Saving and Closing Fonts
Saving makes the working font available beyond the current session. FontLab's native formats preserve its editable data, while save preferences control such things as the destination, the treatment of an existing file, and the inclusion of workspace information.
Autosave has a different purpose. It keeps recovery copies while you work, but it does not replace deliberate saves to the working file you intend to keep.
VFC and VFJ
VFC and VFJ are native working formats that store FontLab's editable font data. Their main practical difference is how that data is represented.
VFC, FontLab Compact, is binary. It is designed for compact storage and fast reading and writing, and is the default choice for a new font save. Use it for ordinary work when you do not need the file itself to be readable as text.
VFJ, FontLab JSON, is a text representation. It is useful when you want to inspect the data with external tools, process it with scripts, or track changes in a version-control system that compares text files. Its readability can also help with long-term access to source data, though using a text format alone does not guarantee compatibility with every future tool.
The native formats are lossless for the font's editable design data. Additional session and workspace information depends on the save options you select; a native save should not be understood as an unconditional record of every aspect of the running application.
Parallel VFJ saving
In Preferences > Save Fonts, turn on Save VFJ when saving VFC if you want a VFJ file alongside each VFC save. FontLab writes the additional file in the same folder.
This option gives you both representations of a save. It does not require you to work from both files at once. Keep a clear choice of the file from which you continue editing so that separate edits do not create two conflicting versions of the project.
VFJ options
Prettify VFJ adds line breaks and indentation. The result is easier to read, but larger than compact JSON containing the same data.
Session, under Include in VFJ, controls the inclusion of glyph modification timestamps. Omitting them can reduce unrelated changes in version-control comparisons.
Expanded filter/reference contours adds simplified contour representations alongside the underlying editable structure. This can help other VFJ-reading tools that do not interpret all of FontLab's construction features. FontLab still has the underlying structure available when reopening the file.
Newer native files may use data that older FontLab versions cannot read correctly, so check compatibility when exchanging working files with someone using an earlier release.
Saving Fonts
A deliberate first save
If the destination already contains a file with the same name, the existing-file policy described below determines how the older file is handled. Use a new filename when you want to keep the earlier file independently of that policy.
Use Save Font As... when you want to choose the destination and format explicitly:
- Make the intended font current.
- Choose File > Save Font As....
- Choose the folder and filename for the working copy.
- Select FontLab Compact (
.vfc) or FontLab JSON (.vfj) for the workflow described here. - Confirm the save in the file dialog.
FontLab remembers the chosen format for subsequent saves of that font.
Save Font and Save All
File > Save Font..., or Cmd+S (Ctrl+S on Windows), saves the current font. After a native destination has been established, it saves back to that destination in the chosen format.
For a new font, or one opened from a non-native file, FontLab first needs a native destination. Under Preferences > Save Fonts > First save, Location controls the choice:
| Choice | First-save behavior |
|---|---|
| Ask for location | Opens a dialog so you can choose the destination and filename |
| In source folder | Uses the original file's folder and a generated filename; a new font without a source folder uses the configured save folder |
| In save folder | Uses the configured Save folder and a generated filename |
This is why a first Save Font... operation does not always display a file dialog. Save Font As... provides the explicit route when you want to choose for yourself.
File > Save All saves all open fonts, not just the current font or the fonts visible in a panel selection. Use it when you intend to preserve changes across the whole set of open fonts. Fonts that still need a destination follow the first-save behavior.
Existing files and backups
Under Preferences > Save Fonts > Existing files, When file exists controls what happens to a previous file at the save destination:
| Choice | Effect on the previous file |
|---|---|
| Overwrite | Replaces it without keeping a backup through this mechanism |
| Move to trash | Moves it to the Trash or Recycle Bin before writing the new file |
| Rename | Preserves it under a name containing a date and time, then writes the new working file |
With Rename, Save renamed files in subfolder keeps the older copies in a subfolder named after the working file's base name with .backup appended. For example, backups of OrchardSans-Regular.vfc can be collected in OrchardSans-Regular.backup.
These retained copies let you return to earlier saved states. Their usefulness depends on the chosen policy and on keeping the copies available. A file moved to the Trash remains available only until it is removed from there; overwriting does not preserve an older copy by itself.
Reverting to the saved file
Revert Font reloads the current font from its file on disk. For a font you have saved, that returns you to the saved state. It is a whole-font operation, unlike undoing one particular edit.
Warning: Reverting discards changes made since the saved state. To keep both states, first use Save Font As to save the changed version under a different filename, then reopen the original file. Reverting the newly saved copy would return to that copy’s saved state, not to the original file.
- Activate the font whose changes you intend to discard.
- Choose File > Revert Font.
- Read the confirmation and check the font's identity. Click Revert to reload it, or Cancel to keep the current working state.
A newly created font has no saved file to return to until it has been saved. A font opened from a non-native file may still refer to that original file until you establish a native working copy. Check which file represents the state you want before using Revert.
Workspace information
VFC and VFJ files can also include working-environment information such as windows, tabs, panel positions, and Font window display settings. Inclusion and restoration depend on the relevant preferences. A workspace is the arrangement of the interface; preserving it can help you resume work in a familiar layout.
Autosave and Recovery
Autosave writes recovery copies to an Autosave folder separately from your working files. It can preserve changes made after your last manual save, but it can only recover what was written before an interruption. Work done after the most recent autosave may not be present in that copy.
To enable it:
- Open Preferences > Save Fonts.
- Under Autosave, turn on Save copy in Autosave folder.
- Set Interval, minutes to the interval you want.
- Apply the preference changes.
FontLab creates recovery copies as you modify open fonts. The Autosave folder is separate from the ordinary save destination; saving automatically does not update the named working file in its project folder. The Save Fonts preferences provide access to the Autosave folder when you need to inspect it.
During normal closing and quitting, FontLab clears the active recovery copies by moving them to the Trash or Recycle Bin. If FontLab terminates unexpectedly and recovery copies remain, the next launch offers Restore Autosaved Fonts.
Recovery choices
| Choice | Result |
|---|---|
| Open & Keep | Moves the recovery files into a Keep folder and opens them, preserving those copies |
| Open | Opens the recovery files without retaining them in the active Autosave folder; the original recovery copies are moved to the Trash or Recycle Bin |
| Remove | Moves the recovery files to the Trash or Recycle Bin without opening them |
Choose Open & Keep when you want to inspect recovered work while retaining the recovery files. After opening a recovered font, check its contents and use Save Font As... to save it to the working location and filename you intend to keep. Opening a recovery copy does not by itself settle which file should become your continuing source.
Use Remove only when you do not need to inspect the recovery copies. It clears those copies from active recovery; it is not a way to restore the last manually saved file.
Closing Fonts
Choose Font > Close Font to close the current font and its associated windows and tabs, including its Glyph windows. The Fonts panel also provides a way to select and close a font. Closing the last Font window can also close its font when the window-closing preference enables that behavior; closing a single view while another Font window remains does not take that path. Use Close Font when you intend to close the font regardless of the window preference.
If the font has unsaved changes, FontLab asks what to do. Save preserves them before closing, Don't Save closes without preserving them in the working file, and Cancel leaves the font open. Check the font named in the dialog before choosing, especially when several related fonts are open.