Five things I wish I had known as a novice Fontographer user.
Posted by Robyn in Tips and Resources2009 Note: This article was written in 2001. Since Fontographer does not work natively with Windows XP or higher, the exact details are in many cases obsolete. However, the concepts can be used with any similar font creation program.
When I started using Fontographer, it was a trial by error process. I didn’t sit down and read the entire manual (but who does?). I did end up referring to it on an as needed basis, but I can’t say that it addressed most of my problems. Why? Because these were the type of things that are learned with time and experience (and a lot of head banging on the wall). What are the things I wish I had known when I started? Let me share.
1. That I should always clean up points (menu = Element/Cleanup Paths). Why? Because it makes for a cleaner, smoother and smaller font. In Fontographer each glyph is made up of several points. However, it does not necessarily mean that each point delineates a change in the character. A single line in Fontographer takes two points: one to start it and one to finish it. If you have a line with 50 points in it, you have 48 unnecessary points. Each of those 48 points has the potential to make your glyph jagged at larger sizes and each of those 48 points adds to your overall file size. Using the Cleanup Paths feature allows you to clear up your glyph of these unnecessary points in one fell swoop.
2. That I should correct the path direction (menu = Element/Correct Path Direction) before removing any overlaps (menu = Element/Remove Overlap). Paths alternate clockwise/counterclockwise, starting with the outer path (clockwise) and working toward the innermost path. So take the letter “o”. The outside circle would clockwise and the inner circle would be counterclockwise. But in the process of developing a font, sometimes that rotation gets disordered, especially in the cases where you clip and paste points. This will result in glyphs that won’t show up correctly. And it plays utter havoc on glyphs you are trying to remove overlaps from. The Remove Overlaps feature in Fontographer allows you to remove crossover portions of a glyph automatically. Take the letter “t”. It’s two rectangles intersecting. The Remove Overlaps feature would remove the intersecting part of the “t” automatically. However, if your paths aren’t cycling clockwise to counterclockwise correctly, you can end up with an absolute mess on your hands. A quick menu selection of Element/Correct Path Direction before removing overlaps will save you a lot of headaches in the long run.
3. That I can customize the guides. Wohoo! When I discovered this, I thought I had uncovered King Solomon’s treasure. This isn’t something I do on a regular basis. However, when I’m making interlocking dingbat fonts, this is invaluable. You can switch to the guide layer by highlighting “Guides” in the Layer palette. Use your normal tools to draw your guides and then transition back to the Outline layer. You will notice your custom guides are now green. This makes lining up interlocking fonts a snap!
4. That I can batch transformations from the main menu. One of my first fonts needed to have all the characters moved over about 20 units. So I dutifully went into each and every glyph and moved them over. Little did I know that I could have selected everything from the main menu and performed an Element/Transform from the menu. This would have moved all the glyphs over at one time. What a time saver. Now, I correct path directions, change weight, scale and move glyphs all from the main menu.
5. If possible, to put the majority of characters into lowercase letters. Why? It’s rather simple and it has nothing to do with technical expertise. It’s a courtesy to your users. Sample sheets display more lowercase than uppercase. If you have 26 glyphs and you put them all into uppercase, people can see only 1 or 2 characters in the scaled portion of the sample sheet. Better to put the 26 characters in the lowercase glyphs so they can get a better idea of what your font contains. After all, that’s the purpose of the sample sheet.
by Gabrielle Gaither, 2001
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