A Guide to the SIL Encore IPA Fonts (Macintosh version)
With these fonts we preview the next generation of SIL Encore Fonts—scalable outline fonts for both Macintosh and Windows systems. These IPA fonts are just the first step toward providing a single solution for all roman phonetic character needs. The full SIL Encore Outline Fonts package (available 11/92) is a more complete solution. The SIL Printing Arts Department is also committed to finding the best solutions for non-roman scripts in the months and years to come.
Although brief, this documentation contains vital font information that is not included elsewhere. Please read it carefully. This will help you take full advantage of the unique features of the SIL Encore IPA Fonts.
Contents of this Disk
This disk contains the following fonts in three formats, TrueType, Bitmap and PostScript Type 1:
SIL Doulos IPA — a serif, Times-like font
SIL Sophia IPA — a sans serif, Helvetica-like font
SIL Manuscript IPA — a monowidth font
It also contains the following documentation:
A Guide to the SIL Encore IPA Fonts (this file) — a brief guide to using the above fonts, supplied in both Microsoft Word and text formats. These files do not, however, contain the Access Code Tables and Keyboard Layouts included with the printed documentation.
Font Problem/Suggestion Response Form — a simple way to report any problems using these fonts and communicate your suggestions for future versions.
It also contains the following utility:
PopChar — a terrific (and free) utility by Günther Blaschek. See the documentation for instructions.
Installing the Fonts
Most users will be best served by the TrueType versions of the fonts. To use them you must be running System 7 (or System 6.0.5 or later with TrueType INIT*). To install them drag the TrueType suitcases of the fonts you want to use into your closed System Folder (use the Font/DA Mover with System 6). Although TrueType creates its own bitmaps “on-the-fly”, you may also wish to install the provided bitmap fonts for the most common point sizes. This can speed things up a bit. Install the bitmap fonts just as you did the TrueType fonts. Consult your Macintosh documentation for additional help.
To use the PostScript fonts we recommend that you use Adobe Type Manager. In any case, drag the PostScript fonts into your closed System Folder. You will also need to install at least one size of the bitmap fonts by dragging them into your closed System Folder (System 7) or by using the Font/DA Mover (System 6). Do not, however, install both TrueType and PostScript versions — “unexpected” things might result!
*Note: There are significant differences between the way System 6 and System 7 handle special character access. System 7 changed the key combinations for certain characters and allowed access to a few characters unavailable in System 6. These fonts were created with the enhanced System 7 keyboard in mind. Should you choose to use them with System 6, you will need to use different key combinations to access certain characters and some characters (access codes 252-255) will not be accessible in most programs. We can provide a conversion table upon request. We are sorry for these restrictions, but wanted to take advantage of the extra functionality only available with System 7.
Accessing Phonetic Characters
These fonts contain every base character, diacritic and suprasegmental mark currently prescribed by the International Phonetic Association, including the 1990 Kiel Convention revisions. It does not include full punctuation, capitals, non-IPA or former IPA characters. The intent was not to unnecessarily limit its usefulness, but to provide as full a solution as possible (at this time) for the display and publication of phonetic text using the current IPA.
The following table lists each class of characters and how they have been placed within the font for easy access. In general, variants of standard characters appear on or near those characters on the standard keyboard. Although we have tried to be as consistent as possible, the limitations of the keyboard have necessitated an awkward placement for some characters (Sorry!). Please refer to the supplied Keyboard Layout for specific character placement.
Characters /General Placement
standard lower case /same as usual keyboard
most common variants of lower case /“shift” versions of similar characters
turned or rotated /“option” versions
hooktop (implosives) /“option” versions
curved right leg (retroflex) /“shift-option” versions
superscript /“shift” versions
barred /“shift-option” versions
undotted versions of i, barred i & j for use with diacritics /versions of the single quote key
diacritics (see next section) /the upper row of keys (numbers, etc.)
suprasegmentals /to the right side of the keyboard
arrows /“dead-key” sequences beginning with “option-n”
clicks /“dead-key” sequences beginning with “option-e”
tone letters /“dead-key” sequences beginning with “option-u”
Using Diacritics
These fonts are designed to allow for the best diacritic placement available within the practical limits of non-kerning applications such as Microsoft Word. To do this we have included up to four versions of each diacritic to allow for “o-width” characters (such as a, o, e, c) and for thinner “i-width” characters (such as i, j, l, t). We have also included raised versions of the seven basic tone marks that will allow them to “stack” above another diacritic (such as the tilde) and a lowered version of the subscript plus sign for use with the esh (shift-s) and yogh (shift-z). The table below describes how to access each of the variants.
