Fontographer 5.0 bugs in Demo 3820

[Arno Enslin]

Fontographer 5 does not compile stylistic set features, if they contain a featureNames block. That’s AFDKO 2.5 syntax!

Fontographer does not seem to compile the tnum feature. That’s odd, because it compiles lnum, onum and pnum.

With AFDKO makeotf both works without problems.

And with regard to the featureNames block. The names of the features have to be added to the name table. Does Fontographer compile the name table with the AFDKO 2.5? Probably not.

I would prefer it, if the compiler would not be built into Fontographer. The user should have to download the AFDKO. This would raise my trust.

Except from that I notice stability problems under Windows XP SP3, although I cannot reproduce the problems. Sometimes Fontographer 5 suddenly shuts down or I have odd artefacts in the glyph window.

And when you kern glyphs, you have to click exactly on the outline. And when you move glyphs there is a time delay.

So, for the moment the main improvement is the antialiasing of the outlines in my opinion.

[Evertype]

I certainly do not want to have to download external compilers for my font work.

[Arno Enslin]

I certainly do not want to have to download external compilers for my font work.

Why not? Fontographer could export a pfa file to the AFDKO and start makeotf. Then it extracts the GSUB table as binary and stores it in the font. When a new version of the AFDKO is released, the user only had to download it instead of waiting for the FontLab developers. According to Fontlab Fontographer supports the latest AFDKO syntax. And my feature file is perfectly coded. There are absolute no problems with makeotf. If Fontographer is unable to compile it, it is evident, that makeotf is a lower risk. It’s comparable with a lossy copy. You don’t have to install the AFDKO. All you have to do is downloading and unpacking it. Python is integrated there. So, if you don’t want to do that, I would like to know why. Otherwise I must assume, that it is either lazyness or that you don’t want the best for your fonts. I would not expect, that the user invests hours for installing, but in case of the AFDKO all you had to do would be downloading it, which is a question of a few minutes only.

The only reason to put the compiler into the application is, that you only can download the latest version of the AFDKO from the Adobe website. So FontLab had to store the most clean version of the AFDKO (which is not necessarily the latest) on their own website or ask Adobe for providing not only the latest version.

[Evertype]

Because I do not want to have to be a computer programmer to make and design fonts, Arno. If I wanted to use Volt or FontForge or muck about with a command line, I would do so.

[Arno Enslin]

You have to program the features indepent from the location of the compiler. I did not write, that the user should start makeotf, but Fontographer – automatically. For the user nothing would change with regard to the comfort.

[Evertype]

I don't understand what you are saying then. Start from the beginning. What does the acronym AFDKO mean? What is "makeotf"? Where will it live? What shall "start" it? Do you expect me to learn Python?

I draw in Fontographer. I post-process my fonts in Fontlab Studio. When I have added OpenType features, I have done it in Fontlab. Are you saying you want me to have to use a third editor as well? Why should I want to do that?

[Arno Enslin]

AFDKO means Adobe Font Development Kit for OpenType. Fontographer could start makeotf.exe, which is inluded in the AFDKO. This would require, that it exports the font as pfa or cff file. Makeotf.exe generates the font. Then Fontographer could start another program belonging to the AFDKO for extracting the GSUB table as binary. Then it either imports the GSUB table and includes it with its own compiler (for the case, that the compiler is not basicly the compiler of the AFDKO) or it generates the OTF with its own compiler and starts the AFDKO program, with the help of which you can merge in tables, for including the GSUB table. Or it extracts the GSUB table with a sub program integrated in Fontographer and includes it, when it compiles the font.

The point is, that the GSUB table, that is compiled with Fontographer, should be the same as the one, that is compiled with makeotf.exe. Fontlab says, that Fontographer uses the AFDKO syntax. The latest! And actually this is wrong, because they have changed something in the compiler or they have programmed their own one or anything else. Both is a risk with regard to compatibility and I assume, that it would be easier to update Fontographer without an internal compiler. But I am not a programmer. Maybe the developers had good reasons for not separating the GSUB compiler from Fontographer. I only see, that it actually does not work as it should.

[Evertype]

A makeotf.exe will not run on Mac OS, certainly.

But the scenario you describe would be a nightmare for anyone who is not a programmer.

If the current table which Fog uses is not current, then you should file a bug and Fontlab should do what they can to update it quickly with a 5.0.1 release.

[Arno Enslin]

Again, Evertype, the user would not have to do anything, that he does not actually do! Fontographer could do that automatically! I begin to doubt, that you have tested Fontographer 5. I am talking about OpenType features.

