# Writing python scripts to change fonts in FontForge

I assume you have a working knowledge of python (because I do not). Python documentation may be found on the web. FontForge implements two python modules -- one great huge one called `fontforge` which provides access to as much of FontForge's functionality as I've had time to write, and one tiny one called `psMat` which provides quick access to some useful transformations expressed as PostScript matrices.

In python terms fontforge embeds python. It is possible to build fontforge so that it is also a python extension (`configure --enable-pyextension`)

The fontforge module also defines several types

- point
- contour
- layer
- glyphPen
- glyph
- selection
- font

psMat
Methods
method | args | comments
--- | --- | ---
`identity` | `()` | returns an identity matrix as a 6 element tuple
`compose` | `(mat1,mat2)` | returns a matrix which is the composition of the two input transformations
`inverse` | `(mat)` | returns a matrix which is the inverse of the input transformation. (Note: There will not always be an inverse)
`rotate` | `(theta)` | returns a matrix which will rotate by `theta`. `Theta` is expressed in radians
`scale` | `(x[,y])` | returns a matrix which will scale by `x` in the horizontal direction and `y` in the vertical. If `y` is omitted, it will scale by the same amount (`x`) in both directions
`skew` | `(theta)` | returns a matrix which will skew by `theta` (to produce a oblique font). `Theta` is expressed in radians
`translate` | `(x,y)` | returns a matrix which will translate by `x` in the horizontal direction and `y` in the vertical
Types
None

fontforge
Global Variables
variable | comments
--- | ---

`hooks`

A dictionary which the user may fill to associate certain fontforge events with a python function to be run when those events happen. The function will be passed the font (or possibly glyph) for which the relevant event occurred.

Hook names
newFontHook | This function will be called when a new font has been created.
loadFontHook | This function will be called when a font is loaded from disk. (if a font has an "initScriptString" entry in its persistant dictionary, that script will be invoked before this function).

Other hooks are defined in a font's own temporary and persistant dictionaries.

Methods
method | args | comments
`getPrefs` | `(pref-name)` | returns the value of the named preference item
`setPrefs` | `(pref-name,value)` | sets the value of the named preference item
`savePrefs` | `()` | Saves the current preference settings
`loadPrefs` | `()` | Loads the user's default preference settings. Not done automatically in a script.
`defaultOtherSubrs` | `()` | Sets the type1 PostScript OtherSubrs to the default value
`readOtherSubrsFile` | `(filename)` | Sets the type1 PostScript OtherSubrs to the stuff found in the file.
`loadEncodingFile` | `(filename)` | Loads an encoding file
`loadNamelist` | `(filename)` | Loads a namelist
`loadNamelistDir` | `(dirname)` | Loads all namelist files in the directory
`loadPlugin` | `(filename)` | Loads a fontforge plugin
`loadPluginDir` | `(dirname)` | Loads all fontforge plugins in the directory
`preloadCidmap` | `(filename)` | Loads a fontforge cidmap file

`printSetup`

`(type[,printer|cmd|file,
width,height])`

Prepare to print a font sample. The first argument may be one of:

lp
  Queues postscript output to the printer using `lp`. You may use the optional second argument to specify the printer name.
lpr
  Queues postscript output to the printer using `lpr`. You may use the optional second argument to specify the printer name.
ghostview
  Displays the output using ghostview (or gv). The second argument is ignored.
command
  Use a custom shell command to print the output. The second argument should contain the command and its arguments.
ps-file
  Dump the postscript output to a file. The second argument specifies the filename.
pdf-file
  Dump the output as pdf to a file. The second argument specifies the filename.

The third and fourth arguments are optional and specify the page size (in points) for the output. The third argument is the page width and the fourth is the height.

These setting remain until changed

`unicodeFromName` | `(glyphname)` | Looks up glyph name in its dictionary and if it is associated with a unicode code point returns that number. Otherwise it returns -1
`version` | `()` | Returns fontforge's version number. This will be a large number like 20070406.
`fonts` | `()` | Returns a tuple of all fonts currently loaded into fontforge for editing
`activeFont` | `()` | If the script were invoked from the File->Execute Script... dialog, this returns the font that was active at the time. Otherwise it returns None.
`activeGlyph` | `()` | If the script were invoked from the File->Execute Script... dialog from an outline glyph window this returns the glyph that was active at the time. Otherwise it returns None.
`fontsInFile` | `(filename)` | Returns a tuple of all fontnames found in the specified file. The tuple may be empty if fontforge couldn't find any.
`open` | `(filename)` | Opens a filename and returns the font it contains. If it does.
`parseTTInstrs` | `(string)` | Returns a binary string each byte of which corresponds to a truetype instruction. The input string should contain a set of instruction names as "SRP0\nMIRP[min,rnd,black]"
`unParseTTInstrs` | `(sequence)` | Reverse of the above. Converts a binary string into a human (sort of) readable string
User Interface Methods

Users may define scripts to be run when menu items are invoked. Some of these scripts will want to ask users questions, so this section provides routines to determine if fontforge has a user interface, a command to add menu items, and various small standard dialogs to interact with the user. I do not currently provide a mechanism for allowing people to define special purpose dialogs (for example they might want to ask more than one question in a dialog, and I don't support that).

When FontForge starts (if it's a fontforge with python) it will look at the directories `$(PREFIX)/share/fontforge/python` and `~/.PfaEdit/python` and attempt to run all files in those directories which end in ".py". Presumably these files will allow people to customize the user interface to suit their needs.

Currently it reads the files in directory order (which is generally somewhere between creation order and totally random). It will read the system directory before the user directory.

### Example

>     import fontforge;

>     def nameGlyph(junk,glyph):
>       print glyph.glyphname;

>     fontforge.registerMenuItem(nameGlyph,None,None,"Glyph","None","Print Glyph Name");

>     def neverEnableMe(junk,glyph):
>       return False;

>     fontforge.registerMenuItem(nameGlyph,neverEnableMe,None,"Glyph","None","SubMenu","Print Glyph Name");

>     def importGlyph(junk,glyph,filename,toback):
>       print "Import";
>       print glyph.glyphname;
>       print filename;
>     def exportGlyph(junk,glyph,filename):
>       print "Import";
>       print glyph.glyphname;
>       print filename;

>     fontforge.registerImportExport(importGlyph,exportGlyph,None,"foosball","foo","foo,foobar")

The first call will define a menu item in the Tools menu of the Glyph window. The menu will be called "Print Glyph Name". It has no shortcut to invoke it. It needs no external data. It is always enabled. And when activated it will invoke the function "nameGlyph" whch prints the name of the glyph in the window from which the command is invoked.

The second call defines a menu item in a submenu of the Tools menu. This submenu is called "SubMenu". This item will never be enabled -- but if it were enabled it would again call "nameGlyph" to print the name of the current glyph.

The last provides a way to import and export files of type "foosball" (or it would if the routines did anything).

Not a very useful example

`hasUserInterface` | `()` | Returns True if this session of FontForge has a user interface

`registerMenuItem`

`(menu-function,
enable_function,
data,
which_window,
shortcut_string,
{submenu-names,}
menu-name-string)`

If fontforge has a user interface this will add this menu item to FontForge's Tool menu, either in the font or the outline glyph view (or both).

menu-function
  This is the function that will be called when the menu item is activated. It will be passed two arguments, the first is the data value specified here (which may be None, indeed will probably usually be None), and the second is the glyph or font (depending on the window type) from which the menu item was activated. Its return value is ignored.
enable_function
  This may be None -- in which case the menu item will always be enabled. Otherwise it will be called before the menu pops up on the screen to determine whether this item should be enabled. It will be passed the same arguments as above. It should return True if the item should be enabled and False otherwise.
data
  This can be whatever you want (including None). FontForge keeps track of it and passes it to both of the above functions. Use it if you need to provide some context for the menu item.
which_window
  May be either of the strings "Font" or "Glyph (or the tuple `("Font","Glyph")`) and it determines which type of window will have this menu item in its "Tools" menu.
shortcut-string
  May be None if you do not wish to supply a shortcut. Otherwise should be a string like "Menu Name|Cntl-H" (the syntax is defined in the translation section).
submenu-names
  You may specify as many of these as you wish (including leaving them out altogether), this allows you to organize the Tools menu into submenus. (If a submenu of this name does not currently exist, fontforge will create it).
menu-name
  The name that will appear in the menu for this item.

