Alternates, also known as alternate characters or alternate glyphs, are secondary letterforms that exist alongside a typeface’s standard design. They have two main purposes:
- To add variety to repeated characters;
- To account for the end user’s preference for different characteristics.
These design variations are unlocked through OpenType features, which can be applied to individual letters or rolled out across an entire text block using stylistic sets. Additionally, when contextual alternates are activated, the software automatically swaps in specific letter variants based entirely on the surrounding characters to ensure a more natural flow.
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