By the way, if you are able to program the features, you also should be able to make use of makeotf. The user programs the features in both cases – with or without an internal compiler. Except from that the AFDKO is available for Mac and PC.

[Yuri Yarmola (FontLab)]

We also found some problems with the Windows version so we plan to release a bugfix update soon.

Speaking about featureNames: Fog will not add names to the name table at this time. We will add that later.

Fog uses AFDKO, it is built it. I will check what's wrong with compilation of certain features, please, contain me direcly, my email name in fontlab.com domain is yar.

[Arno Enslin]

@ Yuri

The problem, that I have with the tnum feature, is connected with the problem, that Fontographer 5 does not support the featureParams block in the stylistic set features.

If a stylistic set feature (ss01–ss20) contains a featureParams block, all features, that are alphabetically below ss, are empty. Subs, sups and tnum will not be compiled then for example.

Am I right with the assumption, that Fog 5 actually does not compile the name table with the AFDKO, although it is integrated?

------------------

It would be nice, if you would provide a list (that is frequently updated) of unfixed bugs of all FontLab products on the main site.

[Tags:]

Jump to: Please select a destination: ----------------------------- News and announcements ----------------------------- => Announcements from the forum’s moderators => News from the font industry ----------------------------- Type design and font technology ----------------------------- => Principles of type design => OpenType Layout feature development => Hinting => Font Formats and OpenType => Web font embedding => Font licensing ===> Electronic EULA Abstract (EEULAA) ----------------------------- Education and collaboration ----------------------------- => Work: Offers => Work: Looking for => Education: Offers => Education: Looking for => Typographic Events and Conferences ----------------------------- FontLab products ----------------------------- => News from FontLab => FontLab Studio ===> FontLab Studio Problems ===> FontLab Studio Tips and Tricks ===> FontLab Studio Wish List ===> FontLab Studio Public Preview => Fontographer ===> Fontographer Problems ===> Fontographer Wish List => TypeTool => AsiaFont Studio => TransType => ScanFont => SigMaker => Other Products ----------------------------- Photofont products ----------------------------- => BitFonter => Photofont WebReady => Photofont Start => Photofont ID => Photofont QX => The Photofont technology ----------------------------- Adobe Type products ----------------------------- => Adobe FDK for OpenType (AFDKO) ----------------------------- Apple Font products ----------------------------- => Apple Font Tools ----------------------------- Microsoft Typography products ----------------------------- => Microsoft Font Validator => Microsoft Visual OpenType Layout Tool (VOLT) => Microsoft Web Embedding Fonts Tool (WEFT) => Microsoft Visual TrueType (VTT) ----------------------------- Other products and Python scripting ----------------------------- => Python scripting => FontTools/TTX => Other font-related tools ----------------------------- Special interest groups ----------------------------- => SBL Fonts ===> SBL Hebrew ===> SBL Greek ===> SBL BibLit ----------------------------- FAQ and TechNotes ----------------------------- => OpenType Layout feature development FAQ and TechNotes => Hinting FAQ and TechNotes => Font Formats and OpenType FAQ and TechNotes => Web font embedding FAQ and TechNotes => Font licensing FAQ and TechNotes => FontLab Studio FAQ and TechNotes => Fontographer FAQ and TechNotes => TypeTool FAQ and TechNotes => AsiaFont Studio FAQ and TechNotes => TransType FAQ and TechNotes => ScanFont FAQ and TechNotes => SigMaker FAQ and TechNotes => BitFonter FAQ and TechNotes => Photofont WebReady FAQ and TechNotes => Photofont Start FAQ and TechNotes => Photofont ID FAQ and TechNotes => Photofont QX FAQ and TechNotes ----------------------------- Archive (MSN Groups) ----------------------------- => Archive: Old FontLab forum ===> Archive: FontLab Tips and Tricks ===> Archive: FontLab Bugs and Problems ===> Archive: FontLab Wish List ===> Archive: FontLab Announcements => Archive: Old Microsoft Font Validator group => Archive: Old Microsoft VOLT group => Archive: Old Microsoft VTT group ===> Archive: VTT Downloads ===> Archive: VTT Support ===> Archive: VTT Suggestions => Archive: Old Microsoft WEFT group ===> Archive: WEFT III ===> Archive: EOT for Email => Archive: Old SBL Fonts group ===> Archive: SBL Hebrew ===> Archive: SBL Greek ----------------------------- Various ----------------------------- => fontlab.com — the FontLab website => forum.fontlab.com — this forum => Other Topics