You'll need: FontCreator (Windows and macOS), and a project you want to move between Glyphs and FontCreator — either a .glyphs file from Glyphs or a FontCreator project (.fcp) you want to hand off.
If you collaborate with a designer who works in Glyphs, or you simply want to move a project between the two apps, FontCreator's .glyphs support lets you open a Glyphs file directly and export back to .glyphs when you're done. The font editor reads and writes the .glyphs version 3 format, the same interchange format used by recent versions of Glyphs. This page walks through a clean round-trip, lists what survives the trip, and shows what you should always verify after opening or before exporting.
FontCreator on macOS with a .glyphs project open, showing the font overview and the Masters and Layers panel.
Why round-trip through .glyphs
FontCreator is described by High-Logic as a font editor that supports .glyphs, UFO, and designspace formats so you can "effortlessly exchange font projects with colleagues and other software platforms." In practice that means you can pick up a teammate's Glyphs project, refine outlines or fix a feature in FontCreator, and pass the project back — or the other way around.
.glyphs is the richest of the three interchange routes because it carries design-time constructs (masters, smart components, path decorations) rather than only the final geometry. UFO and designspace are the more universal fallback when the other side isn't a Glyphs-format app — see What survives, and the fallback routes below.
Open a Glyphs file in FontCreator
- In FontCreator, choose File → Open.
- In the file dialog, set the file-type filter to show
.glyphsfiles (or just type the filename). - Select your
.glyphsfile and confirm.
FontCreator parses the Glyphs project — its masters, axes, glyphs, layers, anchors, kerning, and OpenType data — and presents it as a normal editable font. You now work with it exactly like any other project.
The File → Open dialog filtered to .glyphs files.
Verify right after opening
Interchange is a good moment to catch differences between how two apps model the same font, so do a quick pass before you start editing:
- Masters and axes — open the Masters and Layers panel and confirm every master and axis came across as expected.
- Smart components — check that smart components and their per-master smart layers are present. FontCreator supports smart components with full per-master smart layers nested under their owning master.
- Path decorations — confirm any corner and cap components are still attached where you expect them.
- Masks — check that mask-flagged contours and components are still flagged (see Masks across the round-trip).
- Glyph names and metrics — interchange often reveals naming differences between apps. Skim the glyph names and the metrics; a mismatch here is easier to fix now than after you've built features on top of it.
> Tip: Run font validation after opening. FontCreator's real-time validation flags outline and interpolation issues, which is exactly what you want to catch on a freshly imported project before you invest editing time.
Export back to .glyphs (version 3)
When you're ready to hand the project back to Glyphs:
- Choose File → Export → Glyphs Source File…. (The same Export submenu also offers UFO… and Designspace and UFOs… for the open-interchange routes.)
- Choose a destination and filename.
- Confirm. FontCreator writes a
.glyphsversion 3 file.
According to High-Logic, FontCreator provides a full round-trip with .glyphs for strokes, masks, and corner and cap components, and smart-component names, axes, and per-master alternates round-trip cleanly through the .glyphs version 3 format. That covers the design-time constructs most projects rely on.
The File → Export submenu with the Glyphs source-file option highlighted.
What survives, and the fallback routes
Here's a quick reference for what FontCreator 16 round-trips through .glyphs v3, based on the official "What's New in FontCreator 16" notes:
| Construct | Round-trips through .glyphs v3? |
|---|---|
| Masters and axes | Yes |
| Smart components (names, axes, per-master alternates) | Yes — cleanly |
| Path decorations (corner and cap components) | Yes |
| Masks (including compound-path masks) | Yes |
| Strokes / stroke envelopes | Yes |
If the other side of your workflow isn't a Glyphs-format app, use UFO or designspace instead. FontCreator supports both; they're the open-interchange fallback for moving glyph data and a multiple-master setup between font editors that don't speak .glyphs.
> Note: For exporting actual deliverable fonts (TTF, OTF, WOFF, variable fonts) rather than an editable source, use the font-export commands instead — see Export a Font (Export Fonts Correctly).
Masks across the round-trip
Masks are one of FontCreator 16's headline editing features, and they're designed to survive interchange. Per the release notes, masks round-trip through copy/paste, undo/redo, the .glyphs format, and the FontCreator project file. Compound-path masks (rings, frames, donuts) subtract as single holes rather than full-area cut-outs, and that behavior is preserved.
The one thing to keep in mind is the asymmetry described next: masks stay as masks across a .glyphs round-trip, but they're flattened to geometry when you export an actual font.
Watch out: some features bake to geometry on export
There's an important asymmetry between exporting an editable .glyphs source and exporting a finished font.
- Exporting a
.glyphssource keeps design-time constructs editable (masks stay masks, strokes stay strokes, decorations stay decorations). - Exporting a font (TTF, OTF, CFF2, UFO) bakes some of those constructs into plain geometry. FontCreator's notes state that masks are flattened automatically on export to TTF, OTF, CFF2, and UFO. Strokes and corner/cap components likewise resolve to outlines in a delivered font.
> Watch out: If you open a delivered .ttf/.otf (rather than a .glyphs or .fcp source) and try to round-trip that back to .glyphs, the masks, strokes, and decorations are already gone — they were flattened when the font was built. Always round-trip from the source project, not from a compiled font, if you want the editable constructs to survive.
Frequently asked questions
Which .glyphs version does FontCreator use? FontCreator reads and writes the .glyphs version 3 format.
Do smart components survive the round-trip? Yes. FontCreator round-trips smart-component names, axes, and per-master alternates cleanly through .glyphs version 3.
Will my masks still be masks after exporting to .glyphs? Yes — masks round-trip through the .glyphs format. They are only flattened to geometry when you export an actual font (TTF, OTF, CFF2, UFO).
My glyph names look different after opening a .glyphs file. Is that a bug? Not necessarily. Interchange between font editors commonly surfaces naming-convention differences. Review the glyph names after opening and reconcile them before building OpenType features on top.
Can I use FontCreator with someone who doesn't use Glyphs? Yes. Use UFO or designspace as the open-interchange fallback. FontCreator supports .glyphs, UFO, and designspace.
Is .glyphs support the same on Windows and macOS? FontCreator is a native font editor on both Windows and macOS, and project interchange works the same way on each: both read and write .glyphs version 3, round-trip the same design-time constructs, and bake the same features to geometry when you export an actual font.
What to read next
- Export a Font (Export Fonts Correctly) — building deliverable TTF/OTF/WOFF and variable fonts.
- Smart Components — authoring and editing smart components and their per-master layers.
- Path Decorations — working with corner and cap components.
- Using Masks — the non-destructive mask workflow and Decompose with Mask.
