Typographic expression

Ornaments

The Ornament Sets feature type specifies non-letter ornament sets of glyphs.

This is an exclusive feature.

No Ornaments

Glyphs:

None

Effect:

None

Editor:

None

Notes:

No mapping; this is the default for most fonts (except for dingbat and other decorative symbol fonts).

Dingbats

Dingbats are symbols such as arrows, stars, and pointing hands used for occasional emphasis in display.

Glyphs:

Letters, numbers, etc.; dingbat characters

Effect:

Specific characters in the font are replaced with symbols from the Dingbats set.

Editor:

Standard 1-to-1 non-contextual editor.

Pi Characters

Pi characters are a set of related symbols designed for a particular purpose (e.g. cartography, commerce or musical notation) which do not make up a formal alphabet.

Glyphs:

Letters, numbers, etc.; Pi characters

Effect:

Specific characters in the font are replaced with symbols from the Pi set.

Editor:

Standard 1-to-1 non-contextual editor.

Fleurons

Fleurons are ornaments in the shape of flowers, vine leaves, and so on.

Glyphs:

Letters, numbers, etc.; Fleurons.

Effect:

Certain characters in the font are replaced with fleurons.

Editor:

Standard 1-to-1 non-contextual editor.

Decorative Borders

These are glyphs designed to be used in interlocking or repeating patterns as borders for text.

Glyphs:

Letters, numbers; border characters

Effect:

Specific characters in the font are replaced with symbols from the borders set.

Editor:

Standard 1-to-1 non-contextual editor.

International Symbols

International Symbols are glyphs representing standard, internationally-recognizable icons, such as those below:

Glyphs:

Letters, numbers; international symbols.

Effect:

Specific characters in the font are replaced with international symbols.

Editor:

Standard 1-to-1 non-contextual editor.

Math Symbols

These are special symbols used in setting mathematics or logic text.

Glyphs:

Letters, numbers; mathematical characters

Effect:

Specific characters in the font are replaced with symbols from the math set.

Editor:

Standard 1-to-1 non-contextual editor.

Character Alternatives

The radio button selectors for this type simply select different sets of glyphs in a font. For example, a font with twenty ampersands could place them in twenty selectors under this feature type. Use of the Style Options feature type is, however, preferred when feasible.

If alternatives are being used, then the first setting for the feature should be "No Alternates". Because the No Alternatives setting implies no change from the basic font, no editor is required for this setting.

Character Alternatives an exclusive feature.

Each font has its own alternate characters defined by the typographer.

No Alternatives

Glyphs:

None

Effect:

None

Editor:

None

Notes:

Turns feature off. This selector should always be the first setting.

Other Character Alternatives effects

Glyphs:

depends

Effect:

1-for-1

Editor:

1-for-1

Notes:

As many settings as you need (up to 64). To name these settings, you will have to edit their entries in the 'name' table.

Design Complexity

The Design Complexity feature type controls the overall appearance of the font. It can be used to allow a single font to contain plain glyphs, italic glyphs, calligraphic chancery glyphs, etc.

Design Level 1 should be available for any font which utilizes this feature type, it should always be the simplest variant of the font, and it should generally be the default setting. This is however a guideline, not a rule: some fonts which are normally quite ornate but have a simpler alternative (eg. Apple Chancery) would have a higher design level as their default to obey the "increasing ornateness for increasing design level" rule.

The remaining design levels progress from simplest to most complex.

As can be seen from Apple Chancery above, you don't have to call these settings "Design Level n", but be aware that some applications will alphabetically sort the names you give these levels, which can lead to confusion. For example, Apple Chancery's design levels are, in order:

(1) Simple Design Level
(2) Elegant Design Level [default]
(3) Flourishes, set A
(4) Flourishes, set B

... but these are alphabeticised to:

(2) Elegant Design Level [default]
(3) Flourishes, set A
(4) Flourishes, set B
(1) Simple Design Level

An alternative would be to explictly state the design level, as shown below:

(1) 1. Simple Design Level
(2) 2. Elegant Design Level [default]
(3) 3. Flourishes, set A
(4) 4. Flourishes, set B

where the addition of the initial number forces the names into their correct order.

Like most effects, Design Level effects should come before Smart Swashes in the mort table, so that special swash forms can be assigned to the new glyphs introduced by the Design Level.

Design Level is an exclusive feature.

Design Level 1

Glyphs:

Depends on font.

Effect:

No effect if this is the default setting. Otherwise, specific glyphs are replaced within the font to produce the font's simplest, least ornate, form.

Editor:

1-to-1 non-contextual editor. Leave empty if Design Level 1 should be the default.

Notes:

This effect should result in the simplest variant of a font. For many fonts, Design Level 1 is the default setting.

Other Design Complexity effects

Glyphs:

Depends on font.

Effect:

Specific glyphs are replaced within the font to produce more ornate forms of that font.

Editor:

1-to-1 non-contextual editor. If a particular Design Level represents the default state of a font, the editor should be left blank.

Notes:

There are five settings in all. Use them in sequence; don't skip numbers.

Style Options

The Style Options feature type allows the font designer to group together collections of non-contextual substitutions into named sets. In an application, if the end user wants the normal designs, the "No Style Options" feature selector should be chosen.

These categories are not meant to be restrictive. If you have a legitimate typographic need for something even subtly but inescapably distinct, send a link to Apple.

This is an exclusive feature.

