Making a font involves drawing forms, fitting them together, deciding how they respond to text, and preparing files for use in other applications. This manual connects those tasks, with explanations of the design and technical relationships alongside instructions for working in FontLab. You can begin with a new design, develop a family of related styles, or revise an existing font. If font making is new to you, read from the beginning: the opening material introduces the vocabulary and working practices used later. If you already know the subject, use the contents to find the task you need, then consult its explanation when FontLab’s approach is unfamiliar.
The chapters below form Volume One, Working with FontLab. Each chapter has a contents page listing its sections and articles. Together they follow the work from setup and drawing through text behavior and production, with project management, automation, and customization at the end. Volume Two, Reference, complements that sequence with descriptions of individual tools, panels, dialogs, and controls.