Typophile

Fontlab Help Needed: Invisible Font

Claes Källarsson

I've got a problem with an OTF font made in Fontlab (5.01) that just shows up invisible once I try and use it. Background info: I had the outlines for the font in Illustrator, which I saved as EPS and imported into Fontlab without any problems. In Fontlab (and the original outlines in Illustrator) the letters show up properly, and even after I export the font as an Opentype PS OTF font it'll render it visible in the standard Windows font preview window. But when I try and use it in Illustrator or Photoshop it shows up invisible. I've attached a couple of screenshots below, which show what it looks like after having been typed and is selected, and then when I move it it'll show the letters.. But if I drop it it's back to invisibility. I can't for the life of me figure out what's not working. I've tried reversing contours, checked for open connections, etc. and I come up empty.. I have the same Fontlab settings I've used successfully for everything else too so it can't be that.. So now I'm out of ideas and hoping someone else knows what this is caused by.

Have you generated/installed your font once as OpenType-TrueType and once as OpenType-PostScript (or the other way round)? Then you should try this:
Search your system partition for "fnt" -- if you use Windows, make sure your search includes hidden files!
You will find files named after a pattern like "AdobeFnt06.lst" or "AdobeFnt10.lst". Can be quite many files.
Delete them. (Just to be sure, restart.)

But I am not sure *if this* is your problem because you say that upon moving, glyphs do become visible ...

Have you tested your font in other applications than Adobe's?

hey, that worked like a charm! thanks!

and i did have it as a TTF font before, so that must've been it.

oh, and i tried it in a non-Adobe application (Flash) before i deleted the lst files and it worked there, so it was definitely the Adobe thing that messed it up.

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