font newbie with questions- please help

[ali]

Ok. I'm making a font of all symbols, and I have more symbols than empty glyph cells. So, when I dragged my glyphs in from another version of my file (it got all messed up), new cells were created. When I install the font (windows vista), these extra characters do not appear on my character map, and are not accessible in a word processing program  (either by insert>special character, or by typing Alt+XXXX).

What is the whole ALT+XXXX thing called? Is this unicode?

How do I get my extra glyphs to be accessible? In my font they are octal numbers 403 and higher.

Do the octal numbers correspond to the "XXXX" part of the whole ALT+XXXX thing?

Sorry that I am not using correct terminology, but I don't know what the correct terminology is.

And lastly, how did you all learn to use this program? I don't even understand the manual!

p.s. I really am trying, and any help would be greatly appreciated. I've spent a lot of time on this font, and I'd hate to see it end with these frustrating problems.
p.p.s. If there are any font lab studio Gurus out there that would be willing to give me their e-mail address for direct contact, I would be ever so grateful. I could return the favor with Finale (music notation software, and also complicated).

[Ray Larabie]

Here's an easy way to give those orphan glyphs Unicode values:

On the font window, click the UN button (Unicode ranges).
To the left of the UN button, you'll see a drop down list of Unicode ranges such as: Imported, Freefont etc. Select the one called "Private Use Area". It's near the end of the list.
Scroll down to the bottom of the font window.
Select the orphan glyphs.
Drag them to the top of the font window. It takes a while to get to the top. The first glyph will be in the E000 location. You can shuffle them around if you like.
To the left of the UN button, you'll see a NAME button. Click it.
In the top menu select glyph/sort glyphs/by unicode

Now those glyphs will show up in the character map.

Here's a book you can purchase that'll make Fontlab easier to understand:
http://www.logofontandlettering.com/

How I learned to use FontLab. I got it in 2000 and figured it out mostly by trial and error. I couldn't understand the manual either.

[dse]

Ray, you assume his glyphs are all new, but that isnt evident from what TOP says.

Unicode has its own website, on it you will find depictions and listings of the several coding spaces used for known glyphs.  Ray is sugesting that you use the code space reserved for un registered glyphs, but that is not necessary if your glyphs have been registered.

So, if the 'semantics' of one of your glyphs corresponds to the semantics of a glyph already registered you should use the unicode codeing value for the registered glyph.

Consider that this is true even within collections of registered glyphs, A font such as Sonata providing musical symbol glyphs would normally code many of them within the space for musical symbols (1D100-FF), however these were not defined in unicode 2, but added in v3.1 while unicode v2 defined three important musical symbols (flat, natural, sharp) and assigns them to (266D, 266E, 266F)

[Ray Larabie]

Good point, I forgot that some musical symbols are part of the Unicode chart. If you're making this font for your own use, then the Private Use area is fine but if you're going to release it, it's a good idea to figure out the real Unicode values those symbols are supposed to have.