Corbel font, number style

[focused_videography98A6]

Using FrameMaker 12, unstructured.

We are changing the corporate font to Corbel. The default Corbel number style is awkward and would like to change it from 'old style' to 'lining'. It is possible in Microsoft apps, in FM, cannot find any options for defining the number stylistic set. Woul appreciate any hints.

FM

 

MS Word

[Stefan Gentz]

Hi,

these are "Advanced OpenType" features. Unfortunately, FrameMaker currently does not support advanced OpenType features like number spacing, number forms, stylistic sets or contextual alternates.

We will look into that for a future release.

CC: Amitojsingh

[Bob_Niland]

As a work-around, I'd be tempted to create a Character Format, perhaps named LinedNumeric, that specifies only a different Font Family, one selected for matching 0-9 stroke outlines and common baseline. Tahoma might do. Apply it only to those numbers that need it.

Rule #1 of enterprise type face selection is that it has to be legible. When the art director can't even get that right, you probably have festering problems elsewhere.

[Barb Binder]

Bob's suggestion can be implemented quicker that you might think:

1. Create a character tag with font that has lining figures
2. Assign it manually to the first string of figures
3. Click inside the string, choose Edit > Copy Special > Character Format
4. Edit > Find Change: Set up as follows:
5. Change all.
   

Notes:
I like Bob's Tahoma suggestion, but the numbers looked too big, so I dropped the size two points in my character format (as well as made them blue so that they are easy to see).

Lining figures are traditionally used in tables, and old style figures in paragraph text. They are easier to read in a paragraph. That said, you don't have to like them.

~Barb

[Bob_Niland]

Barb: ... Tahoma suggestion, but the numbers looked too big, so I dropped the size two points in my character format ...

That should work, as long as the format only needs to be applied to a common font size in the document.

It looks like "Size" in Character Format is still just absolute point sizes. You can enter "80%", but it gets trashed to "2.0pt". At some point, FM will have to implement more CSS stylings, so that we can specify say, percents (which I tend to find myself using a lot in web work).