This will only affect windows created after this command is executed. Normally the command will be executed at startup and so it will affect all windows.

`registerImportExport`

`(import-function,
export_function,
data,
name,
extension,
[extension-list])`

This will add the capability to import or export files of a given type, presumably a way of specifying the splines in a given glyph.

import-function
  The function to call to import a file into a glyph. It will be called with: The data argument (specified below), A pointer to the glyph into which the import is to happen, A filename, A flag indicating whether the import should go to the background layer or foreground.

  This function may be None. In which case there is no import method for this file type.

export-function
  The function to call to export a glyph into a file. It will be called with: The data argument (see below), a pointer to the glyph, and a filename.

  This function may be None, in which case there is no export method for this file type.

data
  Anything you like (including None). It will be passed to the import/export routines and can provide them with context if they need that.
name
  The name to be displayed in the user interface for this file type. This may just be the extension, or it might be something more informative.
extension
  This is the default extension for this file type. It is used by the export dialog to pick an extension for the generated filename.
extension-list
  Some file types have more than one common extension (eps files are usually named "eps", but I have also seen "ps" and "art" used). The import dialog needs to filter all possible filenames of this file type. This argument should be a comma seperated list of extensions. It may be omitted, in which case it defaults to being the same as the "extension" argument above.

`logWarning` | `(msg)` | Adds the message (a string) to FontForge's Warnings window. (if you wish to display a % character you must represent it as two percents). If there is no user interface the output will go to stderr.
`postError` | `(win-title,msg)` | Creates a popup dialog to display the message (a string) in that dlg. (if you wish to display a % character you must represent it as two percents). If there is no user interface the output will go to stderr.
`postNotice` | `(win-title,msg)` | Creates a little window which will silently vanish after a minute or two and displays the message (a string) in that window. (if you wish to display a % character you must represent it as two percents). If there is no user interface the output will go to stderr.

`openFilename`

`(question,[def-name,[filter]])`

All arguments are strings. The first is a question asked to the user (for which a filename to open is presumed to be the answer). The second is optional and provides a default filename. The third is optional and provides a filter (like "*.sfd")

The result is either a filename or None if the user canceled the dialog.

Throws an exception if there is no user interface.

`saveFilename`

`(question,[def-name,[filter]])`

All arguments are strings. The first is a question asked to the user (for which a filename to save something to is presumed to be the answer). The second is optional and provides a default filename. The third is optional and provides a filter (like "*.sfd")

The result is either a filename or None if the user canceled the dialog.

Throws an exception if there is no user interface.

`ask`

`(title,question,answers,
[def,cancel])`

Allows you to ask the user a multiple choice question. It popups up a dialog posing the question with a list of buttons ranged underneath it -- one for each answer.

The first argument is the dialog's title, the second is the question to be asked, the third is a tuple of strings -- each string will become a button, the fourth and fifth arguments are option, the fourth is the index in the answer array that will be the default answer (the one invoked if the user presses the [Return] key), and the fifth is the answer invoked if the user presses the [Escape] key. If omitted the default answer will be the first, and the cancel answer will be the last.

The function returns the index in the answer array of the answer choosen by the user.

Throws an exception if there is no user interface.

`askChoice`

`(title,question,answers,
[def])`

Similar to the above allows you to ask the user a multiple choice question. It popups up a dialog posing the question with a scrollable list of choices -- one for each answer.

The first argument is the dialog's title, the second is the question to be asked, the third is a tuple of strings -- each string will become a button, the fourth and fifth arguments are option, the fourth is the index in the answer array that will be the default answer (the one invoked if the user presses the [Return] key). If omitted the default answer will be the first.

The function returns the index in the answer array of the answer choosen by the user. If the user cancels the dialog, a -1 is returned.

Throws an exception if there is no user interface.

`askString` | `(title,question,[def-string])` | Allows you to as the user a question for which a string is the answer. The first argument is the dialog's title, the second is the question to be asked, the third is optional and specified a default answer. The function returns the string the user typed or None if they cancelled the dialog. Throws an exception if there is no user interface.
Types
point
contour
layer
glyphPen
glyph
selection
font

point
Members
member | comments
--- | ---
`x` | The x location of the point
`y` | The y location of the point
`on_curve` | Whether this is an on curve point or an off curve point (a control point)
`selected` | Whether this point is selected in the UI. If an off-curve point is selected in means the preceding (interpolated) on-curve point is selected.
Methods
method | args | comments
`new` | `([x,y,on-curve])` | Creates a new point. Optionally specifying its location
`transform` | `(tuple)` | Transforms the point by the transformation matrix
Pickling Methods
`__reduce__` | `()` | This function allows the pickler to work on this type. I don't think it is useful for anything else.

contour
Description

A contour is a collection of points. A contour may be either based on cubic or quadratic splines.

If based on cubic splines there should be either 0 or 2 off-curve points between every two on-curve points. If there are no off-curve points then we have a line between those two points. If there are 2 off-curve points we have a cubic bezier curve between the two end points.

If based on quadratic splines things are more complex. Again, two adjacent on-curve points yield a line between those points. Two on-curve points with an off-curve point between them yields a quadratic bezier curve. However if there are two adjacent off-curve points then an on-curve point will be interpolated between them. (This should be familiar to anyone who has read the truetype 'glyf' table docs).

For examples of what these splines can look like see the section on bezier curves.

A contour may be open in which case it is just a long wiggly line, or closed when it is more like a circle with an inside and an outside. Unless you are making stroked fonts all your contours should eventually be closed.

Members
member | comments
--- | ---
`is_quadratic` | Whether the contour should be interpretted as a set of quadratic or cubic splines. Setting this value has the side effect of converting the point list to the appropriate format
`closed` | Whether the contour is open or closed
Sequence Protocol
`len(c)` | The number of points in the contour
`c[i]` | The ith point on the contour. You may assign to this
`c[i:j]` | The contour containing points between i and j. You may assign to this
`c + d` | A contour concatenating c and d. D may be either another contour or a point.
`c += d` | Appends d to c. D may be either another contour or a point.
`p in c` | Returns whether the point p is in the contour c. p may be either a point or a tuple of two numbers
Does not support the repeat concept
Iterator Protocol
`__iter__` | `()` | Returns an iterator for the contour which will return the points in order.
Methods
method | args | comments
`new` | `()` | Creates a new contour
`isEmpty` | `()` | Returns whether the contour is empty (contains no points)
| Contour construction
`moveTo` | `(x,y)` | Adds an initial, on-curve point at (x,y) to the contour
`lineTo` | `(x,y[,pos])` | Adds an line to the contour. If the optional third argument is give, the line will be added after the pos'th point, otherwise it will be at the end of the contour.
`cubicTo` | `((cp1x,cp1y)(cp2x,cp2y)(x,y)[,pos])` | Adds a cubic curve to the contour. If the optional third argument is give, the line will be added after the pos'th point, otherwise it will be at the end of the contour.
`quadraticTo` | `((cpx,cpy)(x,y)[,pos])` | Adds a quadratic curve to the contour. If the optional third argument is give, the line will be added after the pos'th point, otherwise it will be at the end of the contour.
`insertPoint` | `(point[,pos])` | Adds point to the contour. If the optional third argument is give, the line will be added after the pos'th point, otherwise it will be at the end of the contour. The point may be either a point or a tuple with three members (x,y,on_curve)
`makeFirst` | `(pos)` | Rotate the point list so that the pos'th point becomes the first point
`isClockwise` | `()` | Returns whether the contour is drawn in a clockwise direction.
`reverseDirection` | `()` | Reverse the order in which the contour is drawn (turns a clockwise contour into a counter-clockwise one). See also layer.correctDirection.
| Contour manipulation

`addExtrema`

`([flags,emsize])`

Extrema should be marked by on-curve points. If a curve lacks a point at an extrema this command will add one. Flags may be one of the following strings

all
  Add all missing extrema
only_good
  Only add extrema on longer splines (with respect to the em-size)
only_good_rm
  As above but also merge away on-curve points which are very close to, but not on, an added extremum

`cluster` | `([within,max])` | Moves clustered coordinates to a standard central value. See Also round
`merge` | `(pos)` | Removes the on-curve point a the given position and rearranges the other points to make the curve as similar to the original as possible. (pos may also be a tuple of positions, all of which will be removed) See Also simplify
`round` | `([factor])` | Rounds the x and y coordinates. If factor is specified then new-coord = round(factor*old-coord)/factor. See Also cluster
`selfIntersects` | `()` | Returns whether this contour intersects itself.

