Draw a Straight Line Segment in FontForge

Drawing straight line segments in FontForge is a fundamental step in designing glyphs and building custom typefaces. This guide covers how to select the Pen tool, place corner points to generate flat lines, constrain line angles for perfect horizontal and vertical alignment, and complete your vector paths.

1. Open the Glyph Window

Double-click any character slot in the FontForge font view window to open the Glyph Outline Editor.

2. Select the Pen Tool

Select the Point (Pen) Tool from the floating Tools palette, or press the shortcut key P on your keyboard.

3. Place the First Point

Click anywhere on the editing canvas to create the starting anchor point of your line segment. Ensure you click and release immediately without dragging the mouse; dragging creates directional Bézier control handles, which will curve the line.

4. Place the Second Point

Move the cursor to where you want the line segment to end, and click once. FontForge will automatically connect the two anchor points with a straight line segment.

5. Constrain Angles to Horizontal, Vertical, or 45 Degrees

To create a strictly horizontal, vertical, or 45-degree diagonal line segment:

  1. Click to set your initial point.
  2. Hold down the Shift key.
  3. Click to place the second point while continuing to hold Shift.

6. End or Close the Path

  • To leave an open path: Press the Escape key or switch to the Pointer tool (V) to stop adding connected segments.
  • To close the shape: Move your cursor over the very first point you placed until the cursor indicates closure, then click. The final segment will snap shut, forming a closed contour.