Best Of

A little tool that helps building glyphs pairs for kerning and testing documents.
http://www.impallari.com/testing/pairs.php

It has 3 input boxes, where you can enter space separated list of glyphs
- Glyphs (in the middle): Input here the glyphs you want to target
- First: The glyphs you want before the target glyphs.
- Second: The glyphs you want after the target glyphs.

Format Options:
- Plain: Just each pair after the other
- FontLab: formatted, with the /name of each glyph
- Metrics Machine: Metrics Machine Pairs list
- Kernmaster: Kernmaster krn format

If you use the Plain format option, you can just use any keyable glyph directly (1 * ñ), as it supports utf-8. In just a snap, it can generate complex stings like:
[á {á (á fá “á [é {é (é fé “é [í {í (í fí “í [ó {ó (ó fó “ó [ú {ú (ú fú “ú [à {à (à fà “à [è {è (è fè “è [ì {ì (ì fì “ì [ò {ò (ò fò “ò [ù {ù (ù fù “ù á” á) á} á] é” é) é} é] í” í) í} í] ó” ó) ó} ó] ú” ú) ú} ú] à” à) à} à] è” è) è} è] ì” ì) ì} ì] ò” ò) ò} ò] ù” ù) ù} ù]
Or any other string you may need, using Latin or any other Language (It's utf-8 ready).

If you use FontLab, Metrics Machine or Kernmaster formats, you need to input the Glyphnames instead (one asterisk ntilde). The results can be copy/pasted into text files and saved, to be imported in your program of choice. This is especially useful for people who works with alternates, ssXX, etc... that are not so easy to access when kerning.

If you use Metrics Machine, you already know that you probably don't need this tool (as his pair builder is way better), but still, the Plain format option is useful for generating strings for printing testing docs.

Ignore the "Drag fonts here" section at the top, it's a remainder of the testing page, not of any use in this tool.

I met Mike in 1994, under the grape vines at the back of Gerald Giampa's Lanston premises in East Vancouver. I think the first thing he said to me was something along the lines of 'I'm here researching the history of a little typeface called Times New Roman'. The rest of the afternoon was given over to Starling Burgess and a history of corporate rivalry and skullduggery so convoluted that I struggled to follow half of it, but I've never been so convinced of Mike's thesis as when he was expounding it, nor so entertained. A person is sometimes described as having a twinkle in his eye; Mike had several dozen.

It was a great pleasure to see him again at TypeCon in Milwaukee, when he received the SOTA award. Harry had warned me that Mike's mind wasn't what it had been, but there seemed no diminution in stature, volume or, indeed, the brightness in those eyes.