Editing across Masters

There are two ways to extend an edit beyond the current master. You can select objects in several visible layers and edit that selection directly, or edit one source and let FontLab repeat supported operations in matching masters. Choose the mechanism before making a structural change.

Editing Several Masters at Once

Edit > Edit Across > Elements makes the contents of several elements available for direct editing. It is also the prerequisite for editing across layers.

Before using direct multi-layer selection, turn off Edit > Match Edits and Edit > Match Moves so that matching does not repeat the same operation through a second mechanism.

To edit visible masters together:

In the Layers & Masters panel, make the intended master layers visible with their eye controls.
Turn on Edit > Edit Across > Elements and Edit > Edit Across > Layers.
Select the actual nodes or contour portions you want to change across those layers.
Make the edit and inspect each affected master.

This is direct multi-layer selection. Merely showing a master does not mean that every node in it belongs to the selection. Conversely, a marquee can select overlapping points in several layers, so inspect the highlighted objects before moving or deleting them.

The inactive-layer wireframe preference helps separate the displayed outlines. Use layer preview colors to identify the sources. Filled overlays can be useful for comparing silhouettes, but they can obscure which source points are selected.

Drawing tools still create new contours in the current layer. They do not draw independent copies into every visible master. Contour-modification operations can act on the selected content across layers.

Selections remain within the relevant layer category: ordinary participating layers and service layers are not one unrestricted selection set. Select a mask or service layer directly when working on its reference material instead of assuming a master selection includes it.

Synchronizing Edits

The current Edit menu separates Match Edits from Match Moves. Older descriptions group these under “Match when Editing.” The distinction is useful: keeping structural operations coordinated is not the same as moving corresponding points.

With Match Edits, supported operations performed in the current master are propagated to eligible matching masters. Preferences > Variations supplies the per-operation choices. They cover operations such as inserting, removing, or renaming nodes; guide changes; and contour operations including reversing direction, changing the start point, or adding a Smart Corner. Related options govern other supported object types.

When sharpening a curve with matched contour operations enabled, FontLab checks the affected masters before changing their outlines. If the operation cannot be made across those targets, it does not sharpen only the eligible subset. This check belongs to that conversion; it is not a guarantee that every kind of matched edit has the same behavior.

Set those choices deliberately. A checked global command does not imply that every preference is enabled or that every editing action has a synchronized equivalent.

For example, to add a corresponding node without redrawing several masters:

Confirm that the glyph's masters already match, and turn off Edit > Edit Across > Layers for this single-source workflow.
Enable Edit > Match Edits and the preference for inserting nodes.
Insert a node into an existing contour in the current master.
Switch masters and check the corresponding insertion and the resulting interpolation.

Propagation depends on existing correspondence. It does not repair an incompatible master or determine where a missing design feature should be drawn. A new contour still begins in the current master; use an explicit copy-to-masters operation when that new content should be introduced elsewhere.

Match movement separately

Match Moves controls propagation of supported movement to corresponding geometry. Use it when the same adjustment should affect the matching sources, and inspect the result at each design extreme. A useful movement in a light master may not be optically appropriate in a heavy one.

Match Moves synchronizes node-position moves. Inspect geometry and correspondence in the affected masters after the operation.

Some glyph-level commands also change their default scope with matched editing. With matched editing off, Auto, Decompose, and Flatten default to layer variants; with it on, they default to glyph variants affecting all masters. Alt reverses that scope. Read the displayed command and check the intended master scope before invoking one; do not carry a scope assumption from a previous editing mode.

Selection Memory

When you switch between matching masters, FontLab can recreate the selection on corresponding objects in the destination. If the current selection identifies a bowl's nodes, the analogous nodes become selected in the other master.

This selection memory is correspondence-based. It is not a saved list of the same object identities across all layers: each master has its own objects. A selection created by a previous switch can become the source for the next switch, so the apparent continuity comes from matching those structures repeatedly.

The Selections panel serves another purpose. It stores a deliberate selection for later recall. Use that when you want a named, saved selection; use cross-master selection memory when you want the equivalent current selection while navigating matching designs.

After changing contour order, node structure, or element organization, inspect the selection before editing the next master. A remembered-looking highlight is not proof that it still represents the intended design part.

Do not combine Edit Across > Layers with Match Edits or Match Moves. One mechanism directly edits selected layers; the other can replay changes through matching relationships, including non-visible masters. Combining them can repeat structural changes such as node insertion. Use one mechanism at a time, then check compatibility.