Font Typesetting Function 01: “What are the OpenType Features?”

For example, the shapes of the small script “ゃ,” and the prolonged sound mark “ー” differ when the character string of “にゃー” is placed in horizontal typesetting and vertical typesetting. As it is hardly a surprising event, it may not be normally recognized. However, it is one of the effects dealt with in OpenType features.

The OpenType features built-in information in OpenType fonts to arrange characters for ease of reading or beauty. There is a four-character alphanumeric name called a “feature tag” in each function. In the previous example of vertical typesetting, “vert” is referenced.

In the text with vertical typesetting, “vert” is automatically applied. The OpenType features are also used to achieve a typesetting style in accordance with the user intention, such as typesetting with narrowed spacing between characters.

Kinshachi Font Hime is used in the figure. In this font, the custom glyph can be selected for combination, such as ”ゃー,” etc. To similarly display a custom glyph in Kinshachi Font Hime, the OpenType feature “Style Set 1 (ss01)” is used.

In this series, I would like to introduce topics on typesetting functions that are included in fonts.

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