Correctly Saving + Applying edits to a TTF

[azo]

Hi,

I recently downloaded the Free version of TypeLight 3.2.

I wish to make changes to one letter (lower case L) in the Tahoma font, using Windows Vista. But it appears my changes are not being saved or applied.

I am very new to font editing, so am probably missing something out. Here is my process:

- Click + drag Tahoma TTF file from C/Windows/Fonts to another folder (as recommended in the User Manual) - now there is a copy in the new location
- Open TypeLight, and open the copied TTF file
- Select the lower case L (glyph 79) from the free-floating Mapping toolbar
- Click 'edit'
- Make changes
- Click 'map' - the changes now appear on the image of the lower case letter L in the Mapping toolbar

- When I try to save, I am given the option of 'Save As', creating a new TTF file - which I do.
- When I go to close the program, I am prompted to 'Save before closing' - I click Yes
- This saves a 'glyph data' file (.gfs)
- When viewing file in its parent folder, its File Type is listed as a Microsoft Office Groove Remote File

- When re-opening the TTF file in TypeLight, the changes are maintained.
- However, when opening it with Windows Font Viewer, there is no change.
- If I right-click the TTF file in its parent folder, to access Properties, in the Details tab, the file still has the Title of Tahoma, and it appears I cannot change this.

- When trying to install this font (by right-clicking & selecting Install), a dialogue box appears: "The 'Tahoma' font is already installed. Do you want to replace it?"
- I click Yes

In MS Word, the un-altered Tahoma font is availabe, and my edited font is not.

How do I correctly go from editing the character, to using the altered Tahoma font in MS Word?

Much thanks in advance,
Azo

[Allan Murray]

Note from the manual: " If you are editing an installed font, then you will need to uninstall the original or give the new
font a different font family
name before you can install the new font."

You will find, that if you uninstall the original font first (rather that relying on the operating system to "replace it") then it will work. I cannot tell you why the 'replace font' does not always work. To unistall, go to the fonts folder and delete the font (and of course, always keep a copy of the original, unmodified font).

Tahoma is a core system font, so I would not recommend altering and replacing it (besides the fact that it is probably protected by licenses).

The better thing to do (if you want to retain an original font) is to rename the font, so that the new font will appear as a separate entry on the font selection menu:
- Go to font/names menu
- change the family name[1] and full name [4]
- press advanced button
- change or delete (the program will auto-fill any required fields here): UniqueID [3] and PostScript name [6]
- delete the following if they are present: name fields [16] to [18] and name fields [20] to [22]
- remove other language entries or set them to (copy) US English.

Note that another potential issue that may occur when modifying an installed font is that there may be additional family members (eg a bold or italic version) that are installed as separate fonts. So your modification will not be visible when you make the font 'bold' in a document for example. In this situation you would have to apply your modification to all the family members (or uninstall the other family members - in which case you will get the operating system's faux 'bold' and 'italics').