FontForge (http://fontforge.sourceforge.net/) is a free font editor that is quite useful. However, it’s been developed for Unix and hence non-trivial to run under Windows. But if you feel technically inclined, you should give it a try.

how cheap is cheap?

You don’t need a font editor to edit keyboard layouts, you need a keyboard layout editor. Hacking font encodings to access glyphs from a keyboard is a really bad idea.

Cheap? How about under $99. I know TypeTool is available for that price. I guess I was looking for something cheaper until I purchase Fontographer or Fontlab studio, or one of the DTL products.

i bought a version of the old Macromedia Fontographer on ebay for ~$70. That should work for what you want to do. (but i don’t see any copies on ebay at the moment...) If you will only be working with TTF fonts, you can check out Font Creator from www.high-logic.com.

TypeTool 2.0 is available from Fontlab Ltd. at US$99 (http://www.fontlab.com/typetool/ ).

An older version, TypeTool 1.3, was given away with some computer magazines across Europe e.g. Easy PC (UK, issue 20/2004), Computer Arts Projects (UK, issue 57/2004), Computer Arts (UK, issue 95, April 2004), Computer Arts (France, issue 74, January 2005), Computer Magazine (Italy, issue 96, February 2005), Il mio computer (Italy, issue 120, June 2005). If you can find any of these issues, you can get TypeTool 1.3 with them and then upgrade to TypeTool 2.0 at US$39.95.

TypeTool for Windows supports PC Type 1 (.pfb) and PC TrueType / OpenType TT (.ttf) fonts. TypeTool for Mac also supports Mac Type 1 (LWFN/FFIL) and Mac TrueType fonts.

Font Creator 5.0 from http://www.high-logic.com/fontcreator.html is available at US$65 (Home Edition) and US$99 (Pro Edition). It supports PC TrueType (.ttf) fonts and is able to open but not generate OpenType PS (.otf) fonts.

FontForge (http://fontforge.sf.net ) is the cheapest (free) and supports practically all major font formats but is rather awkward to use. I believe that it requires more knowledge of font format specifics than the two above.

Regards,
Adam Twardoch
Fontlab Ltd.

Thanks to all for the help. This ebay item might be of interest to someone looking for old or obscure utilities.

Adam,

Any news on TypeTool 3.0? :-)

TypeTool is basically a stripped-down version of FontLab 4.6. This is a good thing because skills aquired in TypeTool will mostly apply if you move to FontLab later. FontLab has many features that or only used by a handful of users, so for a novice user it’s actually good to have a UI that’s focused on building basic, functional fonts.

Any news on TypeTool 3.0? :-)

I assume TypeTool 3 would be to FL 5 what TypeTool 2 is to FL 4.6.

> I assume TypeTool 3 would be to FL 5
> what TypeTool 2 is to FL 4.6.

Yes, sort of. We’re working on it. The splash screen is ready :)

A.

Found the magazine with unopened CD on eBay. With any luck I’ll be rolling soon after I purchase the upgrade.

Why not try FontMasters from DTL?

It is Free and its got a unique (Read, difficult to understand) interface, but it is free and I’ve used it on the mac side and hey its legacy goes back to Ikarus.

Rodrigue

The Truth shall set you free

The Ikarus V4 system represents the high end of the font production tools. It is still under development at URW++ and also available for Mac OS X / X11. The system contains a couple of graphical editors, but most modules work via the command line or via command files. The syntax used for the command files is fairly simple.

A lot of the batch functionality found in the Ikarus V4 system has been ported to DTL FontMaster and is much more user friendly. For several batch functions the same Ikarus command language can be used. There is no external scripting module necessary in FM for things like the exchange of data between multiple glyph databases, placing of accents, replacement of composites, consistency checking, improving, et cetera. For many of these functions also command files can be used. The separation of the glyph data at one hand and the character naming, Unicode numbering, metrics and naming information at the other hand, which finds its origin in the Ikarus system, is a necessity for handling and controlling font data on a professional level. OpenType layout features can be easily generated for multiple fonts at once by simply selecting a Features file.

In the new FM 2.5 version font importing and exporting can be done now directly in the Bezier and Ikarus editors. The drawing capabilities have been enhanced and more batch functionality has been added. For those who can manage without an updated manual and have no problem with the AGL 1.2 compatible Character Layout files, a pre-release version of DTL FontMaster 2.5 Light can be downloaded from http://www.fontmaster.nl/Temporary/FM2.5_Light_PR.html