OTM 8 Sneak Preview
Options

LeMo aka PatternMan aka Frank E Blokland
Posts: 756
Version 8 of DTL OTMaster, the release of which is scheduled for the end of spring 2020, contains quite a few additional nifty functions, including:
0
Comments
-
Very excited about the TTC editor tool.0
-
Hello John, I will make a download of version 8 (.4 already) available for you for testing later this week.OTM has been on the market for more than ten years and is used on a reasonably large scale. Some of the largest software/hardware companies use it and also quite a number of type foundries. That said, I am very curious how OTM is used in the different workflows. For example, the subsetting of features during compiling can be very useful in combination with any font editor, I reckon. However, when I demonstrate or discuss this, I get the feeling that the subsetting is not being used much. Below are some screenshots of the possible use of features-subsetting in a Glyphs’ workflow.0
-
For example, the subsetting of features during compiling can be very useful in combination with any font editor […]I am not sure if everyone on TD is familiar with this functionality. The subsetting means that a font’s character set does not have to match the OpenType Layout features file: the features are automatically subsetted based on the characters available in the font. On the Glyphs website one can read:
‘Import and export OpenType Layout features files. During import, OTMaster compiles these features files to produce binary OpenType Layout tables. OTMaster contains a modified version of Adobe’s Hatch Open Type tool. What’s best: the font’s character set does not have to match the characters listed in the OpenType Layout features file! OTMaster automatically subsets the features based on the available glyphs in the font. One can import and export AFDKO feature files for GPOS, GSUB, GDEF, and BASE. This makes OTMaster a great tool for updating and standardizing fonts. The subsetting of OpenType Layout features can be used in a workflow based on Glyphs or any other OpenType font editor. E.g., import the subsetted feature file in Glyphs with a Replace Feature parameter.’
A few years ago Adam Twardoch successfully tested the use of subsetted features files –exported from OTM– with Fontographer 5. Of course, it also works in combination with FontLab 7.3 -
I'm curious. Some years back, there was talk about including a new and improved version of KernMaster into OTMaster. Has that happened, or has that idea been scrapped?
0 -
Some years back, there was talk about including a new and improved version of KernMaster into OTMaster.The successor of KernMaster, which runs under macOS, Windows, and Linux, is GPOSMaster. It is almost ready for release (scheduled for the fall): some rough edges still have to be removed, however. The algorithm is basically the same as in KM, but instead of .be files, it works with OpenType fonts and features files.
We now consider the option to define the ‘kernstrength’ per pair (stored then as a comment in the features file). Just like OTM, GPOSMaster subsets the GPOS, so a ‘base’ features file can be used.2
Categories
- All Categories
- 46 Introductions
- 3.8K Typeface Design
- 476 Type Design Critiques
- 555 Type Design Software
- 1.1K Type Design Technique & Theory
- 640 Type Business
- 831 Font Technology
- 29 Punchcutting
- 508 Typography
- 120 Type Education
- 313 Type History
- 75 Type Resources
- 109 Lettering and Calligraphy
- 30 Lettering Critiques
- 79 Lettering Technique & Theory
- 533 Announcements
- 86 Events
- 110 Job Postings
- 167 Type Releases
- 169 Miscellaneous News
- 274 About TypeDrawers
- 53 TypeDrawers Announcements
- 119 Suggestions and Bug Reports