How is it work Dorico's font styles window when change SMuFL-complimant font?

Hello, I have been trying to create a SMuFL-complimant font and its font family. I made progress but I have some questions.

  1. Are there discussion groups, people or forums about making SMuFL fonts?

  2. I have edited some glyphs from reference font Bravura with FontLab and I have used them. It works! But I’m wondering font family working principle. For example I have changed SMuFL font as Petaluma in Dorico via Library > Music Fonts. After that, I have opened Library > Font Styles and fonts had changed as Petaluma’s font family.
    Where does Dorico get this command from? It can be SMuFL JSON metadata?

This is probably as good a place as any to discuss the creation of SMuFL fonts. Several regular posters on the forum (@NorFonts, @benwiggy, @LSalgueiro for example) are SMuFL font creators who post here, and of course I am the person behind Bravura and indeed SMuFL itself.

To make your new font family appear in Dorico’s Library > Music Fonts dialog, you need to create a suitable SMuFL metadata file and then install it in the right location. Dorico will then detect your font the next time you start up.

Please refer to the SMuFL specification here:

https://w3c.github.io/smufl/latest/specification/font-specific-metadata.html

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Thanks for reply and other informations.

I have read “3.4 Metadata for SMuFL-compliant fonts” and I had seen “textFontFamily” in “3.4.1 engravingDefaults”. I have made compare among Petaluma and Bravura and their JSON Metadata.

  1. I have gone Library > Application Support > SMuFL > Fonts in Mac OS.
  2. I have found Bravura’s and Petaluma’s json metadata called Bravura.json and Petaluma.json
  3. I have opened both with TextEdit and I have compared.
    But I can’t see “textFontFamily” data in Petaluma.json. However when I’m changing SMuFL font in Dorico via Library > Music Fonts, font family were changing.
    I couldn’t solve this logic.

Dorico’s behaviour to specify a particular text font pre-dates the addition of the textFontFamily data in the font metadata file, and it has hard-coded behaviour for Bravura and Petaluma. You may also find that if you specify this value in your own font metadata file, Dorico doesn’t reliably change it, which is due to a small bug that will be fixed in the next version of the application.

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I understand better what you are saying now. Because also I have compared reference font with third-party SMuFL font called Sebastian. I have tried change Bravura music font as Sebastian in Dorico via Library > Music Fonts. And I seen right now, Other font styles (Library > Font Styles) wasn’t changing when I’m choosing Sebastian.

Actually my goal was creating or editing and telling a SMuFL font family for my master’s thesis. I have edited some musical symbols and lines from .otf font and .json metadata for main musical font… But I’m so confused when I research SMuFL font family.
Master, What would you suggest me on this subject, how should I proceed?

If I understand you correctly, you’re considering creating a new SMuFL-compliant music font as your Masters thesis? That sounds like an excellent project. If you have specific questions, please feel free to ask them here.

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Absolutely! if I can organize it, I will have many questions. Thank you very much all supports.