OpenType font enhancements | Adobe InDesign tutorials
Learn how to access special font properties of OpenType fonts that give you greater typographic control.

Typekit is now Adobe Fonts.

Opentype fonts.

The InDesign 2015 update introduces intuitive OpenType enhancements when working with glyphs.

Improvements include:

  • Apply alternate glyphs and special characters, such as small caps, fractions, superscript and subscript characters
  • Search for special characters in the Glyphs panel

Note: See OpenType to learn more about OpenType fonts.

5290-opentype-fonts-fig0

Easily apply special characters while working with text

Select a character in your text to see if alternate glyphs (characters) exist in the OpenType font you wish to use. In our example, we used Lust Script, a Typekit font available as part of your Creative Cloud membership. See Browse and add fonts from Typekit to learn how to install and use a Typekit font in InDesign.

A pop-up window appears showing all the alternate characters for the selected glyph. Click a glyph in the pop-up window to apply it.

Tip: If using a keyboard, hit the down arrow to select the pop-up window. Use the right/left arrows to navigate to a glyph; then press Enter to apply it.

5290-opentype-fonts-fig1

You can easily apply fractions in the same fashion.

To add a true fraction, select the numbers you wish to convert to a fraction. Click a fraction in the pop-up window to apply it.

5290-opentype-fonts-fig2

Find characters using the Glyphs panel search menu

You can easily search for characters in the Glyphs panel. Go to Window > Type & Tables > Glyphs.

In the Glyphs panel, first select entire font in the Show dropdown menu. In the search bar, type the name, the symbol, or the unicode or GID value of the character you want. In our example, we selected the font Museo Slab 300 and typed "Euro," "copyright," and "degree," in the search bar to look for the glyph options. Place your cursor where you wish to to insert the glyph, and then double-click the glyph thumbnail in the Glyphs panel to add it to your text.

Tip: You can add commonly-used glyphs to an existing Glyphs Set, or create a new one. See Glyphs and special characters to learn more.

5290-opentype-fonts-fig3
12/01/2015

Contributor: Molly Mendoza