How to Use REB Font Editor — Tips for Fast Font Editing

Exporting & Optimizing Fonts with REB Font Editor: Step-by-Step

This guide walks through exporting and optimizing fonts in REB Font Editor so you get lean, compatible, high-quality font files for web and apps.

1. Prepare your project

1. Open project: Load the font family (all weights/styles) into REB.
2. Validate glyphs: Use the built-in validator to fix missing outlines, overlapping contours, and incorrect point types.
3. Set metrics: Confirm ascent, descent, and line-gap values for consistent vertical metrics across styles.
4. Check kerning/pairing: Run automatic kerning then spot-check key pairs (AV, To, WA).

2. Choose export targets

• Web (WOFF2): Best for modern browsers — small file size.
• Legacy web (WOFF/TTF): Use WOFF for broader support; TTF for older systems that need raw outlines.
• Desktop (OTF/TTF): For desktop installation and app embedding.
• Variable font (VAR/WOFF2): Combine weights/axes into one file for responsive typography.

3. Optimize outlines and hinting

1. Remove redundant points: Run “Clean Paths” to delete collinear and duplicate points.
2. Simplify curves: Use curve simplification at a low threshold to preserve shape while reducing point count.
3. Compile hints: For TTF/OTF, enable auto-hinting or import curated hinting instructions for small-size targets.
4. Post-hint test: Preview at small sizes (9–12 px) to confirm legibility.

4. Subset glyphs to reduce size

1. Decide character set: For web, pick subsets (Latin Basic, Latin Extended, Cyrillic, etc.) based on audience.
2. Create custom subsets: Exclude rarely used glyphs (ligatures, stylistic sets) when appropriate.
3. Preview fallback: Ensure critical punctuation and numerals are included to avoid layout issues.

5. Configure export settings in REB

1. Select formats: Check WOFF2, WOFF, OTF/TTF, and Variable if needed.
2. Compression: Enable maximum compression for WOFF/WOFF2.
3. Metadata: Fill in font name, family, designer, license, and version. Use consistent naming to avoid installation conflicts.
4. OpenType features: Choose which features (liga, kern, etc.) to keep; removing unused features can save bytes.

6. Exporting variable fonts (if applicable)

1. Axis setup: Verify weight, width, italic axes and ranges.
2. Masters and interpolation: Ensure compatible glyph outlines across masters to avoid interpolation artifacts.
3. Generate STAT table: Include style-axis metadata for better fallbacks in browsers.
4. Export as WOFF2 VAR for web use and as a VAR OTF for desktop where supported.

7. Test exported files

1. Install locally: Test desktop OTF/TTF in sample docs and apps.
2. Browser testing: Serve WOFF2/WOFF files via a local server and test across major browsers and mobile.
3. Check metrics and shaping: Verify kerning, ligatures, and diacritics render correctly.
4. Accessibility: Confirm readability at small sizes and with assistive tech if applicable.

8. Size-reduction checklist (if files are still large)

• Subset to essential glyphs only.
• Remove unused OpenType features.
• Simplify outlines further or reduce curve precision slightly.
• Prefer WOFF2 over WOFF/TTF for web.
• Use variable fonts to combine multiple weights into one file when applicable.

9. Final packaging and distribution

1. Create package: Include font files, license, specimen PDF, and CSS example for web (font-face rules with fallbacks).
2. Versioning: Use semantic version numbers in filenames and metadata.
3. CDN/web hosting: Upload to your CDN or font-hosting service; confirm proper MIME types and CORS headers.
4. Deliverable checklist: Files, license, specimen, CSS, and README.

10. Quick export script (example)

• Use REB’s command-line or batch export (if available) to automate repeatable exports: set formats, compression, and subset profiles, then run per-family.

Follow these steps in REB Font Editor to produce optimized, compatible fonts ready for web and desktop use.