OpenType Guide · OpenType Panel

Discretionary Ligatures

dlig

Discretionary ligatures are the ornamental kind: letter pairs drawn together for effect rather than to fix a collision. They give headlines and logos character, and they are off by default because they would be too much in running text.

See it in Matria

Flip the switch to see what changes.

Where to find it

  1. Character panel
  2. Panel menu ☰
  3. OpenType
  4. Discretionary Ligatures

How to use it

  1. Select the word or words you want to decorate.
  2. Switch on Discretionary Ligatures.
  3. Read it back: if a pair becomes hard to recognise, apply it to fewer letters.

Good to know

  • Save them for display sizes: titles, covers, packaging, logos.
  • You can apply them to just a few letters instead of the whole line.

Our fonts with Discretionary Ligatures