Numbers in font style name?

#1

Hi,
Why can’t I start my font name with a number?

I have a nomenclature like this:

10–FR Slim
20–FR Classic
30–FR Bulky
40–CC Slender
50–CC Typic
60–CC Huge
70–RD Slinky
80–RD Standard
90–RD Swollen
25–ES Formal Shadow
85–ES Coarse Shadow

But after I enter the name in the style input field, the numbers disappear. Is it a bug or aren’t numbers allowed by some naming standard?

The en dash “–” punctuation mark doesn’t work either.

A quick reply to this would be greatly appreciated, I’m about to finalize a typeface collection I’ve been working on for two years and I’d hate to rethink the naming system at this stage.

Cheers,
Robert

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#2

Hi, the font family names are indeed constrained to avoid compatibility issues, ensure the widest support, and also to tame end-user issues (who wants to do customer support on Sundays :wink: ). This is not something that will change in the tool or that you can edit for the time being.

FYI there is a restricted set of characters that are allowed in the official OpenType specifications: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/typography/opentype/spec/name

A recurring issue being that all apps & systems don’t implement the official specs or behave the same way, as one would expect :confused:

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#3

Ok, so I didn’t find any restrictions in the doc you referred to as to why I can’t name my fonts starting with numbers. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

I guess I just have to rename them anyway, which is a long and painful process considering I’ve already made lots of graphic promotion material for this typeface collection. :upside_down_face:

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#4

Ok, so the workaround would be to add a “G” to the beginning of the font style name (“G” as in the Font Family name “Generic”).

GENERIC

Formal Release series
G10-FR Slim
G20-FR Classic
G30-FR Bulky

Coarse Copy series
G40-CC Slender
G50-CC Typic
G60-CC Huge

Rough Display series
G70-RD Slinky
G80-RD Standard
G90-RD Swollen

Extra Splendor series
G25-ES Formal Shadow
G85-ES Coarse Shadow

It’s not as symmetric as I’d like, but it’s a nomenclature I can live with. :sunglasses:

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