User Guide

FontLab 4
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E d i t i n g La yer s
In FontLab every glyph contains several editing layers. Some of them are
used when the font is exported, others are FontLab-only and are used to
help you work with the glyph. Below is the list of all the layers that you can
see in the Glyph Window. Later we will describe them in full detail.
Outline
Main layer containing the glyph’s outline
Grid
Regular grid which helps to align the outline
Guidelines
Horizontal, vertical and/or diagonal guidelines
Hints Type 1 hints – pairs of two vertical or horizontal lines set at
a fixed distance
Mask
Outline template
Background
Bitmap background
Alignment
zones
Special zones that define the overshoot positions in the font
Glyph metrics
Glyph metrics – left and right sidebearings and a baseline
Vertical
metrics
Font’s vertical metrics, such as ascender, descender or cap
height
Template
Global (font-wide) outline template
Anchors and
carets
Anchors are special named marks and carets that define
stop positions in ligatures
You can control the layers’ appearance and features with the View menu:
Show layers Lists all layers (and a few other options) and lets you switch them
on or off. You cannot switch off (hide) the outline layer.
Lock layers
Lists the layers that you can lock to protect from accidental
modification.
Snap to layers
Controls which layers have the “snap-to” feature activated.