ScanFont 5 is released

Bob Evans14 November 2007 · 09:02

Just noticed this on Versiontracker and updated to it:

NEW! Version 5.0 (Nov 2007)
Support for grayscale and color — from simple black-and-white to 32-bit color with smooth transparency
Direct import of EPS graphics — assists you in turning your Adobe Illustrator drawings into a font
Export of .vfb format fonts — for use in any font editor by Fontlab Ltd.
Transformations and filters — from Pencil to Gaussian blur
Advanced image-split algorithms — from Table to Book Smart
Direct import of most image formats, including EPS, GIF, JPG, TIF, BMP, PNG and (on Mac OS X) PDF

twardoch14 November 2007 · 17:06

Indeed. ScanFont 5 works great with FontLab Studio 5.0.3/5.0.4, or TypeTool 3.0.0, and it's a really major upgrade for Windows (since ScanFont 4 only existed on the Mac).

SparkyType18 November 2007 · 04:20

The demo wouldn't talk to my FontLab Studio 5.0.4 install at all. Is that a restriction in the demo version?

ScanFont 3 allowed you to save out a working font file didn't it? Taking that feature out could be considered a bit of a downgrade.

yuri19 November 2007 · 09:05

Is it Windows or Mac problem? If it is on Windows, please, reboot, then run FLS, then run ScanFont 5 and try to export the font. Let me know if it works or not.

ScanFont can save VFB (format supported by FontLab Studio or TypeTool) if there is a problem with live communication. You can turn it on in Tools > Options > Outline font editor.

twardoch19 November 2007 · 13:06

SparkyType,

ScanFont 3 was $198. ScanFont 5 is $99 and it can plug into TypeTool 3 (also $99). So the bundle costs the same as ScanFont 5 alone (hence no downgrade at all), and TypeTool 3 is much more of a full-blown font editor than the crippled ScanFont 3 font editing part. Instead of TypeTool 3, you can use FontLab Studio 5.

Adam

twardoch19 November 2007 · 13:12

Also, for users who have problems running ScanFont together with FontLab Studio or TypeTool -- in ScanFont's preferences, in the Outline Font Editor section, choose "Export outline font into VFB file". You will then be able to save the ScanFont output into a .VFB file that you can open in FontLab Studio or TypeTool using conventional means (File / Open).

SparkyType19 November 2007 · 14:41

Hi Yuri

I had that problem with the Windows version. After rebooting and loading FontLab Studio first I still got the same error (something like 'Unable to connect to FontLab server').

Thanks for the .VFB exporting tip. I'll download the demo again and have another crack at it.

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