is an update for windows nearby?

is an update for windows nearby?

Windows already has an intel-native version of Fontlab.

But the current Windows version does not implement the AFDKO 2.5 code yet, which means that the Win and Mac versions will now be incompatible.

John,

as I'm sure you remember, that's always been the case. We never released FontLab 3 or 4 or FontLab Studio 5 for both platforms at the same time. We just don't have the resources to do that under the current codebase (fortunately, this will likely change with the new codebase that we're developing).

Best,
Adam

Adam, I was responding to James' comment, which seemed to suggest that an update to the Windows version wasn't necessary, since it is already Intel-native. I was pointing out that the updates in the Mac version involve more than just making it Intel-native. Yes, the Windows and Mac versions have always been incompatible in various, mostly small ways, but I think changing the ADKFO code base is a different order of incompatibility, because it makes .vfb sources with .fea code in them non-cross-platform compatible.

Not an issue for me, of course, since I still use VOLT for all OTL work. :)

I think the main advantage of the Mac version (to compare with the Win one) is that it doesn't have 6 400 glyphs limit anymore. This discriminates users of the Win version even more.

Johnych

It all depends on your needs. I almost never need more than 6,400 glyphs. But I always have a need to kern triplets, or come up with work-arounds. We now run a text-processing routine on incoming manuscripts to kern triplets, using a hard kern in InDesign. Couple examples: f + space + J/(plus any letter with an ascender on the left) period/comma + space + a/c/d/e/etc.

Etc. Could well use some of the other ADKFO 2.5 tools as well. As far as supporting ADKFO 2.5 goes, AFAIK & IIRC, FL promised it for Windows by December 2010.

Charles,

how do you implement the triplet kerning in the final font files? Contextual positioning in the "kern" feature?

A.

Adam, I was assuming that when FL supported AFDKO 2.5, it would allow what Thomas was speaking of in

http://typophile.com/node/43708

Right now, it is a script run in the text file, so it isn't in the font. We really just have two: one for fonts with a swoopy "f", one for fonts without. Just generalized kern vaules, will be much better when we can get it in the fonts. We also take care of some roman/italic "interchanges" with the script, and forbid line breaks for numerous constructions (8:00 P.M., F. M. Murphy, etc. etc.).