FontLab 7 User Manual»
Note
Last update: 2026-09-23 by Fontlab Ltd.
for FontLab version: 7.2.0.7644 (stable), 7.2.0.7649 (beta)
Video tutorials»
- The video series Type design in FontLab 7 with Dave Lawrence is a new series with more episodes upcoming
- The video series FontLab 7 Basics includes the above videos and more tutorials (from different authors), and is suitable for beginners
- The video series FontLab 7 News has the newest FontLab 7-related video as the most recent, so check for the newest videos there
[[Release Notes]]»
- [[Release Notes Current]]
- [[Release Notes Beta]]
- [[Release Notes Archive]]
[[Introduction]]»
- [[Installation and Requirements]]
- [[Updates]]
- [[Community]]
- [[Bug and Crash Reporting]]
- [[Keyboard shortcuts]]
Basics»
[[Font]]»
- [[Font Naming]]
- [[Font Sizes and the Coordinate System]]
- [[Variable Fonts]]
Glyphs»
- [[About Glyphs]]
- [[Glyph Naming and Encoding]]
- [[Layers and Masters]]
- [[Curve Types]]
- [[Segments]]
- [[Points]]
- [[Contours]]
- [[Elements]]
- [[Components]]
- [[Glyph Metrics]]
- [[Measurement Line]]
- [[Composite and Auto Glyphs]]
- [[Color Glyphs]]
- [[Glyph Positioning]]
- [[Kerning]]
- [[Mark Attachment]]
[[Hinting]]»
[[Files]]»
- [[Font Formats]]
- [[Color Font Formats]]
- [[Other File Formats]]
- [[Custom data files and locations]]
Designing Type in FontLab»
Working with a Font»
[[Creating a New Font]]»
- [[Language Support and Glyphs]]
[[Opening an Existing Font]]»
[[Navigating a Font]]»
- [[Using the Font Window]]
- [[Using Fonts and Font Map Panels]]
- [[Searching Glyphs]]
- [[Sorting Glyphs]]
[[Saving a Font]]»
[[Comparing Fonts]]»
[[Printing]]»
Drawing and Editing Glyphs»
[[Creating a New Glyph]]»
- [[Add Glyphs]]
- [[Generate Glyphs]]
- [[Generate Names]]
- [[Generate Unicodes]]
[[Editing an Existing Glyph]]»
[[Working with Glyphs]]»
Setting up the drawing environment»
- [[Using the Glyph Window]]
- [[Workspaces]]
- [[Outline Appearance]]
- [[View Details and Settings]]
- [[Previewing Glyphs]]
- [[Preferences for Editing]]
- [[Using Guidelines]]
- [[Scope of Editing]]
- [[Rounding Coordinates]]
[[Using Sketchboard]]»
Importing Bitmaps and Outlines»
- [[Preparing Bitmap Artwork]]
- [[Importing Artwork]]
- [[Bitmap Effects]]
- [[Autotracing]]
[[Working with Layers]]»
- [[Mask Layers]]
[[Drawing Freehand]]»
[[Drawing with Geometric Shapes]]»
[[Drawing vector curves]]»
Working with Points»
- [[Active Points vs Selected Points]]
- [[Adding Points]]
- [[Selecting Points]]
- [[Moving Points]]
- [[Deleting Points]]
- [[Changing Node types]]
- [[Using Smart Nodes]]
Working with Contours»
- [[Selecting Segments]]
- [[Selecting Contours]]
- [[Moving Single Segments]]
- [[Moving Contour Selections]]
- [[Duplicating Contours]]
- [[Changing Segment Types]]
- [[Outline Conversion]]
- [[TrueType Editing]]
[[Using Elements]]»
- [[Using Composite and Auto Glyphs]]
- [[Detecting Element References]]
- [[Element Stickers]]
[[Anchors and Pins]]»
Transformations»
