User Guide

Editing Fonts
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The general rule is simple: if you work with the Font window in Names
mode use the Names TrueType exporting mode. If you work in Unicode
mode use the Unicode exporting mode. Actually, FontLab will show a
warning message if you try to export a font in Unicode mode while you are
in the Names mode of the Font window and vice versa.
What is the “First 256 Glyphs Range”?
When we talk about the “first 256 glyphs” we do not mean those with Unicode indexes in the 0000h
- 00FFh range. We mean those that Windows will see as having codes 00h-FFh when the default
Windows codepage is selected. In most cases the default codepage is the 1252 Latin 1 codepage.
So even if you export a TrueType font in the Names mode the Unicode indexes for the encoded
glyph will be selected from the Windows 1252 codepage.
We recommend opening a Windows TrueType font, switching to the Codepages mode of the Font
window and selecting codepage 1252 to better understand what the “standard” Windows glyphs
are.
Windows Symbol Encoding
If you want to have full control over glyph codes and you want to occupy all 256 glyph cells of the
first-byte range, you should create your font using the Windows Symbol codepage. The Symbol
codepage begins from Unicode index F000h and continues to F0FFh. All glyphs in this range are
mapped to the 0000h-000FFh range. So the glyph with code F041h will be seen in Windows as ‘A’
and so on.
To make a font using the Symbol codepage you have two options:
1. Switch the Font window to the Codepages mode; select the Windows Symbol codepage; and
place all glyphs in the codepage. Export the font in TrueType format in Unicode mode.
2. Switch the Font window to the Names mode; select any encoding vector; place glyphs as you
want in the “yellow” area; and export the font in Names mode (Use Unicode indexes as the
base for TrueType encoding should be off).
In either case select Symbol Microsoft Glyph Set in the Codepages page of the Font Info dialog
box. Without this the font will not be exported as Symbol and you will not have access to the glyphs
at all.
The Problem of Glyph 183, “middledot”
The glyph cell with decimal code 183 has different behaviors in Windows 95 and Windows NT. In
Windows 95 it is mapped to the Unicode index 22C5h, but in Windows NT it is mapped to 00B7h. So,
when FontLab exports your font in the Names mode, it automatically assigns both Unicode indexes
to this glyph to make the font compatible with both operating systems.