Sometimes the fastest way to refine a letterform is not the glyph editor itself, but the vector drawing tool you already use every day. FontCreator lets you move a glyph outline out — by copy and paste or as a plain SVG file — polish it in Illustrator, Figma, or Inkscape, and bring it back into the same glyph.

This guide covers the monochrome outline round-trip: editable contour geometry out, editable contour geometry back.

What this is (and what it is not)

This workflow is for single-colour glyph outlines — the filled contours that make up a normal font glyph. It is separate from FontCreator's colour-font features.

Note — Don't confuse this outline workflow with the glyph editor's Load SVG… command or the SVG items in the colour submenu. Those belong to the OpenType SVG colour-font workflow, where a full coloured SVG document is stored inside a glyph. For plain outline exchange, use copy & paste, or use Tools → Save as SVG… and Tools → Import Artwork….

If your goal is a coloured glyph, see Create OpenType Color Fonts instead. Everything below treats the glyph as a monochrome shape.

Also keep the scope clear: this round-trip moves outlines. It does not move glyph metrics, anchors, components, OpenType layout features, hinting, notes, or other font data. Those remain in FontCreator, attached to the glyph you paste or import into.

The fastest route: copy and paste

For a single glyph or a small correction, you usually do not need files at all. FontCreator can exchange glyph outlines with vector drawing tools through the clipboard.

• Out of FontCreator: in the glyph editor, select the contour(s), then Copy — Ctrl+C on Windows or Cmd+C on macOS. Switch to Illustrator, Figma, or Inkscape and paste the outline as editable vector artwork.
• Back into FontCreator: copy the finished vector paths in your drawing tool, switch to the target glyph in FontCreator, and Paste — Ctrl+V on Windows or Cmd+V on macOS.

The same preparation rules apply as with file import: return actual closed paths, not live text, effects, or artwork that only exists as application-specific metadata.

Match the outline format before you start

Illustrator, Figma, and Inkscape are cubic-oriented vector tools. SVG itself can contain both cubic and quadratic Bézier path commands, but in practice many paths exchanged through these design tools use cubic curves.

FontCreator supports both quadratic and cubic contours. If your FontCreator project is set to quadratic while your drawing tool works in cubic curves, FontCreator has to convert the curves when outlines come in. If you copy them back out and edit them again, you may introduce another conversion step. The result is often acceptable, but points can move, multiply, or be simplified in ways you did not intend.

For a cleaner editing loop, match the formats while you design:

1. Open Options/Settings → Exchange.
2. Set the preferred outline format to cubic while you exchange artwork with Illustrator, Figma, or Inkscape.
3. Do your copy/paste or SVG round-trip.
4. Export the finished font in the outline format you actually need.

You can still export a TrueType-flavoured font later. The editing format and the final export format do not have to be the same throughout the design process.

Where to find it: on Windows, open Tools → Options. On macOS, open FontCreator → Settings. In both cases, go to the Exchange page. This same page also holds the Pixels per em and Origin X/Y settings used by vector file imports.

When you need a file — to archive the shape, hand it to someone else, or avoid relying on clipboard behaviour between apps — use the SVG loop below.

Step 1 — Export the outline with Save as SVG…

1. Select the glyph whose outline you want to send out, either in the Font Overview or in the glyph editor.
2. Go to Tools → Save as SVG….
3. Choose a location and filename, then save.

FontCreator writes the selected glyph outline to an SVG file. The SVG is meant as an outline-exchange file, not as a complete font project or colour-font glyph.

Tip — Name the SVG after the glyph it came from, for example aacute.svg. When you bring it back, you will know exactly which glyph it belongs in.

Step 2 — Edit in Illustrator, Figma, or Inkscape

Open or place the SVG in the drawing tool you prefer. The goal is to return plain vector paths that describe the filled shape of the glyph.

• Adobe Illustrator — Open the SVG directly and edit the paths with the usual drawing and selection tools. Before returning the artwork, avoid live effects or compound appearances that only exist as Illustrator metadata.
• Figma — Drag the SVG into a design file or paste it onto the canvas. Edit the vector layer as needed, then copy or export plain vector artwork back to FontCreator.
• Inkscape — Open the SVG and edit the path with the Node tool. Inkscape's path operations can be useful for cleaning up busy outlines before they return to FontCreator.

Whatever you draw, think in filled contours, not centrelines. A normal filled glyph needs closed outer contours and inner contours for counters such as the holes in o, a, e, and B.

Watch out — Keep the artwork as real vector paths before copying or saving it back. Live text, live effects, and tool-specific metadata are not a substitute for glyph outlines.

Tip — Keep contour direction sensible. Most vector tools handle this automatically after Boolean operations such as Union, Difference, Exclude, or Combine. If a counter fills in solid after the round-trip, the inner contour probably winds the wrong way. Fix it in FontCreator with Change Direction or the appropriate contour-direction command.

