Assigning a Private Use Area to existing glyph?

Glyphs
1

I think a good way to include ornaments into a webfont could be to use the Private Use Area. This means it will be accessible on the web until OT-features are supported.

Is there a way to assign a Private Use Area number to an already named glyph, A.ornm for instance?

2
This wouldn’t be a good idea. Either use a proper name and a feature to access the glyph or PUA code.

But you can still do it. Check “Don’t use nice names” in Font Info > Other Settings. Assign the unicodes and disable the option again.

3

Why would it not be a good idea? I can’t see any negative effects it may have, but I may be missing something.

Here is how I see it:

  1. If the browser support OT-feature it will work (since there is an OT-feature in the font).

  2. If the browser doesn’t support OT-features, people can use unicode to enter the glyphs.

As far as I am concerned this must be the ultimate solution. The A.ornm has nothing to do with the glyph A. It could be called anything, I just named it like that in order to make the OT-feature in Glyphs work.

4

  1. If the browser does not support web fonts?

  2. If the reader uses something like Instapaper?

  3. If the reader uses copy & paste?

5

There is a rule that you should not use encoded glyphs in OpenType features. There are some exemptions but this seems not right.
The ornm feature should not use letters as base characters. Because it will look like and letter in all kinds of places (screen readers, PDF…). Whats wrong with the PUA for ornaments?

6

The ornm feature should not use letters as base characters

Hrm… but that is how Glyphs is handling the Ornament feature… A.ornm, B.ornm.

But you are right, perhaps it’s better to just name them with PUA:

A follow up question? If I change the glyphs name, from A.ornm to uniE000 will Glyphs keep all kerning, kerning classes, features and everything else related to that glyph?

7

3. If the browser does not support web fonts?

Then it doesn’t matter at all :slight_smile:

4. If the reader uses something like Instapaper?

Not with this font, trust me.

5. If the reader uses copy & paste?

Yes, in those scenarios it would make sense to just use the PUA, since it does not get copied. But this is highly unlikes with this font, as it’s not a font made for reading text, it’s more a decorative, almost illustration font.

8
It does. The user of the browser will see some stray "A"s on the website. this is mostly not for the maker of the website to decide. So you need to find a solution that works always...
9

It does. The user of the browser will see some stray "A"s on the website.

Ah, yes. :slight_smile: