OpenType features have been available since the D6 release, but a post on another forum reminded me that most people will probably want to turn these on, as fonts usually default to tabular figures (fixed width), and I hadn’t really seen this discussed much yet. Since Minion is a commonly used text font, here’s an example of the difference.
It’s a subtle change, but one that’s easy to make as a default in D6 if you want to. I know I switched this with my default fonts as soon as D6 was released.
Todd is talking about the Open Type features available in Dorico 6. You can use them in Paragraph Styles, at the bottom of the settings for the selected paragraph style.
I cannot send a screenshot, but I think you’ll find it! @FredGUnn, the change is subtle, but it looks like the kerning of 1 is much better!
When you hit the + at the bottom of the OpenType features box you’ll be presented with the OpenType features that are available for that font. Not all fonts will have the same features available. For example, here are some of the available options I can choose from for my default font (I already have Proportional Figures selected and Saved as Default):
If you’ve set up your Paragraph and Font Styles with some thought so the styles cascade down from the parent style, you may only need to make that change a couple of times.
It’s definitely subtle, but hey, that’s the sort of stuff I love to geek out about! Most fonts of course understandably default to tabular so they can be used in charts, but I’m trying to think of a musical situation where I would not want proportional and I’m coming up empty. I switched mine after the D6 release and have been happy so far.
Certain numeric items that need good vertical alignment can benefit from tabular figures: staff label numbers, fingering, time signatures, etc., but in general I agree.
As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, Splentino and Nepomuk both have proportional numerals as the default (e.g. spaced to give visually uniform gaps between them).
You’re right that most commercial fonts tend to have tabular fonts as the default. For me, this makes the number 1 have much wider spaces than most other numerals, which can look odd, particularly in composers’ dates, or bar numbers in the hundreds.
The most recent update to Dorico added tabular figures to my fonts, which improves vertical alignment of the 1 and 2 on Condensed staff labels (most notably).
