You finally got your download link for your Glyphs license via mail and now you don’t know what to do with it? Well, first you need to be quick, because the download link in your e-mail is only active for two weeks. Before you can install your Glyphs license, you need to meet these conditions:

1. You are running the minimum OS version that the app requires (macOS 10.9 for Glyphs 2 and Glyphs Mini 2)
2. You have the latest Glyphs 2 version or latest Glyphs Mini 2 version
3. The app is called Glyphs.app or Glyphs Mini.app and is located in the Applications folder.
4. You opened the app at least once.

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If you checked all these things, you should be able to simply double click the license file. Be sure that the file has the suffix .glyphs2License or .glyphsMini2License, otherwise it won’t work.

After double clicking the file, a dialog should appear:

Now click OK and that’s basically it. Yay!

Troubleshooting

Things not working out? Here are some tips that have helped most users who had installation problems.

1. Redownload the app

The first line of defense is a fresh download. Follow these steps:

Phone Glyph

1. Move your current install of Glyphs or Glyphs Mini from your Applications folder into the Trash.

2. Empty the Trash.

3. Then redownload the latest Glyphs 2 version or latest Glyphs Mini 2 version. (If it has not happened automatically yet, unzip the .zip file; see the note below.)

4. Move the fresh download from your Downloads folder into the Applications folder.

5. Then right-click the app and choose Open from the top of its context menu:

6. Confirm the dialog that may appear and try to open the license file again.

Note: When unzipping the downloaded file, we recommend using the built-in macOS decompression tool, Archive Utility. We have received reports of users who could not open the app because their third-party tool damaged the app in the unpacking process.

2. Glyphs will not open?

If you think that Glyphs (Mini) is not starting, please look closely. Check the Dock for the Glyphs (Mini) icon: does it have a little dot under the icon? Like these:

If it does, it is running. It just has no window open. So, click on the Dock icon to make sure that Glyphs (Mini) is the frontmost application. You can verify that by looking at the top left corner of the screen. Right next to the Apple icon, it should read ‘Glyphs’, or ‘Glyphs Mini’, and choose New from the File menu next to it, like this:

And, ta-daaa, there is your window. If this works, you are done. Just remember to always open a window if there is none open.

Still no dice? We’ll get you there, don’t worry. Read on, please.

After trying to open Glyphs (or Glyphs Mini), do you get this security dialog?

If that is the case, either right-click the app and choose Open from its context menu, or open your System Preferences and choose Security & Privacy. In the tab General you should see options to change which programs will be allowed to be opened.

Check the one saying Mac App Store and identified developers. Now you should be able to open Glyphs.

If double clicking the license file does not open Glyphs, try right clicking the file and selecting Open With > Glyphs:

3. Restart your Mac

To restart, go to the Apple menu in the top left corner of your screen, choose Restart… and confirm the dialog that follows. If you want to be on the safe side, restart twice:

1. Restart once with your Shift key held down.
2. Hold down the Shift key until the Mac confirms it is booting in Safe Mode.
3. Restart a second time, this time ‘normally’, i.e., without any key combinations.

This should fix any potential cache issues, or other issues that may have piled up during operation.

4. ByHost Permissions

Still does not work? Maybe there is something wrong with your file permissions. In Finder, choose Go > Go to Folder (Cmd-Shift-G), and paste this location:

Confirm the dialog. Once you are there, find a folder called ByHost. Right-click on the folder and choose Get Info from the context menu (Cmd-I). In the Info window that appears, you will find Sharing and Permission options. Check if your user has the permissions to Read and Write.

Back to the ByHost folder. You should find one or more files starting with com.GeorgSeifert.Glyphs..., or, in the case of Glyphs Mini, com.schriftgestaltung.Glyphs....

Delete all those files, then try again.

5. Installing in a New User

In System Preferences, go to Users & Groups, add a new user with the plus button in the bottom left. You may need to unlock the preference by entering your password first. Make it an Administrator (not a Standard) account.

Then, copy your license file to the Shared folder (next to your home folder). Quickest way there is to switch to Finder, go to the Home folder (Cmd-Shift-H) and up one level (Cmd-Up Arrow).

Finally switch to the other user by logging out of your user account (last item in the Apple menu) and logging into the new user account in the login window that appears. There, try to unlock the app again. You should be able to access the license file in the Shared folder.

If it works this time, then you know that there is something wrong in your user account.

