关于在字体中使用rand特性及FontForge导入.fea文件的技术咨询

Hey there! Let's break this down for you since you're new to font editing—no worries, we've all been there starting out.

First off, great news: FontForge does support importing OpenType feature files (.fea) directly, which means you absolutely can add the rand (random substitution) feature just like you would use kern or liga. Here's how to go about it, plus some key tips:

• Importing your .fea file into FontForge

  1. Open your target font in FontForge first.
  2. Head to the top menu bar, go to File > Import > Feature File, then select your .fea file from your system.
  3. You can verify the feature was loaded correctly by opening the View > Features panel—you should see your rand feature listed alongside default ones like kern or liga.

• Writing a valid rand feature in your .fea file
  Make sure your rand feature follows proper OpenType syntax. A basic example would look like this:

  feature rand {
      # Replace the default 'a' with one of its alternate glyphs randomly
      sub a by [a.alt1 a.alt2];
      # Do the same for 'b' with three alternate options
      sub b by [b.alt1 b.alt2 b.alt3];
  } rand;
  

  Just double-check that the glyph names (like a.alt1) match exactly what's in your FontForge font—mismatched names will cause the feature to fail.

• Important things to keep in mind

  • If you run into issues, first make sure you're using the latest stable version of FontForge—older versions might have limited support for newer OpenType features like rand.
  • After importing, export your font as an OTF or TTF file, then test it in software that supports OpenType features (like Adobe Creative Suite apps, modern browsers, or LibreOffice). Not all tools recognize rand, so testing is key.
  • If you get error messages during import, your .fea file probably has a syntax mistake. Double-check curly braces, semicolons, and glyph name spelling—small typos break features fast!

备注：内容来源于stack exchange，提问作者Lasnik