Neue Testversion 25.00b12

[Herbert123]

@Gerhard: Quick question. How do I get Open Type features in PL on Windows? Thank you! I want to use contextual alternates for character combinations of Th, ff, fi, and so on. The font I am trying to use is the the famous free Junicode font for medievalist scholars.

Unfortunately, I don't think we actually can access these directly in PhotoLine. I've asked for extended OpenType support years and years ago, but it was never implemented.

Nor is it possible to open a type glyphs panel that lists all the characters --preferably grouped and categorized according to type categories such as different contextual alternates and such-- which I and a few others here asked for to be added to PhotoLine, but that wasn't implemented either. Instead we have to use the Edit Text Shortcuts to deal with some of these type setting challenges. Or an external tool (which I do). I find the Edit Text Shortcuts to be woefully ill-equipped for this work. Again: fine for the average user who doesn't care or think about fine typography design. Not great for professional design purposes.

The way PhotoLine treats font names and sets is also very confusing. Take the Junicode font, for example: it should be listed as one font family, but instead we are treated to a list of 7 or 8 separate entries in the font list dropdowns.

To date it seems variable fonts and colour SVG fonts aren't supported either. No tracking - only kerning. No option to search and(!) filter in the font dialogs.

Type setting in PhotoLine can be a quite frustrating experience. I love everything else about PhotoLine, but this particular part really is in dire need of improvement. I suppose it is good enough for the average user. Not for me or anyone else invested in quality typography and type setting.

I have learned to live with it, but if I need to do high-end type setting I open InDesign or --more and more nowadays-- VectorStyler. VectorStyler offers nice typographical features that are up to date. Then I export as vector for import into PhotoLine. Not ideal, but at least I save time doing my type setting.

I wish we had something like this in PhotoLine (This is VectorStyler, btw).

2025-12-12 23_05_53-#1.png

P.S.: VectorStyler is an perfect companion to PhotoLine for more refined typography and type setting. It even has a text tool to transform individual characters within a paragraph of text! And the text remains text!

Also, I need to typeset Japanese, and VectorStyler has really nice East-Asian type setting. Can't even do this in InDesign - I would need the Japanese version for that, I believe.

[der_fotograf]

If you are doing so much typesetting, why don't you use Sribus?
It is much more versatile than InDesign, works with any language, features liguatures to choose from, offers unlimited color models, etc., and produces absolutely clean PDF/X-4 files.
It is Open Source and doesn't cost a dime.
I'm using Sribus for more than a decade now to have my books, collaterals, posters, postcards, large format prints, etc. printed, and never had any problems.

[der_fotograf]

Just a reminder, before you ask for more features to be included into PL: as the name implies, PhotoLine is an image editor, not a typesetting or desktop publishing program.

[Vivi_Ram]

Just a reminder, before you ask for more features to be included into PL: as the name implies, PhotoLine is an image editor, not a typesetting or desktop publishing program.

I'd have to explicitly disagree here. PL in your view may be an image editor. But for the rest of us, the vast majority of us, it is more than just an image editor. And it is not marketed simply as an image editor either. On the webpage for PL, you explicitly see the DTP features called into attention. There are many reasons to prefer PhotoLine, including the fact you have the ability to edit your vectors and images directly within the program. Scribus does not have a sophisticated layer-based workflow in PL, which allows virtual duplication of layers as well as elaborate support for layer styles and adjustments. PL also supports Indic languages nearly perfectly. Combine all this, PL becomes a nearly perfect DTP software for certain use cases, use cases for which I make use of it, namely brand and magazine design. Therefore, Open Type features would be extremely welcome in so good a software.

[Vivi_Ram]

I have learned to live with it, but if I need to do high-end type setting I open InDesign or --more and more nowadays-- VectorStyler. VectorStyler offers nice typographical features that are up to date. Then I export as vector for import into PhotoLine. Not ideal, but at least I save time doing my type setting.

This is a real pity. As I love the workflow I've established within PL now for DTP work. Typing outside and bring it into PL as vectors, for lack of a better word, is a crude workaround. Oh well.

I hope the developers show this side of their wonderful software some love. It can do wonders.

P.S.: On a separate note, don't you just love Junicode? Especially the latest one. It is such a beautiful font family.

[Vivi_Ram]

yes, "Shift" makes PhotoLine to flip the whole document.

Okay, I'll change the shortcut then.

[Vivi_Ram]

Strange rendering bug: How to reproduce.

Create a line, change the nodes to smooth, and then up both the handles using Alt until they are at the same lengths. You'll see that this creates fill on the flipside of the line too. Now move it around, you'll see it leaves behind a trail of objects. They disappear eventually, but they create artefacts. - Use this file to see what I mean.

Bug in PL.jpg

[Herbert123]

If you are doing so much typesetting, why don't you use Sribus?
It is much more versatile than InDesign, works with any language, features liguatures to choose from, offers unlimited color models, etc., and produces absolutely clean PDF/X-4 files.
It is Open Source and doesn't cost a dime.
I'm using Sribus for more than a decade now to have my books, collaterals, posters, postcards, large format prints, etc. printed, and never had any problems.

Scribus is good (if somewhat clunky), but as mentioned: I also typeset Japanese. And Scribus doesn't do ruby (furigana). Without that option you might state that Scribus doesn't support Japanese. And there are other things missing in Scribus as well that I would expect to be able to access in layout software, for example left margin optical margin alignment or optical kerning.

LibreOffice does have proper Japanese type setting support, btw. But LibreOffice is a word processor - not layout software.

Check out the CJK options in VectorStyler here:
https://www.vectorstyler.com/documentation/text/cjk/

I do agree with you that I would never expect PhotoLine to implement proper CJK type setting support. It is too niche (but it WOULD open up the entire East-Asian language market to PhotoLine - which is HUGE)

But I do expect a design app to support modern Opentype and font features. Any other self-respecting design software does.

[PPaul]

Hi, could it be possible to save Find-Replace in texts like Presets? Something like the Presets in the Guides?
I have regularly recurring find&replace things (like double spaces, or space . , or '-' replaced by bullets in an enumeration, or soft end of paragraph replaced by hard end of paragraph, or fixed sticky spaces replaced by normal spaces).
I normally get pre-typed tekst in Word, so the text shortcuts don't work.
That would save so much time.

Thanks!

- Paul

[Vivi_Ram]

@PPaul: It appears to me that you're looking for GREP styles. Or rather a smaller subset of GREP Styles. It would be most welcome in PL. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/FgBHN8mwd6w It is extremely powerful. Sadly only available in Viva Designer, InDesign and Quark Xpress.

[Gerhard Huber]

@Gerhard: Quick question. How do I get Open Type features in PL on Windows? Thank you! I want to use contextual alternates for character combinations of Th, ff, fi, and so on. The font I am trying to use is the the famous free Junicode font for medievalist scholars.

You can switch on and off ligatures in the tool options of PhotoLine.

Ligatur1.png

Other options are not implemented at the moment - there was no request.

[Vivi_Ram]

Hiya Gerhard: Is this in the beta V12 or is it in the upcoming beta. I can't seem to find that option in my PL. I have the latest beta. Thanks for the response.

layer_7.jpg

That's what I see.

[Gerhard Huber]

Sorry, seems to be hidden in the release version. I will enable it in the next beta.

[Vivi_Ram]

Thank you so much! I really look forward to it. Also, quite excited by the Bezigon too. It will be a great Christmas!

[Vivi_Ram]

While we're on the topic of text, I realised there's a nifty little shortcut to manage leading. Just like Alt + left/right keys increase tracking and kerning, would it be possible to set alt + up/down keys to set paragraph leading?