Comparison of font editors
This is a technical feature comparison of font editors.
General
[edit]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 | August 24, 2012 | Proprietary or open source | ||
| 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 | January 25, 1999 | 15.0.0.306 | October 14, 2024 | Proprietary |
| FontDraw | Alexander Kirichenko | April 25, 2022 | 1.0 | April 25, 2022 | Proprietary |
| FontForge | George Williams | 20230101 | January 1, 2023 | GPL3 | |
| FontLab | Yuri Yarmola | 1993 | 8.4.2.8950 | September 25, 2024 | 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 | 3.2 | June 16, 2023 | 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
[edit]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 | 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
[edit]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
[edit]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
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Create and Edit Fonts in Linux with BirdFont". 25 January 2016.
- ^ a b c DTL FontTools - Downloads. Retrieved 2016-08-31.
- ^ "Tech in Asia - Connecting Asia's startup ecosystem".
- ^ "FontCreator Comparison Chart". Retrieved 2017-06-26.
- ^ "FontCreator – Features and Benefits". High-Logic B.V. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
Create and edit scalable color fonts (supporting COLR, CPAL, and SVG tables)
- ^ "Color font COLR/CPAL #677". GitHub. 2013-08-24. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
- ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". Retrieved 2022-05-06.
- ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". Retrieved 2022-05-06.
- ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". Retrieved 2022-05-06.
- ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". Retrieved 2022-05-06.
- ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". Retrieved 2022-05-06.
- ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". Retrieved 2022-05-06.
- ^ "FontForge Scripting Tutorial". Retrieved 2016-08-31.
- ^ "Color Font Formats". Fontlab Ltd. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
FontLab will export all four formats
- ^ "Features". Glyphs GmbH. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
Or tap into the possibilities of color font formats: SVG, CPAL/COLR, sbix and classic layer fonts.
- ^ "Cmap - Character to Glyph Index Mapping Table (OpenType 1.9) - Typography". Microsoft. 10 January 2023.
External links
[edit]- Create your own font with these 14 best tools. Retrieved 2016-08-31.
- 5 best font editors. Retrieved 2016-08-31.
