Issue with OpenType Features with Variable Font on InDesign

andreistyping · May 22, 2024, 9:37am

Hi everyone,

I couldn’t find an answer to this bug in the forum, so I apologize if it has already been reported.

I’m encountering an issue and could use some help. I’m exporting a variable font from Glyphs, and while it works perfectly in FontGoggles and Font Gauntlet, I’m having trouble in Adobe InDesign.

Here’s the problem: I’m working on a variable font and when I use it on InDesign, the OpenType quick access panel doesn’t show up, even though the features are there in the font. However, if I export the same font as an OTF file, everything works as expected and the OpenType features are accessible in InDesign.

I’ve attached two screenshots:

One showing the issue in InDesign with the variable font.
Another showing the OTF font working fine in InDesign.

Am I exporting the variable font correctly from Glyphs, or is this an InDesign bug? Any insights or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

SCarewe · May 22, 2024, 9:44am

Are you sure you are testing the latest variable font export? This should work fine in InDesign.

Have you read this? Tester vos polices avec les applis Adobe | Glyphs

andreistyping · May 22, 2024, 9:58am

Hi,

Thanks for the quick response!

Yes, I am testing the latest export of the variable font. I’ve re-exported and reinstalled the font several times to ensure I’m using the most recent version, but the issue persists.

Also, I’m using the latest versions of both Glyphs and InDesign. I’ve also tried exporting the font to both the InDesign fonts folder and my computer’s fonts folder separately, in case the issue was related to the installation location, but the problem remains the same.

Any additional advice or troubleshooting steps would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks for your help.

SCarewe · May 22, 2024, 11:39am

Odd. If you want, you can send me the file in a private message and I can test it with my InDesign version. Currently, I can’t think of why your font wouldn’t work.

SCarewe · May 22, 2024, 12:48pm

Thanks for the file. It looks like this is simply not implemented in InDesign for variable font. It works when selecting only one character at a time:

In order to apply a feature to a selection of text, you’ll need to us the Character panel: Character > (menu at the top right) OpenType > Stylistic Sets

SCarewe · May 22, 2024, 2:23pm

A follow-up. With variable fonts I have produced, I also get “OT features are not applicable” when selecting multiple characters.

However, with Minion Variable, it works:

Does anybody know what is different? Fontbakery has never complained about anything.

mekkablue · May 22, 2024, 8:39pm

One thing I know about the blue ribbon is that it is only available in the classic Adobe composer. Not in the world-ready composer.