well. i think that is great idea to work with DTL FontMaster!!!

FontLab - customer service???



David Hamuel

>FontLab - customer service??

What do you mean?

Best regards,
Yuri Yarmola
yar[at]fontlab[dot]com

David: You got busted!! ;)

Haleluja!!! there's a sign!!!

Mr. Yarmola,

As a customer who owns a legal software - FontLab, i think that i deserve the benefits as a customer.

i don't think that i need to wait over a month to update my FL4.5. let's say, even i sent an email to the wrong person. at least - i deserve an email, an answer, something like: "sorry. i'm not the right person. you need to contact....you need to do....". so i'll be happy. and my clients too.

but to wait over a month!!! why???

so - if i'm not happy. why to work with FL?



David Hamuel

Because the initial question of Daniel is still unanswered, I will give some first-hand info here.

Although the demo splash screens of both Bezier- and IkarusMaster in the light edition may cause some confusion (we will change this in the coming update), the functionality of the editors is only limited concerning the numbers of glyphs (256 maximum). All the other functionality is the same as in the full version. With the light version of DataMaster PostScript Type 1 fonts for Mac OS and Windows can be generated.

Although FM has been developed for extensive font production, it is actually quite easy to handle, although the first impression might perhaps be different. For full control over the functionality the learning curve might be steeper though, but it is worth the effort to learn the structure of the supporting files, like for instance the Character Layout files or the files that control the generation of the composites.

A short 'quick start manual':
To be able to open a font in Bezier- or IkarusMaster, it must be converted with DataMaster first into a BE or IK file. To test the modules, it is also possible to open a font from the FM Demo font folder, which the installer places in the FM (Light) folder (on the Mac by default in the Applications [Mac OS 9] directory). To work on the glyphs you need BezierMaster for the BE format or IkarusMaster for the IK format. When you open a font file in for instance BezierMaster, the first thing you will see is an overview of all the glyphs on the left from where glyphs can be opened, deleted or added. This will be quite unfamiliar for those who are used to Fontographer or FontLab, especially because you need to understand the way the database numbers work. As an alternative you can use the Font Administration window, from where you can work more or less the same way as in most other editors. In the Font Administration tool characters can be opened, copied and pasted using code pages, character numbers or Unicode numbers. The available batch functionality in the Font Administration tool is quite helpful. Changes in the Font Administration window are automatically saved.

You will notice that the available functionality differs when a Character Edit window is opened. You can switch between the glyph list on the left and the character window to see that for instance the Metrics Editor and Metrics Table are available when the glyph list is selected and specific tools for the contour editing will come available in case the Character Edit window is selected. In the Metrics Editor you can type the standard characters and use the character numbers to select all the glyphs from the database. To generate kerning you need to select a .afm or .fea file first. If you don't have such a file already you can generate an empty text file using a text editor, which you can give for instance the same name as your database. To change the appearance of the editors and for instance the behavior of the cursor, you can alter the settings in the Config menu which is available when the Character Edit window has been selected.

Generating a font is quite simple: just select the database in DataMaster and select the output format. The naming of the font is taken from the name of the database. Info for the auto-hinting is taken partly from the Font Header, which can be altered in both editors. If you want to be in full control, you have the push the 'Advanced' button.

David - something must have gone wrong. Pyrus support is legendary.

hhp

David,

I don't actually want to do technical and administrative support on this forum, but in your case it looks that something was just wrong. It usually takes about 24 hours to process any request by our sales department. Please, fill an update request form one more time and contact me directly if it will not work.

We decided to not publish freely downloadable 4.5->4.6 update because we are releasing it for free and we don't want to give this update (which is very serious) to non-legal users of FontLab. That's why you have to pass trough this upgrade process. 4.6.1 update which we plan to release soon will be available as simple download and will fix few problems in 4.6.

I will say it again: if you contact us and get no reply in 48 hours then it means that there is a problem in communication. Just post your question again to support@fontlab.com.

And you always have a backup support system: http://groups.msn.com/fontlab. All messages posted to that forum go to my mailbox immediately. Sometimes you will get faster answer from other FontLab users who are there.

Best regards,
yar[at]fontlab[dot]com

Yuri,

thank you.



David Hamuel

Thanks a lot Frank,

I have downloaded the manual now and it sounds very interesting. If I have enough time i will have a closer look at fontmaster.
I think its a great idea to publish a limited free version, especially for people who are new in typedesign. So you can get started and if you get more professionell you buy the full version. so i thougt when i bought TypeTool.

thanks again!

So, are there other FontMaster users who can weigh in here?