1. Home
2. Products
3. InDesign

Adobe InDesign

Introducing the Adobe SING Gaiji architecture

High-quality Chinese, Japanese, and Korean (CJK) typography requires an open-ended class of Chinese-derived characters. Different CJK fonts provide a core selection of these characters as part of their standard character set. However, publishers need supplemental glyphs or characters that are known as "gaiji." Gaiji is a Japanese word that refers to any glyph that's valid in your written language but is not in the font you are using. The new Adobe SING architecture answers the need for a flexible gaiji workflow on the desktop. Try out this new gaiji architecture with the Adobe SING Technology Preview for Adobe® InDesign® CS software, Japanese Version.

Background

For years, proprietary CJK publishing systems have had an edge over desktop systems because of the quality of their typography and the ease with which they could create and manage gaiji characters. Adobe and other industry leaders addressed many CJK typography requirements with the introduction of Unicode support and the OpenType® font standard. Adobe also built robust support for Japanese typography into InDesign CS, J Version; Adobe Illustrator® CS, J Version; and other Adobe products. Now Adobe is unveiling its SING architecture to answer the gaiji requirement.

The Adobe SING architecture enables you to extend your CJK fonts with individual new "glyphlets," representing variant glyph shapes or symbols. These glyphlets are embedded in documents. This means that anyone at any point in the workflow can edit documents using the embedded glyphlets without having to install them on their system. The SING architecture solves a critical layout problem, so designers and publishers can take advantage of the power and cost-effectiveness of desktop design systems without sacrificing typographic flexibility. The SING architecture also opens opportunities for font, IME, and other developers.

Evaluate the technology preview

The first release of the SING gaiji architecture is a technology preview for you to evaluate. The Adobe SING Technology Preview extends the typography features in Adobe InDesign CS, J Version, by providing a Glyphlet Management Tool, plus sample glyphlets for the Adobe Kozuka Mincho® typeface family.

The Adobe SING Technology Preview provides a Glyphlet Management Tool for ongoing management of CJK glyphlets.

Please note the following:

• To install and use the Adobe SING Technology Preview, you must have a full retail or 30-day tryout version of Adobe InDesign CS, J Version, and a Japanese-capable operating system.
• For up-to-date information about installing and using the Adobe SING Technology Preview, review the Installation Notes and ReadMe file.
• This Adobe SING Technology Preview is for evaluation purposes only and is not supported by Adobe.
• Report any problems or other feedback you have to gaiji@adobe.com. Product Management and Quality Assurance teams regularly review this information. (You will receive an e-mail confirming receipt of your feedback, but you may not receive any other information.)

Download the Adobe SING Technology Preview Macintosh version.

Download the Adobe SING Technology Preview Windows version.

Download the InDesign CS, J Version, Tryout (only necessary if you don't have a full version of InDesign CS, J Version, installed).

Download theAdobe Glyphlet Development Kit (GDK) for SING Gaiji Architecture.

Find out more

The following documents and links offer in-depth information about the Adobe SING architecture. This area will be updated as more white papers and other tools become available. Check again for additional information.

Gaiji — Supplemental Characters/Glyphs
Interested in building solutions based on the Adobe SING architecture? Check here for developer resources, including presentations, papers, and other information about gaiji and the Adobe SING architecture.

OpenType Specification
Browse the OpenType Specification, developed jointly by Adobe and Microsoft, for information about the format of OpenType fonts, the TrueType and CFF outline formats, and TrueType hinting language.