Alternating glyph shapes with multiple axes in Glyphs 2
In Glyphs 2, if you have two or more axes, the bracket trick is too complex. Attention: For Glyphs 3, read Switching Shapes instead.
If you have multiple axes, or if you prefer to keep your oversight in the Font tab and find the Bracket Trick too confusing, then it’s a good idea to create separate glyphs for alternative glyph shapes. For example, for the glyphs dollar and cent, you create alternate glyphs named dollar.bold and cent.bold. In order to make Glyphs switch to the bold version for certain weights, follow these steps:
- Create
dollar.boldandcent.boldas non-exporting glyphs: after creation, select them in the Font tab, and uncheck its Exports option. You can find this option either in the context menu (right click), or in the glyph info displayed in the bottom left of the window. - Open File > Font Info (Cmd-I), and go to Instances.
- On the left side, select one instance you want the bold shape to appear in. (We will take care of other instances in a minute.)
- Add a Custom Parameter by clicking on the Plus button on top of the Custom Parameters field. As Property, pick
Rename Glyphs. - Double click on the Value, and on each line you put a replacement pattern of the structure
backupglyphname=targetglyphname, i.e., in our case:dollar.bold=dollarandcent.bold=cent. Click OK when you are finished. - To copy the parameter to other instances, first select the Custom Parameter line you just created, and press Cmd-C to copy it to the clipboard. Then, in the left sidebar, select all instances that should have the same parameter (either by Shift- or Cmd-clicking), which, in our case, are all bold weights. Then, click inside the now empty Custom Parameters area, and paste (Cmd-V). To check if everything worked, only one instance must be selected.
Now export your font family. Glyphs will automatically replace the shapes in the bolder weights. Hurrah!
Sample Font: Henriette, courtesy of Typejockeys.
Update 2015-04-28: updated the tutorial. No more need to Remove Glyphs.
Update 2021-05-25: added version note.
Update 2021-09-28: made version note clearer (hopefully) and updated links.