6. Installing via the Terminal

Still no success? I’m sorry, you are among the 0.01% of users that have this problem. Probably, you keep receiving a window telling you that your license has expired. Sorry about that, but I think we can help you. So, let’s try it the hard way. We are going to do it in the Terminal. Please follow these steps:

1. Make sure your Glyphs.app or Glyphs Mini.app is located in your Applications folder.
2. Put (a copy of) your .glyphs2License or .glyphsMini2License file on the Desktop.
3. In Finder, choose Go > Utilities (Cmd-Shift-U) from the menu.

4. In the Finder window that appears, please find and double click Terminal.app. A Terminal window will appear, and it will look approximately like this:

   The size of the window does not matter, but if it makes you feel better, you can resize it by dragging the bottom right corner of the window.

5. If you are using Glyphs, please select and copy (Cmd-C) this line:
   sudo /Applications/Glyphs.app/Contents/MacOS/Glyphs -disableUI 1
   If you are using Glyphs Mini, please select and copy (Cmd-C) this line:
   sudo /Applications/Glyphs Mini.app/Contents/MacOS/Glyphs Mini -disableUI 1

6. Switch back to your Terminal window, and paste (Cmd-V) your line. It should look approximately like this:

7. Now, very important, press the space bar, because we need a space after the 1 in the line for the next step. Note the difference:

8. Drag the .glyphs2License or .glyphsMini2License file into the window:

   Some blah blah will be added to the text in your Terminal window, approximately like this:

9. Now press the Return key, and Terminal will ask you for your Mac password (the password you use to log into your Mac):

   Enter your password and press Return. Attention: you will not see the usual password bullets (•••), that is OK, because it is how Terminal handles passwords. Just type it blindly and press Return, please. If you mistyped it, don’t worry, you get another try.

10. After you pressed Return, and you typed your password correctly, some extra text will appear, including a line that says thank you:

Congratulations, you made it! The app should open right away as well, and you can verify your registration by choosing Glyphs > Registration…, or Glyphs Mini > Registration…, respectively. Now choose File > New (Cmd-N) and start creating beautiful fonts.

7. Last Resort: Forum

If all this does not work, please post your problem in the Glyphs forum, and we’ll help you there.

Update 2016-04-23: Added ‘Installing via the Terminal’ section.
Update 2016-05-18: Fixed link to Installation tutorial.
Update 2017-10-28: Added Glyphs Mini references, ‘Installing a New User’.
Update 2018-04-07: Added note about the Archive Utility. Fixed typos.
Update 2018-09-14: Added paragraph about opening the app. Restructured the headlines a little.
Update 2018-11-16: Expanded section ‘Installing via the Terminal’ with proper screenshots and all.
Update 2018-08-22: Corrected typos (thank you Nathalie Dumont!).

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Font Glyphs App

• Glyphs are a powerful communication tool and a fundamental element of your app's design language. Learn about important considerations when conceptualizing glyphs and key design principles of crafting effective glyph sets for spaces inside and outside of your app.

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  WWDC 2019

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  Let's talk about designing glyphs, and I think a good place to start is what is a glyph? A glyph, traditionally, is a topographical character, but it could also be a symbol or a simple shape of a real world object, or it can be a combination of shapes to represent function or a concept.

  But you might be thinking what is the difference between this and an icon.

  So, to help illustrate the difference, let's take a look at this example of four iPhone icons.

  An icon can refer to a broad set of assets ranging from simple low fidelity shapes like you can see on the left to illustrative, colorful, and highly rendered assets that you can see on the right.

  The two assets on the left can also be defined as glyphs, and that's because of their simplicity, and for the most part, glyphs are monochromatic and should be colorized programmatically.

  This is the iOS wallet app icon, and you can see a nice use of color and some subtle shading.

  And here's the app represented as a glyph. So, you get the idea, but let's take a look at one more example.

  This is the phone app icon, and if we take away that iconic shape and the color, you see where I'm going with this, we're left with this glyph. So, in this case, the glyph is actually part of what makes up the icon.

  Now, effective glyphs have some key characteristics.

  They're highly simplified in form.

  They're conceptually universal, and they're quickly readable in context as to their function or purpose.

  Many of us have experienced being in a foreign place, somewhere where we don't, you know, relate to the culture or another language, and it can be quite a relief when we see a symbol that we recognize.

  So, in this case, you don't have to know German to know the right way to the airport, and that's thanks to this simple universal shape, which in this context we understand to represent airport.

  So, glyphs are a powerful communication tool, and that's why we make them part of our design language in UI.

  So, let's go through a quick exercise to conceptualize an effective glyph.

  Let's say we need one to represent delicious.

  The first thing you might think of is a cheeseburger, and you would have no argument from me. I do think cheeseburgers are delicious.

