Hi!
What is the most sensible way or a helpful tool to turn a narrow into a condesed?
My aim is to achieve the best possible “compression” (while retaining as many characteristics as possible, such as stem widths or arcs/curves) as a basis for aesthetic optimisation.
Thanks in advance!
- You are familiar with nudging (ctrl-opt-moving a node selection)?
- The RMX tools can help a lot, if you already have a MM setup.
I know about “nudging”, but it is “tedious” and does not help “in general”. Which of the RMX tools do you mean?
Type design is “tedious” by definition. 
RMX tools uses your masters to transform your outlines the way you want. Narrowing/widening while keeping your stroke value the same is one of the options. Note that when changing the width and keeping your strokes the same will change the overall color (=weight).
I know that it is complex ans tedious - and that is a good thing. I was just looking for a tool that would make the groundwork easier. The nitpicking then comes in the second step… (What’s the RMX tool I need? Tuner? Scaler?)
You know you can also nudge non-contiguous selections?
You can try to scale the glyphs with the Transform filter and then add some horizontal weight with the Offset Curve filter.
Sorry, I missed your answer or the hint … Unfortunately I really don’t know what it is or how it works!
You can nudge more than a single point at once. And they do not have to be next to each other on the outline.
As a first step, I recommend the RMX tools. You will still have to do a lot of manual shifting and nudging and correcting and cleaning. After a little while, you’ll get up to speed and I am pretty sure you won’t find it that tedious.