Step 3 — Bring it back with Import Artwork…

When the outline is ready, return it to the same glyph:

1. In FontCreator, select or open the glyph that should receive the outline.
2. Go to Tools → Import Artwork….
3. Choose your edited .svg file.

The toolbar button may be labelled Import Image, and the right-click entry may read Import Image…. They open the same import dialog. In this tutorial, Import Artwork… refers to that vector/raster artwork import workflow.

FontCreator reads the vector paths from the SVG and places them in the glyph.

Note — Save as SVG… and Import Artwork… are the two ends of the file-based outline round-trip. FontCreator can import several vector formats, including SVG, EPS, AI, PDF, and GLIF, but SVG is the natural match for a glyph outline you just exported as SVG.

Getting the size right with Pixels per em

Vector imports are scaled by the Exchange settings, not by a size popup at import time. If a returned outline comes in too large, too small, or offset from where you expected, check this page first.

Open Options/Settings → Exchange and find Vector Based Images (EPS, AI, PDF, SVG). The important settings are:

• Pixels per em — maps the SVG's pixel coordinate space to the font em. The default is 512.
• Origin X/Y — controls the import origin.
• Move imported outlines to origin (0,0) — places imported vector outlines at the font origin when enabled.

A practical setup is to make your drawing-tool artboard match the value you use for Pixels per em. For example, with the default value of 512, use a 512 px high artboard for the glyph work. If you change Pixels per em to 1000, use a 1000 px high artboard instead. Decide once, then keep your Illustrator, Figma, and Inkscape documents consistent.

For the full import picture — raster tracing, vector formats, drag-and-drop, and every Exchange option — see Import Vector Artwork (SVG, EPS, AI). This page stays focused on the SVG out-and-back loop.

A clean round-trip, end to end

For a quick single-glyph edit:

1. Select contours in FontCreator.
2. Copy and paste into your drawing tool.
3. Edit the paths.
4. Copy and paste back into the same FontCreator glyph.
5. Tidy up in the glyph editor if needed.

For a file-based edit:

1. Save as SVG… from the glyph you want to refine.
2. Edit in Illustrator, Figma, or Inkscape.
3. Import Artwork… back into the same glyph.
4. Check size and position; adjust Options/Settings → Exchange → Pixels per em or Origin X/Y if needed.
5. Tidy up in the glyph editor: contour direction, overlaps, start points, and unnecessary points.

Troubleshooting

Frequently asked questions

Can't I just copy and paste instead of saving files? Yes. For a single glyph, copy and paste is usually the fastest route. Use Save as SVG… / Import Artwork… when you want a file you can archive, send to someone else, or inspect outside FontCreator.

Why do my points change every time I paste? Most drawing tools use cubic curves, while a TrueType-flavoured FontCreator project may use quadratic contours. Every conversion can change point structure. Use a cubic outline format while you exchange artwork, then choose the final font export format later.

Is this the same as the glyph editor's Load SVG… command? No. Load SVG… belongs to the SVG colour-font workflow. The outline round-trip described here uses copy & paste or Tools → Save as SVG… and Tools → Import Artwork…, and deals only with monochrome contour geometry.

Does this work on both Windows and macOS? Yes, the outline workflow is available in FontCreator on both platforms. Use Tools → Options on Windows and FontCreator → Settings on macOS to find the Exchange settings. Copy and paste inside FontCreator uses Ctrl+C / Ctrl+V on Windows and Cmd+C / Cmd+V on macOS.

Can I export several glyphs at once and edit them together? For a clean round-trip, work one glyph at a time. That keeps scale, origin, and destination unambiguous. If you intentionally export multiple selected glyphs, treat that as an advanced workflow and check carefully where the artwork returns.

My monoline letters disappear when I import. Why? A monoline drawn as a centreline is not yet a normal filled glyph outline. For this SVG outline workflow, return filled contour geometry. If you want to keep lines as editable strokes inside FontCreator, use FontCreator's own stroke tools instead; see Monoline & Stroke Fonts (Designing with Strokes).

Which design tool is best for this? Use the one you are fastest in. Illustrator and Inkscape have strong path-editing and path-cleanup tools. Figma is convenient for quick collaborative edits. All three can work well as long as you return clean vector paths rather than live effects or colour artwork.

What to read next

• Import Vector Artwork (SVG, EPS, AI) — the complete import reference: vector formats, raster tracing, drag-and-drop, and Exchange options.
• Open & Export .glyphs Files (Glyphs round-trip) — for moving whole glyph sets between FontCreator and Glyphs.
• Export a Font (Export Fonts Correctly) — once your outlines are ready, ship them as real font files.
• Monoline & Stroke Fonts (Designing with Strokes) — keep lines as editable strokes inside FontCreator instead of outlining them in an external editor.