How to Check the Active Encoding in FontForge

Checking the active encoding table in FontForge ensures your glyphs map properly to standard character sets like Unicode or legacy ASCII variations. This article explains how to quickly identify the currently loaded encoding slot directly from the FontForge interface and through its scripting environment.

1. Inspect the Encoding Menu

The most direct way to see your current encoding vector is through the primary menu bar in the Font View window:

  1. Open your font file in FontForge to open the main Font View grid.
  2. Click on Encoding in the top menu bar.
  3. Look through the drop-down list. FontForge displays standard encodings (such as ISO 8859-1, Unicode, BMP, or Adobe Standard).
  4. The currently active encoding table is marked with a checkmark or filled radio button next to its name.

If you are working with an uncommon or user-defined standard, check under Encoding > User Defined or look for custom encodings listed at the bottom of the menu.

2. View the Window Title Bar

In most desktop environments, FontForge includes the active encoding name in the title bar of the Font View window. The title bar typically follows this structure:

FontName - CurrentEncoding

For example, if your font is named "MyCustomFont" mapped to standard Unicode, the window header often reads: MyCustomFont - Unicode

3. Verify via the Python Scripting Engine

If you are running FontForge headless or automating font production, you can query the active encoding programmatically using the built-in Python API:

  1. Open File > Execute Script... or launch the FontForge interactive Python shell.
  2. Run the following commands:
import fontforge

font = fontforge.activeFont()
print(font.encoding)

The terminal will return the exact string name of the active encoding scheme (e.g., UnicodeBmp, ISO8859-1, or Compact).