No Style Options

Glyphs:

None

Effect:

None

Editor:

None

Notes:

This gives plain text, with no quirks or elaborate letterforms.

Display Text

This is for glyphs designed to emphasize the unique appearance of the design at display sizes, typically above 24 point.

Glyphs:

Standard 1-to-1 non-contextual editor.

Engraved Text

This is for glyphs with contrasting strokes parallel to the main strokes, as shown below:

Engraved characters are designed to look like they're engraved in stone (as in the example below), or to emulate the shaded lettering style often used in old metal-plate engraving.

Glyphs:

Letters, numbers; engraved forms.

Effect:

Letters and numbers are drawn in an engraved form.

Editor:

Standard 1-to-1 non-contextual editor.

Illuminated Caps

This is for capital letter glyphs with decoration filling the whitespace surrounding the glyph, in the manner used by medieval scribes:

Glyphs:

Capitals; Illuminated capitals.

Effect:

Capital letters in the text are replaced with illuminated capitals.

Editor:

Standard 1-to-1 non-contextual editor.

Titling Caps

This converts capital letters to a special titling form.

Glyphs:

Capitals; titling capitals.

Effect:

Capitals are drawn using special titling letterforms.

Editor:

Standard 1-to-1 non-contextual editor.

Tall Caps

This is for capitals that extend above the ordinary capital height.

Glyphs:

Capitals; tall capitals.

Effect:

Certain capital letters in the font are replaced with taller variants.

Editor:

Standard 1-to-1 non-contextual editor.

Cursive Connection

The Cursive Connection feature type is used for cursively-connected scripts. It is required for Arabic, but may be used for other scripts as well.

The "Cursive" selector is used to select full, contextual connection of letterforms. The Cursive setting will be the default in Arabic fonts. This setting could well be used for Roman fonts, even though the controls required for this are buried in the dialog.

This is an exclusive feature.

Unconnected

The Unconnected selector disables cursive connection altogether.

Glyphs:

None

Effect:

None

Editor:

None

Notes:

In most roman fonts this is the default setting. If, however, the font is natuarally cursive (a "script" face, for example), this setting will not be the default ("Partially Connected" will), and the editor for Unconnected will have to be filled with the glyph substitutions required to get from the "script" to "print" styles.

Partially Connected

The Partially Connected selector can be used to select pre-drawn letterforms that connect in a non-contextual manner.

However, as can be seen from the second line above, no attempt is made to keep the individual glyphs joined-up: when the text is justified, inter-glyph space can be inserted between letters.

Glyphs:

Upper and lowercase letters, digits, some punctuation (depends on typeface); cursive forms of upper and lowercase letters, digits, etc.:

Effect:

Text is drawn using "cursive" or "script" glyphs instead of the normal unconnected, print, glyphs.

Editor:

n/a

Notes:

TrueEdit does not support this effect.

Cursive

Glyphs:

Upper and lowercase letters, digits, some punctuation (depends on typeface); kashida:

Effect:

When justified, "kashida" glyphs are inserted beteen certain glyph pairs within word, in order to take up space in the line, rather than having space insterted between words.

 

Notes:

This is used to select full, contextual connection of letter forms. This setting will be the default in Arabic fonts.

Smart Swashes

The Smart Swashes feature type controls contextual swash substitution.

The first four selectors control swashes that get substituted at the beginnings or ends of words or whole lines. The Non-Finals selector specifies forms that are used at the beginning or middle of words--archaic long 's' can be specified this way.

The features are cumulative: none, all, or any combination may be on at one time.


Note that only line and word ends trigger these things. Point size changes, font changes, etc., do not.

Word Initial Swashes

Glyphs:

Normal forms, swash forms.

Effect:

Swash forms are substituted at the beginning of words.

Word Final Swashes

Glyphs:

Normal forms, swash forms.

Effect:

Swash forms are substituted at the end of words.

Notes:

When adding Word Final Swashes to a font, bear in mind that not all line-ending swashes look good on word ends. For example, the long "e" and "n" swashes are not used here because their tails would fill the space between words and make the text less readable; the swashes used in this effect ("w" and "x" here) have upward or leftward tails that don't interfere with subsequent words.

Line Initial Swashes

Glyphs:

Normal letters, swash forms.

Effect:

Swash forms are substituted at the beginning of lines.

Line Final Swashes

Glyphs:

Normal letters, swash forms.

Effect:

swash forms are substituted at the end of lines.

Notes:

Note that line final swashes automatically ignore line-end whitespace glyphs - only the last visible glyph on a line gets a swash form. Also, letters followed by punctuation are not swashed, since the swash would more than likely collide with that punctuation.

Non-Final Swashes

Glyphs:

Normal letters, swash forms.

Effect:

specifies forms used at the beginning or middle of words

 

Smart Swashes editor

TrueEdit uses the same editor for all Smart Swashes effects:

The editor window is divided into three sections: Punctuation (top left), Special glyphs (top right), and the swash glyphs (bottom).

To add swash forms for a glyph, drag its normal form into the "Glyph" live area (bottom left), and then drag the corresponding swash forms into the other five columns.

The Punctuation and Special fields contain glyphs used to decide what constitutes a word or line break (for application of line and word initial and final swash effects).

To add all swash types to a font, you must add those swash-type features to the 'mort' table. For example, you cannot add Line Final swashes to a font just by filling the appropriate column in this editor: you must also add the "Line Final Swashes" feature to the font's 'mort' table.

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The Apple Fonts Group (applefonts@apple.com)