On Fri, 20 Feb 2009 11:57:22 -0700, Hans Hagen <pra...@wxs.nl> wrote:
Khaled Hosny wrote:
Currently, when defining a font feature one has to enable all features
by hand which is IMHO not very user friendly as it implies prior
knowledge about OpenType font features and the meaning of each one, not
every Arabic user, for example, knows what does 'init', 'medi, etc.
ligatures mean yet to know that he must enable them to get proper font
rendering. I think some font features should be on by default, so that
\definefontfeature[script=arabic] should be enough to get an Arabic font
rendered correctly with the default features as its designer intended
(designers assume that certain will be on while other are off by
default, like liga vs. dlig), and if some one wants to disable a certain
default feature he can turn it off, not the reverse.
Hmm, not sure if this is a good idea, see below.
Microsoft's OpenType features list page
(http://www.microsoft.com/typography/otspec/features_ae.htm) gives a "UI
suggestion" for each feature noting if it should be on by default, I
think those are what most OpenType enable by default (at least the ones
I tested).
i've been thinking of a features=default option (as there is already
features=yes|no)
Maybe we can have a features=ms_arabic
instead of defaulting to MS' recommendation. So in the final high-end user
interface we can have keys like
featureset=ms_arabic
But I agree with Hans that this is a matter that needs more thought. For
example, Traditional Arabic mixes OpenType and older M$ specs in
Uniscribe, so just plugging in the default features that M$ suggests is
not sufficient for, eg, vowel function in Tr Ar. Also, what about Arabic
fonts on the mac, so they follow the same specs as M$?
We've still got lots to do before settling on a very high-end interface so
there is time to think about this some more...
Best wishes
Idris
--
Professor Idris Samawi Hamid, Editor-in-Chief
International Journal of Shi`i Studies
Department of Philosophy
Colorado State University
Fort Collins, CO 80523
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