  But believe it or not, some people do not like cheeseburgers. So, what's better than a cheeseburger? Pizza? I see some people shaking their heads. I don't know. Okay. I think I got one that we can all relate to. How about ice cream? No. Well, all right, well, I think I could -- you got the idea here -- not everyone relates to these specific food items in the same way.

  So, these aren't effective. So, let's try something a little bit different, and what about something to get to the core of what delicious might make us feel.

  Something like a facial expression.

  It's cute and relatable, expressive, but we should be mindful here that in some cultures using like a face, a mouth, or a body part can be seen as inappropriate; so, be mindful of that. So, what is a universal symbol for delicious? What about a heart? We love cheeseburgers. Some people like pizza. Some people love ice cream.

  The association of love with delicious is much more universal than our other options.

  So, this is a nice effective solution.

  Okay. So, let's take a look at some examples of where we use glyphs on our platforms, on the Mac, in the menu bar, in tool bars, and in sidebars, and most recently, in the touch bar.

  On iOS, in tab bars, list views, and home screen quick action menus.

  So, you can see, glyphs are everywhere, and also notice that they rarely ever stand alone.

  So, that's why we need to be mindful of some design considerations when, you know, we're crafting a set of glyphs.

  Our goal should be to make them feel like a family, and a family has a shared set of characteristics.

  So, we're going to look at optical weight, lines, and positioning.

  In this example, the set feels a bit right heavy.

  The two glyphs on the left just are optically smaller, and consequently they feel a bit less significant. So, if we turn on our guides, we can see that we've constrained ourselves to these vertical bounds.

  Let's turn those off and scale the up optically, and that feels much better.

  Here's the before and the after.

  Because the elliptical shape of messages and the narrow shape of phone have less surface area, we can use scale to achieve this optical balance.

  And let's notice another subtle detail in the set here that helps the family of these glyphs.

  Look at the gap in the video camera and the negative space in the envelope. They share the same line weight. So, let's look at lines next.

  Here, it looks like the glyphs might have been scaled from various places to fit together at the size.

  But because they don't share a consistent line weight, some look more emphasized than others, and this can be confusing, and they just don't family well.

  So, when we normalize these, we've created a much more coherent set.

  Here's the before and the after.

  A subtle change like this can really affect the integrity of your app.

  Let's move on to positioning.

  And this is a great example here of optical positioning, which can sometimes be overlooked, and we can really see it when we introduce this centered circle around that Play glyph.

  Notice, that art is perfectly centered within that space, but optically, it just, it just looks off. So, if we nudge that over a few pixels to the right, we achieve a much more balanced result.

  So, here's the before and the after.

  And optical positioning can apply to almost any asset that's asymmetrical or heavier on one side than the other. In this example, the share glyph is, again, perfectly centered within that space, but it just looks like it's sitting a bit too low.

  So, by nudging it up a few pixels, we achieve, again, a much more considered result.

  And by the way, you can bake this padding right into the asset.

  So, when you go to integrate, you just center that asset perfectly in that space, and any adjustments that are needed be done with a simple as well.

  So, when you're crafting your glyphs, build them as sets.

  Test them in context, and always preview them on device, and this will help you achieve these results.

  So, when you're creating something from scratch, it can often be hard to find a starting point. It could be overwhelming.

  So, how do you get started? Let's look at a couple of considerations that can help.

  When designing for spaces inside of your app, you know, such as list views or buttons, consider the relationship between type and the glyphs.

  If you have a light type style, consider matching your lines to the weight of the type.

  If you have a heavy type style, or more weighted, or filled glyph style, it might be more appropriate.

  Here's an example from Airbnb. Notice the lines of the glyphs match the fonts nicely. Looks like they really considered that relationship between type and glyphs, and it looks nice.

  Now, for system spaces, such as the Touch Bar on the Mac or Home screen quick action menus on iOS, and the central resource can be the existing system assets.

  In Airbnb's Home screen quick action menu, we can see the consistency between their custom glyphs and the platforms shared glyphs.

  And notice, these glyphs are a bit larger and heavier than their in-app counterparts.

  So, this is an excellent example of craftsmanship here by Airbnb.

  Now, we have templates on the human interface guidelines to help you match optical weight lines and positioning.

  This will help you save time, be harmonious with the established design language, and you can even output your assets directly from these templates, which is really nice.

  All right. So, we've gone over a bunch of things here in a short period of time. Let's do a quick recap.

  When conceptualizing a glyph, simplify and think globally.

  When crafting them, build them as sets and test them in context to make them feel like a family.

  Consider the relationship of type in your glyphs.

  And finally, adapt your assets for system spaces.

  So, I hope that these tips will help you build more effective and delightful experiences.

  But wait a minute, something looks wrong here.

  That's much better. Thank you very much.