Customizing Fonts: Putting a Tilde where You Want It

Is there a way to use or create special text characters, like the letters e, i, u, y, with a tilde above the character? These characters are used in the native language of the country, