ygt 0.1.4

A graphical hint editor for TrueType fonts

Ygt

Ygt is a Python app for hinting TrueType fonts. It is built to be fast, flexible, and free:

• it will run equally well under Windows, Mac OS, and Linux;
• it emphasizes modern requirements for TrueType hinting while deemphasizing the obsolete;
• the most common commands use unmodified shortcut keys so you can work quickly with one hand on the keyboard and one on the mouse;
• it will read either a TrueType font or a UFO;
• it can save hints in an easily understood and edited YAML file,
• which can be compiled to a hinted font either from inside the program or from the command line,
• or it can save compiled hints to a UFO (from which fontmake can produce a hinted font)

Ygt is in an alpha state, with features yet to be added (especially auto-hinting). But it is already a workable program, which the developer has used to hint thousands of glyphs in several large fonts.

For the time being, Ygt must be launched from a command line. To install, make sure you are running Python 3.10.4 or later and type pip install ygt on the command line. Alternatively, download the files from GitHub, navigate to the directory with the file pyproject.toml, and type pip install . (don't forget the period!). Then type ygt on the command line to start the program.

For more information, see the documentation or watch a brief introductory video.

Changes

Version 0.1.24 (2023-4-19)

When we read a UFO, we do not rename glyphs. This prevents incompatibilities between in-memory font and font on disk, and it simplifies export. However, it may complicate shifting back and forth between UFO and YAML modes.

Ygt sometimes hung when summoning a Font View window for fonts read from UFO. This is now fixed.

Program now (partly) honors dark themes on various platforms.

Version 0.1.23 (2023-4-17)

changes three keywords in Ygt’s YAML-based hinting language: blackspace, whitespace, and grayspace become blackdist, whitedist, and graydist. If you have created a hinting file for earlier versions, run this sed script:

s/blackspace/blackdist/g
s/whitesapce/whitedist/g
s/grayspace/graydist/g

Among other changes intended to improve stability, this version consolidates various font-level edits in a “Font Info” dialog, summoned with Ctrl-I or Cmd-I, and honors “dark themes” on various platforms.