints error messages to the Output panel. Now, whenever FontLab prints the error messages, the Output panel automatically appears on screen.

Keyboard shortcuts»

The Tools > Commands dialog now lists the commands that you can currently run in black, and the disabled commands that you cannot currently run in gray. This allows you to use the dialog to assign custom keyboard shortcuts to all commands, even those that are not accessible in the current UI context.

While editing a value in a panel, you can go to previous or next glyphs using keyboard shortcuts Cmd+BracketLeft and Cmd+BracketRight. These shortcuts were already available when editing an element name, but have now been extended to work in all panels. This makes easier to do repetitive actions, like changing recipes, adjusting metrics or fixing anchors.

Toolbar and dropdown text buttons are easier to click»

You can now activate a Toolbar button or an underscored dropdown text button by clicking the area slightly outside the button, so it’s easier not to miss it.

Windows and tabs configuration»

The settings in Preferences > General > Windows and tabs configuration now have text captions in addition to the icons.

Anchors and Pins panel»

The glyphs table at the bottom of the Anchors and Pins panel is now shown only in the Anchors tab, since it has no relevance for the Pins tab. Pins are only used in elements.

Cell sizes in Add Glyphs dialog»

In the Font > Add Glyphs dialog, cell sizes were increased to better show glyphs that extend to the height limits (diacritics, descenders, etc.).

Improved backups when saving files»

When you save a font, FontLab can create backup copies of the previously-saved versions of your working file. This has now been improved. In Preferences > Save Fonts:

• If you set Existing font files to Rename and turn on the new Save backup files to subfolder setting, FontLab will create a subfolder named the same as your working file but with a .backup extension, and will save the backups inside that subfolder.
• If you set Existing font files to Rename and turn off Save backup files to subfolder, FontLab will behave like in previous versions, saving the backup files directly in your working folder.
• If you set Existing font files to Overwrite, FontLab will not create any backup files.

Easier handling of export profiles»

The File > Export Font As… dialog has a new Customize… button that opens a Customize Profile dialog where you can quickly change the technical settings of the currently selected export profile. Note: If the currently selected profile is a built-in profile, shown in bold in the profiles list, FontLab will create a duplicate custom profile with the name suffix (clone) that you can change.

Previously, to change the export settings, you first had to open File > Profiles, choose or clone a profile, customize it, close the dialog, then open File > Export Font As… and choose the just-customized profile.

When you now open File > Profiles to customize a profile, the profile that you last used in File > Export Font As… will be selected. Previously, the Profiles dialog opened with the first profile selected.

In the File > Profiles dialog, the profiles list is now wider.

Hyphens in glyph names»

FontLab now permits hyphens in glyph names when used in classes and feature definitions, and retains them when opening fonts.

When exporting the font into final formats (OTF, TTF):

• If the profile setting Use standard PDF-compatible glyph names is used, most glyph names will be converted to small set of standard human-readable names and to uniXXXX names.
• If the setting Use current glyph names is used or if some glyphs cannot be converted into PDF-compatible names, FontLab will apply “camelCase” to glyph names that contain hyphens: it will remove the hyphen and will convert the letter that follows the hyphen to uppercase (so Zhe-cy will become ZheCy).

Opening and exporting UFO»

• When you open a UFO package, FontLab now reads the lib entries of each .glif file and stores them as a lib dictionary in the glyph object.
• When you open a Designspace+UFO package, FontLab reads the lib entries of each .glif file of the first master and stores them.
• FontLab saves the stored glyph lib dictionaries in VFC/VFJ.
• You can edit the contents of the lib dictionary using the Source panel.
• When you export a UFO 3 package, FontLab now writes the glyph lib dictionary for each glyph as a lib dictionary inside the .glif files.
• FontLab currently ignores custom lib.plist keys when reading UFO. We plan to add support for handling them in the future.
• This version has many more UFO-related improvements, please check the Bug Fixes section.

Note: the built-in UFO Package and DesignSpace + UFO profiles export UFO version 2. To export UFO version 3, open File > Profiles…, duplicate the built-in profiles and turn off Format settings > Use legacy format version.

Exporting OpenType+CBDT color fonts»

Previously, if your font had ppm.XX layers where the XX PPM size was larger than 127, or if the font had contour-based or SVG color glyphs, and Preferences > Save Fonts > Default rasterization PPM was larger than 127, and you exported the font with a profile that had Export color font files > OpenType+CBDT turned on, FontLab would export a -CBDT.ttf font that would be technically invalid since the OpenType+CBDT color font format has 127 as a technical limit of the maximum permissible PPM size.

Now, when you’re trying to export an OpenType+CBDT font in such situations, FontLab will present a dialog box that will list the PPM sizes that will not be exported or that will prompt you to enter a rasterization PPM smaller no larger than 127. Note: OpenType+sbix fonts can be rasterized into larger PPMs.

Also, OpenType+CBDT export now works with both TTF- and OTF-based font profiles.

Exporting open contours as single-stroke fonts for engravers and plotters»

The Open contours setting in the Outlines section of the export profile is now called Export open contours and has three settings, one of which is new:

• Do not export ignores contours that are not closed and omits them from the exported font
• Close with straight line joins both ends of an open contour with a line and exports them as closed contours
• Duplicate and close (a new option) places a copy of an open contour on top of the original and joins them, in the exported font; this is useful if you’re making fonts for plotting or CNC engraving.

Open contours»

• Joining. When you drag some multiple open contours by a node, and drop onto some other open contours, the contours will be joined in all expected places. Previously, only some of the dropped contours were joined with the other contours.

Smart Corners, Tangent nodes, Tunni lines»

• Dragging selections. If one of the nodes at the edge of a contour selection is a tangent node, the selection no longer randomly jumps back and forth when you drag it with the Contour tool.

• Tangent and Tunni distortions. When you were editing a Tangent node or a Tunni line using the mouse (especially with Contour > Coordinates > Round when Editing turned on), the contours could get distorted because rounding errors would accumulate. Now, FontLab applies the coordinate rounding only at the very end of the editing operation, so the contours no longer get distorted.

• Tunni lines. When you edit Tunni lines (CmdAltL), and you choose Nodes at Extremes or some other operation from the Contour menu, FontLab will now deselect the Tunni lines. Previously, it kept them selected, but the editing behavior was unexpected.

• Coordinates. After you add a Smart Corner, if View > Show > Coordinates is on, selected nodes now show their coordinates (as expected).

Eraser»

• Filters. It’s no longer possible to erroneously use the Ctrl-click Eraser mode on contours that are being generated dynamically by a filter such as Power Brush or Smart Contour.

Power Brush»

• Rough contours. Under some circumstances, Power Brush would create very rough final contours made out of short line segments. Now Power Brush always creates smooth contours as intended.

• Empty elements. Switching to the Brush tool in Power Brush mode no longer creates an empty element. FontLab will only create an empty element after you’ve actually drawn something with Power Brush.

• Free Transform. After transforming a curve with Free Transform, Power Brush no longer sometimes acts as if the curve was still in its pre-transformation state.

Suggest stems»

• Dragging. With the option View > Suggest > Stems on, FontLab VI suggests the object to use the nearest stem value. The feature was working for rectangles drawn with the Rectangle tool, but not while dragging nodes or segments. It is fixed now.

Remove Overlap»

• ☆ Contour > Remove Overlap now gives more consistent results in some cases.

TrueType curves»

• Adding nodes to TrueType curves with the Knife tool works correctly.

Guides»

• Element guides. Elements guides now follow transformations. Now, when an element or a contour is flipped or transformed, any Element guide linked to nodes follows these changes. Guides are also transformed appropriately if the element is part of a group, and a transformation is applied to the whole group. Previously, element guides lost their node links after transformations.

• Guide angles. Element guides were wrongly modified, with arbitrary angles applied to them, in two specific situations: (a) when the user duplicates an element/component doing a click, hold and drag operation; and (b) when a reference is unlinked. This is fixed, and neither operation causes a change in element guides now.

• Direction matching. The x location expression of an anchor can now refer to the position of a vertical guide, but not of a horizontal guide. The y anchor expression can link to a horizontal guide but not to a vertical guide. Previously, you could link the x position of an anchor to a horizontal guide, which was mostly confusing.

• Font metrics. You can no longer enter location expressions for Font metrics. Font metrics are represented as special guides, but their position is defined in Font Info.

Paste Special»

• Copy Layer. In a multi-layer font, Paste Special after Copy Layer no longer crashes.

• References. If you Copy Layer and then Paste Special > contours & images > as references, FontLab no longer pastes a duplicate unlinked element with the same name but correctly pastes a reference instead.

• References. If you Copy and then Paste Special in another layer with contours & images > as references on, FontLab will now correctly insert an unlinked element. Previously, FontLab inserted an element reference that would link to another layer, but cross-layer references are not implemented reliably and are not supported.