- [[Free Transform operation]]
- [[Geometric transformations]]
Improving drawing workflow»
- [[Tunni Lines]]
- [[Find Outline]]
- [[Using Glue Selection]]
- [[Using Smart Corners]]
- [[Power Guides]]
- [[Unlink Corners]]
- [[Create Parallel Contour]]
- [[Expand Contour]]
- [[Create Overlaps]]
- [[Make Overlap]]
- [[Remove Overlap]]
- [[Power Brush]]
- [[Rewind Record]]
- [[Using Expressions]]
Organizing Glyphs»
- [[Glyph Notes]]
- [[Flagging Glyphs]]
- [[Glyph Tags and Classes]]
Correcting glyph drawings»
- [[Simplify]]
- [[Clean Up]]
- [[Harmonize]]
- [[Balance]]
- [[Adding Nodes to Extremes]]
- [[Using the Eraser Tool]]
- [[FontAudit]]
[[Creating an Italic Font]]»
- [[Slanted Grid]]
Working with Color»
- [[Making a Font From Color Vector Graphics]]
- [[Making a Font From Color Bitmap Images]]
- [[Overlaying Fonts]]
[[Spacing and Kerning]]»
- [[Editing Glyph Metrics]]
- [[Using the Metrics Table]]
- [[Editing Kerning]]
- [[Using Kerning Classes]]
- [[Importing and Exporting Metrics]]
Extending Fonts»
- [[Organizing Font Families]]
- [[Working with Font Variations]]
- [[Creating a Variable Font (example)]]
Font Production»
[[Font Info]]»
[[Embedding]]»
[[Hinting a Font]]»
- [[TrueType Hinting]]
- [[PostScript Hinting]]
- [[Automatic Hinting]]
[[OpenType Features]]»
- [[Glyph Substitution Rules]]
[[Exporting Fonts]]»
- [[Before You Export]]
- [[Exporting Options]]
- [[Export Profiles]]
- [[Additional Export Features]]
[[Scripting with Python]]»
- [[Scripts Menu]]
Appendices»
FontLab User Interface»
- [[Welcome dialog]]
- [[Preferences]]
- [[Font Info Dialog Box]]
- [[Font Window]]
- [[Glyph Cell Marks]]
- [[Glyph Window]]
- [[Metrics Window]]
- Sketchboard
- [[Toolbar]]
- [[Property bar]]
- [[Rulers]]
- [[Grid]]
- [[Scoreboard]]
- [[Keyboard shortcuts]]
- [[Customizing Keyboard Shortcuts]]
- [[Tools]]
- [[Contour tool]]
- [[Element tool]]
- [[Metrics tool]]
- [[Kerning tool]]
- [[Text tool]]
- [[Eraser tool]]
- [[Brush tool]]
- [[Pencil tool]]
- [[Rapid tool]]
- [[Pen tool]]
- [[Knife tool]]
- [[Scissors tool]]
- [[Magnet tool]]
- [[Fill tool]]
- [[Guides tool]]
- [[Matchmaker tool]]
- [[TrueType Hinting tool]]
- [[Ellipse tool]]
- [[Rectangle tool]]
- [[Actions]]
- [[Basic actions]]
- [[Contour actions]]
- [[Metrics actions]]
- [[Effects]]
- [[Hinting actions]]
- [[Panels]]
- [[Anchors and Pins panel]]
- [[Brush panel]]
- [[Classes panel]]
- [[Color panel]]
- [[Elements panel]]
- [[Features panel]]
- [[FontAudit panel]]
- [[Font Info panel]]
- [[Font Map panel]]
- [[Fonts panel]]
- [[Gallery panel]]
- [[Glyph panel]]
- [[Guideline panel]]
- [[History panel]]
- [[Image panel]]
- [[Kerning panel]]
- [[Layers and Masters panel]]
- [[Measurements panel]]
- [[Metrics panel]]
- [[Node panel]]
- [[Output panel]]
- [[Pairs and Phrases panel]]
- [[Preview panel]]
- [[Scripting panel]]
- [[Source panel]]
- [[Stroke panel]]
- [[Swatches panel]]
- [[Tables panel]]
- [[Transform panel]]
- [[Variations panel]]
- [[View panel]]