`simplify`

`([error-bound,flags,tan_bounds,
linefixup,linelenmax])`

Tries to remove excess points on the contour if doing so will not perturb the curve by more than `error-bound`. Flags is a tuple of the following strings

ignoreslopes
  Allow slopes to change
ignoreextrema
  Allow removal of extrema
smoothcurves
  Allow curve smoothing
choosehv
  Snap to horizontal or vertical
forcelines
  flatten bumps on lines
nearlyhvlines
  Make nearly horizontal/vertical lines be so
mergelines
  Merge adjacent lines into one
setstarttoextrema
  Rotate the point list so that the start point is on an extremum
removesingletonpoints
  If the contour contains just one point then remove it

See Also merge

`transform` | `(matrix)` | Transforms the contour by the matrix
| random stuff about contours
`boundingBox` | `()` | Returns a tuple representing a rectangle (xmin,ymin, xmax,ymax) into which the contour fits. It is not guaranteed to be the smallest such rectangle, but it will often be.
`getSplineAfterPoint` | `(pos)` | Returns a tuple of two four-element tuples. These tuples are x and y splines for the curve after the specified point.
`draw` | `(pen)` | Draw the contour to the pen argument.
Pickling Methods
`__reduce__` | `()` | This function allows the pickler to work on this type. I don't think it is useful for anything else.

layer
Description
A layer is a collection of contours. All the contours must be the same order (all quadratic or all cubic).
Members
member | comments
--- | ---
`is_quadratic` | Whether the contours should be interpretted as a set of quadratic or cubic splines. Setting this value has the side effect of converting the contour list to the appropriate format
Sequence Protocol
`len(c)` | The number of contours in the layer
`c[i]` | The ith contour on the layer. You may assign to this
`c + d` | A layer concatenating c and d. D may be either another layer or a contour.
`c += d` | Appends d to c. D may be either another layer or a contour.
Does not support the repeat, slice and contains concepts
Iterator Protocol
`__iter__` | `()` | Returns an iterator for the layer which will return the contours in order.
Methods
method | args | comments
`new` | `()` | Creates a new layer
`isEmpty` | `()` | Returns whether the layer is empty (contains no contour)

`addExtrema`

`([flags,emsize])`

Extrema should be marked by on-curve points. If a curve lacks a point at an extrema this command will add one. Flags may be one of the following strings

all
  Add all missing extrema
only_good
  Only add extrema on longer splines (with respect to the em-size)
only_good_rm
  As above but also merge away on-curve points which are very close to, but not on, an added extremum

`cluster` | `([within,max])` | Moves clustered coordinates to a standard central value. See also round.
`correctDirection` | `()` | Orients all contours so that external ones are clockwise and internal counter-clockwise. See also contour.isClockwise.
`exclude` | `(excluded-layer)` | Removes the excluded area from the current contours. See also removeOverlap and intersect.
`intersect` | `()` | Leaves only areas in the intersection of contours. See also removeOverlap and exclude.
`removeOverlap` | `()` | Removes overlapping areas. See also intersect and exclude.
`interpolateNewLayer` | `(other-layer,amount)` | Creates (and returns) a new layer which contains splines interpolated from the current layer and the first argument. If amount is 0 the result will look like the current layer, if 1 then like the first argument.
`round` | `([factor])` | Rounds the x and y coordinates. If factor is specified then new-coord = round(factor*old-coord)/factor. See also cluster.
`selfIntersects` | `()` | Returns whether any of the contours on this layer intersects any other contour (including itself).

`simplify`

`([error-bound,flags,tan_bounds,
linefixup,linelenmax])`

Tries to remove excess points on the layer if doing so will not perturb the curve by more than `error-bound`. Flags is a tuple of the following strings

ignoreslopes
  Allow slopes to change
ignoreextrema
  Allow removal of extrema
smoothcurves
  Allow curve smoothing
choosehv
  Snap to horizontal or vertical
forcelines
  flatten bumps on lines
nearlyhvlines
  Make nearly horizontal/vertical lines be so
mergelines
  Merge adjacent lines into one
setstarttoextrema
  Rotate the point list so that the start point is on an extremum
removesingletonpoints
  If the contour contains just one point then remove it

`stroke`

`("circular",width[,linecap,linejoin,flags])
("eliptical",width,minor-width,angle
[,linecap,linejoin,flags])
("caligraphic",width,height,angle[,flags])`

Strokes the current line using one of the indicated pens. Line cap may be one of

- butt
- round
- square

line join may be

- miter
- round
- bevel

flags is a tuple containing some of the following strings

- removeinternal
- removeexternal
- cleanup

`transform` | `(matrix)` | Transforms the layer by the matrix
`boundingBox` | `()` | Returns a tuple representing a rectangle (xmin,ymin, xmax,ymax) into which the layer fits. It is not guaranteed to be the smallest such rectangle, but it will often be.
`draw` | `(pen)` | Draw the layer to the pen argument.
Pickling Methods
`__reduce__` | `()` | This function allows the pickler to work on this type. I don't think it is useful for anything else.

glyphPen

This implements the Pen Protocol to draw into a FontForge glyph. You create a glyphPen with the glyphPen attribute of a glyph. You then draw into it with the operators below.

>     import fontforge;
>     font = fontforge.open("Ambrosia.sfd");	#Open a font
>     pen = font["B"].glyphPen();		# Create a pen to draw into glyph "B"
>     pen.moveTo((100,100));			# draw a square
>     pen.lineTo((100,200));
>     pen.lineTo((200,200));
>     pen.lineTo((200,100));
>     pen.closePath();			# end the contour

>     font["A"].draw(pen);			# or you can copy from one glyph to another
>     					# by having a glyph draw itself into the pen
>     pen = None;				# Finalize the pen. This tells FontForge
>     					# that the drawing is done and causes
>     			                # it to refresh the display (if a UI is active).

This type may not be pickled.

Members
None
Methods
method | args | comments
--- | --- | ---
`moveTo` | `((x,y))` | With one exception this call begins every contor and creates an on curve point at (x,y) as the start point of that contour. This should be the first call after a pen has been created and the call that follows a closePath, endPath.
`lineTo` | `((x,y))` | Draws a line from the last point to (x,y) and adds that to the contour.

`curveTo`

`((cp1.x,cp1.y),(cp2.x,cp2.y),(x,y))
((cp.x,cp.y),(x,y))`

This routine has slightly different arguments depending on the type of the font. When drawing into a cubic font (PostScript) use the first set of arguments (with two control points -- off curve points -- between each on curve point). When drawing into a quadratic font (TrueType) use the second format with one control point between adjacent on-curve points.

The standard appears to support super-bezier curves with more than two control points between on-curve points. FontForge does not. Nor does FontForge allow you to draw a quadratic spline into a cubic font, nor vice versa.

`qCurveTo`

`([(cp.x,cp.y)]*,(x,y))
([(cp.x,cp.y)]*,None))`

This routine may only be used in quadratic (TrueType) fonts and has two different formats. It is used to express the TrueType idiom where an on-curve point mid-way between its control points may be omitted, leading to a run of off-curve points (with implied but unspecified on-curve points between them).

The first format allows an arbetary number of off-curve points followed by one on-curve point.

It is possible to have a contour which consists solely of off-curve points. When this happens the contour is NOT started with a moveTo, instead the entire contour, all the off curve points, are listed in one call, and the argument list is terminated by a `None` to indicate there are no on-curve points.

