fonts/tools/encodings/GF Glyph Sets/Vietnamese

Making Vietnamese look better

Here is how to create localized Vietnamese glyphs, different from default Latin ones, in Glyphs App.

First, let's create glyphs for localized Vietnamese accents. Go to Glyphs > Add Glyphs, copy and paste the command below:

acutecomb=acutecomb.loclVIT
gravecomb=gravecomb.loclVIT
circumflexcomb=circumflexcomb.loclVIT
brevecomb=brevecomb.loclVIT
tildecomb=tildecomb.loclVIT

Adjust the new accents to your liking. Then add localised Vietnamese glyphs with the next command. Go to Glyphs > Add Glyphs, copy and paste the code below:

A+acutecomb.loclVIT=Aacute.loclVIT
E+acutecomb.loclVIT=Eacute.loclVIT
I+acutecomb.loclVIT=Iacute.loclVIT
O+acutecomb.loclVIT=Oacute.loclVIT
Ohorn+acutecomb.loclVIT=Ohornacute
U+acutecomb.loclVIT=Uacute.loclVIT
Uhorn+acutecomb.loclVIT=Uhornacute
Y+acutecomb.loclVIT=Yacute.loclVIT
a+acutecomb.loclVIT=aacute.loclVIT
e+acutecomb.loclVIT=eacute.loclVIT
idotless+acutecomb.loclVIT=iacute.loclVIT
o+acutecomb.loclVIT=oacute.loclVIT
ohorn+acutecomb.loclVIT=ohornacute
u+acutecomb.loclVIT=uacute.loclVIT
uhorn+acutecomb.loclVIT=uhornacute
y+acutecomb.loclVIT=yacute.loclVIT

A+gravecomb.loclVIT=Agrave.loclVIT
E+gravecomb.loclVIT=Egrave.loclVIT
I+gravecomb.loclVIT=Igrave.loclVIT
O+gravecomb.loclVIT=Ograve.loclVIT
Ohorn+gravecomb.loclVIT=Ohorngrave
U+gravecomb.loclVIT=Ugrave.loclVIT
Uhorn+gravecomb.loclVIT=Uhorngrave
Y+gravecomb.loclVIT=Ygrave.loclVIT
a+gravecomb.loclVIT=agrave.loclVIT
e+gravecomb.loclVIT=egrave.loclVIT
idotless+gravecomb.loclVIT=igrave.loclVIT
o+gravecomb.loclVIT=ograve.loclVIT
ohorn+gravecomb.loclVIT=ohorngrave
u+gravecomb.loclVIT=ugrave.loclVIT
uhorn+gravecomb.loclVIT=uhorngrave
y+gravecomb.loclVIT=ygrave.loclVIT

A+circumflexcomb.loclVIT=Acircumflex.loclVIT
A+circumflexcomb.loclVIT+dotbelowcomb=Acircumflexdotbelow
E+circumflexcomb.loclVIT=Ecircumflex.loclVIT
E+circumflexcomb.loclVIT+dotbelowcomb.loclVIT=Ecircumflexdotbelow
O+circumflexcomb.loclVIT=Ocircumflex.loclVIT
O+circumflexcomb.loclVIT+dotbelowcomb=Ocircumflexdotbelow
a+circumflexcomb.loclVIT=acircumflex.loclVIT
a+circumflexcomb.loclVIT+dotbelowcomb=acircumflexdotbelow
e+circumflexcomb.loclVIT=ecircumflex.loclVIT
e+circumflexcomb.loclVIT+dotbelowcomb=ecircumflexdotbelow
o+circumflexcomb.loclVIT=ocircumflex.loclVIT
o+circumflexcomb.loclVIT+dotbelowcomb=ocircumflexdotbelow

A+brevecomb.loclVIT=Abreve.loclVIT
A+brevecomb.loclVIT+dotbelowcomb=Abrevedotbelow
a+brevecomb.loclVIT=abreve.loclVIT
a+brevecomb.loclVIT+dotbelowcomb=abrevedotbelow

A+tildecomb.loclVIT=Atilde.loclVIT
E+tildecomb.loclVIT=Etilde
I+tildecomb.loclVIT=Itilde
Ohorn+tildecomb.loclVIT=Ohorntilde
O+tildecomb.loclVIT=Otilde.loclVIT
Uhorn+tildecomb.loclVIT=Uhorntilde
U+tildecomb.loclVIT=Utilde
Y+tildecomb.loclVIT=Ytilde
a+tildecomb.loclVIT=atilde.loclVIT
e+tildecomb.loclVIT=etilde
idotless+tildecomb.loclVIT=itilde
ohorn+tildecomb.loclVIT=ohorntilde
o+tildecomb.loclVIT=otilde.loclVIT
uhorn+tildecomb.loclVIT=uhorntilde
u+tildecomb.loclVIT=utilde
y+tildecomb.loclVIT=ytilde

Then, the following command will create new unique Vietnamese glyphs with special accents, and generate additional localized variants for these glyphs:

Aacute.loclVIT Abreve.loclVIT Acircumflex.loclVIT Agrave.loclVIT Atilde.loclVIT Eacute.loclVIT Ecircumflex.loclVIT Egrave.loclVIT Iacute.loclVIT Igrave.loclVIT Oacute.loclVIT Ocircumflex.loclVIT Ograve.loclVIT Otilde.loclVIT Uacute.loclVIT Ugrave.loclVIT Yacute.loclVIT Ygrave.loclVIT aacute.loclVIT abreve.loclVIT acircumflex.loclVIT agrave.loclVIT atilde.loclVIT eacute.loclVIT ecircumflex.loclVIT egrave.loclVIT iacute.loclVIT igrave.loclVIT oacute.loclVIT ocircumflex.loclVIT ograve.loclVIT otilde.loclVIT uacute.loclVIT ugrave.loclVIT yacute.loclVIT ygrave.loclVIT

Now update your locl OT feature:

Other glyphs are unique for Vietnamese within the GF Latin glyphs sets range, they will be created with special Vietnamese accents.

Acknowledgments: Nhung Nguyen @crystaltype had the idea and this tutorial was written by Alexei Vanyashin @alexeiva