Below the menu bar, a status bar shows data relevant to what you’re doing in the main window. From left to right, the default status bar shows:
· The glyph’s sequential number in the order created in the font.
· Its Unicode number, followed by the character itself, if printable.
· Case (upper, lower, figure, or other).
· Other details including its point size and ppem size, whether grid fitting is on and—if so—whether pixels are turned on and the units used (if grid fitting or pixels or both turned on, it will be device units, otherwise font units).
Below the status bar, a string of standard characters plus sample text give a visual reference for the overall look of the font. The first part of this string displays the current glyph between a couple of characters typical for a particular character group. The remaining portion is extra text you can customize at any time (see “Setting Preferences”).
A single glyph dominates the window. You do visual hinting on this glyph. Exactly how this glyph appears depends on the options you have set (see “Setting Options Useful for Hinting”).
At the bottom of the window, the size run shows the same character in ascending sizes (from left to right). The numbers below correspond to the point size of the character above. You set the range of sizes displayed in the size run (see “Setting Preferences”). Clicking any size, whether a glyph or a point size, changes the point size of the glyph accordingly. If you need more space on the screen to display the glyph, you can hide the size run using commands or the Size Run tool:
When you compile your work, Visual TrueType updates the sample text, the single glyph, and the size run to reflect the hints you’ve added since you last compiled. At a glance, you can see how the glyph looks at various sizes. If a particular size needs more adjustment, you can switch to that size and continue hinting.
The main window includes a toolbar, status bar, sample text, glyph, and size run.
To show or hide the sample text
1. On the Display menu, select the General Options submenu.
2. Click Show Text String.
OR
1. On the Display menu, click Options.
2. Click Show Text String.
3. Click Set.
OR
1.
Click the Size Run tool (or press F11) repeatedly until your desired combination of
sample text and size run appear.
To show or hide the size run
1. On the Display menu, select the General Options submenu.
2. Click Show Size Run.
OR
1. On the Display menu, click Options.
2. Set the Show Size Run option.
3. Click OK.
OR
1.
Click the Size Run tool (or press F11) repeatedly until your desired
combination of sample text and size run appear.