`closePath` | `()` | Closes the contour (connects the last point to the first point to make a loop) and ends it.
`endPath` | `()` | Ends the contour without closing it. This is only relevant if you are stroking contours.
`addComponent` | `(glypn-name,transform)` | Adds a reference (a component) to the glyph. The PostScript transformation matrix is a 6 element tuple.

glyph
Description
The glyph type refers to a fontforge Glyph object. It has no independant life of its own, it always lives within a font. It has all the things you expect to be associated with a glyph: a glyph name, a unicode encoding, a drawing layer, GPOS/GSUB features... This type may not be pickled.
Members
member | comments
--- | ---
`background` | The glyph's background layer. This is a copy of the glyph's data. See also foreground.
`changed` | Whether this glyph has been modified. This is (should be) maintained automatically, but you may set it if you wish.
`color` | The color of the glyph in the fontview. A 6 hex-digit RGB number or -1 for default. 0xffffff is white, 0x0000ff is blue, etc.
`comment` | Any comment you wish to associate with the glyph. UTF-8
`encoding` | Returns the glyph's encoding in the font's encoding. (readonly) If the glyph has multiple encodings, one will be picked at random. If the glyph is not in the font's encoding then a number will be returned beyond the encoding size (or in some cases -1 will be returned).
`font` | The font containing this glyph. (readonly)
`foreground` | The glyph's foreground layer. This is a copy of the glyph's data. See also background and references.
`glyphclass` | An opentype glyphclass, one of automatic, noclass, baseglyph, baseligature, mark, component
`glyphname` | The name of the glyph
`hhints` | A tuple of all horizontal postscript hints. Each hint is itself a tuple of starting locations and widths.
`left_side_bearing` | The left side bearing of the glyph
`originalgid` | The GID of this glyph in the font it was read from. (readonly)
`persistant` | Whatever you want (these data will be saved as a pickled object in the sfd file. It is your job to insure that whatever you put here can be pickled). See also the temporary field.
`references` | A tuple of tuples containing glyph-name and a transformation matrix for each reference. See also foreground.
`right_side_bearing` | The right side bearing of the glyph
`script` | A string containing the OpenType 4 letter tag for the script associated with this glyph (readonly)
`temporary` | Whatever you want (these data will be lost once the font is closed) See also the persistant field.
`texheight` | The Tex height
`texdepth` | The Tex depth
`ttinstrs` | Any truetype instructions, returned as a binary string
`unicode` | The glyph's unicode code point, or -1
`unlinkRmOvrlpSave` | A flag that indicates the glyph's references should be unlinked and remove overlap run on it before the font is saved (and then the original references replaced after the save finishes)
`userdata` | Deprecated name for temporary field above
`vhints` | A tuple of all vertical postscript hints. Each hint is itself a tuple of starting locations and widths.

`validation_state`

A bit mask indicating some problems this glyph might have. (readonly)

0x1 | If set then this glyph has been validated. If unset then other bits are meaningless.
0x2 | Glyph has an open contour.
0x4 | Glyph intersects itself somewhere.
0x8 | At least one contour is drawn in the wrong direction
0x10 | At least one reference in the glyph has been flipped (and so is drawn in the wrong direction)
0x20 | Missing extrema
0x40 | A glyph name referred to from this glyph, in an opentype table, is not present in the font.
PostScript only
0x80 | PostScript has a limit of 1500 points in a glyph.
0x100 | PostScript has a limit of 96 hints in a glyph.
0x200 | Invalid glyph name.
TrueType only, errors in original file
0x400 | More points in a glyph than allowed in 'maxp'
0x800 | More paths in a glyph than allowed in 'maxp'
0x1000 | More points in a composite glyph than allowed in 'maxp'
0x2000 | More paths in a composite glyph than allowed in 'maxp'
0x4000 | Instructions longer than allowed in 'maxp'
0x8000 | More references in a glyph than allowed in 'maxp'
0x10000 | References nested more deeply than allowed in 'maxp'
0x20000 | 'fpgm' or 'prep' tables longer than allowed in 'maxp'

`width` | The advance width of the glyph. See also vwidth.
`vwidth` | The vertical advance width of the glyph. See also width.
Methods
method | args | comments

`addExtrema`

`([flags,emsize])`

Extrema should be marked by on-curve points. If a curve lacks a point at an extrema this command will add one. Flags may be one of the following strings

all
  Add all missing extrema
only_good
  Only add extrema on longer splines (with respect to the em-size)
only_good_rm
  As above but also merge away on-curve points which are very close to, but not on, an added extremum

`addReference` | `(glyph-name[,transform])` | Adds a reference to the specified glyph into the current glyph. Optionally specifying a transformation matrix
`addHint` | `(is-vertical,start,width)` | Adds a postscript hint. Takes a boolean flag indicating whether the hint is horizontal or vertical, a start location and the hint's width.

`addPosSub`

`(subtable-name,variant)
(subtable-name,variants)
(subtable-name,ligature-components)
(subtable-name,xoff,yoff,xadv,yadv)
(subtable-name,other-glyph-name, xoff1,yoff1,xadv1,yadv1,
xoff2,yoff2,xadv2,yadv2)`

Adds position/substitution data to the glyph. The number and type of the arguments vary acording to the type of the lookup containing the subtable. The first argument should always be a lookup subtable name. If the lookup is for single substitutions then the second argument should be a string containing a single glyph name. For multiple and alternated substitutions multiple glyph names. For ligatures, a string of the ligature components. For single positionings the second through fifth arguments should be small integers representing the adjustment along that axis. For pairwise positionings (kerning) the second argument should be the name of the other glyph being kerned with, and the third through tenth should be small integers.

`autoHint` | `()` | Generates PostScript hints for this glyph.
`autoInstr` | `()` | Generates (bad) TrueType instructions for this glyph.
`autoTrace` | `()` | Auto traces any background images
`boundingBox` | `()` | Returns a tuple representing a rectangle (xmin,ymin, xmax,ymax) which is the minimum bounding box of the glyph.
`build` | `()` | If the character is a composite character, then clears it and inserts references to its components
`canonicalContours` | `()` | Orders the contours in the current glyph by the x coordinate of their leftmost point. (This can reduce the size of the charstring needed to describe the glyph(s).
`canonicalStart` | `()` | Sets the start point of all the contours of the current glyph to be the leftmost point on the contour. (If there are several points with that value then use the one which is closest to the baseline). This can reduce the size of the charstring needed to describe the glyph(s). By regularizing things it can also make more things available to be put in subroutines.

`changeWeight`

`(stroke_width[,type,
serif_height,serif_fuzz,
counter_type,custom_zones])`

See the Element->Style->Change Width command for a more complete description of these arguments.

Stroke_width is the amount by which all stems are expanded.

Type is one of "LCG", "CJK", "auto", "custom".

Serif_height tells ff not to expand serifs which are that much off the baseline, while serif_fuzz specifies the amount of fuzziness allowed in the match. If you don't want special serif behavior set this to 0.

Counter_type is one of "squish", "retain", "auto".

Custom_zones is only meaningful if the type argument were "custom". It may be either a number, which specifies the "top hint" value (bottom hint is assumed to be 0, others are between), or a tuple of 4 numbers (top hint, top zone, bottom zone, bottom hint).

`condenseExtend`

`(c_factor,c_add[,sb_factor,sb_add,correct])`

Condenses or extends the size of the counters and side-bearings of the glyph. The first two arguments provide information on shrinking/growing the counters, the second two the sidebearings. If the last two are omitted they default to the same values as the first two.

A counter's width will become:
`new_width = c_factor * old_width + c_add`

If present the `correct` argument allows you to specify whether you want to correct for the italic angle before condensing the glyph. (it defaults to True)

`clear` | `()` | Clears the contents of the glyph (and marks it as not worth outputting).
`cluster` | `([within,max])` | Moves clustered coordinates to a standard central value. See also round.
`correctDirection` | `()` | Orients all contours so that external ones are clockwise and internal counter-clockwise.
`exclude` | `(excluded-layer)` | Removes the excluded area from the current glyph. Takes an argument which is a layer. See also removeOverlap and intersect.
`export` | `(filename[,pixelsize,bitdepth])` | Uses the file's extension to determine output file type. Exports outline formats to the file. For bitmap formats it will rasterize the glyph and output that. The optional arguments are only used for rasterizing. bitdepth must be 1 or 8.

`getPosSub`

`(lookup-subtable-name)`

Returns any positioning/substitution data attached to the glyph controlled by the lookup-subtable. If the name is "*" then returns data from all subtables.

The data are returned as a tuple of tuples. The first element of the subtuples is the name of the lookup-subtable. The second element will be one of the strings: "Position", "Pair", "Substitution", "AltSubs", "MultSubs","Ligature".

Positioning data will be followed by four small integers representing adjustments to the: x position of the glyph, the y position, the horizontal advance, and the vertical advance.

