Family Historian User Group

The Microsoft Word and LibreOffice word processors can leverage extra features/character sets natively embedded within OpenType fonts.

I'd like to use the old-style numerals (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Text_figures) which are included within the font family I use for reports (Minion Pro), but I don't believe there is any configuration option within FH7 to toggle this on/off.

Posting this here in case I have overlooked this option - thanks.

That Old-style seems to be available in all Fonts in word-processors but none of those advanced options are possible in FH.

The only method I can suggest is to use Save Report As > Word-Processor Document (RTF) and change the Font settings using a word-processor.

Thanks, Mike! That is indeed a good workaround.

I will go ahead and open a new request for this on the wish list.

I will also see if I can possibly rearrange the glyphs in my font file, so that those old-style numbers are the default - that may avoid the extra RTF step on my end when generating reports.

Yes, just be wary of the next possible problem though - some of the FH Reports don't save as .RTF quite as nicely as you'd hope. Don't know about any others, but if you attempt to RTF-save Narrative Reports with images, the images are there but configured differently - as a horizontal row, instead of a vertical stack, if I recall correctly. This may or may not affect you.

PS - I had no idea "old-style numerals" existed. Or rather, I'd seen such characters but not really absorbed what I was looking at, so this is quite interesting of itself.

As someone who trained as a graphic designer and who still does book-layout from time to time, Old-style numerals, and OpenType generally are near and dear to my heart.

However, in the case of FH, this is irrelevant. FH is a database where what is entered, and not how it looks, is paramount. (I have a similar issue where I cannot format the font I want for Chinese text without exporting a Report where I can tweak that.) As others have said, you will need to save a Report and update the typography in an OpenType-compatible word processor, such as MS Word or LibreOffice, or even to a desktop publishing application such as Adobe InDesign (expensive!!!) or Affinity Publisher (time-limited demo available, and quite cheap). Of course the typeface would need to have old-style numerals (most don't).

Now if FH7 would only use dashes instead of hyphens for ranges of numbers (e.g., 123–456 vs 123-456; the dash on the left is longer than the shorter, inappropriate hyphen on the right). . . . but again, that is not the point of a database.

Good commentary from everyone, thanks again.

I've opened a wish list request (Old-style numerals support in reports (19733)).

Given the RTF narrative-report-with-images issue mentioned by Adrian, and especially as I don't want to add any additional steps every time I generate a new report, here is my workaround:

• Decide which typeface I want to use with my generated reports, and confirm it contains old-style numerals;
• Review my typeface license to confirm I can modify that typeface for my own use;
• Download the open-source FontForge application;
• Locate the locally-installed typeface I am working with (the one with the embedded old-style numerals);
• Make a copy of the locally installed typeface and give that copy a new name;
• Open the copied typeface within FontForge to see the full collection of glyphs which are included within the typeface;
• Note the locations of both the standard or "lining" numerals (almost always at the top of the file) and the corresponding "old-style" numerals;
• Copy the 0-9 old-style glyphs and paste them over the 0-9 lining glyphs;
• Generate a new typeface file and give it a unique name;
• Use that new typeface going forward when generating reports within FH.

This would not be a good option if I planned to generate any reports which needed the standard/lining numerals - because I've completely replaced those standard/lining numerals with their old-style equivalents.

But the only use case where I will leverage the newly generated typeface will be in conjunction with generating FH reports, so this approach suits my needs perfectly as a workaround, until my wish list request is considered for potential implementation in the future.

bssmith wrote: ↑

17 Aug 2021 15:21

• Open the copied typeface within FontForge to see the full collection of glyphs which are included within the typeface;
• Note the locations of both the standard or "lining" numerals (almost always at the top of the file) and the corresponding "old-style" numerals;
• Copy the 0-9 old-style glyphs and paste them over the 0-9 lining glyphs;
• Generate a new typeface file and give it a unique name;
• Use that new typeface going forward when generating reports within FH.

Keep in mind, however, that your modified font is going to use old-style numerals wherever numbers occur, even if it is not appropriate. Somethings I can think of off-hand are footnote reference numbers, any charts with numerical data that you might want to line up, &c. But this is why OpenType exists, and why (in my opinion) it is best to separate out the presentation (book, report, etc.) from the database.