I have noticed an issue in Glyphs App 4 when working with Path + Component glyphs.
When I enable “Disable automatic alignment” for a component, the setting does not appear to actually become active or work as expected. This worked correctly in Glyphs App 3.
I have also noticed that this issue seems to occur specifically with Path + Component glyphs, rather than glyphs that contain only components.
Because of this behavior, the spacing/positioning between components frequently changes unexpectedly. This is particularly problematic when working on Sinhala fonts, as the positioning and spacing of components are critical. Even when the component positions appear correct initially, they can change unexpectedly due to automatic alignment behavior.
Could you please clarify:
Is this a change in behavior or a known issue in Glyphs App 4?
Why does “Disable automatic alignment” not behave as it did in Glyphs App 3 for Path + Component glyphs?
Is the unexpected change in component spacing related to this issue?
Is there a recommended solution or workaround?
Is this expected to be fixed in a future Glyphs App 4 update?
I can provide screenshots, examples, or a sample Glyphs file if that would help you investigate the issue.
We have the auto-align issue on our list. Expect some updates in the coming days. Make sure to go to Glyphs > Settings > Updates, activate both checkboxes and press the Update button.
Thank you !. I previously used version 3. This works well in version 3. But after updating to Glyphs app 4, this issue came. Now I updated to 4.1.1 (4108). But the issue is still the same.
Hey! I’m still seeing what appears to be this issue in Glyphs 4.2, including in glyphs made entirely from components.
I teach type design and use components to introduce students to systematic/variable-font workflows, and several students are encountering the same behavior.
Disable Automatic Alignment is enabled at the document level. Newly added components appear gray, as though alignment is disabled, but adding one can still reposition existing components as if automatic alignment were active.
Interestingly, if I right-click the gray component, it shows that Automatic Alignment is in fact enabled.
I’ve attached a short screen recording showing the behavior. The file has automatic alignment disabled:
