I recently tried to export UFO from a .glyph file and open it with another font editor.
And something look non-logical for me :
Glyph Color Labels is a feature exclusive to GlyphsApp and the way other text editors manage Color Labels is equivalent to Layer Color Label in GlyphsApp.
Actually when converting to .UFO, color labels used are Glyph Color Labels.
Therefore, it would be more logical to use Layer Color Labels.
I think it could be great to add a setting in Glyph Preferences to let user decide default Color Label attribution. (From Glyph Color to Layer Color by default)
I think the glyph colors are more widely used, so it makes more sense to use them by default. So you like to have the layer colors in the .ufo? What about the glyph colors?
I’m agree, Glyph Colors are more used than Layer Colors, but I pretty sure it’s because most user don’t even know that is possible to set Layer Color.
Glyph Colors are useful to mark glyph at project level, when working with many masters. But to mark glyph at master level, Layer Colors is the solution.
Thereby, since an .ufo is a master, it makes more sense to use the labels used at the master level than those at the project level.
An solution could be to use in priority Layer Color if set, otherwise use Glyph Color when converting to .ufo
I’m sure if Layer Color was the default option, it would be most used. After collaborating with many type designers, the majority didn’t know Layer Colors and/or how to set them.
Personally, I find Layer Colors much more useful than Glyph Colors to organise and track changes in a project.
Adding an option in Glyphs Preferences to be able to set Layer Color by default, could be in my opinion, a great thing.
Can you explain what you need the .ufos for. To improve the .ufo export, it is useful to know that people like to do with them (e.g. if round-tripping is required or not).
For now I don’t really need the .ufos but in future, I will probably have to work with designers ho use other font editor.
Layer Color Labels is a feature essential in my workflow. I use them to track file changes and to keep my collaborator aware of the progress of a project. I have developed a lot of plugin/script dedicated to the management of Layer Color Labels, and it will be a big waste if I lose all this information when I convert file to .ufos.
The layer color info is not lost. It will be written to the “lib” under the key com.schriftgestaltung.Glyphs.ColorIndexLayer. So, in the event that you need it, you could have a small script that read that key and restores the color.