• Expressions. When using Paste Special to paste a guide whose position uses an expression, the expression is no longer removed from the pasted guide.

• Expressions. The Paste Special operation was abnormally slow when pasting guides with expressions. This is fixed: all Paste Special operations perform at similar speed now.

Gallery panel»

• Overlaps. In the Gallery panel, rendering of element groups consisting of overlapping elements is fixed.

• Paste. Replacing an element with Paste or Paste Special is now immediately reflected in the Gallery panel.

FontLab VI (.vfc, .vfj)»

• ☆ VFC. FontLab no longer crashes when opening certain VFCs.

• VFC. FontLab now correctly opens VFC files saved in old versions of FontLab VI.

• ☆ VFJ. In very rare cases, FontLab would export a VFJ that contained some invalid data. This no longer happens.

• Typo metrics. FontLab correctly saves and reads the Font Info > Other values > Prefer typo metrics option to and from VFC/VFJ files.

• Zones. FontLab now correctly saves Font Info > Zones in multi-master fonts to VFC/VFJ.

• Linespacing. The Custom hhea linespacing setting is read correctly from VFJ.

OpenType fonts (.ttf, .otf)»

• ☆ DSIG. When you sign the font with DSIG, FontLab no longer exports an additional font with a dummy DSIG.

• OpenType PS. FontLab no longer sometimes crashes when exporting some particular fonts as OpenType PS (.otf).

• Element references. Exporting a font no longer fails when there is a glyph with a duplicated element reference, one on top of the other. The font is now exported correctly.

• Legacy kerning. When exporting a legacy kern table, FontLab correctly uses the specified maximum number of pairs. The default number for the maximum pairs in the kern table was changed in the built-in export profiles from 10240 to 10920 (the actual technical limit), and FontLab will not export more pairs even if you enter a larger number.

• Anchors. FontLab no longer misses anchors in composite glyphs when importing and decompiling mark and mkmk features from TTF files.

Webfonts»

• Web PS. The built-in Web PS export profile correctly uses .otf instead of .ttf in the sample CSS file.

Color OpenType fonts»

• OpenType+CBDT. PNG compression works again when exporting OpenType+CBDT color fonts.

• OpenType+CBDT. When exporting OpenType+CBDT color fonts, FontLab no longer includes an empty glyf table. Previously, this table caused the font to not render on Android.

• OpenType+sbix. Under some circumstances FontLab could generate an empty OpenType+sbix color font. This is fixed now.

• OpenType+SVG. When some OpenType+SVG font with PostScript outlines (.otf) were opened, the SVG color glyphs were incorrectly shifted below the baseline. This is now fixed.

OpenType Variations (.ttf)»

• ☆ STAT. FontLab no longer crashes when opening a variable TTF with an invalid STAT table.

• varLib. The varLib library, used in variable fonts export, was updated. It now does more error checking during the export process. Some fonts that did not export before can now be exported.

Generating instances»

When you generate an instance via Font > Generate Instance, FontLab will now:

• Tags. Correctly assign tags to font guides, the same way they were assigned in the masters.

• Hints. No longer lose hints when there are two links linking the same pair of nodes.

Exporting instances»

Export of instances. When you export instances as fonts, FontLab will now:

• TTF auto-layers. Export all glyphs built with auto-layers (TTF).

• Version. Write the Font Info-specified version to the name table. Previously, it would always write 1.000.

• OTF components. Correctly interpolate and apply hints to decomposed shifted components (OTF).

• Mark attachment. No longer create and export mark and mkmk features if the export profile is set to not export them (OTF).

• Mark attachment. Generate and export mark and mkmk features even if generating these features issues some warnings, for example, if some anchors are missing (OTF, TTF).

• GDEF. Export the GDEF table (OTF, TTF).

• Glyph masters. Export glyphs that contain glyph masters (named :axislocation) if they contain element references (all formats).

• Tags. Include tags and virtual tags if enabled in the Features panel local menu’s Include Classes submenu when compiling feature definitions (OTF, TTF).

• VFB/UFO color flags. Write color flags and the contents of the Font Info pages Unicode Ranges and Codepages (VFB, UFO).

• VFB/UFO components. No longer drop components in glyphs that contain both components and contour elements (VFB, UFO).

• VFB/UFO kerning. Generate the kern feature for all instances (not just masters) if the option Create [kern] code if not present is on in the export profile (VFB, UFO).

FontLab Classic (.vfb)»

• ☆ VFB creation date. When FontLab opens a VFB, it now retains the font creation date embedded in the VFB.

• ☆ VFB version. When FontLab exports a VFB, it now correctly writes the Font Info > Creator > Version into the TrueType Version record.

• ☆ VFB ghost hints. FontLab VI will no longer set wrong direction to ghost hints from files saved in FontLab Studio 5. Fonts exported as VFB also get the hints correctly.

• ☆ VFB font and glyph notes. Texts embedded inside VFB files (font note, glyph notes, license text, copyright info, designer name etc.) can have different encodings.

• FontLab Studio 5.1 for Mac OS X saved these texts in UTF-8, FontLab Studio 5.0.x for Mac OS X saved them using MacOS Roman, and FontLab Studio 5 for Windows saved them using the current user’s 8-bit encoding.

• When FontLab VI opens such a file, it presents a dialog that lets you choose which encoding to use when converting these text to Unicode.
• Previously, FontLab VI did not include MacOS Roman in the list of the encodings, and only showed this dialog when glyph notes had non-ASCII contents.
• Now it also shows the dialog when non-ASCII characters are found in other texts embedded inside VFB. ~#3601

UFO Packages and DesignSpace+UFO (.ufo)»

• UFO marks. FontLab now stores glyph color flags (marks) in a new “compact” format (public.markcolor lib key) when exporting to UFO3.

• UFO lib. FontLab-specific keys for layer attributes now use com.fontlab. prefix instead of the incorrect public. prefix when exporting to UFO3.

• UFO guides. Glyph guides are exported to UFO3 correctly now. Note: element guides (created with the Guides tool) are not exported to UFO.

• UFO guides. Vertical guides are correctly imported from UFO3, instead of being converted to horizontal guides.

• UFO Typo Metrics. Font Info > Other values > Prefer typo metrics is no longer automatically turned on when importing and exporting UFO3 files.

• UFO layers. When opening UFO, different glyphs of the same layer always get the same visibility attribute.

• UFO Mask. When opening UFO, FontLab no longer changes the contents of the mask layer. FontLab also exports the mask back to UFO correctly for all glyphs.

• UFO fontinfo. When exporting UFO, FontLab now sorts the fontinfo.plist keys.

• UFO Groups. Import and export of UFO groups is improved so that FontLab no longer adds duplicate groups in the feature file.

Importing and exporting artwork»

• ☆ Import Artwork. After you use the CtrlD shortcut for File > Import > Artwork once in the current font, FontLab no longer disables that shortcut so you can use it again.

• Exporting Window Contents. Export > Window Contents:

• ☆ When exporting as SVG, the resulting SVG file will contain vector graphics rather than rasterized bitmaps.

• ☆ When exporting as PDF, the resulting PDF file will actually contain PDF data, and its page formatting is improved. In 6.1.2, the files erroneously contained SVG data.

Tables panel: Define custom OpenType tables»

The new Tables panel allows you to store, edit and export OpenType table definitions for arbitrary OpenType tables using the popular TTX syntax. The Tables panel is a convenient way to override the tables that FontLab exports by default (for example name or gasp), and/or to add tables to the exported font that FontLab VI does not support (for example MATH, BASE or meta).

Open an existing OTF or TTF and FontLab will decompile font tables except those listed in the Preferences > Open Fonts > Do not import these tables to Tables panel. Open Window > Panels > Tables to view the decompiled table definitions, to add or edit custom table definitions, to copy-paste them between fonts, and to enable some of the custom table definitions for export.

To add a definition for a new table, click +, double-click the XXXX table tag and type your desired table tag. Then input a valid TTX definition for that table in the editing area. To perform a basic verification of your custom table definition, select it and click Verify. To remove a table definition, click –.

To enable custom table definitions for export, turn on their checkboxes. Whenever you export a non-variable OpenType font (OTF or TTF), FontLab will override the tables it generates with enabled custom tables, and will add any enabled custom tables that are suitable for the format.

Note: Currently, FontLab will not write custom table definitions into OpenType Variations fonts. Also, if you are generating instances from a variable font, each custom table definition that you enable for export in the Tables panel will be exported into all instances.

See the FontLab VI Help article about the Tables panel for more info.

Export Font As: Enable and disable instances»

In the File > Export Font As dialog, Instances tab, you can now Alt-click any blue checkbox to enable or disable all instances for export. Example: Alt-click on a checkbox to disable all instances, then click on some checkboxes one by one to export only the selected instances.

Export Font As: Export single masters or instances as VFC/VFJ»

In the File > Export Font As dialog, the FontLab VI (.vfc) and FontLab VI JSON (.vfj) profiles at the top of the list export the entire multiple-master source font as one file. This is equivalent to File > Save As, i.e. exports your font source losslessly.

