Actions

An action is FontLab’s basic no-code automation: a configured operation repeated across chosen glyphs and layers. Most batch an operation available elsewhere; Effects can redraw geometry through a more complex transformation. Their main advantage is consistent scope: one decision can be applied to a batch, with the same parameters each time.

The Actions Dialog

The dialog organizes actions into seven groups: Basic, Contour, Metrics, Adjust, Effects, Guide and Anchor, and Hinting. The following sections relate each group to its underlying workflow.

Open Tools > Actions, or press Shift+Cmd+T on macOS or Shift+Ctrl+T on Windows. Search for an action or browse its group, then configure its parameters.

Choose the operation on the left, set glyph and layer scope above its options, and check the action-set list on the right before Run or OK. This example shows Scale with an empty set.

Set both dimensions of scope before running:

• Glyph scope selects the current/selected glyphs, the window's glyphs, or all glyphs.
• Layer scope selects the current layer, visible layers, or all participating masters.

The meaning of a window selection depends on whether you started in a Font window or Glyph window. Read the status bar's affected count and layer summary rather than assuming the dialog inherited the scope you used last time.

The preview helps assess the current layer. It is not a full proof of every master or glyph in a large batch. Inspect representative shapes and save a source version before an operation that replaces substantial work.

OK runs and closes; Run can execute while leaving the dialog available. When the action-set sidebar is open and nonempty, both OK and Run execute the whole set, not only the displayed action. Check that scope before starting.

With All Masters selected, a green-dot compatibility indicator identifies actions designed to preserve matching input structures. An action without the dot can break compatibility; apply it to one master at a time when appropriate and inspect the results. It does not repair masters that were already incompatible or certify the visual result. Recheck interpolation after structural work.

Basic Actions

For the underlying operations, see Building Composites by Hand, Overlaps and Boolean Operations.

Scale, Shift, Slant, and Rotate provide batch geometric changes with an explicit origin. Decide whether the operation should transform element properties or actual contour coordinates according to the available options.

Decompose resolves component reuse. Remove overlap changes contour geometry. Flatten glyph consolidates supported constructions into a simpler result. Those operations have different consequences for editability; choose the required one rather than treating all three as interchangeable cleanup. For the contour-transform workflow and its origin controls, see Contour Transformations.

Flatten components reduces recursive component nesting to one level. It retains a different result from decomposing all references into independent contours. Check the action’s layer scope before applying it to a family.

Contour Actions

For the underlying operations, see Harmonizing Curves and Smart Nodes, Structural Soundness, Segments and Curve Types, Font Audit.

Contour operations include node cleanup and detection, direction setting, PS/TT conversion, Simplify, Harmonize, Balance, Nodes at extremes, Align to grid, Make overlap, and Remove empty elements.

Convert Nodes can clear Genius and Servant properties selectively. Enable only the properties to remove and inspect the resulting ordinary nodes.

Use the operation that addresses the actual problem. Adding extrema can increase point counts; simplification and conversion can change curve structure; rounding can change small details. A batch action should repeat a justified edit, not replace an outline review.

FontAudit fix actions apply supported repairs at scale. Inspect the relevant findings first and compare the result. A successful fix pass is not evidence that every contour is ready for release.

Metrics Actions

The metrics group includes Adjust metrics, Set width, Set sidebearings, Tracking, Center layer, Bind sidebearings, Match metrics, Remove metrics links, and Nonspacing-related operations.

Check whether values are measured along the italic angle or a measurement line. Those choices can change which sidebearing an adjustment describes.

Set-width operations offer positioning choices for the drawing within the new advance. Applying one fixed width to the entire glyph set is a way to establish a monospaced starting arrangement, but the drawings and sidebearings still need review.

Set-sidebearing modes include Set equal to, Auto + adjust, Increase by, Decrease by, and Do nothing. Select each side independently where offered; leaving one side alone is different from setting it to zero. For judging the resulting spacing, see Spacing Glyphs.

Binding and removing metric links change relationships, not only current numbers. Match metrics across masters only when those values or expressions should agree. Nonspacing can change how components participate in calculated metrics, so inspect width and placement afterward.

Adjust Actions

For the underlying operations, see Smart Corners and Ink Traps.

Change width/height, Adjust stems, Change weight, Adjust by variation, Smart Corner and ink-trap operations, and round/sharp-corner operations make design-oriented changes.

In Change width, the overall width adjustment and Keep vertical stems at are separate controls. Weight or stem compensation is more than a simple geometric scale. Inspect counters, joins, and extremes in the affected glyphs. For post-scale stem compensation that uses variation, collect mismatches with the mismatch filter, select those glyphs and apply Match Masters, then use Matchmaker for the unresolved cases; see Previewing, Diagnosing, and Fixing Interpolation.

Use a small representative set to establish parameters, then expand the scope. The same setting can behave differently on an open skeleton, a dense lowercase glyph, and an accented composite.

Clear selected categories of layer data

To clear particular data without deleting the glyph, open Tools > Actions and choose Adjust > Remove layer content. Set the glyph and master scope, then select only the categories you intend to remove. The choices cover contours and elements, metrics expressions, masks, guides, anchors, and PostScript hints/TrueType instructions.

For example, clearing only metrics expressions leaves other unchecked data in place. Inspect the selected categories before running it; clearing data is different from merely hiding a layer.

Effects Actions

Effects include Smooth, Blur, Add Nodes, Distort, Outline, Perspective, Shadow, 3D Extrude, Engrave, Scribble, and Warp. Here the important difference from an individual edit is their batch scope and their place in an ordered action set. See Contour Effects for what each effect produces and when to use it. The scope and Run/OK controls follow The Actions Dialog section above.

Inspect the resulting object structure as well as its appearance. Some effects replace contours; others can retain a live construction. Do not assume every effect is either entirely destructive or entirely reversible through a filter control.

Keep an unaffected source version when exploring an effect across the font, and check whether the result remains suitable for interpolation or the chosen output format.

Guide and Anchor Actions

For the underlying operations, see Rulers, Guides, and Power Guides, Anchors for Positioning.

Add power guides, Unlink power guides, Remove guides, Remove anchors, and Remove anchor expressions provide batch maintenance of construction and attachment data.

Removing an expression leaves a different relationship from removing its anchor. Unlinking a guide differs from deleting the guide. Check these distinctions before applying a cleanup operation to a family that depends on generated composites or mark attachment.

Hinting Actions

For the underlying operations, see PostScript Autohinting, TrueType Autohinting, The TrueType Hinting Model and Workspace.

Autohint and Remove hints manage PostScript hints. TT Autohint and Remove TT hints manage the TrueType source program, with directional removal where offered.

Reassign TT stems and Reassign TT zones update program references to shared hinting data. Reassign node names supports point-identity maintenance and migration to hidden names.

Prepare zones, stems, source hints, and the intended engine before running a batch. Review whether existing manual work will be replaced, and compare the rendered result across sizes afterward. An Action's completed status reports execution, not the typographic quality of its result.