Drag-and-Drop Operations
Dragging glyph cells can transfer content or change the font's internal glyph sequence. The result depends on the target view, whether the source and destination belong to the same font, and whether you request a copy.
Before dragging, establish which of those tasks you intend. A preview moving across the grid is not, by itself, evidence that the operation will only rearrange the display.
Starting a glyph drag
Select the intended cells, release the selection gesture, then press inside the selected group and begin dragging. FontLab gathers the selected glyphs into a sequence in display order. Unselected gaps between them do not become copied empty glyphs.
The drag shadow shows the group in relation to the target cells. Use it to inspect both the starting point and the extent of the destination. A group that begins over the intended cell can still reach additional cells farther along the view.
Dragging from an already selected cell is different from extending a selection from an unselected cell. If your intention is only to select a group, use the range and modifier-click methods instead of starting a content drag.
Repositioning in a filtered view
In a character- or name-based view, positions have identities. Moving a glyph to another such position can change its name and character assignment to fit the destination. It is not simply moving a picture to a different place in the window.
Warning: A positional drop can replace destination content or remap glyph identity. Save the working font before a significant move, inspect the entire target area, and do not assume that a dialog will always appear before the change.
If existing destination glyphs create a conflict, the replacement dialog can offer the familiar choices: replace the contents, preserve displaced glyphs under new names, or append instead. A suppressed warning can reuse the chosen policy. Empty destinations may require no replacement confirmation. For the replacement choices, see Using the Clipboard.
For a same-font move, consider what should happen to references to the old glyph name as well as the visible drawing. The naming and construction relationships are part of the operation. If the intended identity change is unclear, cancel and use an explicit rename or a controlled clipboard operation instead.
Holding Option on macOS or Alt on Windows requests a copy during an ordinary glyph drag. Keep the modifier held through the drop. Copying retains the source, but it does not remove the possibility of replacement at the destination.
Reordering within one font
For an intentional physical reorder, use an unfiltered Index view of the same font. Here a normal move can insert the selected glyphs into the internal sequence rather than place their contents into other named positions.
- Activate the intended font, use Clear filter to remove any search filter, and select Index as the filter type.
- Select the glyphs to move.
- Drag from the selection without the copy modifier.
- Locate the insertion marker between the intended cells and release there.
- Inspect the new index sequence.
The moved glyphs retain their names and character identities; what changes is their position in the font's sequence. Other glyphs shift to make room. This is not a replacement operation, so the replacement dialog is not the expected confirmation for this path.
The source and target must represent the same font for this reorder interpretation. You can use two views of that font, but two similar-looking font names do not establish that both windows share the same working data.
A filter or a copy modifier can lead to a different branch of the drag operation. Choose the explicit Index view and an ordinary move when that is the result you want, and check the insertion feedback before releasing.
Dragging between fonts
FontLab supports dragging a glyph selection into another Font window. The destination still needs to be evaluated as a transfer target: its cells, names, existing contents, and replacement policy matter.
An Index view in a different font is not a promise of the same insertion operation used to reorder one font. The source and target data are separate, and the cross-font path places copied glyph data rather than merely moving one shared glyph object through a list.
For a straightforward addition that must leave existing target glyphs intact, Copy Glyphs followed by Append Glyphs is the more explicit route. For replacement, choose the intended destination cells and inspect the result just as carefully as for a positional paste.
After transferring between fonts, check names, character assignments, and the resulting drawings. The fact that the source and target both display a cell named A does not establish that they have identical design settings or construction relationships.
Permanent ordering commands
The Property Bar's Sort control changes the view, as described in Sorting Glyph Cells. The commands under Font > Sort Glyphs change the font's actual glyph sequence.
| Command | Ordering basis |
|---|---|
| Current Order | The arrangement represented by the current Font window |
| Unicode | Character assignments |
| Name | Glyph names |
To commit a deliberately prepared display order:
- Activate the intended font and arrange the view as required.
- Check the filter and whether non-matching glyphs are hidden. A partial view cannot show you the placement of every stored glyph.
- Choose Font > Sort Glyphs > Current Order.
- Switch to Index view and inspect the resulting sequence, including glyphs that were outside the previous filter.
The command reorders the font; it does not delete glyphs omitted from the view. Glyphs outside a partial display still need positions in the final sequence, and special ordering constraints can be applied. Use a complete unfiltered view when the intention is to inspect the order of the whole font before committing it.
Choose Unicode or Name when that property directly defines the intended physical order. None of these commands changes the drawings merely to match the sort key, but any workflow that recorded old glyph indices must account for the new sequence.
Save the native font when the collection and order are correct. The glyph inventory is now ready for work on the forms themselves, with each glyph's identity and position established deliberately.