Posted by:
Chris Fynn AJBlue98 wrote:
<< I was under the impression that VTT was a program for
creating fonts. Is that not the case? >>
Basically:- VTT is not a tool for creating fonts and, if you
don't already know what it is for, you don't need it.
VTT is a specialised tool for adding delta instructions
("hints") to TrueType fonts to improve their legibility at small
sizes and editing these instructions. It is based on TypeMan,
originally made by Sampo Kaasila who is sometimes called " the
inventor of TrueType" - which used to cost many thousands of
dollars before Microsoft licenced it from TypeSolutions and made
this version (VTT) available to font developers. If you want
to create TrueType fonts you need a program like FontLab
(
http://www.pyrus.com/ ).
If you want to get an idea of what VTT is used for - take a
look at
http://www.microsoft.com/typography/hinting/tutorial.htmAlso read the TrueType & OpenType font file spec. particularly:
http://www.microsoft.com/typography/OTSPEC/TTCH01.htmhttp://www.microsoft.com/typography/OTSPEC/ttinsthttp://www.eu.microsoft.com/typography/otspec/ttinst2.docAt one time there were no other visual tools for editing
TrueType hints (especially on PCs) but FontLab now also includes
features which allow you to manually "hint" TrueType fonts and
these are more than adequate for most purposes. However there
are some kinds of instruction which FontLab doesn't cover and,
if you really need to add these to your font, then VTT is very
useful.
<< Oh, and I have the latest VTT version (4.22) for Windows XP.
The help file appears to be for an earlier program from the
Macintosh System 7 era. Is this normal? Where can I get an
updated help file? >>
There is both a Mac and a PC version of this tool. The original
version was available only for the Mac and the graphics in the
help file are based on the Mac version. The program also goes
back a long way - and so do the help files.
Hope this helps
- Chris
