Feature request: Auto-generate separators

Glyphs
1

For several of my type projects, I’ve received requests to add some of the more obscure space-like characters. It would be great if these could be auto-generated from a list in the «Separators» category.

Most of these characters are empty and have well-defined advance widths, so they should be easy to auto-generate. For the less strictly defined ones (like HAIR SPACE), you could at least choose a sensible value as a starting point. It would be much preferable to having to dig up the unicodes and definitions each time I make a new typeface.

1 Like
2

Can you post a list and the definition of the widths?

3

I just used this list, but I don’t know whether it’s comprehensive or correct:

http://jkorpela.fi/chars/spaces.html

4

This is the list of space characters I use in my fonts:
emspace
enspace
figurespace
fourperemspace
hairspace
punctuationspace
sixperemspace
space
nbspace
thinspace
threeperemspace
zerowidthspace

I decided upon which to use based on my experience of practical need in a US commercial type shop. I typically add them using a Custom Filter List.

2 Likes
6

Oh hey! Stealth implementation! :grimacing: Thanks!

I’m assuming I don’t need /space-han unless I have CJK coverage?

7

Yes, look in UnicodeChecker.

8

I tried that now. Took me a while to find the glyph there (why is there no unicode number entry?!). It’s apparently called IDEOGRAPHIC SPACE. How is that supposed to tell me whether the glyph is generally necessary or not?

(Also, your yes is ambiguous. Yes, you do, or yes, you assume correctly?)

9

BTW, shouldn’t /figurespace be generated with the width of /zero.tf rather than /zero, if available?

10

You are right. I fixed it.

11

There is, in the top left of the window. You can switch between octal, decimal and hex.

Yes, you assume correctly.