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Component workflow

Reusable glyph components and Latin accents without duplicated work

Build linked outline components in Typelure, decide when to detach them, and construct supported Latin accents without duplicating or double-dotting forms.

By Typelure Editorial 7 min read

A component is valuable when several glyphs must share the same design decision. It turns a repeated dot, terminal, accent, or other complete contour into one editable source instead of a collection of copies that quietly drift apart.

Reuse still needs judgment. Some shapes should remain identical; others only share a starting idea. Typelure separates linked components, independent paths, and smart accent construction so you can choose the right kind of reuse instead of treating every similarity as equivalence.

Main dot

One editable source

i

Linked

j

Linked

:

Linked
Typelure workflow schematic. Use it as a diagnostic model; judge the actual outlines and exported files in context.

1. Choose components by design responsibility

Make a component when one correction should intentionally affect every use. Good candidates are self-contained contours such as a dot, a recurring accent, a terminal, a serif unit, or another repeated detail whose identity matters across glyphs.

Do not componentize two shapes merely because they look close today. A bowl shared by b, d, p, and q may need different joins or stress corrections later. Reuse the portion whose geometry should remain identical and leave optical transitions as local paths.

Choose the right reuse strategy
SituationStrategyReason
The contour must remain identical everywhereLinked componentOne main edit updates every linked instance
The form is only a starting pointDuplicate independent pathsEach glyph can receive its own optical correction
One linked use must diverge permanentlyDetach that instanceIt keeps its current outline but stops following the main
A precomposed Latin target is empty or missingSmart accent constructionTypelure can combine a finished base with supported mark geometry

2. Create and manage a linked component in Typelure

Select the complete contour or contours that define the reusable shape, then choose Create component in the Glyph inspector. Typelure establishes a main component placement and records each additional placement as a linked instance.

When an instance is selected, the inspector identifies it as Main or Linked and shows its use count. Edit main opens the source geometry. X and Y move the selected placement. Duplicate makes another linked instance. Delete removes a linked placement, while the protected main placement cannot be deleted or detached as though it were an ordinary copy.

  1. 1

    Select whole contours

    Include every path that belongs to the reusable form; avoid selecting a fragment that depends on unrelated points.

  2. 2

    Create and name the component

    Use a role-based name such as dot, acute, or round terminal rather than the first glyph that happens to contain it.

  3. 3

    Place linked instances

    Duplicate the instance or insert the component where the identical form is needed, then position it in font coordinates.

  4. 4

    Edit the main source

    Make shared geometry corrections through Edit main and inspect every use after the update.

3. Detach deliberately and audit every shared edit

Detach is a design fork. The selected linked instance becomes ordinary editable paths at its current transformed position, and later changes to the main component no longer reach it. Detach only when the glyph has a real optical requirement, not as a workaround for uncertainty about the main shape.

A shared edit has a wider blast radius than a local edit. After changing a main dot, accent, or terminal, inspect the component’s use count and proof every host glyph. Typelure resolves linked outlines for the glyph grid, proof view, readiness analysis, validation, and export, so a malformed component can affect many characters at once.

  • Keep the main component simple and free of unrelated contours.
  • Name by function so future uses remain understandable.
  • Inspect all instances after changing weight, width, or vertical position.
  • Detach only the exceptional use, not every instance.
  • Run validation if a linked outline cannot be resolved or a component relationship appears broken.

4. Understand what Build accents does—and does not do

For the selected release goal, Typelure can find empty or missing precomposed Latin characters whose Unicode canonical decomposition uses a completed base plus supported marks. The current mark set covers grave, acute, circumflex, tilde, macron, breve, dot above, diaeresis, ring above, double acute, caron, dot below, cedilla, and ogonek.

Construction uses the resolved base outline, its bounds, the font units, and the base glyph’s horizontal metrics. It creates editable target outlines. These generated targets are not linked back to the base or converted into component instances, so a later edit to the base does not automatically rebuild them.

Above accents on lowercase i are a special case: the normal dot must not remain under the new mark. Typelure builds those targets only when a drawable dotless i at U+0131 is available; otherwise it skips them rather than producing a double-dotted result. Below-only forms such as i with dot below retain the normal dotted i.

  • Finish and proof base letters before running Build accents.
  • Draw U+0131 dotless i before building ì, í, î, ï, ĩ, ī, ĭ, or other supported above-mark i forms.
  • Expect nondecomposable letters such as æ, œ, ø, ł, and ß to require their own drawings.
  • Rerun construction only for targets that are still empty or missing; Typelure preserves targets that already contain paths or components.

5. Proof accents as a system, then as language

An accent can be mathematically centered and still feel wrong. Compare its stroke weight, width, height, and gap across flat, round, narrow, and wide bases. Check below marks against the descender zone and stacked marks against the ascender limit.

Then use real words. A grid reveals consistency, but language strings reveal collisions, spacing, and whether the expanded repertoire actually supports the text you intend to set.

  • Shape rows: À Á Â Ã Ä Å · È É Ê Ë · Ò Ó Ô Õ Ö Ő
  • Lowercase rows: à á â ã ä å · è é ê ë · ò ó ô õ ö ő
  • Narrow-base check: ì í î ï ī ĭ į — only after dotless i is ready
  • Below-mark check: Ạ ạ Ą ą Ņ ņ
  • French proof: Ça va? Élève, déjà vu. Crème brûlée.
  • Polish proof: Pchnąć w tę łódź jeża.
  • Punctuation context: “Crème brûlée” — 25 €…

6. Use standards as the map, then inspect the drawing

Unicode canonical decomposition explains which precomposed characters are equivalent to base-plus-mark sequences; it does not decide the optical placement for your typeface.

The OpenType glyph format documents simple and composite TrueType glyph descriptions. Typelure’s linked components are editor-level design objects that are resolved for its current export path, so do not assume the exported font will preserve that source organization as OpenType composite records.

  • Confirm every main component has a clear, complete contour set.
  • Review the full use count after a shared edit.
  • Detach only intentional exceptions.
  • Build accents only after bases, dotless i, and font metrics are stable.
  • Inspect every generated target for collisions, weight, bounds, and spacing.
  • Draw nondecomposable letters independently and proof them with the same language strings.

Frequently asked questions

Does editing a main component update every linked instance?

Yes. Linked instances resolve from the main component geometry plus their own transforms. That is the reason to use a component—and the reason to inspect every use after a shared edit.

Are accents built by Typelure automatically linked components?

No. Build accents creates editable target outlines from the resolved base and generated mark geometry. Those targets do not automatically follow later base edits, so run the builder after the bases are stable and proof the results individually.

Why did Typelure skip an accented lowercase i?

An above accent should replace the ordinary i dot. Typelure requires a drawable U+0131 dotless i for that construction and skips the target when it is unavailable rather than generating a double-dotted glyph.

Primary references

These references support the standards and file-format details in this guide. Typelure-specific behavior is described from the current product implementation and is dated above.

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