“Selected Glyphs”?

[ryanbugden]

Should “Selected Glyphs” be an option? Spacing changes currently apply to the whole UFO.

• This is because component references in a UFO can create an intricate web of dependencies, even with regard to spacing.
• Allowing Tracker to change a limited selection of glyphs is possible, but it has a lot more potential to be destructive, as component position correction will only happen if the component’s base glyph is amidst the glyphs in question.
• Also, the Space Center preview happens to the whole font, so it might give the wrong idea when you only intend to change a limited selection of glyphs.
• Let me know what you think—I might add this anyway.

[okay-type]

Yes, I do this kind of thing all the time. To loosen a lowercase. Tighten figures. Etc. Etc.

[typesupply]

Yes, please.

[ryanbugden]

How do you guys think the Space Center preview should be handled in this case? Remove all glyphs from Space Center if they are not going to be changed? Make a fancy custom preview? Keep it simple but potentially mislead?

[ryanbugden]

Looked into whether it's possible to only add tracking to some glyphs in Space Center. Looks like it might be possible if it's a custom Multiline View, but not so much with the main Space Center because it has no setter for GlyphRecords.

from mojo.UI import CurrentSpaceCenter

csc = CurrentSpaceCenter()
recs = csc.glyphRecords

new_recs = []
for gr in recs:
    if gr.glyph.name == "b":
        gr.xPlacement += 500
        gr.xAdvance  += 1000
    new_recs.append(gr)

# Can’t do this unless it's maybe a custom multi-line view
csc.glyphLineView.setGlyphRecords(new_recs)
csc.refreshGlyphLineView()
csc.updateGlyphLineView()

[typesupply]

In my case, I've always used scripts/tools that had no preview. I used to use the adjustMetrics extension but for the last few years I've been making ad hoc scripts. A preview might be nice but it's not totally necessary for my needs. But, my needs are not everyone's needs. :)

If you want to add a preview to the Tracker window, look at MerzCollectionView. You can do all sorts of stuff with that. @connordavenport has some experience with it and/or hit me up on Discord for info.

[connordavenport]

@ryanbugden I can send you some notes on the collection view, tldr; its the best.
also I think you can set records but its hard to access, I can find my code with that too.

[ryanbugden]

I'm confident I can do a lot of cool stuff with MerzCollectionView. I have a bit of experience with it on the tool @connordavenport and I are working on together.

I guess the original purpose of this tool was to be super super lightweight and use Space Center because it was already there. But I'll give this a try and see how it feels, thanks!

[connordavenport]

oh wait I think you can adjust the records without even resetting, I'm looking at this old code and Its just editing them directly

[connordavenport]

ah nvm its this:

from mojo.UI import CurrentSpaceCenter
csc = CurrentSpaceCenter()
recs = csc.glyphRecords
v = -20
new_recs = []
for i, gr in enumerate(recs):
    gr.xAdvance  += v
    if i != 0: 
        p = recs[i-1]
        p.xAdvance += v
csc.glyphLineView.refresh()

[ryanbugden]

Awesome, that should be what I needed, thanks @connordavenport!

[connordavenport]

also csc.glyphLineView.set(new_recs) should work btw