Tom's X11 BDF Font Editor

bdfedit

bdfedit is a tcl/tk program that I've used to create and/or modify several fonts. Below is a screen shot of the software.

The top region is the font being edited. Blue boxes are undefined glyphs. The red box marks the current glyph. The bottom of the window is used to edit the current glyph.

The line of pink boxes in the middle is hold space. Glyphs that are in progress can be put here temporarily. This is also used to automatically save the old glyph when a character is updated, and to save the work area if a new character is selected for editing without saving changes.

Glyphs can be dragged from the font to the hold or work areas, or to another character in the font. They can also be dragged from the hold area.

The resizing feature allows you to adjust any edge, which determines where the pixels will be added or deleted.

Download bdfedit 1.3.
UPDATED! to 1.3 2003/03/31

  • Editing (shift, flip, invert) of less than the full bitmap area. Use shift-button1 to select an area, press shift again to clear it.
  • Importing of bitmaps. X11 XBM format only.
  • Dialogs pop up under your pointer.
  • Warns you about overwriting existing files during Save As.
    Minor Bug Fix! to 1.2.1 2001/07/09
  • Stupid mistake in number of properties fixed
    UPDATED! to 1.2 2001/07/06
  • large fonts work correctly!
  • needed but forgotten .tcl file is now included!
  • correct handling of font origin!
    (Get previous version, 1.2.1 2001/07/09.)
    (Get older version, 1.1 2000/11/03.)

    You must have wish7.6 or later installed. Unpack the tar file, and read the README. You may have to edit the file to set a couple of paths. bdfedit is supported for Unix/Linux systems. It may work on other platforms, but has never been tested by me.

    Report a bug (via email).

    Register for email updates related to bdfedit.

    Other Font-Related Links

    Take a look at some fonts I created or maintained using bdfedit.

    If bdfedit doesn't do what you need, there's a plethora of software out there. Luc Devroye maintains a terrific font information site with links for fonts and software for all major platforms.

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