The same-named profiles in the lower portion of the list are different: they allow you to export the current layer, all or some predefined instances or each master as separate single-master files. This may be particularly useful if you wish to perform some external processing of those files, or export them to other formats.

OpenType Symbol fonts»

FontLab VI 6.1.2 now allows you to export OpenType Symbol fonts.

TTF fonts with a cmap Platform ID 3, Encoding ID 0 are called “Symbol” or “cmap 3.0” fonts. Windows handles these fonts in a special way: the glyphs that have the Private Use Area (PUA) Unicodes in the range from U+F020 to U+F0FF are also accessed when you type normal text characters on a English or other Latin-script keyboard.

FontLab VI now lets you export “cmap 3.0” Symbol fonts in OpenType TT (.ttf) format. Even though “cmap 3.0” does not work in OTF fonts, FontLab will export Symbol fonts into OpenType PS (.otf) using double-encoding (each glyph getting two codepoints), so users will be able to type the glyphs the same way they can with TTF Symbol fonts.

To create an OpenType Symbol font:

1. In the Font window property bar choose Filter > Codepage, and in the next dropdown choose MS Windows Symbol from the MS Windows subgroup.
2. Drag your glyph cells to the filtered glyph cells that have the Unicodes U+F020–U+F0FF. This will reassign the names and Unicodes of the glyphs. U+F020 will correspond to the space character.
3. Delete any glyphs outside the filtered area U+F000–U+F0FF from the font.
4. In Font Info > Codepages, turn on the new checkbox Symbol font. This will automatically set the Symbol Character Set bit in the Selected codepages column.
5. Use Font > Export Font As and choose the OpenType TT (.ttf) or the OpenType PS (.otf) profile, or any other OpenType-based export profile.

OpenType TT Symbol fonts with the “cmap 3.0” work as follows:

• on Windows, the system “double-encodes” the PUA glyphs on the fly using codes used in the Windows 1252 Western codepage offsetted by 0xF000. For example, the glyph with the PUA Unicode U+F041 will also be accessible as U+0041 (so you can press the key for “A” to get it), and the glyph with the PUA Unicode U+F096 is also accessible as U+2013 (which is the character “–”), because the hex code 0x96 maps to U+2013 in the 1252 codepage.
• on macOS and in Adobe apps, the on-the-fly double-encoding may not work, or may only partially work, but the glyphs will in any case be available via the PUA Unicodes.

When FontLab VI exports a Symbol font into OpenType PS (.otf), it writes a “cmap 3.1” where it assigns an additional Unicode from the Windows 1252 codepage to each glyph that has the PUA Unicodes U+F020–U+F0FF. Functionally, these fonts should work the same way as OpenType TT Symbol fonts.

Glyph names»

• When exporting to OTF: OpenType with PostScript outlines OpenType PS format, FontLab now correctly renames the glyphs to the AGLFN+uniXXXX convention if the Glyph names profile setting is Use standard PDF-compatible names. This affects he OpenType PS (.otf) profile and its derivatives. Previously, FontLab always exported the current glyph names into OTF. To export an OTF without renaming the glyphs, add a new profile based on OpenType PS in File > Profiles…, set Glyph names to Use current glyph names, and export the font using the new profile.

• You can now use glyph names that contain hyphens inside metrics expressions and auto layer recipes if you surround the glyph name with single quotes (e.g. 'A-cy') or double quotes (e.g. ="A-cy"-20). Font > Link Glyph Metrics and Edit > Paste Special > as links now correctly use quotes with such glyph names when building metrics expressions.

Special glyphs “NULL” and “CR”»

When the font source does not have the glyphs NULL or CR and:

• You export an OTF with the profile setting Use current glyph names, FontLab will now add those glyphs named NULL or CR. Previously, it would add them as .null or nonmarkingreturn
• You export a TTF with the profile setting Use current glyph names, FontLab will now add those glyphs and export them as Macintosh standard names. It will also export them as Macintosh standard names if they already exist in the font and have the names NULL or .null and CR or nonmarkingreturn.
• You export an OTF or a TTF with the profile setting Use standard PDF-compatible glyph names, FontLab will now add those glyphs and export them as font-specific names uni0000 and uni000D, which is compatible with the AGFLN glyph naming. It will also rename them to uni0000 and uni000D if they exist in the font and have the names NULL or .null and CR or nonmarkingreturn.

When you open a TTF font where the post table entries for glyph ID 1 or 2 are Macintosh standard names, those glyphs will now be opened with the names NULL (rather than .null) and CR (rather than nonmarkingreturn).

Save and restore windows, tabs, panels and font filters»

FontLab VI 6.1.2 saves your entire workspace in the VFC or VFJ file: the contents, sizes and positions of windows and tabs, and now also the positions of visible panels. Use Preferences > Open Fonts > Restore workspace from VFC/VFJ to decide what should happen when you open a saved file: by default, FontLab will restore the windows and tabs, but you can also decide to restore panel positions.

FontLab VI 6.1.2 now also saves (to VFC/VFJ) and restores filters and sorting settings for all open Font windows.

Windows and window tabs»

• You can now dock floating windows (turn them into tabs inside another window) using two new commands in Windows > Docking, which makes it easier to work with multiple windows, and to revert an accidental window undock.

• Merge To Font Windows will dock all Glyph windows into their corresponding Font windows. Merge All Windows will dock all windows into one window.

• Merge Window will dock the current window into the default window, or that font’s Font window.

• Note: The availability, labeling and precise behavior of these commands depends on your Preferences > General > Windows and tabs setting.

• The minimum width of a window tab heading is now smaller, so you can open more tabs before a scroll bar appears. Also, the borders between tabs are more distinct.

Control Bars view settings»

The View menu has a new Control Bars submenu that includes toggles to show and hide four control bars:

• the Property Bar lets you perform common actions in a Font or Glyph. Toggling it is a new setting.
• the Sidebar provides font filters in the Font window, and various text and features controls in the Glyph window. This setting was previously only available as a button in the property bar.
• the Text Bar lets you input the text visible in the Glyph window using the glyphtext notation; the Glyphs Bar provides a simplified navigation of the font’s glyph set. These menu items only work in the Glyph window. They were previously available directly in the View menu.

Echo Text: synchronize text between Glyph windows»

With the new Text > Echo Text menu item or the Echo text button in the Glyph window’s property bar, you can now set any Glyph tab or window to automatically receive (“echo”) the text of the current window. When a Glyph tab or window is an “echo window” i.e. has the “Echo text” property turned on:

• When another Glyph tab or window is active, and you change the text in the active window, the same text will appear in the echo window.
• When a Font window or the Font Map panel are active and you select some glyphs, these glyphs will show as text in the echo window.

“Echo windows” are most useful when you work with undocked windows (rather than tabs), especially if you have multiple monitors. You can work on a glyph or some text in one Glyph window using the Contour tool in a high zoom level, and have one or more Echo windows that provide an alternate view onto the same glyph or text.

Echo windows can act as a set of “supercharged Preview panels.” They can have a different tool active (for example the Text or Metrics tool), can use the Alternative view with different view details (for example, with hidden guides or font metrics).

You can change the text in both a non-Echo and an Echo window: whenever you change the text in the active window, all Echo windows will reflect that change. For example, you can turn on Text > Echo Text in two Metrics windows that have a different zoom level, and use the Kerning panel, the Pairs & Phrases panel or the Metrics panel to browse through some texts or pairs, and these texts or pairs will be instantly visible in both large and small point sizes. And if you edit the text in either of those Echo windows, the same text will appear in the other.

When you type in your own text into the Preview panel, the Content setting of the panel’s sidebar changes to Custom. Choose Content > Echo text (renamed from Current) in the sidebar or click the new Echo text/Custom button in the lower-right corner of the panel to synchronize the panel’s text with the current window.

Navigate in Glyph window with missing glyph placeholders»

If the text specifies a glyph which is not present in the font, the Glyph window shows a missing glyph placeholder if Preferences > Editing > Show missing glyph placeholders is on; or if the preference is off, the Glyph window leaves out any specified glyphs not present in the font. If a Glyph window shows missing glyph placeholders, you can jump over them them when navigating through the text with [ (Text > Previous in Text) and ] (Text > Next in Text). Previously, missing glyph placeholders blocked that navigation.

Unicode glyph specifiers»

Various user interface elements of FontLab VI allow you to specify a glyph by using the glyph name (for example a, adieresis or adieresis.smcp), a glyph name synonym (for example uni00E4 if the glyph name is adieresis, or vice versa) or a single Unicode character (for example ä). We have now extended the glyph specifiers to allow:

• Unicode characters with suffixes to match alternate glyphs; for example if you specify ä.smcp, FontLab will match the glyph named adieresis.smcp. Note: The suffix must match exactly so tt will not match adieresis.sc.
• Unicode characters (also with suffixes) concatenated with _ (underscore) to match ligatures; for example if you specify f_ä, FontLab will match the f_adieresis glyph.

