When trying to create an “n” from two components - stem and shoulder - the overall width of the “n” is inherited from the stem component and unless I disable automatic alignment, there is no way to adjust LSB/RSB.
Also, when trying to use “Make first” command, the component it is being applied to just disappears.
(don’t get me wrong, i don’t need to make the shoulder “first” 
- it’s just an example to show how it works)
It seems like you are using anchors to attach the arch to the stem. When combining components with anchors, the anchored component (the arch in your case) does not contribute to the width, LSB, or RSB.
i wonder why… what’s the point in using anchors in components then? anyway, there is a bypass i guess - disabling auto alignment for the stem, the anchors still work but i can adjust RSB. I didn’t use anchors for components when working in G2 so I’m guessing it works the same way there…
The bug with “make first” still stands though.
Also, when trying to copy a path from G3 to G2 (a simple one, no G3 features) - nothing is being pasted in G2. When trying to copy paste glyphs with components from G3 to G2 - G2 crashes. 
Anchors are used mostly for marks, like here:
(from Advanced diacritics: narrow marks | Glyphs)
In that case, the mark should not change the glyph-box.
Maybe “enter” and “exit” anchors can be used here (as described in the Glyphs manual in section 3.4.6 Cursive Attachment Anchors).
true but not quite. they are widely used for components too
anyway, i’ve figured how to avoid the metrics issue.
I’ll take a look! Thanks!
That I can believe you; my current project has more _part glyphs than normal glyphs 
Still, combining marks are the prime shapes which appear multiple times within the same font, so Glyphs is optimizing for that use-case. (For example, my use of the origin anchor for a non-mark glyph confuses Glyphs.)
I just tested it and yes, using exit and entry anchors works.
Here is my test file: Test.glyphs (6.5 KB)
This is excellent, Florian! Thanks a mil!
And I fixed ‘Make First’.
Thank you, Georg!