Diacritic /General Placement
standard “o-width” that fall below the base character /unshifted upper row of keys
standard “o-width” that ride above /“shift” versions
thinner “i-width” that fall below /“option” versions
thinner “i-width” that ride above /“shift-option” versions
raised “o-width” tone marks /“dead-key” sequences beginning with “option-`”
raised “i-width” tone marks /“dead-key” sequences beginning with “option-i”
lowered subscript plus /“dead-key” sequence: “option-`” then “shift-a”
Note that diacritics must be typed after the base character they modify. This may be a change from Macintosh tradition, but is necessary to allow for consistency between Mac and Windows fonts.
If a diacritic does not seem to align well, even though you have tried both “o-width” and “i-width” versions, you can try adding one or more “tiny” spaces (option-space, approximately 1-pixel at 300 DPI) between the base character and diacritic (option-space). Be aware, however, that this technique can add many unwanted character codes in your text if you later save it as a text-only file.
Changing Typefaces for Your Text
The SIL Encore IPA Fonts make it easy to change typefaces for your phonetic texts without any character set rearrangement. Each of the fonts has an identical character set encoding, meaning that you can change from the Doulos (proportional) typeface to the Manuscript (monowidth) typeface with a global font change (and vice versa) and retain all characters (in the right places!).
In developing this encoding, we worked with noted type designer Charles Bigelow of Bigelow & Holmes (designers of the Lucida font family) to “standardize” an encoding for IPA fonts in general. He has designed phonetic fonts in the past and is designing phonetic extensions to his Lucida Sans and Lucida Bright typefaces. These extensions will be released at no charge to the linguistic community! As a result of our cooperation these fonts will be available in the “SIL IPA Encoding” (as well as other encodings), allowing for problem-free font changes from SIL fonts to the Lucida extensions.
These IPA fonts are also “read-write embeddable”. This means that you can send a document to someone with the font “embedded” inside. They will be able to read, edit and print that document accurately even if they do not have the same font installed in their system. Although this is possible now, very few (if any) programs currently support embedding. Most commercial programs, however, will support it in future releases.
Exchanging Files with Windows
In order to maintain a very basic level of compatibility between the Macintosh and Windows versions of these fonts, we have also kept the font encoding identical between platforms. In other words, every character has the same access code in both versions. The result is that a file created on the Mac and saved as “text only” can be transferred to Windows without any rearranging of codes (and vice versa).
The downside of this is that files saved in other formats may not transfer correctly. For example, Microsoft Word (version 5.0) allows you to save documents in the Word for Windows format. The “filter” the program uses to do this, however, reassigns most of the upper 128 character slots and drops some characters out completely. The Windows-to-Mac migration does not do any better. Microsoft and their colleagues unfortunately provide no workaround for this problem, even though it affects every font (PS or TrueType) available. We could have restricted ourselves to using only the codes that are retained between platforms, but that would have severely reduced the characters available in the font and sacrificed the text file compatibility.
There is, however, one way to get around this access code jumbling. Using the RTF (Rich Text Format) filter available in both Word and Word for Windows retains the correct encoding if a small manual change is made in the file. We have automated that process through two Word for Windows macros that are included with the Windows version of these fonts.
One macro allows a WinWord user to convert a file saved in Mac RTF format into a standard WinWord document. Another allows a WinWord document to be saved in a Mac RTF format. In either case, a file transfer program like Apple File Exchange is necessary to transfer the files themselves between environments, and Word must have the RTF converters installed.
Questions and Problems
Why didn't you include upper case and full punctuation in the font? I need it!
These inclusions would have severely limited the number of IPA characters included in the font. We chose to provide a complete IPA set, but without the “extras”. All the “extras” will be included in the full release of the SIL Encore Outline Fonts (available 11/92).
Will these fonts work in word processors other than Microsoft Word?
Yes! They will work in any Mac application that supports TrueType fonts.
Whenever I try to type the characters on the “single quote” key I never get what I want.
Turn off the “Smart Quotes” option in your program.
You will undoubtedly have other questions about using these SIL Encore IPA Fonts. You may also encounter problems with the fonts or have suggestions for their improvement. To make these fonts available quickly we have not been able to test them in every situation — there may be “hidden features” in programs that we do not know about yet but cause problems. Please forward that information to us as soon as possible.
Please contact us using the provided response form or write to the address below. We greatly appreciate your suggestions and problem reports. We need your help as we work to improve our fonts. Thank you.
