How to Add Titling Alternates in FontForge

This guide provides a step-by-step walkthrough for creating and configuring the OpenType Titling Alternates (titl) feature in FontForge. Titling alternates are specially designed glyphs intended for display use, headlines, and large-scale typography. By following the instructions below, you will learn how to prepare your alternate glyphs, create the required OpenType lookup table, map the substitutions, and test the functionality before exporting your font.

Step 1: Create and Name Your Titling Glyphs

Before setting up the OpenType feature, you must create the glyphs that will serve as the alternates.

  1. Open your project in FontForge.
  2. Select an empty slot in the font grid or choose Encoding > Add Encoding Slots if you need more space.
  3. Draw or paste your alternate glyph.
  4. Right-click the new glyph and select Glyph Info.
  5. Set the Glyph Name following standard OpenType naming conventions: the base glyph name followed by .titl (for example, A.titl, Q.titl, or ampersand.titl).
  6. Click OK.

Step 2: Create the Titling Substitution Lookup

To tell typography software to swap standard glyphs with titling alternates, you must configure a GSUB (glyph substitution) lookup table.

  1. Navigate to Element > Font Info from the top menu.
  2. In the sidebar, select Lookups.
  3. Ensure the GSUB tab is selected at the top, then click the Add Lookup button.
  4. In the Type dropdown, choose Single Substitution.
  5. In the Feature column, enter or select titl Titling.
  6. Click the New button under "Scripts and Languages" and add the appropriate scripts for your font (such as latn with default language system <Default>).
  7. Click OK to save the lookup.

Step 3: Add a Subtable and Map the Glyphs

Once the lookup exists, you need to add a subtable to define the specific glyph pairings.

  1. Select the newly created titl lookup in the list and click Add Subtable.
  2. Accept the default name and click OK.
  3. In the subtable editor, you can map glyphs manually or automatically:
    • Automatic Mapping: If you named your glyphs with the .titl extension, click Populate. FontForge will automatically detect pairs like A -> A.titl.
    • Manual Mapping: Click in the first empty row under the Base Glyph column and type the default character name (e.g., A). In the Replacement Glyph column, enter the alternate name (e.g., A.titl).
  4. Click OK to close the subtable, then click OK in the Font Info dialog to apply the changes.

Step 4: Test and Generate the Font

Always verify that the feature functions as expected before distributing your font file.

  1. Go to Window > New Metrics Window.
  2. Type the characters that have titling alternates assigned.
  3. Open the Features menu within the Metrics Window and check Titling (titl). Your text should visibly switch to the alternate designs.
  4. Go to File > Generate Fonts... to export your final .otf or .ttf file.