You can now use Unicode glyph specifiers:

• in metrics expressions; for example, you can write an expression such as ш.alt + 20
• in Generate Glyphs recipes and auto layer recipes; for example, you can use the extended syntax recipe = f_f & ä.alt or the legacy syntax recipe 'f_f'_ä.alt to build an auto layer in the f_f_adieresis glyph
• in Edit > Find Glyphs…, Glyph > Add Component…, Element > Element Reference > Add Element Reference…

You can now also input Unicode glyph specifiers in the following interface elements, but FontLab will immediately convert them into real glyph names:

• the text area of the Classes panel where you specify the contents of the class
• the glyph name field in the Glyph panel
• the New name field in Glyph > Rename Glyph…

We have also extended the glyphtext notation used in predefined texts (Preferences > Texts), in the Pairs & Phrases panel’s texts, and in the Glyph window Text Bar. In addition to Unicode characters (AÄĄ etc.), /-prefixed glyph names (e.g. /A/Aacute/Aogonek), and \u-prefixed hex Unicode codepoints (\u0041\u00c4\u0104), you can now use Unicode text in glyph specifiers, for example /ä, /ä.alt or /f_ä.

Thanks to these enhancements, you can create more “portable” kerning lists, glyph generation recipes or sample texts for glyph design and spacing. This is particularly useful for non-Latin type design.

Note: in glyphtext, FontLab will match Unicode glyph identifiers in alternates or ligatures (e.g. /ä.alt or `/f_ä) only if the specified glyph uses a default AGLFN-compatible name prefix or portion (such asadieresis.altorf_aacute), and will not match non-default or synonym names such asuni00E4.altorf_uni00E4`.

Pairs & Phrases Panel»

The Pairs & Phrases panel allows you to browse short text phrases or kerning phrases. Editing these phrases is now easier: click the Edit Pairs & Phrases button in the property bar of the Metrics mode or in the bottom-right of the Pairs & Phrases panel to open the Pairs & Phrases editor. You can now drag the editor dialog around; importing text files and resetting to defaults is also easier.

Click the Texts or the Pairs buttons to edit the phrases for the respective mode. Click Cancel to ignore the changes, click Apply to apply the changes but keep the editor open, click OK or click outside the editor to apply the changes and close the editor.

Unicode glyph specifiers now also work in Text phrases and Pair phrases. For pair phrases, you can use either of the MetricsMachine-compatible formats:

The KPL:P pairs format that uses glyph names or Unicode glyph specifiers, with space to indicate the kerning pair:

#KPL:P: Pairs
T adieresis
T ä
T ä.alt

The KPL:W words format that uses glyphtext with space to indicate the kerning pair:

#KPL:W: Words
T ypography
auf arbeiten
k/lslash amstwo
/T.sc /Ä.sc/S.sc/T.sc

Alt-dragging a node»

If you Alt-drag a sharp node, the results are now more predictable:

• If an adjacent segment is a curve that has a collapsed handle, Alt-dragging the node will pull out the handle.
• If an adjacent segment is a line, Alt-dragging the node along that line segment will convert that segment to curve, and pull out a handle.
• In other cases, Alt-dragging the node will move the node, but keep the handles of any adjacent curve segments in place.

Previously, the different actions were triggered in a somewhat less predictable manner.

Marquee selection of nodes vs. handles»

To select some points using the Contour tool, you can drag a rectangular marquee. We have fine-tuned how this works and renamed Preferences > Marquee selection selects nodes but not handles to Marquee selection ignores handles when selecting nodes.

Previously, with this preference on, rectangular marquee selection only selected nodes. To only select some handles (without selecting nodes), you had to use the lasso selection (Alt-drag). Now, if this preference is on, then:

• If your marquee covers both nodes and handles, then only nodes will be selected (as previously).
• If your marquee only covers some handles, but no nodes, then those handles will be selected (new behavior).

If this preference is off, then rectangular marquee selection works like the lasso selection: it always selects whatever it covers, i.e. either nodes or handles or both.

Aligning of nodes, handles and contours»

The Transform panel now includes the Align vertical center button as the last one in the top section. You may need to make the panel wider to see it.

Aligning partial contours in the Contour tool now differs from aligning complete contours. Previously, alignment using the Contour tool always aligned selected nodes and points individually. Now:

• If you select a single complete contour with double-click on the outline or Cmd-click near the outline:

• Align left in the Transform panel or the { key will align the contour to the left sidebearing

• Align right (}) will align to the right sidebearing
• Align center (|) will center within the advance width
• Align bottom (Alt{) will align to the baseline
• Align top (Alt}) will to the caps height

• Align vertical center (Alt|) will center vertically between the baseline and the caps height

• If you select two or more complete contours and align them using the Transform panel buttons or the keyboard shortcuts listed above, the entire contours will be aligned to each other without changing the shape of the contours.

• If you select one or more complete contours and one or more partial contours (or just individual nodes or handles), and align, the complete contours will be aligned with all individual nodes and handles of the partially-selected contours.

• If you select a node and one or two adjacent handles and align, the handle(s) will be aligned to the node vertically or horizontally, whichever distance is smaller. You can also use the Transform panel alignment buttons. Previously, vertical or horizontal aligning of handles to a node was only possible with Shift-double-click on a handle.

Free Transform»

In Tools > Free Transform (CmdT or CtrlT):

• When the transform rectangle is extremely narrow in either direction, only the circular side handles are accessible, so you can easily scale in a single direction. Previously, the circular side handles and the rectangular corner handles were visible at the same time and overlapped, and it was difficult to select the side handle.

• The center handle of the transform rectangle that defines the center of the transformation now snaps to corners, nodes, contours, guidelines and anchors when you drag it.

• To skew the selection around the opposite side of the transform rectangle, hold Cmd and drag one side of the transform rectangle. Now, you can also hold AltCmd and drag the edge to skew around the center handle.

• To distort the selection around the opposite corner of the transform rectangle, hold Cmd and drag one corners of the transform rectangle. Now, you can also hold AltCmd and drag the corner distort around the center handle.

• You can now double-click the center handle to reset its position to the middle of the transformation rectangle.

Coordinates and measurements»

• The font size in Preferences > Glyph Window > Show coordinates for current node and… is now also used for angle, length and quick measurement.

• “Lengths & Angles” of handles attached to selected nodes are visible even when the View > Show > Coordinates option is turned off. They are persistent when a node is selected. The visibility of Lengths & Angles was also improved.

• When you move selected nodes with the mouse or arrow keys, the selection size fields on the Property bar show the movement offset (distance from the point you started the movement), like in FontLab Studio 5.

Loop corners with Scissors tool»

When you click a sharp node with the Scissors tool, or choose Contour > Unlink Corners, FontLab cuts open the contour on that node, lengthens the lines to overlap, and creates a compound Fill. ShiftAlt-drag the new nodes to elongate the segments further.

Now, you can also Alt-click a sharp node with the Scissors tool, and it will keep the contour closed and create a “loop corner”: a crossover that is similar to an unlinked corner but where the new nodes are still connected. If the loop corner is outside the filled contour, FontLab will also apply a transparent fill to the loop. Looped corners inside filled contours are useful in OpenType Variations.

Paste Mask»

The new Tools > Paste Mask command pastes the contents of the current layer’s Mask layer into the current layer. This operation was available in FontLab Studio 5 but not in FontLab VI.

Paste Special: element references, linked metrics, tags»

The Paste Special dialog now has a new design and additional option toggles.

When you select some glyph cells in the Font window and choose Edit > Copy, or when you choose Edit > Copy Layer in the Glyph window, and you select one or more glyph cells in the Font window or navigate to another glyph in the Glyph window, you can use Edit > Paste Special to paste only specific aspects of the copied glyph layer to the current layer of the current glyph or of the selected glyphs, replacing the previously existing information.

The Contour and images toggle has a new as references checkbox:

• when on, the elements (contours and images) pasted into the same layer of the target glyph(s) will be element references, so a bidirectional link will be formed between the source and the target glyph layers
• when off, the elements pasted into the target glyph(s) will not be linked to the source glyph

The glyph metrics toggles (Left sidebearing, Right sidebearing, advance Width) have a new as links checkbox:

• when on, metrics links that point to the source glyph will be pasted into the target glyph for the selected metrics, so whenever you change the metrics of the source glyph, the metrics of the glyph(s) where you pasted the links will update to match.
• when off, the selected glyph metrics will be pasted as numerical values.

The new Tags toggle allows you to copy-paste tags between glyphs.

Stroke and Power Brush»

The Preview panel has a new Stroke setting that allows you to preview your glyphs with a stroke. This is great to quickly simulate ink spread and to visually prototype how your glyphs might look if you added or removed weight.

