rounding coordinates

[ArchivePoster]

Posted by: Rmullin3
         

why does fontlab need to round coordinates? i wish it didn't, it sure would save me a lot of time.

         

[ArchivePoster]

Posted by: Tim Ahrens
         
Aren't integer coordinates a restriction of the font formats?

In that sense, one huge advantage is that integer coordinates in FL make it WYSIWYG. Where would be the benefit of having decimal fractions in the application if what you get in the end is something else? I rather prefer to see and edit what it really looks like in the final font files.

Also, the letters are almost always "scaled down" so the resolution of the coordinate system is more than sufficient. En example: If you print a font with a UPM of 1000 on a 1200 dpi printer you need as much 60 pt type size to get a 1:1 relation of dots and units. It's easy to forget that when you are fiddling with the nodes on the screen.
         

[ArchivePoster]

Posted by: Rmullin3
         

youre right, i guess i should just learn how to draw in fontlab rather than sticking to illustrator.

         

[ArchivePoster]

Posted by: ProdigyCurmudgeon
         

I'd prefer to have precise, unrounded coordinates for drawing, and in the final stage apply a "round to grid" type function to all the characters.

 

Rounding errors often "break" (disjoint) the handles of supposedly smooth curve points, and this is especially noticeable after multiple successive transformations (where the coordinates are getting rounded each time).

 

I'd rather deal with the rounding errors at the end of all outline editing, and make one final pass of revisions/compromises at that point.

         

[ArchivePoster]

Posted by: Tim Ahrens
         
These effects are indeed quite nasty. But that's not because of integer coordinates, it is because of FL ignoring the peculiarities of integer coordinates. Rounding errors, like "broken" smooth" points, could easily be taken into account and avoided automatically.
         

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