Adobe ILLUSTRATOR CS2 User Manual page 400

About ligatures and contextual alternates
Ligatures are typographic replacement characters for certain letter pairs. Most fonts include ligatures for standard
letter pairs such as fi, fl, ff, ffi, and ffl. In addition, some fonts include discretionary ligatures for letter pairs such as
ct, st, and ft. Although the characters in ligatures appear to be joined, they are fully editable and do not cause the
spell checker to flag a word erroneously.
Contextual alternates are alternate characters included in some script typefaces to provide better joining behavior.
For example, when using Caflisch Script Pro with contextual alternates enabled, the letter pair "bl" in the word
"bloom" is joined so that it looks more like handwriting.
There are two ways to insert ligatures and contextual alternates in text: using the Glyphs palette and using the
OpenType palette. You can also search for and replace standard letter pairs with ligatures using the Type > Smart
Punctuation command.
See also
"About character sets and alternate glyphs" on page 389
To use ligatures and contextual alternates
1 Select the characters or type objects to which you want to apply the setting. If you don't select any text, the setting
applies to new text you create.
2 Make sure that an OpenType font is selected.
In the OpenType palette, do any of the following:
3
•
Click the Standard Ligatures button to enable or disable ligatures for standard letter pairs (such as fi, fl, ff, ffi, and
ffl).
•
Click the Discretionary Ligatures button to enable or disable optional ligatures (if available in the current font).
•
Click the Contextual Alternates button to enable or disable contextual alternates (if available in the current font).
See also
"OpenType fonts" on page 391
"The OpenType palette" on page 391
To use swashes, titling alternates, or stylistic alternates
Many OpenType fonts include stylized characters that let you add decorative elements to type. Swashes are characters
with exaggerated flourishes. Titling alternates are characters (usually all in capitals) designed for use in large-size
settings, such as titles. Stylistic alternates are stylized characters that create a purely esthetic effect.
Select the characters or type objects to which you want to apply the setting. If you don't select any text, the setting
1
applies to new text you create.
Make sure that an OpenType font is selected.
2
In the OpenType palette, do one of the following:
3
•
Click the Swash button to enable or disable swash characters (if available in the current font).
•
Click the Stylistic Alternates button to enable or disable stylistic alternates (if available in the current font).
•
Click the Titling Alternates button to enable or disable titling alternates (if available in the current font).
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