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I have a very instersting issue with Photoshop CS4 and the Calibri typeface that I was hoping somebody would be able to help with. Certain characters when typed next to each other produce an odd effect that shows them connected, but when typed separately or with other characters they look fine.

See below for the examples that I've found: "ct", "ck", "ch".

enter image description here

I'm new so I can't directly post an image, but you can view the example here: Calibri Font Issue

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In the Character Panel flyout Menu, with the type layer highlighted, Under "Opentype" uncheck "Discretionary Ligatures".

Screenshot is from CS5 but it should be in the same location.

enter image description here

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    Yep, ligatures are meant to be a feature, not a bug. Jan 10, 2012 at 20:28
  • Thanks for the answer, right where you said it would be. However, that leads me to ask, what are earth are "Discretionary Ligatures" and why do they make the text look like that? I couldn't possibly see a reason for the effect I was getting. Jan 11, 2012 at 0:41
  • It's old style type, designed to simply give the text a different "flow". The Discretionary Ligatures should actually always be off by default. Perhaps you accidentally turned them on at some point?
    – Scott
    Jan 11, 2012 at 1:57
  • @ChrisTatton That would make a good question. Why don't you post it as such so you can get complete answers? Jan 11, 2012 at 2:02
  • This was extremely useful! Thanks! May 5, 2021 at 12:36
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As per my answer at Do discretionary ligatures hold any other purpose than visual?:

Standard ligatures and discretionary ligatures are features of a particular font ... The font designer determines that "standard" ligatures should be used to replace certain letter pairs/triples, whereas "discretionary" ones may be used. The automatic application of either can be specified by the end designer in software ... The reasons why ligatures exist or are used at all is probably better handled as a separate question.

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