Release notes for FontLab 8.4.1.8902

30 July 2024

Edit & refine

Power Nudge and Genius nodes

Power Nudge helps you make larger adjustments to your contours quickly with the Contour tool. Click the Power Nudge toggle in the Contour toolbox or tap ShiftC, select some nodes, drag them, and FontLab magically figures out which other nodes should follow the change proportionally (they become “auto-servant” nodes during the operation). Or hold C to activate Power Nudge temporarily.

Power Nudge is a great helper if you’re condensing a glyph or changing its overall proportions — but it never played well with Genius nodes. If a smooth node is Genius, it automatically finds its position between its two handles to remain G2-smooth. If a Genius node is not selected, it has been trying to move one way, but Power Nudge has been trying to pull it another way. The dissonance could escalate quickly, and could lead to unpredictable changes to your contour.

New In FontLab 8.4.1, non-selected Genius nodes behave more gently if Power Nudge is turned on. They only follow the change if their handles are horizontal or vertical, otherwise they stay in place.

Glyphs & fonts

Editing operations in Font window

New If the Font window is active, and you activate the Layers & Masters panel, you can now perform Edit menu operations like Paste Special. Previously, you had to activate the Font window again.

Bug fixes

• Fix If no sub-tools are active in the Eraser tool and you Ctrl-click a node, the context menu no longer appears. Instead, the Simplify path functionality gets activated, like in FontLab 8.3 and older.
• Fix If Preferences > Variations > Smart rounding is turned on and you export OpenType PS instances, FontLab correctly takes ghost hints into account when exporting the instances.
• Fix If you export instances as OpenType PS, variable components no longer lose their hints.