User Guide

Glyph Window
235
Filled and Unfilled Contours
Contours can be of two types: black or white. They can also be of two
directions: clockwise or counterclockwise. The basic rule that applies to
Type 1 fonts is simple: clockwise-directed contours are white and
counterclockwise contours are black. A simpler form of the rule, known as
the rule of the left hand, is: if you face along the direction of a contour,
black (fill) will be on your left side.
Direc ted contour
Filled interior zone
In the TrueType specification the opposite is the case, so a contour is filled
on the right hand side. However, not all TrueType rasterizers require
glyphs to follow this rule, so it is recommended, but not necessarily
required, that you reverse contour directions when you are converting
Type 1 fonts to TrueType.