Pair data will be followed by the name of the other glyph in the pair and then eight small integers representing adjustments to the: x position of the first glyph, the y position, the horizontal advance, and the vertical advance, and then a similar foursome for the second glyph.

Substitution data will be followed by a string containing the name of the glyph to replace the current one.

Multiple and Alternate data will be followed by several strings each containing the name of a replacement glyph.

Ligature data will be followed by several strings each containing the name of a ligature component glyph.

`importOutlines` | `(filename)` | Uses the file's extension to determine behavior. Imports outline descriptions (eps, svg, glif files) into the forground layer. Imports image descriptions (bmp, png, xbm, etc.) into the background layer.
`intersect` | `()` | Leaves only areas in the intersection of contours. See also removeOverlap and exclude.
`isWorthOutputting` | `()` | Returns whether the glyph is worth outputting into a font file. Basically a glyph is worth outputting if it contains any contours, or references or has had its width set.
`removeOverlap` | `()` | Removes overlapping areas. See also intersect and exclude.
`removePosSub` | `(lookup-subtable-name)` | Removes all data from the glyph corresponding to the given lookup-subtable. If the name is "*" then all data will be removed.
`round` | `([factor])` | Rounds the x and y coordinates of each point in the glyph. If factor is specified then new-coord = round(factor*old-coord)/factor. See also cluster.
`selfIntersects` | `()` | Returns whether any of the contours in this glyph intersects any other contour in the glyph (including itself).

`simplify`

`([error-bound,flags,tan_bounds,
linefixup,linelenmax])`

Tries to remove excess points in the glyph if doing so will not perturb the curve by more than `error-bound`. Flags is a tuple of the following strings

ignoreslopes
  Allow slopes to change
ignoreextrema
  Allow removal of extrema
smoothcurves
  Allow curve smoothing
choosehv
  Snap to horizontal or vertical
forcelines
  flatten bumps on lines
nearlyhvlines
  Make nearly horizontal/vertical lines be so
mergelines
  Merge adjacent lines into one
setstarttoextrema
  Rotate the point list so that the start point is on an extremum
removesingletonpoints
  If the contour contains just one point then remove it

`stroke`

`("circular",width[,linecap,linejoin,flags])
("eliptical",width,minor-width,angle
[,linecap,linejoin,flags])
("caligraphic",width,height,angle[,flags])`

Strokes the contours of the glyph using one of the indicated pens. Line cap may be one of

- butt
- round
- square

line join may be

- miter
- round
- bevel

flags is a tuple containing some of the following strings

- removeinternal
- removeexternal
- cleanup

`transform`

`(matrix[,flags])`

Transforms the glyph by the matrix. The optional flags argument should be a tuple containing any of the following strings:

- partialRefs -- Don't transform any references in the glyph, but do transform their offsets. This is useful if the refered glyph will be (or has been) transformed.
- round -- Round to int after the transformation is done.

`unlinkRef` | `([ref-name])` | Unlinks the reference to the glyph named `ref-name`. If `ref-name` is omitted, unlinks all references.
`unlinkThisGlyph` | `()` | Unlinks all the references to the current glyph within any other glyph in the font.

`validate`

`([force])`

Validates the glyph and returns the `validation_state` of the glyph (except bit 0x1 will always be clear). If the glyph passed the validation then the return value will be 0 (not 0x1). Otherwise the return value will be the set of errors found. If force is specified true this will always be validated, if force is unspecified (or specified as false) then it will return the cached value if it is known, otherwise will validate it.

`draw` | `(pen)` | Draw the glyph's outline to the pen argument.
`glyphPen` | `([replace=False])` | Creates a new glyphPen which will draw into the current glyph. By default the pen will replace any existing contours and references, but setting the optional keyword argument, `replace` to false will retain the old contents.
Note: Glyphs do not have an independant existance. They live in fonts. You may not create them with new(), only in the context of a font. See font.createChar

selection

This represents a font's selection. You may index it with an encoding value (in the encoding ISO-646-US (ASCII) the character "A" has encoding index 65), or with a glyph's name, or with a string like "uXXXXX" where XXXXX represent the glyph's unicode codepoint in hex, or with a fontforge glyph object. The value of indexing into a selection will be either True or False.

>     >>> print fontforge.activeFont().selection[65]
>     True

This type may not be pickled.

Members
member | comments
--- | ---
`byGlyphs` | Returns another selection, just the same as this one except that its iterator function will return glyphs (rather than encoding slots) and will only return those entries for which glyphs exist. (This is read only)
Iterator Protocol
`__iter__` | `()` | Returns an iterator for the selection which will return all selected encoding slots in encoding order.
Methods
method | args | comments
`all` | `()` | Select everything.
`none` | `()` | Deselect everything.
`changed` | `()` | Select all glyphs which have changed.
`invert` | `()` | Invert the selection.

`select`

`(args)`

There may be an arbetrary number of arguments. Each argument may be either:

- A glyph name
  Note: There need not be a glyph with this name in the font yet, but if you use a standard name (like "A") fontforge will still know where that glyph should be.
- An integer (this will be interpreted as either an encoding index or (default) a unicode code point depending on the flags).
- A fontforge glyph.
- A tuple of flags.
  (If you wish to specify a single flag it must still be in a tuple, and you must append a trailing comma to the flag (so `("more",)` rather than just `("more")`). FF needs the flags to be in a tuple otherwise it can't distinguish them from glyph names)
  unicode
    Interpret integer arguments as unicode code points
  encoding
    Interpret integer arguments as encoding indeces.
  more
    Specified items should be selected
  less
    Specified items should be deselected.
  singletons
    Specified items should be interpreted individually and mean the obvious.
  ranges
    Specified items should be interpreted in pairs and represent all encoding slots between the start and end points specified by the pair. So `.select(("ranges",None),"A","Z")` would select all the upper case (latin) letters.

If the first argument is not a flag argument (or if it doesn't specify either "more" or "less") then the selection will be cleared. So `.select("A")` would produce a selection with only "A" selected, `.select(("more",None),"A")` would add "A" to the current selection, while `.select(("less",None),"A")` would remove "A" from the current selection.

font
Description
The font type refers to a fontforge Font object. It generally contains a list of glyphs, an encoding to order those glyphs, a fontname, a list of GPOS/GSUB lookups and many other things. This type may not be pickled.
Members
member | comments
--- | ---
`ascent` | The font's ascent

`bitmapSizes`

A tuple with an entry for each bitmap strike attached to the font. Each strike is identified by pixelsize (if the strike is a grey scale font it will be indicated by `(bitmap-depth<<16)|pixelsize`.

When setting this value pass in a tuple of the same format. Any existing strike not specified in the tuple will be removed. Any new sizes will be created (but not rasterized -- use regenBitmaps for that).

`changed` | Bit indicating whether the font has been modified. This is (should be) maintained automatically, but you may set it if you wish.
`cidordering`
`cidregistry`
`cidsubfontcnt`
`cidsubfontnames`
`cidsupplement`
`cidversion`
`copyright` | PostScript copyright notice
`cvt` | Returns a sequence object containing the font's cvt table. Changes made to this object will be made to the font (this is a reference not a copy).
`descent` | The font's descent
`design_size` | Size (in pica points) for which this font was designed.
`em` | The em size of the font. Setting this will scale the entire font to the new size.
`encoding` | The name of the current encoding. Setting it will change the encoding used for indexing
`familyname` | PostScript font family name
`fondname` | Mac fond name
`fontname` | PostScript font name
`fullname` | PostScript font name

`gasp`

Returns a tuple of all gasp table entries. Each item in the tuple is itself a tuple composed of a ppem (an integer) and a tuple of flags. The flags are a chosen from:

- gridfit
- antialias
- symmetric-smoothing
- gridfit+smoothing

`gasp_version` | The version of the 'gasp' table. Currently this may be 0 or 1.
`gpos_lookups` | Returns a tuple of all positioning lookup names in the font. This member cannot be set.
`gsub_lookups` | Returns a tuple of all substitution lookup names in the font. This member cannot be set.
`guide` | A copy of the font's guide layer
`hasvmetrics`
`hhea_ascent`
`hhea_ascent_add`
`hhea_descent`
`hhea_descent_add`
`hhea_linegap`
`is_quadratic` | Whether the contours should be interpretted as a set of quadratic or cubic splines. Setting this value has the side effect of converting the entire font into the other format
`isnew` | A flag indicating that this is a new font
`italicangle`
`macstyle`

