Language localization on Figma

Scripting
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1

Hello,
I’m trying to create a stylistic set that replaces Bulgarian letters for a client because language localization features don’t work on Figma.
However, I can’t figure out why the stylistic set I created works correctly in Adobe software but doesn’t work in Figma or Chrome.
Does anyone have any suggestions on what might be going wrong?

2

How are you testing your font?

What does your stylistic set code look like?

3

I’m testing the files in Figma by deleting and reinstalling each time (in Adobe, I use the Adobe folder).

The initial not-working code looked like a simple substitution:

sub De-cy by De-cy.loclBGR;
sub El-cy by El-cy.loclBGR;
sub Ef-cy by Ef-cy.loclBGR;
sub ve-cy by ve-cy.loclBGR;
sub ge-cy by ge-cy.loclBGR;
sub de-cy by de-cy.loclBGR;
sub zhe-cy by zhe-cy.loclBGR;
sub ze-cy by ze-cy.loclBGR;
sub ii-cy by ii-cy.loclBGR;
sub iishort-cy by iishort-cy.loclBGR;
sub iigrave-cy by iigrave-cy.loclBGR;
sub ka-cy by ka-cy.loclBGR;
sub el-cy by el-cy.loclBGR;
sub pe-cy by pe-cy.loclBGR;
sub te-cy by te-cy.loclBGR;
sub tse-cy by tse-cy.loclBGR;
sub sha-cy by sha-cy.loclBGR;
sub shcha-cy by shcha-cy.loclBGR;
sub softsign-cy by softsign-cy.loclBGR;
sub hardsign-cy by hardsign-cy.loclBGR;
sub yu-cy by yu-cy.loclBGR;

In the end, I managed to get the stylistic set working by checking how the code was translated in the OTF export, and by adding Russian localization, it works:

script cyrl;
language RUS;
lookup locl_cyrl_02 {
	sub De-cy by De-cy.loclBGR;
	sub El-cy by El-cy.loclBGR;
	sub Ef-cy by Ef-cy.loclBGR;
	sub ve-cy by ve-cy.loclBGR;
	sub ge-cy by ge-cy.loclBGR;
	sub de-cy by de-cy.loclBGR;
	sub zhe-cy by zhe-cy.loclBGR;
	sub ze-cy by ze-cy.loclBGR;
	sub ii-cy by ii-cy.loclBGR;
	sub iishort-cy by iishort-cy.loclBGR;
	sub iigrave-cy by iigrave-cy.loclBGR;
	sub ka-cy by ka-cy.loclBGR;
	sub el-cy by el-cy.loclBGR;
	sub pe-cy by pe-cy.loclBGR;
	sub te-cy by te-cy.loclBGR;
	sub tse-cy by tse-cy.loclBGR;
	sub sha-cy by sha-cy.loclBGR;
	sub shcha-cy by shcha-cy.loclBGR;
	sub softsign-cy by softsign-cy.loclBGR;
	sub hardsign-cy by hardsign-cy.loclBGR;
	sub yu-cy by yu-cy.loclBGR;
} locl_cyrl_02;

script latn;
language dflt;
lookup locl_cyrl_02;

script cyrl;
language dflt;
lookup locl_cyrl_02;

With this code, everything seems to work fine, but I don’t know exactly why :face_with_peeking_eye:

4

Seems like a hack. And it will break it in other apps. Why Russian? You probably just need to register the lookup with a script. Try this:

language dflt;
lookup BulgarianAlt {
…
} BulgarianAlt;

script cyrl;
lookup BulgarianAlt;

Since when does the Adobe fonts folder work with Figma? Are you sure you’re testing the right font files?

5

Sorry, I wasn’t clear :folded_hands:.
I’m testing both on Figma and Adobe software.
With Figma, I have to install the font via Font Book, so I uninstall and reinstall with every modification (and restart Figma). For Adobe software, I place the OTF files directly in the Adobe folder.

Thank you @Rainer, your script works perfectly in Figma, but unfortunately not in Adobe. How can I find a unified solution so that the language localizations are accessible everywhere?

6

I would recommend to use the “test install” export setting for testing in Figma. With that, Glyphs makes an export directly in memory, and you save the Font Book roundtrip. Just name the font somewhat differently, put a number at the end for example, for avoiding confusion with the Adobe folder version(s). Seems that Figma now detects when you export a new version of, but you still have to restart to force reloading it (duhhh)

7

Which features do you have the code in?

This should work in Adobe apps. Older InDesign versions do not support Bulgarian IIRC. So you can call the lookup in a stylistic set. Then it’s available both in stylistic sets and through language localization.