pages/fonts/Charis-7.000/documentation/faq.html
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<h1 class="title">Charis - Frequently Asked Questions</h1>
</header>
<p>Many questions can be answered by consulting the following FAQ
pages. Here are a few sample questions answered in each FAQ:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://software.sil.org/fonts/faq">SIL fonts in
general</a>
<ul>
<li><em>How can I type...?</em></li>
<li><em>How can I use font features?</em></li>
<li><em>Will you add support for character...?</em></li>
<li><em>Will you add support for script...?</em></li>
<li><em>WIll you help me...?</em></li>
</ul></li>
<li><a href="https://software.sil.org/lcgfonts/faq">SILs Latin,
Cyrillic, and Greek fonts</a>.
<ul>
<li><em>How can I type IPA symbols?</em></li>
<li><em>How do I use both a single-story and double-story 'a' in
italic?</em></li>
<li><em>Why dont my diacritics position properly?</em></li>
<li><em>Why is the line spacing so much looser than other
fonts?</em></li>
<li><em>Ive updated my font to the latest version and some letters
have become black boxes with white letters - why?</em></li>
</ul></li>
<li><a href="https://openfontlicense.org/ofl-faq">The SIL Open Font
License (OFL-FAQ)</a>
<ul>
<li><em>Can I use this font for...?</em></li>
<li><em>Can I modify the font and then include it in...</em></li>
<li><em>If I use the font on a web page do I have to include an
acknowledgement?</em></li>
<li>The full OFL-FAQ.txt is also included in the font package.</li>
</ul></li>
</ul>
<p>Here are a few of the most frequently asked questions
specifically regarding Charis:</p>
<h4
id="why-did-you-change-the-font-family-name-to-only-charis"><em>Why
did you change the font family name to only Charis?</em></h4>
<p>The version 7 reduction of default line spacing and addition of
kerning would have caused most documents that used Charis SIL to
reflow. This would have caused significant pain for users who wanted
to use the new version but also had large collections of existing
documents that would reflow. Changing the name to only Charis allows
both old and new font families to be installed at the same time and
eases the transition to the new version.</p>
<h4 id="why-did-you-stop-producing-compact-versions"><em>Why did you
stop producing Compact versions?</em></h4>
<p>Improvements to both these fonts and industry font technology has
reduced the need for <em>Compact</em> versions. The reduced default
line spacing in v7 enables many users of <em>Compact</em> variants
to switch to using the standard fonts, and allows documents to be
shared without requiring special fonts. If tight or loose line
spacing is needed the best solution is to use the standard fonts and
explicitly set the line spacing in your application. If the
application does not allow user-specified line spacing the <a
href="https://software.sil.org/lcgfonts/download/">v6.2 Compact
fonts remain available</a>. Please also contact the app developer to
request that they give users better control over line spacing.</p>
<h4 id="where-are-the-literacy-versions"><em>Where are the Literacy
versions?</em></h4>
<p>We have not prepared pre-tuned <em>Literacy</em> versions of
the version 7 fonts. The standard fonts include the literacy forms,
which can be turned on in many applications and on web pages using
OpenType stylistic sets (<code>ss01</code>, <code>ss11</code>,
<code>ss12</code>) — see <a
href="https://software.sil.org/fonts/features">Using Font
Features</a> and <a
href="https://software.sil.org/fonts/webfonts">Using SIL Fonts on
Web Pages</a>. If your application does not allow you to control
these features the <a
href="https://software.sil.org/lcgfonts/download/">v6.2 Literacy
fonts remain available</a>. Please also contact the app developer to
request that they give users access to OpenType stylistic sets.</p>
<h4
id="is-there-a-guide-to-the-many-versions-of-charis-and-its-variants"><em>Is
there a guide to the many versions of Charis and its
variants?</em></h4>
<p>Yes! See the <a href="versions.html">Versions</a> page.</p>
<h4
id="why-does-my-application-not-show-the-bold-weight-in-font-menus-and-dialogs"><em>Why
does my application not show the Bold weight in font menus and
dialogs?</em></h4>
<p>Some applications will list all the weights but leave out Bold.
To access the Bold you need to choose Regular and turn on Bold using
the applications UI controls such as a “B” button. See our <a
href="https://software.sil.org/fonts/axis-based-fonts/">Font Help
Guide on Axis-Based Font Families</a> for more information.</p>
<h4 id="why-do-i-sometimes-get-a-fake-bold"><em>Why do I sometimes
get a fake Bold?</em></h4>
<p>If you choose a weight other than Regular (such as Medium), and
then use application controls to turn on Bold, some applications
will make a “fake” Bold rather than use one of the real ones in the
font (SemiBold, Bold). This is because only Regular has an
associated Bold counterpart. This is a technical limitation with
some apps and OSes. If you are using a weight other than Regular for
text and want to make a word or phrase stand out, you will need to
select the text and apply one of the heavier weights manually. See
our <a href="https://software.sil.org/fonts/axis-based-fonts/">Font
Help Guide on Axis-Based Font Families</a> for more information.</p>
<h4
id="why-does-the-font-have-some-greek-characters-but-not-all"><em>Why
does the font have some Greek characters, but not all?</em></h4>
<p>Although Charis includes some Greek characters, it is not
intended to provide general support for the Greek language. The
Greek characters that are included are there to support various
notational systems (linguistic, logical, mathematical). Other fonts,
such as <a href="https://software.sil.org/gentium">Gentium</a>,
provide complete Greek script support.</p>
<h4 id="will-you-add-full-greek-script-support"><em>Will you add
full Greek script support?</em></h4>
<p>We have no plans to do that, however the <a
href="https://openfontlicense.org_web">OFL licensing</a> allows
anyone to add Greek support and freely distribute the font to
others. It is even possible to <a href="developer.html">contribute
that work back to the project</a> and share it with others.</p>
<h4 id="isnt-charis-just-a-copy-of-charter"><em>Isnt Charis just a
copy of Charter?</em></h4>
<p>Charis is very closely based on the design of Bitstream Charter.
However the glyphs were completely redrawn based only on visual
reference to Charter. There are some significant design differences
in the serif structure, proportions, diacritics, and Cyrillic. The
design was also adjusted and extended to cover a much wider range of
characters and publishing needs.</p>
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<p>This guide is from the <a href="https://software.sil.org/charis/" title="" class="active">Charis project</a> version 7 and is copyright © 1997-2025 SIL Global.</p>
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