On 11 March, we published FontLab 7.2.0.7649. Unfortunately, we discovered a problem in this version: when you open some fonts, FontLab sets the fill of the glyphs transparent. We’re now re-releasing version 7.2.0.7644 for both Mac and Windows. This is the same version as was available before 11 March. It does not have this problem, but does bring compatibility with macOS 12.3.
Note: If you open a font and all glyphs unintentionally have a transparent or colored fill, scroll down to the end of this text for simple instructions how to fix it.
Download and install FontLab 7.2.0.7644 on macOS
On macOS, this update brings compatibility with the newest macOS Monterey version 12.3. Apple released macOS 12.3 in March 2022, and this version of macOS broke compatibility with numerous existing apps from many vendors. This included all previous versions of FontLab 7.
Before you update macOS Monterey to 12.3, open FontLab and from the FontLab 7 menu choose Check for Updates. Download the FontLab 7 update, and follow the instructions to install it. Then run FontLab 7. If you have installed this new FontLab 7 update, and you then get a notification about FontLab 7.2.0.7650 being available, click Skip this Version, then go to Preferences › General and turn off Get beta versions.
If you have updated your macOS to 12.3 Monterey, and you try to run an older version of FontLab 7, FontLab will crash. If this happens, click the button below to download the FontLab 7 update, and install it.
This update contains two different editions of FontLab 7: for macOS 12.3 or newer, and for macOS 12.2 or older. Please install the edition suitable for your macOS version. To see which version of macOS you’re using, click the Apple menu and choose About your Mac.
After you download and double-click your DMG, choose the right installation procedure depending for your macOS version. See details below.
Install on macOS 12.2 Monterey or older
If you use macOS Monterey 12.2 or older, or macOS 11 Big Sur, 10.15 Catalina, 10.14 Mojave, 10.13 High Sierra or 10.12 Sierra:
Double-click the downloaded FontLab-7-Mac-Install-7644.dmg archive and accept the license
Double-click README and follow the included instructions: first double-click the bundled python‑2.7.18.pkg to install, then drag FontLab 7 to your /Applications folder.
Run FontLab 7.
When you see the update notification to build 7651, click Skip This Version.
Note: This edition requires that you install a separate version of Python 2.7, which is provided in the .dmg archive. When you install Python, you need to enter your administrator password.
Download and install FontLab 7.2.0.7644 on Windows
Click the buttons above to download the FontLab 7.2.0.7644 update appropriate for your Windows version (64-bit or 32-bit, if in doubt, use the 64-bit version).
Double-click the downloaded .exe file and install the app.
Run FontLab 7.
When you see the update notification to build 7651, click Skip This Version.
Fix the transparent fill problem
After you’ve installed FontLab 7.2.0.7644, if you open a font that unintentionally has transparent or colored fill applied to the glyphs:
Open the Color panel via View > Panels > Color.
In the Color panel, type black into the color name field (at the bottom).
In Font window, choose Edit > Select All.
In the Layers & Masters panel, choose your first master.
In the Color panel, click Apply.
Choose the next master and click Apply in the Color panel, repeat for all masters.
We have just released FontLab 7.2, a significant update for macOS & Windows, and the best font editor we’ve ever made!
FontLab 7.2 boasts 120 new or improved features: • New Rotate, Scale and Slant tools • Adaptive freeform grid with Suggest distance • Per-font rounded or fractional coordinates • Flexible dynamic instance and 30× faster interpolation • Powerful attached and variable components • Visual proofing and better editing of features • Microsoft VOLT integration • Font window filtering by color flag and glyph name suffix • Better UFO3 and .glyphs 2 and 3 interchange • 80 fixes.
FontLab 7.2 is free for existing FontLab 7 users, and $99 for FontLab VI users. If you already have FontLab 7, use Preferences › General › Check now to update.
If you don’t have FontLab 7 yet, get a fully-functional 30-day trial from our website!
FontLab 7 is a major upgrade to FontLab VI. FontLab VI was long in the making. We shipped the first public preview version in 2015, premiered the app in 2017, and we tirelessly kept making it better. You’ve seen some of these improvements in the free updates that we have published since the premiere. But we’ve also been working on a more comprehensive upgrade. So after a super-busy summer and autumn, we’re proud to present FontLab 7, the follow-up to FontLab VI!
