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Comparison of font editors

Topic: Software

 From HandWiki - Reading time: 3 min
Short description: None

This is a technical feature comparison of font editors.

General

Basic general information about font editors: creator, first release date, latest stable version, latest release date and license.

Software Creator First release date Latest stable version Latest release date License
BirdFont [1] Johan Mattsson 2012 Proprietary or open source
Crossfont Aaron Elkins 2019 Proprietary
DTL FontMaster Dutch Type Library 3.0 Proprietary
DTL FontMaster Light Dutch Type Library 2.7[2] Free
DTL OTMaster 6.3[2] Proprietary
DTL OTMaster Light 3.7[2] Free
FontArk (Web service) Proprietary
FontCreator Erwin Denissen 1999 12.0 2019 Proprietary
FontDraw Alexander Kirichenko 2022 1.0 2022 Proprietary
FontForge George Williams 20220308 2022 GPL3
FontLab Yuri Yarmola 1993 8.0.1 2022 Proprietary
Fontographer Jim von Ehr 5.2 Proprietary
Glyphr Studio [3] Matt LaGrandeur, Mateusz Zawartka, Troy Coutu, & Eric Newport 0.5.3 October 2019 GPL3
Glyphs Georg Seifert 2011 2.6.2 2019 Proprietary, file format and parts of the code open source
Ikarus Proprietary
RoboFont Proprietary
Type 3.2 Proprietary
Type light 3.2.038 Proprietary
TypeTool 3.1 Proprietary
VOGG Free

Operating system support

The table below lists the operating systems on which each font editor can run.

Software Windows OS X Linux Android iOS
Birdfont Yes Yes Yes
Crossfont Yes
DTL FontMaster Yes
DTL FontMaster Light Yes
DTL OTMaster Yes Yes Yes
DTL OTMaster Light Yes Yes Yes
FontCreator Yes
FontDraw Yes
FontForge Yes Yes Yes
FontLab Yes Yes
Glyphs No Yes
Robofont No Yes
Type Yes Yes
Type light Yes Yes
TypeTool Yes Yes
VOGG Yes

General features

Below is an overview of general features typical for font editors.

Software Maximum number of glyphs supported Colored glyphs Windows Type 1 (.pfb) editor Mac Type 1 (LWFN) editor OpenType TT / TrueType (.ttf) editor Mac TrueType (sfnt/dfont) editor TrueType Collection (.ttc) editor OpenType PS (.otf) editor Macro / Script
FontCreator unlimited in source file[4] COLR, CPAL, SVG [5] import and export import import and export OpenType PS (.otf) editor Macro / Script Transformations
FontForge No[6] import and export[7] import and export[8] import and export[9] import and export[10] import and export[11] import and export[12] Yes[13]
FontLab unlimited in source file COLR, CPAL, SBIX, SVG [14] import & export import & export import import import & export Python scripting
Glyphs unlimited in source file COLR, CPAL, SBIX, SVG [15] import import import & export import import import & export Python script and plug-ins, Objective-C plug-ins, free SDK available

The OpenType cmap table can reference a maximum of 65536 glyphs.[16]

TrueType hinting

Font editors supporting TrueType hinting can do that either automatically or manually. The availability of these functions and the possibility to debug hinting is indicated in the following table.

Software Automatic TrueType hinting Manual TrueType hinting TrueType hinting debugger
FontCreator 12 ttfAutohint
FontDraw 1.0 ttfAutohint
FontLab ttfAutohint & FontLab GUI code preview and rendering previews, including Windows ClearType on macOS
Glyphs ttfAutohint GUI live preview of 3 renderings

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Create and Edit Fonts in Linux with BirdFont". 25 January 2016. http://www.linuxandubuntu.com/home/create-and-edit-fonts-in-linux-with-birdfont. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 DTL FontTools - Downloads. Retrieved 2016-08-31.
  3. ↑ "Tech in Asia - Connecting Asia's startup ecosystem". https://www.techinasia.com/12-tools-modern-web-designer. 
  4. ↑ "FontCreator Comparison Chart". http://www.high-logic.com/font-editor/fontcreator/comparison.html. Retrieved 2017-06-26. 
  5. ↑ "FontCreator – Features and Benefits". High-Logic B.V.. https://www.high-logic.com/font-editor/fontcreator/features-and-benefits. Retrieved 2022-10-13. "Create and edit scalable color fonts (supporting COLR, CPAL, and SVG tables)" 
  6. ↑ "Color font COLR/CPAL #677". 2013-08-24. https://github.com/fontforge/fontforge/issues/677. Retrieved 2022-10-13. 
  7. ↑ "Frequently Asked Questions". https://fontforge.org/docs/faq.html#faq-outline-conversion. Retrieved 2022-05-06. 
  8. ↑ "Frequently Asked Questions". https://fontforge.org/docs/faq.html#faq-outline-conversion. Retrieved 2022-05-06. 
  9. ↑ "Frequently Asked Questions". https://fontforge.org/docs/faq.html#faq-outline-conversion. Retrieved 2022-05-06. 
  10. ↑ "Frequently Asked Questions". https://fontforge.org/docs/faq.html#faq-outline-conversion. Retrieved 2022-05-06. 
  11. ↑ "Frequently Asked Questions". https://fontforge.org/docs/faq.html#faq-outline-conversion. Retrieved 2022-05-06. 
  12. ↑ "Frequently Asked Questions". https://fontforge.org/docs/faq.html#faq-outline-conversion. Retrieved 2022-05-06. 
  13. ↑ "FontForge Scripting Tutorial". https://fontforge.github.io/scripting-tutorial.html. Retrieved 2016-08-31. 
  14. ↑ "Color Font Formats". Fontlab Ltd.. https://help.fontlab.com/fontlab-vi/Color-Font-Formats/. Retrieved 2022-10-13. "FontLab will export all four formats" 
  15. ↑ "Features". Glyphs GmbH. https://glyphsapp.com/features#colors-and-contours. Retrieved 2022-10-13. "Or tap into the possibilities of color font formats: SVG, CPAL/COLR, sbix and classic layer fonts." 
  16. ↑ "Cmap - Character to Glyph Index Mapping Table (OpenType 1.9) - Typography". 10 January 2023. https://www.microsoft.com/typography/otspec/cmap.htm. 

External links



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