`loadState`

A bitmask indicating non-fatal errors found when loading the font. (readonly)

0x01 | Bad PostScript entry in 'name' table
0x02 | Bad 'glyf' or 'loca' table
0x04 | Bad 'CFF ' table
0x08 | Bad 'hhea', 'hmtx', 'vhea' or 'vmtx' table
0x10 | Bad 'cmap' table
0x20 | Bad 'EBLC', 'bloc', 'EBDT' or 'bdat' (embedded bitmap) table
0x40 | Bad Apple GX advanced typography table
0x80 | Bad OpenType advanced typography table

`maxp_FDEFs` | The number of function definitions used by the tt program
`maxp_IDEFs` | The number of instruction definitions used by the tt program
`maxp_maxStackDepth` | The maximum stack depth used by the tt program
`maxp_storageCnt` | The number of storage locations used by the tt program
`maxp_twilightPtCnt` | The number of points in the twilight zone of the tt program
`maxp_zones` | The number of zones used in the tt program
`multilayer`
`onlybitmaps` | A flag indicating that this font only contains bitmaps. No outlines.
`os2_codepages` | A 2 element tuple containing the OS/2 Codepages field
`os2_family_class`
`os2_fstype`
`os2_panose`
`os2_strikeypos`
`os2_strikeysize`
`os2_subxoff`
`os2_subxsize`
`os2_subyoff`
`os2_subysize`
`os2_supxoff`
`os2_supxsize`
`os2_supyoff`
`os2_supysize`
`os2_typoascent`
`os2_typoascent_add`
`os2_typodescent`
`os2_typodescent_add`
`os2_typolinegap`
`os2_use_typo_metrics`
`os2_unicoderanges` | A 4 element tuple containing the OS/2 Unicode Ranges field
`os2_vendor`
`os2_version`
`os2_weight`
`os2_weight_width_slope_only`
`os2_width`
`os2_winascent`
`os2_winascent_add`
`os2_windescent`
`os2_windescent_add`
`path` | (readonly) Returns a string (or None) containing the name of the file from which the font was originally read (in this session)

`persistant`

Whatever you want -- though I recommend you store a dict here (these data will be saved as a pickled object in the sfd file. It is your job to insure that whatever you put here can be pickled)

If you do store a dict then the following entries will be treated specially:

initScriptString

If present, and if this is a string, then each time the font is loaded from an sfd file, this string will be passed to the python interpretter. Note: This is a string, not a function. Function code cannot be pickled. Since it is a string it will receive no arguments, but the current font will be available in the activeFont method of the fontforge module.

This string will be interpretted before the loadFontHook of the module hooks dictionary.

One possible behavior for this string is to define function hooks to be stored in the temporary dict described below.

`private` | Returns a dictionary like object representing the PostScript private dictionary for the font. Changing entries in this object will change them in the font. (It's a reference, not a copy). There is an iterator associated with this entry.

`privateState`

Checks the (PostScript) Private dictionary and returns a bitmask of some common errors.

0x000001 | Odd number of elements in either the BlueValues or OtherBlues array.
0x000002 | Elements in either the BlueValues or OtherBlues are disordered.
0x000004 | Too many elements in either the BlueValues or OtherBlues array.
0x000008 | Elements in either the BlueValues or OtherBlues array are too close (must be at least 2*BlueFuzz +1 appart.
0x000010 | Elements in either the BlueValues or OtherBlues array are not integers.
0x000020 | Alignment zone height in either the BlueValues or OtherBlues array is too big for the value of BlueScale.
0x000100 | Odd number of elements in either the FamilyBlues or FamilyOtherBlues array.
0x000200 | Elements in either the FamilyBlues or FamilyOtherBlues are disordered.
0x000400 | Too many elements in either the FamilyBlues or FamilyOtherBlues array.
0x000800 | Elements in either the FamilyBlues or FamilyOtherBlues array are too close (must be at least 2*BlueFuzz +1 appart.
0x001000 | Elements in either the FamilyBlues or FamilyOtherBlues array are not integers.
0x002000 | Alignment zone height in either the FamilyBlues or FamilyOtherBlues array is too big for the value of BlueScale.
0x010000 | Missing BlueValues entry.
0x020000 | Bad BlueFuzz entry.
0x040000 | Bad BlueScale entry.
0x080000 | Bad StdHW entry.
0x100000 | Bad StdVW entry.
0x200000 | Bad StemSnapH entry.
0x400000 | Bad StemSnapV entry.
0x800000 | StemSnapH does not include StdHW.
0x1000000 | StemSnapV does not include StdVW.
0x2000000 | Bad BlueShift entry.

`selection`

Returns a reference to an array-like object representing the font's selection. There is one entry for each encoding slot (there may not be a glyph attached to every encoding slot). You may set this with a tuple of integers (or boolean values). There should not be more entries in the tuple than there are encoding slots in the current encoding. A `True` or non-0 value means the slot is selected.

`sfd_path` | (readonly) Returns a string (or None) containing the name of the sfd file associated with this font. Sometimes this will be the same as path (above).

`sfnt_names`

The strings in the sfnt 'name' table. A tuple of all ms names. Each name is itself a tuple of strings (language,strid,string). Language may be either the (english) name of the language/locale, or the number representing that language in MicroSoft's specification. Strid may be one of the (english) string names (Copyright, Family, SubFamily, etc.) or the numeric value of that item. The string itself is in UTF-8.

Mac names will be automagically created from ms names

`size_feature`

The OpenType 'size' feature has two formats. It may either represent the design size of the font (and nothing else) or the design size, and range (top and bottom point sizes for which this design works), a style id (used to represent this design size throughout the font family) and a set of language/string pairs used to represent this design size in the menu.

If no size information is specified in the font FontForge will return None.

If only the design size is specified, FontForge will return a tuple containing a single element: the point size for which the font was designed. (This is returned as a real number -- the field can represent tenths of a point).

Otherwise FontForge returns a tuple containing five elements, the design size, the bottom of the design range, the top, the style id and a tuple of tuples. Each sub-tuple is a language/string pair. Language may be either the (english) name of the language/locale, or The string itself is in UTF-8.

`strokedfont` | is this a stroked font?
`strokewidth` | the stroke width of a stroked font

`temporary`

Whatever you want -- though I recommend you store a dict here (these data will be lost once the font is closed)

If you do store a dict then the following entries will be treated specially:

generateFontPreHook | If present, and if this is a function it will be called just before a font is generated. It will be called with the font and the filename to which the font will be written.
generateFontPostHook | If present, and if this is a function it will be called just after a font is generated. It will be called with the font and the filename to which the font will be written.

`uniqueid`
`upos` | underline position
`userdata` | Deprecated name for temporary above
`uwidth` | underline width
`version` | PostScript font version string
`vertical_origin`
`vhea_linegap`
`weight` | PostScript font weight string
Iterator Protocol
`__iter__` | `()` | Returns an iterator for the font which will run through the font, in gid order, returning glyph names
`<name> in f` | Returns whether the font contains a glyph with the given name.
Other iterators over the font: | selection, font.find(), font.glyphs()
Mapping Protocol
`len(f)` | The number of glyph slots in the current encoding
`f[i]` | If i is an integer, then returns the glyph at that encoding. If a string then returns the glyph with that name. May not be assigned to.
Methods
method | args | comments
`new` | `()` | Creates a new font
`addAnchorClass` | `(lookup-subtable-name, new-anchor-class-name)` | Adds an anchor class to the specified (anchor) subtable.

`addKerningClass`

`(lookup-name,new-subtable-name,
first-classes,
second-classes,
offsets
[,after])`

Creates a new subtable and a new kerning class in the named lookup. The classes arguments are tuples of tuples of glyph names (each sub-tuble of glyph names is a kerning class). The offsets argument is a tuple of kerning offsets. There must be as many entries as `len(first-class)*len(second-class)`. The optional after argument is used to specify the order of the subtable within the lookup.