• Click the underlined word Stroke to turn on stroke preview.
• Move the slider to the right (above 0) to add text-color stroke, so your glyphs become visually bolder.
• Move the slider to the left (below 0) to add background-color stroke, so your glyphs become visually lighter.
• Click Filter > Inverted preview to swap text and background color and customize the colors with the color selectors.
• Note: This does not apply the stroke permanently to your glyphs as the Stroke panel would.

To actually apply a stroke, use the Stroke panel. Now, you can select multiple glyphs in the Font window and Cmd-click the panel’s Apply button to apply the stroke to the current layer of all selected glyphs. Glyphs with an applied stroke will be exported into color font formats. Use Element > Expand Stroke to convert the applied stroke to contours and export them into traditional monochrome fonts.

Previously, the thickness of a stroke applied via the Stroke panel were considered part of the “ink” (the printable area of the glyph), so it was taken into account when calculating sidebearings. Now, Preferences > Spacing has a new setting Ignore Stroke thickness when calculating sidebearings. If you turn this option on, FontLab will calculate the sidebearings based on the actual contours, ignoring the stroke thickness.

Note: this does not affect Power Brush or SVG elements that use strokes. FontLab always considers them “ink” and uses them to calculate the sidebearings.

Power Brush is now much faster. The resulting contours are smoother. We’ve also eliminated many problem cases when Power Brush was applied on sharp corners, especially with non-round brushes.

Index filter in Font Window»

When you now choose Index in the Filter dropdown of the Font window property bar, the Sort dropdown is disabled and the glyph cells are always sorted in ascending glyph index (GID) order.

Glyph panel with multiple selected glyphs»

When you select multiple glyph cells in the Font window with Shift or Cmd/Ctrl, the Glyph panel fields now show the word multiple if the width, a sidebearing, the kerning class within the current layer differs between the selected glyphs, or if the OT Glyph Definition Class or the Glyph Note differ. The fields show the actual value if it is identical across the selected glyphs.

You can set the OT Glyph Definition Class or enter a Glyph Note for multiple selected glyphs. You can enter a new value into any of the metric fields (width, LSB, RSB) to assign it to the current layer of all selected glyphs. You can also enter an arbitrary expression. For example, you can select the glyph cells for ÀÁÂÃÄÅ and enter A into the LSB and RSB fields to link the sidebearings of the accented glyphs to the base glyph.

Note: Sort the Font window by LSB, RSB or Width and use the List view to group glyph cells with similar metrics together for easier selection. You can also use Paste Special to paste into selected glyphs a simple metric expression that links to the copied glyph.

Glyph name synonyms in Font window quick preview»

When you hold Space in the Font window, a quick preview popup of the current glyph cell appears with additional information. The top portion of the popup now lists all synonyms available in the standard.nam database for the current glyph name.

Master switching on empty glyph cells»

When the Font window has a prospective filter and an empty glyph cell is active, you can now use the property bar master switcher to switch between font masters.

Generate Glyphs»

• You can now use simple glyph names (e.g. Eth, Zhe, Aacute, uni0123) and simple legacy-syntax recipes such as a+>acute in the Custom tab of Font > Generate Glyphs even if the Use legacy (FLS5) code checkbox is off. Generate Glyphs will expect that the extended syntax is used if the recipe contains an equal sign (=), otherwise it will expect a glyph name or a simple legacy-syntax recipe.

• You can add glyph notes to the glyphs you generate in Generate Glyphs. When you use the extended recipe syntax (Use legacy code off), FontLab will insert the text that follows !# at the end of the recipe into the glyph note, for example Agrave = A + gravecomb @ top, #! This is a note.

• The bottom of the Generate Glyphs dialog now shows a glyphtext-formatted (slash-separated) list of glyph names that will be generated. This allows you to correct mistakes in your recipes and lets you copy that glyphtext for later re-use.

Auto Layers: showing built-in recipes»

If a layer is an auto layer that uses a built-in recipe (based on alias.dat or the Unicode decomposition), then the Auto Layer recipe text field in the Layers & Masters panel is no longer empty, but shows the built-in recipe (on gray background). This way, when you turn on Auto Layer, you immediately see what recipe FontLab uses to build the composite glyph.

To customize the recipe, click the Edit recipe button next to the text field. When the auto layer uses a custom recipe, that button turns into a Reset recipe button, and the background of the text field becomes white. Click the button to remove your custom recipe and to revert to using the built-in recipe.

Auto Layer column in Font window List view»

The List view of the Font window that you can open with the 4th button of the property bar can now display the Auto Layer column. This column shows whether the glyph layer is an auto layer (then the cell background is yellow), whether it uses a built-in recipe (then the recipe text is light gray) or a custom recipe (then the text is black).

To edit a recipe right in the cell, double-click the cell.

To sort the List view by the Auto Layer property, click the Auto Layer column heading. The ascending sort first lists cells that are auto layers without recipes, then alphabetically sorted auto layers with recipes (built-in and custom, intermixed), and finally “manual glyph layers” (non-auto layers). Click the heading again to reverse the sort.

To show the Auto Layer column, click the gear icon, turn off Sync with cell caption, turn on Auto Layer and any other columns you wish to show, and use drag-drop to change their order. Then click OK.

Custom glyph metrics in auto layers»

In FontLab VI 6.1.2, you can now override the auto layer metrics (width, LSB, RSB) generated by the recipe. To do that, enter a metrics expression directly in the appropriate glyph metrics field (width, LSB or RSB): in the Metrics Table, the property bar of the Metrics mode or in the Glyph panel.

Normally, auto layers inherit the advance width and the sidebearings from the base components. For example, if the auto layer recipe in the dcaron glyph is = d + caron.alt @ `right + 100`,, then the glyph will inherit the left sidebearing and the advance width from d. If the caron.alt glyph has the OT Glyph Definition Class “Mark” set in the Glyph panel and Preferences > Open Fonts > Automatically assign nonspacing… is on, then the caron.alt component in dcaron will be set to Nonspacing so the right sidebearing of the dcaron glyph will also be identical to that of d.

This is not always what you may want. Sometimes, you may wish to change the width or the sidebearings of the auto layer glyph. In previous versions, it was already possible to specify different sidebearings right in the extended-syntax recipe, such as = d + commaaboverightcomb @ `right + 100`, ^ d, d + 50 (that would increase the RSB by 50). However, this made the recipe less portable and difficult to use.

Now, you can override the auto layer-generated metrics using metric expressions. In the above example, use the first recipe to generate the glyph, and then in the dcaron RSB field enter d+50. This will set the RSB to be 50 units larger than the RSB of d (ignoring the comma.alt nonspacing mark). To override auto layer-generated metrics in an auto layer with a specific numeric value (e.g. 350), use the expression =350 or 350+0.

To reset the overridden value back to the value generated by the recipe, enter 0 into the appropriate metrics field and press Enter.

Note: If you use _both the ^ operator in the extended-syntax recipe to set custom glyph metrics in the auto layer (as in the 2nd example above) and an expression override, the resulting metrics will be incorrect. Please only use one or the other of the two mechanisms._

Other improvements»

• If a glyph has an auto layer, Glyph > Decompose turns off the Auto Layer property, and decomposes the glyph. Previously, you had to turn off Auto Layer before decomposing.

• The Tools > Actions dialog now has a Contour > Decompose action. This way, you can easily decompose composite glyph layers (convert components into simple contours) in all masters of selected or all glyphs.

• Glyph > Add Component has keyboard shortcuts: CtrlShiftA on macOS and AltIns on Windows.

• The Add Element Reference and the Replace Element Reference dialogs remember the last-used settings.

• Extended-syntax recipes can now produce zero-width glyphs if you specify a zero width in the recipe (e.g. acutecomb = acute@center, ^ 0) or if your base component has a zero width.

• The positioning operator @ in the extended recipe syntax recipes now accepts named Font Info parameters and font metrics (such as ascender) as the first value after the @.

Glyph metrics without and with Measurement line»

The values shown in the editable text fields for the advance width and for the sidebearings in the Glyph panel and in the Metrics mode property bar depend on whether you have View > Measurement Line on or off. But next to those fields, you can now always see two values:

• The upper gray values show the traditional metrics calculated based on the extrema. These values take slanted sidebearings into account but ignore the Measurement line and Nonspacing elements.
• The lower violet values show the metrics calculated where the design intersects with the Measurement line, even when the Measurement line is not visible. They ignore Nonspacing elements.

Also, the Auto spacing button has a new icon and the text fields for the width and the sidebearings in the Glyph panel are now slightly wider.

Metrics panel»

You can now easily show and hide the preview area of the Metrics panel with the Show metrics preview button at the bottom. Previously, you could hide and show the preview area only by dragging the top of the area.

