Add a font ligature control panel to design tool

[WHS_Designs]

It would be fantastic if we could see the additional special swashes/curlicues for applicable fonts in the design tool via a separate control panel.

Yes, the Unicode code can be typed in as a workaround, but this can be quite tedious depending on the complexity of the design.

[Cat]

Great idea! Could be a little bit complicated since they don't always live in the same section of the Unicode table - and some fonts have only a handful of special characters while others have hundreds. There are also special characters (hearts, chess pieces, astrology signs, etc.) that can be quite useful. Maybe some sort of a Unicode browser feature that would allow you to easily move around to different sections like the private use area (E000—F8FF) where the ligature characters generally live, or the section where the dingbats are, etc.

[Wasootch]

I like this idea. I didn't know we type in the unicode. Thanks for the info on that. 

[WHS_Designs]

Cat's right. I've seen some of the (many) Unicode tables in Wikipedia and it's a nightmare to see just how many there are and where those special symbols reside (not all in the same table!)

You're welcome! Here's how to do it in Microsoft Windows:
https://www.fileformat.info/tip/microsoft/enter_unicode.htm 

[Cat]

I can't believe you go through all that each time you want to use a ligature! I found an online Unicode table somewhere along the line (you can probably find one through Google) that would let you copy special characters for each font. It was cumbersome because you had to scroll through a zillion pages to find the right section where the glyphs are - though not as cumbersome as entering the Unicode numbers themselves! Anyhow, I created a hidden "cheat sheet" product for each font with ligatures/glyphs where I just copied & pasted all of the special characters. It was a bit of a pain, but I only had to do it once.

Now when I want to use them, I just open my hidden product (I think I used posters, but you could use whatever) and copy/paste the special characters. Got the idea from another Zazzler who's name escapes me at the moment (Viviendules maybe?) Anyhow, she actually published a few charts for different fonts and made them public - but I think she left Zazzle and so did her beautiful charts! Mine are a cluttered disaster mess that probably nobody but me could make heads or tails of, but they are functional! 

[WHS_Designs]

Only very briefly when I was trying to find ligatures for Blooming Elegant. 😀

It was Vivendulies, bless her, who did charts for a number of handwriting-style fonts. They are in my Saved Designs, and I open them once in a while to make sure they don't get deleted for going over the 6-month save period.

[Caprice]

+1 for making ligature/glyph thingies easier!

[Shakenbake]

This would be a more useful request if it comes hand in hand with an updated and expanded offering of font choices! LOL. 

Like licensing issues can't be holding up things that much. Newer companies have larger libraries of fonts. It limits design here to have such limitations and outdated options for fonts. There are so many free CU fonts available (the entire google fonts library is CU is it not?) 

And while I am fine utilizing SVG's for some things or for fonts that can't be licensed to the POD in that manner but are licensed to me to use them that way, having a better library of fonts will open up this site to so much better looking and current looking art and design. PLEASE MORE FONTS (and a better organized font libary too on the back end, like. way for us to save our favorites or search fonts)