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mandatory_glyphs

Simon Cozens edited this page May 8, 2025 · 2 revisions

Font contains '.notdef' as its first glyph?

mandatory_glyphs

  • Applies to: TTF
  • Fontspector can hotfix?: no
  • Fontspector can fix sources?: no

Rationale

The OpenType specification v1.8.2 recommends that the first glyph is the '.notdef' glyph without a codepoint assigned and with a drawing:

The .notdef glyph is very important for providing the user feedback that a glyph is not found in the font. This glyph should not be left without an outline as the user will only see what looks like a space if a glyph is missing and not be aware of the active font’s limitation.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/typography/opentype/spec/recom#glyph-0-the-notdef-glyph

Pre-v1.8, it was recommended that fonts should also contain 'space', 'CR' and '.null' glyphs. This might have been relevant for MacOS 9 applications.

Proposal

Profiles

  • universal (in section 'Universal Profile Checks')

  • googlefonts (in section 'Universal Profile Checks')

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