FontForge

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Editing a glyph.

FontForge is a free open source font editor developed by a team of programmers in C, and first published on 2004-04-01. It has numerous features which allow the user to create and modify fonts in various formats. The program is available for Linux, Macintosh, and Windows.

Personal

I found FontForge while looking for a replacement of Type Light after I discovered that the new version I downloaded had removed the ability to import vector graphics. After finding the program to be superior in every way, I began using it exclusively. I've used it exclusively to make the Controller Font series.

Review

Good

  • FontForge allows for importing SVG vectors, so you can use your favorite vector program to create glyphs.
  • The program has an automatic hinting feature which makes your glyphs look good at low DPI without the hassle of having to do it yourself.
  • A wide variety of font formats are supported including TTF, OTF, Post Script, SVG, Web Open Font, bitmap fonts, and several others.

Bad

  • It still lacks color font support.
  • I don't find the internal vector editor to be very useful. However, since it can import from SVG, simply use your favorite editor and import.

Ugly

  • The dialogs are terrible in Windows. Open doesn't remember where you open or save files, and doesn't even show you drives beyond C:. You have to manually type in the path to alternate drives. None of them remember their size or position or let you resize the file list window. The Import dialog's default size is too small to show the scrollbar.

Links

Link-Wikipedia.png  Link-Official.png