Classes panel»

We have extended the List view of the Classes panel:

• It shows a glyph thumbnail along the glyph names
• If only one class is selected in the panel’s sidebar, it shows additional columns that you can sort by clicking on the headings (Unicode, LSB, Width, RSB, OT Def).
• For alternate glyphs such as E.sc, the Unicode of the base glyph is shown in gray if it is known.

When you select some glyph cells in the Font window, or when you select a source class in the Classes panel sidebar and select some glyphs in its Table or List view, you can copy (CmdC/CtrlC) or drag-drop. Then:

• To add glyphs to an existing class, select a destination class and drop or paste (CmdV/CtrlV) into the Table, List or Text view of the class.

• To add glyphs to a new class, drop or paste into the Classes panel sidebar. Them select the type of class you wish to create (Kerning 1st, Kerning 2nd, OpenType, Glyph tag), and a new class will be created that contains the pasted or dropped glyphs.

To remove glyphs from an existing class, you can now select them in the panel’s Table or List view, and tap Backspace.

Also, FontLab now preserves the order of classes when you open a VFB file.

Automatic master location on the width and weight axes»

In fonts with multiple masters, FontLab VI uses the Font Info > Names > Weight and Font Info > Names > Width style attribute values to automatically build the weight (wght) and width (wdth) axes, and to infer the location of the master on those axes — even if these axes are not defined in Font Info > Axes. FontLab also makes glyph layers work as font masters if the glyph layers use names such as Regular, Bold or similar (using one of the registered weight or width keywords) — even if these font masters are not defined in Font Info.

This behavior was always on. Now, there is a new checkbox in Preferences > Variations: Guess [width | weight | width and weight] axis location from master style attribute or layer name. When the checkbox is on and one of the entries (weight, width, width and weight) is chosen in the dropdown, FontLab will behave the same as it did in previous versions.

To disable this “guessing”, turn the checkbox off. If the Output panel reports errors like KeyError: : 'wght' when you export an OpenType Variations font, turn the checkbox off. Then, masters and layers will be variable along the weight and/or width axes only if the axes are defined in Font Info > Axes and if the corresponding masters are defined and set to variable using the blue AAA toggle in Font Info > Masters.

Font Info: Adding font masters improved»

To add a master to a font, you click the Plus button in Font Info and pick one of the entries from the dropdown that appears. We have redesigned the dropdown to make these choices clearer.

Choose Duplicate master, copy glyph layers to duplicate the current font master entry, the current masters’s glyph layers for all glyphs, kerning classes and the kerning pairs list and values.

Use this if you’ve finalized the design of the current master and you want to derive a new master from the current one for all glyphs (for example making a condensed or bold variant). The new master will have the same axis coordinates as the source master, you should change it on the Masters. Rename the master on the Names page.

Choose Duplicate master, blank glyph layers to duplicate the current font master entry and kerning classes, and create glyph layers for all glyph with the same advance widths as the current master’s, but without any contents (elements, contours or images). This does not create any kerning pairs.

Use this if you have not finalized the design of the current master and plan to draw contours in several masters concurrently or copy-paste between layers.

Choose Duplicate master, no glyph layers to duplicate the current font master entry and kerning classes but without creating any glyph layers or kerning pairs. Change the name of the new master on the Names page. Then select one or more glyph cells in a Font window, click the + button on the Layers & Masters panel and enter the same name as the new master. The new layer will appear in the panel only in glyphs where you created it.

To only make a few glyphs variable, for example along the Ascender axis, you can add a “long ascenders” font master without glyph layers and then add glyph layers only to the glyphs that actually change.

Choose Empty master to create an empty font master with no glyph layers, no kerning classes and no kerning pairs.

The Copy from entries list all currently open fonts and (in submenus) their masters. Choose one to copy glyph layer contents, kerning classes and kerning pairs from another font and master into a new master in the current font.

When you copy a master from another font and the Add missing glyphs when copying from font checkbox in the dropdown is off, FontLab will only copy glyph layers and kerning for glyphs that exist in both fonts.

To add all glyphs that are present in the other font but not in the current font, and to copy all glyph layer contents and kerning from the other font and master into the new master, click +, turn the option on, click + again and choose Copy from a font and master. Note: This will create additional glyphs in the current font, but will not create additional glyph layers in the masters of the current font for glyphs that are not present in the source font.

Font Info: Parameters»

Parameters are named variables that you can define in Font Info > Parameters and use in expressions.

• You can now use fractional values in Font Info > Parameters.

• The range of the Font Info > Parameters slider has been reduced, and now goes from –UPM/2 to UPM, to allow finer movement of the slider.

• The parameters section of the Font Info panel (not the Font Info dialog) now has three buttons to control what is shown: font metrics, font guides and parameters. (Note: of the three, only parameters are editable directly in the panel.)

Font Info: Guide expressions»

When you start typing in any of the fields in the Font Info > Guides dialog section, an autocomplete dropdown will now appear if your input matches a parameter or guide name.

Current and default View details»

When you change the View details in any Glyph window, FontLab remembers the them as current View details for the current Glyph window, and as the default View details for any new Glyph window that you create from within a Font window. When you change the current View details, FontLab will not change the View details of other Glyph windows that are already open. When you open a Glyph window from within an existing Glyph window, the new window will have the same View details as the current View details. Each window’s View details are also saved in the VFC or VFJ.

View details in Metrics, Kerning and Text mode»

The Metrics mode (when you activate the Metrics tool), the Kerning mode (when you activate the Kerning tool) and the Text mode (when you activate the Text tool) have View details that are separate from the common View details used in other modes. So when you change the View details in a Metrics window (a Glyph window that is in the Metrics mode), you change the default View details for the Metrics mode only, not the common View details.

Basic and Alternative view»

The common View details, and the View details for the Metrics, Kerning and Text modes, now have two sets of details: basic and alternative. Normally, each window opens in basic view, that is, it uses using a basic set of View details, which you can change in the way described above.

But when you turn on View > Alternative View, or press Cmd/ (macOS) or Ctrl/ (Windows), the window changes to the alternative view, that is, it then uses an alternative set of View details.

The starting point for the basic view is to show more information, while the starting point for the alternative view is more minimalist. But you can customize each as you prefer.

When you switch tools in a Glyph window, FontLab remembers whether you were in the basic or alternative view per mode and stores both the basic set of View details and the alternative set of View details separately for the common mode, the Metrics mode, the Kerning mode and the Text mode.

For example, when you’re in the Contour tool (common mode), you activate the Metrics tool (Metrics mode) and press Cmd/ to turn on Alternative View, the Metrics mode now shows the alternative set of View details. You can change these details (and those will be remembered as the default alternative View details for the Metrics mode). When you then activate the Contour tool, you’re back to the basic view of the common mode.

So effectively, FontLab VI now has eight “default sets” of View details: basic common, alternative common, basic Metrics, alternative Metrics, basic Kerning, alternative Kerning, basic Text and alternative Text. Whenever you’re one of these in a Glyph window and you change the View details, you’re influencing the current details and the default details. But remember: the default details will be used if you open a new Glyph window from a Font window. When you open a Glyph window from an existing window, the current details will be used. One of the eight “default sets” only changes when you actually change some details.

View details when you upgrade FontLab or open a VFC/VFJ»

If you’ve upgraded FontLab VI to 6.1.1 from a previous version, or if you open a previously-saved VFC or VFJ, your basic view won’t change, but the alternative view will be more minimalistic. If you install FontLab VI from scratch or if you reset FontLab’s preferences, the basic view will have some additional details turned on (because we now have the alternative view). But you can always turn the details on or off in each view and mode.

Character placeholders»

Character placeholders are rendered in light gray, and are shown when a glyph exists but is blank, lacking any content.

Character placeholders are now on by default, but they will now hide automatically if you draw anything in the glyph. You can completely hide them via View > Character Placeholders, or you can show them even if the glyph has some content by turning off the new Preferences > Editing > Hide character placeholders if layer is not empty setting.

Missing glyph placeholders»

Missing glyph placeholders are rendered in pale blue, and are used if the text of a Glyph window contains some characters or glyph names but the corresponding glyphs do not exist in the font.

New: If you select some empty glyph cells in the Font window (produced by a prospective filter) and then choose Window > New Glyph Tab or New Metrics Tab or New Kerning Tab, or if you click the Contour or Text tool in the Toolbar, a new Glyph window will open, and the window’s text will contain the characters or glyph names for the missing glyphs.

The missing glyph placeholders will be shown. When you navigate through your Text via Text > Next in Text or Previous in Text, FontLab will skip the missing glyphs but if you double-click on any of the missing glyph placeholders, FontLab will create the glyphs. Previously, creating glyphs was only possible in the Font window.

If you turn off Preferences > Editing > Show missing glyph placeholders, you won’t see the missing glyphs placeholders in the Glyph window, and you won’t be able to create them there.

Window and tab switching»

Previously, the keyboard shortcut Cmd` was Next Tab or Window and ShiftCmd` was Previous Tab or Window. If you’ve worked with multiple windows and multiple tabs within them, the switching was not very intuitive.

