SmallCaps Punctuation

Is there a simple trick - or a line of code - to define punctuation marks etc. for pure SmallCaps lines/areas, as shown in the example?
Or is something like that not useful at all?

Name your small caps exclamation mark exclam.sc and Glyphs will automatically generate the required smcp OpenType feature code. (Go to File → Font Info… → Features and click Update in the bottom of the window.)

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And then apply the small cap feature only to the text and not the outside parentheses.

That is probably the relevant thing! But how does that work exactly? :blush:

Sorry, but is there a simple trick? Can I have this generated automatically in the features or do I have to programme it myself - which I am unfortunately not able to do…? :cry:

The exclamation mark works automatically as described above. For the parentheses, you also need to create small caps versions. To get a result as in your image above where the outer parentheses are cap sized and the inner parentheses are small cap sized, you will need to apply the small caps feature to only the text within the outer parentheses.

Also, consider using the cap to small cap feature (.c2sc) instead of regular small caps (.sc) when you want the capital letters to harmonize with the punctuation in a mixed capital/small cap typesetting as in the image.

This means that it only works “automatically” if the punctuation marks are not created as .sc, but .c2sc - right!?

Glyphs generates the code automatically in both cases.

Yes, but then the brackets before the capital letters at the beginning of the sentence are also small!

That is why you need to select only the inner text before applying the small caps feature. A font can not differentiate between inner and outer parentheses.

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Okay … I had hoped that this could be defined somehow or … context-sensitive or similar, so that the small brackets appear with the small letters/capitals. So I guess the only thing left to do is to “adjust” it manually in InDesign?
((It would be so great if this could be done automatically! :slight_smile: )

You could do contextual small cap parentheses, but that would be error prone. Consider the text “(Some)”. The S would stay capital and thus the opening parenthesis next to it would as well. But the e would be a small cap letter and thus the closing parenthesis next to it would be small as well, resulting in unbalanced parentheses.

Yes, that’s right. I had hoped that there would be a solution involving “more context” so that (Some) would remain “normal” while the brackets in (Some (unusual) ideas.) would vary … But the idea is perhaps just too complicated.

My assumption is that if a user is savvy enough to want that feature, they are savvy enough to only select the exact text needed–even to make an InD stylesheet, if needed.

If that were the case, it would be nice. (But if not, such a lifebelt feature would also be great … :wink:

Don’t try to be too clever. That will only confuse people.

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Okay, so as always in life … :grimacing:

Sorry for one last question:
In the end, this means that it is best to create “small” SC-brackets only as e.g. <bracket.small> and not put them in a feature (c2sc, smcp) at all!?!
That way you could select them “manually”, but you wouldn’t have the problem described above.
Right!?

You might put them into c2sc.

Definitely c2sc.

If you only activate smcp, you want to keep regular punctuation. If you activate both features, then you also want SC punctuation (and figures etc.), so c2sc it is. The scenario where only c2sc gets activated is rare (inaccessible in Adobe apps, but possible in TextEdit), I guess.