PDF (adobe.com)

Apply OpenType features

  1. Make sure you have an OpenType font chosen when using the Type tool. If you don’t select any text, the setting applies to new text you create.
  2. From the Character panel menu, choose one of the following from the OpenType submenu:
    Standard Ligatures
    Are typographic replacements for certain pairs of characters, such as fi, fl, ff, ffi, and ffl.
    Type with the Standard Ligatures and Discretionary Ligatures options unselected and selected

    Contextual Alternates
    Are alternative characters included in some script typefaces to provide better joining behavior. For example, when using Caflisch Script Pro with contextual alternatives enabled, the letter pair “bl” in the word “bloom” is joined so that it looks more like handwriting.

    Discretionary Ligatures
    Are typographic replacement characters for letter pairs, such as ct, st, and ft.
    Note: Although the characters in ligatures appear to be joined, they are fully editable and do not cause the spelling checker to flag a word erroneously.

    Swash
    Substitutes swash glyphs, stylized letterforms with extended strokes (exaggerated flourishes).

    Old Style
    Are numerals shorter than regular numerals, with some old style numerals descending below the type baseline.

    Stylistic Alternates
    Formats stylized characters that create a purely aesthetic effect.

    Titling Alternatives
    Formats characters (usually all in capitals) designed for use in large‑size settings, such as titles.

    Ornaments
    Are devices that add a personal signature to the type family and can be used as title page decoration, paragraph markers, dividers for blocks of text, or as repeated bands and borders.

    Ordinals
    Automatically formats ordinal numbers (such as 1st and 2nd) with superscript characters. Characters such as the superscript in the Spanish words segunda and segundo (2a and 2o) are also typeset properly.

    Fractions
    Automatically formats fractions; numbers separated by a slash (such as 1/2) are converted to a shilling fraction (such as ).
    You can’t preview OpenType features, such as contextual alternates, ligatures, and glyphs in Photoshop before you apply them. However, you can preview and apply OpenType features by using the Adobe Illustrator Glyphs panel. Copy and paste your text into Adobe Illustrator and use the Glyphs panel to preview and apply OpenType features. You can then paste the text back into Photoshop.

    For a tutorial on viewing glyphs in Adobe Illustrator, see www.adobe.com/go/learn_ps_viewglyphsai.