Install Python 3

macOS

  1. In Finder, to /Applications/Utilities/
  2. Double-click Terminal.app
  3. In Terminal, paste this and press Enter:
[ ! -x "$(which brew)" ] && /usr/bin/ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install)"; brew install python
  1. Wait until the installation completes and stay in the Terminal.

Windows 10

  1. In Windows 10, go to https://www.microsoft.com/store/productId/9MSSZTT1N39L
  2. Click Get, then Open Microsoft Store
  3. When Microsoft Store opens, click Get, then Install
  4. Once the installation is complete, close Microsoft Store, right-click the Start menu and choose Run. In the box, type cmd and click OK to open the Command Prompt.

Older Windows

  1. Go to https://www.python.org/downloads/windows/
  2. If your system is 64-bit, click Download Windows x86-64 executable installer for the latest Python 3 version
  3. If your system is 32-bit, click Download Windows x86 executable installer for the latest Python 3 version
  4. Double-click the downloaded file and install Python 3
  5. When the installation is complete, right-click the Start menu and choose Run. In the box, type cmd and click OK to open the Command Prompt.

Install fontmake

In Terminal or Command Prompt type this and press Enter, then wait until the installation completes:

python3 -m pip install --user --upgrade fontmake

Export DesignSpace+UFO

When you have a FontLab font with multiple masters:

  1. Choose File > Export Font As...
  2. Choose the DesignSpace + UFO profile
  3. In Destination, choose a destination folder
  4. Click Export

Convert DesignSpace+UFO to final fonts with fontmake

In Terminal or Command Prompt type the following command and press Enter. DESIGNSPACE_PATH refers to the path (location) of the .designSpace file that you exported from FontLab. To get the actual path, instead of typing DESIGNSPACE_PATH, drag your .designSpace file from Finder to Terminal or from File Explorer to Command Prompt.

To export your predefined instances as static TTF and OTF fonts:

python3 -m fontmake -i -m DESIGNSPACE_PATH

To export your font as a Variable TT font:

python3 -m fontmake -o variable -m DESIGNSPACE_PATH

To see more export options:

python3 -m fontmake --help