While working in variable font, when I go to the edit mode, in the lower part of the screen I have the preview thingy. There I have the option to show the current master, or a specific master, or down at the very bottom I have the “show all instances” options.
The option I want will be “ShowActiveInstances”, so I can then choose the instances I want and hide the ones I dont want by activating ot deactivaing them.
The “show all instances” is good for small families, but its not good when you have 45 instances or more in a multi-axis family. For example, at some point in the design process I want to see all the “Condensed” masters only despite the weight, while at another point I will want to see all the “Heavy” masters despite the width, and so on… do you get the idea?
Currently there is no easy way to do so… AFAIK… if there is another easy way to preview cherry-picked instances that I’m not aware of, a plugin or whatever, please let me know. Thanks!!!
Glyphs 2 would look at the export state of the instances for the show all instances. But that was anointing to switch the exports on and of between preview and export.
You can install my scripts collection from Window → Plugin Manger → Scripts → Florian Pircher’s Scripts. It has three scripts in the Preview group:
Show All Instances shows all instances when “Show All Instances” is selected in the preview in Edit View and in the Preview Panel.
Show Active Instances Only shows only active instances when “Show All Instances” is selected in the preview in Edit View and in the Preview Panel. Set the active state of an instance in File → Font Info… → Exports.
Show No Instances hides all instances when “Show All Instances” is selected in the preview in Edit View and in the Preview Panel.
Georg, yes activatin on/off by hand is a PITA too.
I have scripted it for my current project.
If someone want to edit them for their own projects, scripts are here