How can I remove unnecessary nodes?

Glyphs
1

Over the last year I’ve been designing my own typefaces, but my main career is as a graphic designer and when creating identities I turn fonts to outlines and manipulate them in Adobe Illustrator.

On doing just that with my latest font, I see that there are unnecessary nodes included after ‘remove overlap’ has been used during export. These nodes are on straight lines and logically they should not appear.

Can you tell me how to avoid this please? Is it a glitch in the software, or do I have to create an export master which has these nodes removed before I export? If it is the latter, then I imagine that will create a lot of additional work fixing incompatibilities across the range of glyphs.

Thanks in advance,
Paulo

remove-overlap-error.png1254×600 7.47 KB

2

I fixed that already. It will be fine with the next version.

1 Like
3

Superb, thank you Georg :+1:

4

As a workaround in the meantime, you can use my LayerGeek plugin with cleanUpPaths. Insert it as a custom parameter in the instance.

1 Like
5

Hi again,

I’ve just updated to v2.2.2(826) and I am still getting unnecessary nodes when my exported font is converted to outlines in Illustrator.

Was the fix omitted from this version?

Thank you,
Paulo

6
  1. Install the LayerGeek plugin. (Find the link above.)
  2. Go to File > Font Info > Instances, pick your instance, add a Filter custom parameter with the Value: LayerGeek;cleanUpPaths

Try LayerGeek;cleanUpPaths;cleanUpPaths;cleanUpPaths if that doesn’t remove all unnecessary nodes.

1 Like
7

Thank you, I will try this, of course, but I would like clarification on the fix to Glyphs.app before I do.

8

The fix will roll into version 2.3.

2 Likes
9

Hi Rainer, does cleanUpPaths() do anything more then removing unnecessary points?

10

I believe it also removes

  • stray points,
  • duplicate nodes (zero-length segments),
  • a superfluous node on a straight segment,
  • superfluous handles on straight curve segment.

They all have in common that removing them does not change the shape.

11

Many Thanks! @mekkablue