User Guide

Snap to Point is a mode which makes aligning points much
easier. If Snap to Point is on, points you drag around with
the mouse will “snap” to other points as you drag by them,
as if they were magnets. This is how snap-to-point works
when you have set the Only snap to the closest point
mode. Automatically align with all points, on the other
hand, makes objects snap to “point extensions” rather than
just the points. In other words, let’s say you have a point at
x = 50, y = 100. In the Only snap to the closest point mode,
you will snap to that point only when the point you are
dragging comes close to 50,100. In the Automatically align
with all points mode, however, the point you are dragging
will snap anywhere along a vertical line at x = 50, or
anywhere along a horizontal line at y = 100.
When a path is clicked on
This influences what happens when you click and drag the
mouse on an actual path (i.e., the line between the control
points), as opposed to clicking on one of the points. What
you would expect to happen in this case depends upon your
prior drawing program experience.
Do nothing is a good setting if you want to prevent yourself
from modifying a path by clicking on it accidentally.
Select and drag the path is a Macromedia FreeHand-style
operation. If you want to move an entire path, this
preference allows you to do so merely by clicking on it with
the mouse and dragging it around. (This can also be
accomplished, as in previous versions of Fontographer, by
double-clicking on one of the points, and dragging the path
around by a point.)
Select and edit the path is more of an Adobe Illustrator-
style edit. This allows you to edit the path without having to
click on control points or BCPs; simply click directly on the
path, and drag. This is especially fun to do in Preview
Fontographer User's Manual
10: Expert Advice Page #5