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ScanFont 5 is released
Just noticed this on Versiontracker and updated to it:
NEW! Version 5.0 (Nov 2007)
Support for grayscale and color — from simple black-and-white to 32-bit color with smooth transparency
Direct import of EPS graphics — assists you in turning your Adobe Illustrator drawings into a font
Export of .vfb format fonts — for use in any font editor by Fontlab Ltd.
Transformations and filters — from Pencil to Gaussian blur
Advanced image-split algorithms — from Table to Book Smart
Direct import of most image formats, including EPS, GIF, JPG, TIF, BMP, PNG and (on Mac OS X) PDF
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14 Nov 2007 — 5:06pm
Indeed. ScanFont 5 works great with FontLab Studio 5.0.3/5.0.4, or TypeTool 3.0.0, and it's a really major upgrade for Windows (since ScanFont 4 only existed on the Mac).
A.
18 Nov 2007 — 4:20am
The demo wouldn't talk to my FontLab Studio 5.0.4 install at all. Is that a restriction in the demo version?
ScanFont 3 allowed you to save out a working font file didn't it? Taking that feature out could be considered a bit of a downgrade.
19 Nov 2007 — 9:05am
Is it Windows or Mac problem? If it is on Windows, please, reboot, then run FLS, then run ScanFont 5 and try to export the font. Let me know if it works or not.
ScanFont can save VFB (format supported by FontLab Studio or TypeTool) if there is a problem with live communication. You can turn it on in Tools > Options > Outline font editor.
19 Nov 2007 — 1:06pm
SparkyType,
ScanFont 3 was $198. ScanFont 5 is $99 and it can plug into TypeTool 3 (also $99). So the bundle costs the same as ScanFont 5 alone (hence no downgrade at all), and TypeTool 3 is much more of a full-blown font editor than the crippled ScanFont 3 font editing part. Instead of TypeTool 3, you can use FontLab Studio 5.
Adam
19 Nov 2007 — 1:12pm
Also, for users who have problems running ScanFont together with FontLab Studio or TypeTool -- in ScanFont's preferences, in the Outline Font Editor section, choose "Export outline font into VFB file". You will then be able to save the ScanFont output into a .VFB file that you can open in FontLab Studio or TypeTool using conventional means (File / Open).
A.
19 Nov 2007 — 2:41pm
Hi Yuri
I had that problem with the Windows version. After rebooting and loading FontLab Studio first I still got the same error (something like 'Unable to connect to FontLab server').
Thanks for the .VFB exporting tip. I'll download the demo again and have another crack at it.