Re: CHAT: Fonts (Re: CHAT: Constructed maps)

On Tue, 26 Jun 2007 15:21:58 -0400, David J. Peterson <dedalvs@...>
wrote:

> Paul:
> <<
> In Windows, you have the full set of around 4,000,000,000 unassigned
> Unicode characters at your disposal (assuming you need to exceed the
> 6400-character Private Use Area), and with Microsoft's own Keyboard
> Layout Creator (a free download), you have the full power of the Windows
> IME system at your disposal for mapping from keystrokes to glyphs.
>  >>
>
> Let me emend my statement, as you can, of course, do this with
> Macs, too.
Absolutely. Just about every modern computer system has at least some
Unicode support by now. I didn't mean to imply that Macs didn't, and I'm
sorry if I sounded that way.

> I haven't been able to figure out how to gain access
> to all the Unicode blocks with my font program.
I use Fontforge, which is a free download and is installable on Mac,
Linux, and Windows (the latter with the help of Cygwin) -- there's even a
VMS installable if you're into that sort of thing, and I suspect the Linux
version would build on z/Linux.

The UI is a bit clunky, but it seems to work well -- you have to use an
additional program to insert Graphite or OpenType combining/composing
rules, but I actually prefer that method since you can pick and choose the
best tool for your particular needs.

http://fontforge.sourceforge.net/

> I should one day figure out the Unicode, but thus far, I haven't
> needed to.
Alan Wood's site is where it's at, above and beyond any other site I've
seen:

http://www.alanwood.net/unicode/

That site holds fonts, programs, tutorials, and links (and much more). I
recommend it without reservation.




Paul




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