OpenType Guide · OpenType Panel

Contextual Alternates

calt

The font looks at the letters around each one and swaps in a version that fits better: a connection that reaches the next letter, a flourish at the end of a word, a repeated letter that varies so it does not look stamped. It works on its own as you type, and it is what makes script and handwritten fonts feel alive.

Note: Some of our fonts keep this on for you

Script fonts like Velero, Gabetes and Neopol Script also use a hidden feature called Required Contextual Alternates (rclt). It always applies the alternates the letters need to connect, and it has no switch in InDesign or Illustrator, so it stays on even when Contextual Alternates is off. That is on purpose: without it, a cursive font would break into loose, badly joined letters, and you might never know why.

See it in Raro

Contextual Alternates calt
Hello lollipop, happy people

Flip the switch to see what changes.

Where to find it

  1. Character panel
  2. Panel menu ☰
  3. OpenType
  4. Contextual Alternates

On by default in new documents.

How to use it

  1. Select the text.
  2. Switch on Contextual Alternates.
  3. Type or edit as normal: the letters update as their neighbours change.

Good to know

  • If a script font looks disconnected or plain, this is the first setting to check.
  • Changes depend on the letters around them, so the same letter can look different within one word.

Our fonts with Contextual Alternates