Until December 22, 2019, you can buy FontLab 7 or upgrade from FontLab Studio 5, Fontographer or TypeTool 3 at a 25% discount. If you have FontLab VI, you can upgrade to 7 for just $99, and if you bought FontLab VI on August 1 or later, or if you have a full educational license for FontLab VI — the upgrade is free! See below for details.
[Edit: Updated on Match 20, 2020 with info about FontLab 7 and with videos and info about CrossOver 19] Apple released macOS 10.15 Catalina on October 7, 2019. This version of macOS only runs apps that are 64-bit, and removes the ability to run 32-bit Mac apps. This means that you cannot natively run our classic font apps on macOS Catalina: FontLab Studio 5, Fontographer 5, TypeTool 3 and BitFonter 3. In this blog post, we’re discussing options that you have if you’d like to use Catalina.
FontLab Studio 5, Fontographer 5, TypeTool 3 on macOS Catalina — important news
Our new apps (FontLab 7, FontLab VI, TransType 4, FontLab Pad) work just fine on Catalina — just remember: when you run them for the first time, Ctrl+click the app icon and choose Open, then confirm.
Also, all our apps work just fine on Windows, from Windows 7 (in some cases, even XP) all the way to Windows 10, and there is no sign of trouble in any near future.
Upgrade your classic font editor to FontLab 7
We’ve spent over five years developing our new professional font editor: FontLab 7. It combines the best of FontLab Studio 5 and Fontographer 5, and adds support for many new aspects of font technology that have appeared recently, including variable and color OpenType fonts. This is a major upgrade to FontLab VI that brings a total of six years of development, and has been “battle-proven” in countless projects since the release of VI in 2017. FontLab 7 is our modern 64-bit Retina-ready font editor.
If you’ve been hesitant about upgrading to FontLab 7 — do it now.
We’ve just published FontLab VI6.1.2, the 12th release since the initial version of our ultra bold font editor 12 months ago. We’d like to thank you all, type designers and font developers, students and pros, for the fantastic feedback we have received this year. FontLab VI is evolving thanks to you, and we have many great things to come in 2019!
The technical OpenType editor DTLOTMaster developed by Dutch Type Library (DTL) and URW Type Foundry is now available in version 7.9. The new version brings support for variable OpenType fonts, an all-new Proofing Tool for printing and creating PDF specimens, and many detailed improvements.
With OTMaster, you can inspect, troubleshoot and modify OpenType and TrueType fonts in a non-invasive way — in all their flavors, including variable fonts, color fonts, TTC collections, WOFF2 web fonts, and CID-keyed OTF fonts. You can view and change OpenType Layout features, edit low-level OpenType font tables, and fix bugs or problems. With OTMaster’s Glyph Editor, you can import a monochrome EPS or SVG drawing, ornament or logo, and add it as a new glyph or replace an existing glyph in a font.
Visit our DTL OTMaster web page for more info about the app, or buy or upgrade now in the FontLab store! The full license for macOS, Windows or Linux is US$228, upgrades from previous versions are US$57. We also offer an academic price at $114 (requires proof of your academic status, such as a student or staff ID card).
OTMaster is a perfect companion app for FontLab VI: draw, space, kern & hint in FontLab, test & tweak in OTMaster.
Although Fontlab Ltd. debuted the Photofont technology some 8 years ago, the typographic community did not show much interest for multi-color fonts or typography. In 2013, it changed. Actually, this started a few years ago with Apple introducing the color emoji font into iOS, and then Mac OS X 10.7. Now, all major industry players (Apple, Adobe, Mozilla, Google and Microsoft) have proposed their formats, which aim to extend the OpenType font format by the ability of including color glyph information. The proposals differ in many aspects. Below is a discussion of the proposals along with some personal comments.
This article is very technical. No completeness or correctness of the information presented below, and all views are personal.
The video tutorial by Adam Twardoch accompanies this article by providing a more practical take on color font creation issues.