Now, the keyboard shortcuts for switching windows are: Cmd` (Next Window) and ShiftCmd` (Previous Window). This is consistent with other apps. The keyboard shortcuts for switching tabs are:

• on macOS: AltTab (Next Tab) and ShiftAltTab (Previous Tab). Unfortunately, this is inconsistent with how other apps works, for certain technical reasons. We are working towards improving this.
• on Windows: CtrlTab (Next Tab) and ShiftCtrlTab (Previous Tab)

Non-English keyboard shortcuts»

Preferences > General now has new Non-English keyboard shortcuts setting. If you turn it on, FontLab will interpret single-key keystrokes (like those for activating tools) as if your active keyboard layout was English even if it actually is something else.

So with this option on, if you use a Russian, Arabic or German keyboard layout, the key to the right of the P key will be interpreted as ++LeftBracket++ (the shortcut for Text > Previous in Text), and the top-left letter key will always be interpreted as Q (Scissors tool).

Glyph window zoom»

When you choose View > Zoom > Zoom… or click on the 3rd button in the bottom-right corner of the Glyph window, you get the Free Zoom tool where you can zoom in via click or click-and-drag, and zoom out via Alt-click.

Font window»

• The Font window got two more increments for a predefined number of columns: 10 and 12.

• In the Font window Property bar, if you Shift-click on the tiny + and - color flag buttons, the flag’s color value increases or decreases by 10. Simple click still changes the color value by 1. Also, it is now possible to use these buttons on unflagged glyphs (the transparent flag has the numerical value of 0).

• The “quick look” preview of a glyph that appears when you press Space in the Font window now lists synonym glyph names.

• The Scripts > Cyrillic section of the Font window sidebar was simplified: it now includes a Basic Cyrillic subsection that includes characters for Belorussian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian, Serbian and Ukrainian (without localized glyph variants), while the Extended Cyrillic and Historic Cyrillic contain the other Unicode characters for the Cyrillic script.

Glyph name search»

When you tap / in a Font window, Glyph window or the Features panel, a Glyph name search popup appears that allows you to to locate or insert a glyph by typing its partial name and picking one of the results. When the Find glyph name synonyms toggle is on in the popup, you can search not only for the exact glyph name as it is used in the font, but also for an alternative name (for example, typing Ia will find uni042F). Now, the results will also include case-insensitive matches (for both exact and synonym input). Case-sensitive matches will be listed first, case-insensitive matches afterwards. Note that this popup only returns up to 32 results, so for very short input, the case-sensitive matches may not appear.

When you choose Edit > Find Glyphs or press CmdF (macOS) or CtrlF (Windows), or when you use the top-right Search box in a Font or Glyph window, the Synonyms result category will now return more results including case-insensitive matches.

Text frames on Sketchboard»

The text frames that you can create on the Sketchboard using the Text tool now include a Features button (“fi” icon). Click the button and turn on the Features checkbox to activate Unicode and OpenType processing of the text. This will activate bidirectional or right-to-left support and will let you turn some features on and off. Previously, bidirectional text did not work in Sketchboard text frames. Note: Use the Fonts panel to switch the font in a Sketchboard text frame.

Paste Special»

The Edit > Paste Special dialog now has a checkbox that lets you paste color flags to all layers/masters of the font (instead of just the current layer).

Opening VFC/VFJ files»

When opening a VFC or VFJ file, FontLab will detect and correct some structural problems.

If the font has multiple glyphs that have the same name, a dialog appears to alert you. When you click OK, FontLab will rename the conflicting glyphs by assigning a unique numeric suffix to all but one, and will print a report in the Output panel.

If the font has multiple separate elements that have the same name, a dialog appears that offers you to Rename the conflicting elements by assigning a unique numeric suffix to all but one, Keep As Is or Clean Up (convert the elements into references if they are identical or rename if they’re not).

If the font contains any element that is referenced across multiple layers, a dialog appears to alert you. When you click OK, FontLab will unlink the problematic references. Currently, referencing elements across layers leads to technical problems — we plan to re-introduce this ability when we’ve ironed these out.

New defaults»

In addition to the new default View settings in the Glyph window, we’ve changed some additional defaults. If you’ve upgraded FontLab, the app will keep your current preferences.

• FontLab VI on macOS will now by default start with Preferences > General > Windows and tabs configuration set to Fonts open in windows, glyphs open in tabs.

• The View > Zoom > Actual Text Size zoom level (Cmd1) which is used if you open a new Metrics tab is now by default 128 rather than 288. This is more appropriate for most spacing workflows.

• Contour > Coordinates > Round when Editing is now on by default, so when you create new fonts or open fonts, FontLab will work in all-integer mode.

• When you create a new font via File > New Font, the Font window will show the Latin Simple encoding as the prospective filter, so you will see 232 glyph cells suitable for a simple Western Latin-script font. You can switch to any other encoding or other prospective filter using the Filter dropdown or the Font window sidebar.

• When you open an existing TTF, OTF or UFO font, FontLab will not apply any prospective filter, so the Font window will show all glyphs in your font ordered automatically. To change the default prospective filter and glyph ordering for opened TTF, OTF or UFO fonts, change the defaults in Preferences > Font window.

Kerning mode»

In the Kerning mode, numerical kerning values are shown the effective size of 72 points above. Setting the Actual Text Size below 72 or zooming out below that effective size hides numerical kerning values in the Glyph window canvas.

Length or angle of handles and line segments»

The Glyph window now shows not only the coordinates of a node or a handle but also the length of handles and line segments if they are perfectly horizontal or vertical, or, otherwise, their angle.

• To see coordinates for only the node that you hover over with your pointer, turn on Preferences > Glyph Window > Show coordinates and turn off View > Show > Coordinates. To also see lengths or angles of adjacent handles and line segments, also turn on Preferences > Glyph Window > Show lengths and angles.
• To see coordinates and lengths or angles also for all or selected nodes, turn on View > Show > Coordinates, and in Preferences > Glyph Window > Show coordinates, choose all or selected.
• To hide lengths and angles but still see coordinates, turn off Preferences > Glyph Window > Show lengths and angles.
• To completely hide coordinates, lengths and angles, turn off Preferences > Glyph Window > Show coordinates.

Free Transform corner scaling»

When you use Free Transform (CmdT) to scale a selection (contours, image, element) by the corner, the scaling is now non-proportional (independent in X and Y). Hold Shift to constrain to proportional scaling.

Previously, scaling was proportional without Shift and non-proportional with Shift. If you prefer that old behavior, turn on Preferences > Editing > Free Transform scaling: non-proportional with Shift, otherwise proportional.

Zoom sub-menu in View menu»

The View menu now has a Zoom sub-menu that lists all the zoom-related entries that were previously listed directly in the View menu.

Scoreboard»

The Scoreboard now displays and updates coordinates of anchors, pins, guidelines, hints, zones, and the measurement line, when you move them with arrow keys.

Components»

FontLab VI 6.1 (re-)introduces Components as a standards-compliant way to build glyphs from other glyphs.

Components in FontLab VI 6.1 work very much like components in FontLab Studio 5, UFO or in TrueType-flavored OpenType fonts. Components in FontLab VI 6.1 point to a source glyph and have a transformation (usually shift, optionally also scale, rotation or slant). That’s it. If you’ve used Components any other font editor, you’ll find yourself at home easily.

To start using Components:

• Open a TTF, VFB or UFO if Preferences > Open Fonts > Use Components is on.
• Open a VFC or VFJ, select all glyphs in the Font window, and choose Element > Element Reference > References to Components. Repeat this for each master.

In previous versions of FontLab VI, you could use Element References to work with repeatable shapes across a font. Element References work great when you want to re-use a design pieces such as a stem, a serif or other glyph fragments (contours or images) across multiple glyphs in the same layer, and maintain a link between all the places where you’ve placed it. All Element References are equal. There is no source glyph to which they point to — they all link to each other. Element References have no knowledge about glyph metrics or anchors. In a way, they’re very similar to subroutines used in PostScript-flavored (CFF) OpenType fonts.

Previous versions of FontLab VI simulated components using Element References, by locking some references and dynamically finding the best candidate glyph for a component source. But this was never a fully satisfying experience, so we’ve decided to add support for real Components.

Element References are great if you link between pieces of glyphs, or even between pieces within the same glyph. Components are great if you build composite glyphs from other glyphs. So FontLab VI 6.1 has both mechanisms, each to fit its purpose.

You can build composite glyphs from Components in one or all masters — via Generate Glyphs, Add Component, Copy-Paste or Auto Layers. You can mix Components and simple contours in one layer. You can use nested Components that point to glyphs that are made of Components (for example, you can build a dieresiscomb glyph from two dotaccentcomb Components, and then build Adieresis from the Components A and dieresiscomb).