`addLookup`

`(new-lookup-name,type,flags,
feature-script-lang-tuple
[,after-lookup-name)`

Creates a new lookup with the given name, type and flags. It will tag it with any indicated features. The type of one of

- gsub_single
- gsub_multiple
- gsub_alternate
- gsub_ligature
- gsub_context
- gsub_contextchain
- gsub_revesechain
- morx_indic
- morx_context
- morx_insert
- gpos_single
- gpos_pair
- gpos_cursive
- gpos_mark2base
- gpos_mark2ligature
- gpos_mark2mark
- gpos_context
- gpos_contextchain
- kern_statemachine

The flags argument is a tuple of strings. At most one of these strings may be the name of a mark class. The others are:

- right_to_left
- ignore_bases
- ignore_ligatures
- ignore_marks

A feature-script-lang tuple is a tuple with one entry for each feature (there may be no entries if there are no features). Each entry is itself a two element tuple, the first entry is a string containing a 4 letter feature tag, and the second entry is another tuple (potentially empty) with an entry for each script for which the feature is active. Each entry here is itself a two element tuple. The first element is a 4 letter script tag and the second is a tuple of languages. Each entry in the language tuple is a four letter language. Example: (("liga",(("latn",("dflt")),)),)
The optional final argument allows you to specify the ordering of the lookup. If not specified the lookup will be come the first lookup in its table.

`addLookupSubtable` | `(lookup-name, new-subtable-name [,after-subtable-name])` | Creates a new subtable within the specified lookup. The optional final argument allows you to specify the ordering within the lookup. If not specified this subtable will be first in the lookup.

`alterKerningClass`

`(subtable-name,
first-classes,
second-classes,
offsets)`

Changes the kerning class in the named subtable. The classes arguments are tuples of tuples of glyph names (each sub-tuble of glyph names is a kerning class). The offsets argument is a tuple of kerning offsets. There must be as many entries as `len(first-class)*len(second-class)`. The optional after argument is used to specify the order of the subtable within the lookup.

`appendSFNTName`

`(language,strid,string)`

Adds a new (or replaces an old) string in the sfnt 'name' table. Language may be either the english name of the language/locale as a string, or the number representing that language in MicroSoft's specification. Strid may be one of the (english) string names (Copyright, Family, SubFamily, etc.) or the numeric value of that item. The string itself is in UTF-8.

`close` | `()` | Frees memory for the current font. Warning: Any python pointers to it will become invalid.

`compareFonts`

`(other-font,filename,
flags-tuple)`

This will compare the current font with the font in `other-font` (which must already have been opened). It will write the results to the `filename`, you may use "-" to send the output to stdout. The `flags` argument is a tuple of strings and controls what will be compared.

flags
outlines | compare outlines
outlines-exactly | compare outlines exactly (otherwise allow slight errors and the unlinking of references)
warn-outlines-mismatch | warn if the outlines don't exactly match (but are pretty close)
hints | compare hints
warn-refs-unlink | warn if references need to be unlinked before a match is found
strikes | compare bitmap strikes
fontnames | compare font names
gpos | compare glyph positioning
gsub | compare glyph substitutions
add-outlines | for any glyphs whose outlines differ, add the outlines of the glyph in the second font to the background of the glyph in the first
create-glyphs | if a glyph exists in the second font but not the first, create that glyph in the first and add the outlines from the second into the backgroun layer

`createChar` | `(uni[,name])` | Create (and return) a character at the specified unicode codepoint in this font and optionally name it. If you wish to create an glyph with no unicode codepoint set the first argument to -1 and specify a name. If there is already a character there, return it (it will not be renamed).
`createInterpolatedGlyph` | `(glyph1,glyph2,amount)` | Create (and return) a glyph with the same unicode code point as glyph1. The glyph may not already exist. The contents of the glyph will be formed by interpolating between glyph1 and glyph2. If amount==0 the result will look like glyph1, or 1 then like glyph2.
`createMappedChar` | `(enc) (name)` | Create (and return) a character at the specified encoding in this font. If there is already a character there, return it
`find` | `(contour[,error-bound])` | Searches the font for all glyphs containing the contour (or layer) and returns an iterator which returns those glyphs.
`findEncodingSlot` | `(uni) (name)` | Tests whether a glyph with this codepoint or name is in the font's encoding and returns the encoding slot. If the glyph is not present it returns -1. (If a glyph with that name/unicode is in the font, but is not in the encoding, then an value beyond the end of the encoding will be returned).
`glyphs` | `([type])` | Returns an interator which will return the glyphs in the font. By default they will be returned in "GID" order, but if type is specified as "encoding" they will be returned in encoding order. If returned in encoding order it is possible that a glyph will be returned more than once if there are multiple encoding slots which reference it.

`generate`

`(filename,
[bitmap_type=,
flags=,
bitmap_resolution=,
subfont_directory=,
namelist=])`

Generates a font. The type is determined by the font's extension.

Flags is a tuple containing some of

afm
  output an afm file
pfm
  output a pfm file
tfm
  output a tfm file
ofm
  output a ofm file
composites-in-afm
  Store composite info in the afm file
glyph-map-file
  Output a glyph map file giving the mapping between output gid and glyphnames
short-post
  Do not include glyphnames in a ttf/otf file
apple
  output apple advanced typography tables
opentype
  output opentype tables
old-kern
  output an old style 'kern' with opentype tables
TeX-table
  Include a 'TeX ' table in an ttf/otf file
round
  Round PS coordinates to integers
no-hints
  Do not include PS hints
omit-instructions
  Do not include TrueType instructions

See also save().

`generateFeatureFile` | `(filename[,lookup-name])` | Generates an adobe feature file for the current font. If a lookup-name is specified then only data for that lookup will be generated.
`getKerningClass` | `(subtable-name)` | Returns a tuple whose entries are: (first-classes, second-classes, offsets). The classes are themselves tuples of tuples of glyph names. The offsets will be a tuple of numeric kerning offsets.
`getLookupInfo` | `(lookup-name)` | Returns a tuple whose entries are: (lookup-type, lookup-flags, feature-script-lang-tuple) The lookup type is a string as described in addLookup, and the feature-script-lang tuple is also described there.
`getLookupSubtables` | `(lookup-name)` | Returns a tuple of all subtable names in that lookup.
`getLookupSubtableAnchorClasses` | `(subtable-name)` | Returns a tuple of all anchor class names in that subtable.
`getLookupOfSubtable` | `(subtable-name)` | Returns the name of the lookup containing this subtable.
`getSubtableOfAnchor` | `(anchor-class-name)` | Returns the name of the subtable containing this anchor class.
`interpolateFonts` | `(fraction,filename)` | Interpolates a font between the current font and the font contained in filename.
`isKerningClass` | `(subtable-name)` | Returns whether the named subtable contains a kerning class.
`isVerticalKerning` | `(subtable-name)` | Returns whether the named subtable contains a vertical kerning data
`lookupSetFeatureList` | `(lookup-name, feature-script-lang-tuple)` | Sets the feature list of indicated lookup. The feature-script-lang tuple is described at addLookup.
`lookupSetFlags` | `(lookup-name,flags)` | Sets the lookup flags for the named lookup.
`lookupSetStoreLigatureInAfm` | `(lookup-name,boolean)` | Sets whether this ligature lookup contains data to store in the afm.
`mergeFonts` | `(filename[, preserveCrossFontKerning])` | Merges the font in the file into the current font.
`mergeFeature` | `(filename)` | Merge feature and lookup information from an adobe feature file, or metrics information from the (afm,tfm,etc) file into the current font.
`mergeKern` | `(filename)` | Deprecated name for mergeFeature above
`mergeLookups` | `(lookup-name1,lookup-name2)` | The lookups must be of the same type. All subtables from lookup-name2 will be moved to lookup-name1, the features list of lookup-name2 will be merged with that of lookup-name1, and lookup-name2 will be removed.
`mergeLookupSubtables` | `(subtable-name1, subtable-name2)` | The subtables must be in the same lookup. Not all lookup types allow their subtables to be merged (contextual subtables may not be merged, kerning classes may not be (kerning pairs may be)). Any information bound to subtable2 will be bound to subtable1 and subtable2 will be removed.

`print`

`(type,pointsize,
sample,output-file)`

Type is a string which must be one of

fontdisplay
  Display all glyphs in the font in encoding order
chars
  Display the selected glyphs scaled to fill a page
  Ignores the pointsize argument.
waterfall
  Displays the selected glyphs at many pointsizes.
  The pointsize argument should be a tuple of pointsizes here.
fontsample
  The third argument should contain a string which will be layed out and displayed as well as FontForge can.
fontsampleinfile
  The third argument should contain the name of a file which contains text to be layed out and displayed.

