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Unicode Fallback Font Support

Oxygen XML Developer Eclipse plugin provides fonts for most common Unicode ranges. However, if you use special symbols or characters that are not included in the default fonts, they will be rendered as small rectangles. A fallback font is a reserve typeface that contains symbols for as many Unicode characters as possible. When a display system encounters a character that is not part of the range of any of the available fonts, Oxygen XML Developer Eclipse plugin will try to find that symbol in a fallback font.

Example of a Scenario Where a Fallback Font is Needed

Suppose that you need to insert the wheelchair symbol ( - U+267F) into your content in a Windows operating system. By default, Oxygen XML Developer Eclipse plugin does not render this symbol correctly since it is not included in any of the default fonts. It is included in Segoe UI Symbol, but this font is not part of the default fonts that come with Oxygen XML Developer Eclipse plugin. To allow Oxygen XML Developer Eclipse plugin to recognize and render the symbol correctly, you can add Segoe UI Symbol as a fallback font.

Adding a Fallback Font in Windows (7 or Later)

To add a fallback font to the Oxygen XML Developer Eclipse plugin installation, use the following procedure:
  1. Start Windows Explorer and browse to the [OXYGEN_INSTALL_DIR]/jre/lib/fonts directory.
  2. Create a directory called fallback (if it is not already there).
  3. Copy a font file (True Type Font - TTF) that includes the special characters into this directory.
    Tip: You could, for example, copy the Segoe UI Symbol Regular font from C:\Windows\Fonts.
  4. Restart Oxygen XML Developer Eclipse plugin for the changes to take full effect.

Result: Whenever Oxygen XML Developer Eclipse plugin finds a character that cannot be rendered using its standard fonts, it will look for the glyph in the fonts stored in the fallback folder.

Adding a Fallback Font in Other Platforms

For macOS or other platforms, you could use the following approach:
  1. Use a font editor (such as FontForge) to combine multiple true type fonts into a single custom font.
  2. Install the font file into the dedicated font folder of your operating system.
  3. In Oxygen XML Developer Eclipse plugin, open the Preferences dialog box , go to Fonts.
  4. Click the Change button for the particular editing mode and select your custom font from the drop-down list in the subsequent dialog box.
  5. Restart Oxygen XML Developer Eclipse plugin for the font changes to take full effect.