FontLab VI will keep your Component structure when it exports your font to a format that supports components (TTF, VFB, UFO), and will decompose Components as needed when a format does not support components at all, or does not support some aspects such as rotated Components or Components mixed with contours.

Start using Components»

You can decide to use Components or keep using Element References in FontLab VI. For that, in Preferences > Open Fonts > Composite glyphs, choose:

• Use components and FontLab VI will prefer to use Components.
• Convert components to element references and FontLab VI will prefer to use Element References.

Opening FontLab VI files (VFC, VFJ)»

When you open a font in the .vfc or .vfj format, FontLab will keep your Element References as Element References, and will keep your Components as Components. If you wish, you can convert Element References to Components at any time (see below).

The exception is Auto Layers, since FontLab builds them dynamically: if Use components is on, FontLab will use Components, and if Convert components to element references is on, FontLab will use Element References to dynamically build your Auto Layers.

Opening font formats that support components»

When you open a font in a format that supports components (.ttf, .vfb, .ufo, .fog, .glyphs, and their derivatives such as .woff):

• if Use components is on, FontLab will import the Components exactly as they are in the font
• if Convert components to element references is on, FontLab will convert the components to Element References

Opening font formats that don’t support components»

If you turn on Preferences > Open Fonts > Detect composites and open a font in a format that does not support components (e.g. .otf or Type 1), FontLab will build Element References between repeating contours across the font. If Use components is on, FontLab will then convert Element References to Components (see below).

Converting Element References to Components»

To convert existing Element References to Components, select all (or some) glyphs in the Font window, and choose Element > Element Reference > References to Components. Repeat this for each master.

• If the font has a glyph where a referenced Element is used by itself, FontLab will use it as the source glyph for the Components, and will convert all other Element References into Components.
• If the font has is more than one glyph where a referenced Element is used by itself, FontLab will use the glyph as source where the referenced Element is unlocked and is “least transformed”, i.e. it is placed closest to the origin point (0, 0) and has no other transformations applied.
• If the font does not have a glyph that can be used as the source glyph for the Components, FontLab will keep Element References as they were.

If you’ve created some “helper glyphs” that hold your design parts like serifs or stems, then Element References to those glyphs will be converted to Components.

If you use Element > Element Reference > References to Components in the Glyph window, FontLab will attempt to convert all Element References in the current layer into Components using the just-described mechanism.

Automatically adding components»

If Use components is on, FontLab will use Components:

• when you use Font > Generate Glyphs
• when you turn on Glyph > Auto Layer for a glyph layer or turn on the Auto layer button in the Layers & Masters panel
• when you have Preferences > Operations > New glyphs > fill created glyphs with content when available turned on and you double-click on an empty glyph cell in the Font window
• when you perform Font > Detect Composites (will use them if it can)

If Convert components to element references is on, FontLab will use Element References instead (and the menu item will be Font > Detect Element References).

Tip: To quickly replace your manually-constructed composite glyph master with an automatically generated glyph master that will use the “correct” components (if it’s in FontLab’s alias.dat database), turn on Glyph > Auto Layer. If you want to correct the placement of the components, turn Glyph > Auto Layer off.

Glyph > Add Component…»

Choose Glyph > Add Component… in the Glyph window (or right-click and choose it from the context menu) to add a component to the current master or all masters of your current glyph. Or use it in the Font window to add the same component to multiple glyphs at once.

In the Add Component dialog, start typing the glyph name of the component you want to add, and you’ll see a list of results. When the Find glyph name synonyms toggle is on, FontLab will also find Decyr if you type in uni0414 or vice-versa. By default, FontLab will insert the first glyph on the list but you can pick a different one.

At the bottom of the dialog, you can decide where to place the inserted component:

• If you leave the X and Y fields empty, FontLab will:
• use matching anchors if available (e.g. top in the current glyph and _top in the component glyph)
• otherwise it will center the inserted component horizontally, and will shift the component upwards by the difference of caps height and x-height if you’re adding a mark component to an uppercase letter, but will do no vertical shift if the mark’s name ends with .case or .cap or if you’re adding a component that isn’t a mark
• You can enter a numeric value into either X or Y or both, then FontLab will use the value for the specified coordinate, but if a field is blank, FontLab will use the above procedure for that coordinate (so you can enter 0 in Y and leave X blank, and you’ll get a horizontally centered component with no vertical shift)
• You can enter an anchor name into either field — if the current glyph and the component have several matching anchors, the specified anchor will be used
• You can also mix anchor-based and absolute positioning, e.g. enter 0 into X and top into Y will place the component at the origin point horizontally but use the specified anchor for vertical positioning

Use the Flip horizontally and Flip vertically buttons to mirror the inserted component.

Choose whether the current glyph should keep its metrics, or whether the advance width should be replaced by the width of the inserted component.

Use the Apply to all masters toggle to insert the component into the current master or to all masters.

Copy-Paste»

In Font window, select one glyph cell and choose Edit > Copy. Then select one or more glyph cells and choose Edit > Paste Components, and FontLab will insert the copied glyph as a component into all selected glyphs in all masters.

In Font window, select more than one glyph cells and choose Edit > Copy. Then select one ore more glyph cells and choose Edit > Paste Components, and then FontLab will insert the first copied glyph as a component into the first selected glyph, the second copied glyph as a component into the second selected glyph, and so on — again, in all masters.

Using Components»

Components in FontLab VI 6.1 are special Elements which are “glyph filters.” So you can use the Element tool to move components (but you can also use the Contour tool). You can use most of the Element menu and the Elements panel to work with Components. For example:

• Use the < and > keys to switch between Components in the current glyph.
• To open the Component’s source glyph for editing next to your current glyph, double-click a Component, or when a Component is active, press CtrlE, or right-click and choose Edit Element, or choose Element > Element Reference > Edit Element.
• To make a Component “first”, choose Element > Arrange > Send to Back or drag the Component to the bottom of the components list in the Elements panel.
• Align components and other elements within the glyph layer with the the Element > Align menu items.
• Use Element > Group if you want to always move several components in a glyph together, and Ungroup them if you don’t.

Replace a Component»

When you use the Contour or the Element tool and a Component is active, the Glyph window property bar will show an underlined C: icon, and a text field that shows the name of the component’s source glyph.

Type a different glyph name (or a synonym) into the text field, or click on the C: icon and type it in the Replace Component dialog, and press Enter — and the current component will be replaced in the current master with a component that points to a different glyph.

You can also replace a component in the current master by typing a new glyph name in the Glyph name field of the Elements panel (use the Show element properties to show the field).

To replace a component in all layers, you need to perform the replacement in each layer.

Decompose»

When a Component is active in the Glyph window, you can click on the Decompose button in the Glyph window property bar on in the Elements panel, and the component will be decomposed in the current layer, i.e. its contours and guidelines will be inserted into the current glyph.

To Decompose all components in the current layer, choose Glyph > Decompose or right-click in the Glyph window and choose Decompose from the context menu. However, if you’re in the Element tool and you Shift-click one or more Components, Glyph > Decompose and Decompose context menu item will decompose only the selected component(s).

When decomposing Components, FontLab will combine the contours of the decomposed Components and contours that pre-existed in the glyph into one single element — unless the source glyphs used different strokes or color fills.

Note:

• Element > Expand Filters will decompose a Component and remove any other Filters that exist in the source glyphs (for example Power Brush)
• Glyph > Flatten Glyph will decompose, remove filters and combine the decomposed elements into a single Element if possible
• Element > Separate Contours to Elements and Element > Optically Separate will also decompose, and then perform the separation

Composite glyphs in the Elements panel»

The Element References section of the Elements panel (when you turn on Show element references button, the section appears at the bottom of the panel) shows glyphs in which the current element is used as a component or as an element reference.

• Double-click a glyph cell there to open the glyph next to the current glyph in the Glyph window
• Cmd-double-click a glyph cell there to open the glyph replacing the current glyph in the Glyph window
• select multiple glyph cells and press Enter to open all selected glyphs in the Glyph window

If you select a component in the Elements panel, then select multiple glyph cells in the Element References section, and then in the Element Properties section you apply an X or Y shift, the component will be shifted in all selected glyphs.

Some fields in the Elements panel change when you are working in a glyph that has Components, for example, the Glyph Name field appears. If the layer is an Auto layer, many properties (such as advance width) become non-editable, because they are built automatically by the Auto layers recipe.

Components/elements in Auto layers»

When viewing a glyph with an Auto layer in Glyph window, you can now double-click a component (or an unlocked element reference that has a “source glyph”) to open that component’s source glyph for editing next to the current glyph.

Contour tool and locked elements»

In a Glyph window, when Edit Across Elements is on, the Contour tool is selected, and the current element is not locked, Edit > Select All (CmdA) now selects all contours of all elements in the current glyph. If the current element is locked, or the Element tool is selected, Edit > Select All (CmdA) selects elements.

Remove Empty Elements action»

Remove Empty Elements is a new command in the Actions dialog, which removes empty Elements and references to them.