If output is to a file (see printSetup) then the last argument specifies a file name in which to store output.

`regenBitmaps` | `(tuple-of-sizes)` | A tuple with an entry for each bitmap strike to be regenerated (rerasterized). Each strike is identified by pixelsize (if the strike is a grey scale font it will be indicated by `(bitmap-depth<<16)|pixelsize`.
`removeAnchorClass` | `(anchor-class-name)` | Removes the named AnchorClass (and all associated points) from the font.
`removeLookup` | `(lookup-name)` | Remove the lookup (and any subtables within it).
`removeLookupSubtable` | `(subtable-name)` | Remove the subtable (and all data associated with it).

`removeGlyph`

`(uni[,name])
(glyph)`

You may either pass in a FontForge glyph object (from this font) or identify a glyph in the font by unicode code point or name. In any case the glyph will be removed from the font.

WARNING: This frees fontforge's storage to this glyph. If you have any python pointers to that storage they will be looking at garbage. This does not go through the usual python reference mechanism.

`replaceAll` | `(srch,rpl[,error-bound])` | Searches the font for all occurances of the srch contour (or layer) and replaces them with the replace contour (or layer).
`save` | `([filename])` | Saves the font to an sfd file. See also generate()
`getTableData` | `(table-name)` | Gets binary data from any saved table. FF will save 'fpgm', 'prep', 'cvt ' and 'maxp'. FF may also save tables which you explicitly request. Do not expect to get binary data for tables like 'GPOS' or 'glyf' which FF will generate when it creates a font... that information is not currently available. Returns a binary string.
`setTableData` | `(table-name,sequence)` | Sets binary data of any saved table. FF will save 'fpgm', 'prep', 'cvt ' and 'maxp'. FF may also save tables which you explicitly request. Do not expect to set binary data for tables like 'GPOS' or 'glyf' which FF will generate when it creates a font... that information is not currently available.

`validate`

`([force])`

Validates the font and returns a bit mask of all errors from all glyphs (as defined in the `validation_state` of a glyph -- except bit 0x1 is clear). If the font passed the validation then the return value will be 0 (not 0x1). Otherwise the return value will be the set of errors found.

Note: The set of errors is slightly different for TrueType and PostScript output. The returned mask contains the list of potential errors. You must figure out which apply to you.

Normally each glyph will cache its validation_state and it will not be recalculated. If you pass a non-zero argument to the routine then it will force recalculation of each glyph -- this can be slow.s

Selection based interface See the selection type for how to alter the selection
`addExtrema` | `()` | Extrema should be marked by on-curve points. If a curve in any selected glyph lacks a point at a significant extremum this command will add one.
`autoHint` | `()` | Generates PostScript hints for all selected glyphs.
`autoInstr` | `()` | Generates (bad) TrueType instructions for all selected glyphs.
`autoTrace` | `()` | Auto traces any background images in all selected glyphs
`build` | `()` | If any of the selected characters is a composite character, then this command will clear it and insert references to its components (this command can create new glyphs).
`canonicalContours` | `()` | Orders the contours in the selected glyphs by the x coordinate of their leftmost point. (This can reduce the size of the charstring needed to describe the glyph(s).
`canonicalStart` | `()` | Sets the start point of all the contours of the selected glyphs to be the leftmost point on the contour. (If there are several points with that value then use the one which is closest to the baseline). This can reduce the size of the charstring needed to describe the glyph(s). By regularizing things it can also make more things available to be put in subroutines.

`changeWeight`

`(stroke_width[,type,
serif_height,serif_fuzz,
counter_type,custom_zones])`

See the Element->Style->Change Width command for a more complete description of these arguments.

Stroke_width is the amount by which all stems are expanded.

Type is one of "LCG", "CJK", "auto", "custom".

Serif_height tells ff not to expand serifs which are that much off the baseline, while serif_fuzz specifies the amount of fuzziness allowed in the match. If you don't want special serif behavior set this to 0.

Counter_type is one of "squish", "retain", "auto".

Custom_zones is only meaningful if the type argument were "custom". It may be either a number, which specifies the "top hint" value (bottom hint is assumed to be 0, others are between), or a tuple of 4 numbers (top hint, top zone, bottom zone, bottom hint).

`condenseExtend`

`(c_factor,c_add
[,sb_factor,sb_add,
correct])`

Condenses or extends the size of the counters and side-bearings of the selected glyphs. The first two arguments provide information on shrinking/growing the counters, the second two the sidebearings. If the last two are omitted they default to the same values as the first two.

A counter's width will become:
`new_width = c_factor * old_width + c_add`

If present the `correct` argument allows you to specify whether you want to correct for the italic angle before condensing the glyph. (it defaults to True)

`clear` | `()` | Clears the contents of all selected glyphs
`cluster` | `([within,max])` | Moves clustered coordinates to a standard central value in all selected glyphs. See also round.
`copy` | `()` | Copies all selected glyphs into (fontforge's internal) clipboard.
`copyReference` | `()` | Copies all selected glyphs (as references) into (fontforge's internal) clipboard.
`correctDirection` | `()` | Orients all contours so that external ones are clockwise and internal counter-clockwise in all selected glyphs.
`cut` | `()` | Copies all selected glyphs into (fontforge's internal) clipboard. And then clears them.
`paste` | `()` | Pastes the contents of (fontforge's internal) clipboard into the selected glyphs -- and removes what was there before.
`intersect` | `()` | Leaves only areas in the intersection of contours in all selected glyphs. See also removeOverlap.
`pasteInto` | `()` | Pastes the contents of (fontforge's internal) clipboard into the selected glyphs -- and retains what was there before.
`removeOverlap` | `()` | Removes overlapping areas in all selected glyphs. See also intersect.
`replaceWithReference` | `([fudge])` | Finds any glyph which contains an inline copy of one of the selected glyphs, and converts that copy into a reference to the appropriate glyph. Selection is changed to the set of glyphs which the command alters. If specified the fudge argument specifies the error allowed for coordinate differences.
`round` | `([factor])` | Rounds the x and y coordinates of each point in all selected glyphs. If factor is specified then new-coord = round(factor*old-coord)/factor. See also cluster.

`simplify`

`([error-bound,flags,tan_bounds,
linefixup,linelenmax])`

Tries to remove excess points in all selected glyphs if doing so will not perturb the curve by more than `error-bound`. Flags is a tuple of the following strings

ignoreslopes
  Allow slopes to change
ignoreextrema
  Allow removal of extrema
smoothcurves
  Allow curve smoothing
choosehv
  Snap to horizontal or vertical
forcelines
  flatten bumps on lines
nearlyhvlines
  Make nearly horizontal/vertical lines be so
mergelines
  Merge adjacent lines into one
setstarttoextrema
  Rotate the point list so that the start point is on an extremum
removesingletonpoints
  If the contour contains just one point then remove it

`stroke`

`("circular",width[,
linecap,linejoin,flags])
("eliptical",width,
minor-width,angle
[,linecap,linejoin,flags])
("caligraphic",width,
height,angle[,flags])`

Strokes the contours of all selected glyphs using one of the indicated pens. Line cap may be one of

- butt
- round
- square

line join may be

- miter
- round
- bevel

flags is a tuple containing some of the following strings

- removeinternal
- removeexternal
- cleanup

`transform` | `(matrix)` | Transforms all selected glyphs by the matrix.
`unlinkReferences` | `()` | Unlinks all references in all selected glyphs and replaces them with splines.

### Stupid example

    import fontforge                                 #Load the module
    amb=fontforge.open("Ambrosia.sfd")               #Open a font
    amb.selection.select(("ranges",None),"A","Z")    #select A-Z
    amb.copy()                                       #Copy those glyphs into the clipboard

    n=fontforge.font()                               #Create a new font
    n.selection.select(("ranges",None),"A","Z")      #select A-Z of it
    n.paste()                                        #paste the glyphs above in
    print n["A"].foreground                          #test to see that something
                                                     #  actually got pasted
    n.fontname="NewFont"                             #Give the new font a name
    n.save("NewFont.sfd")                            #and save it.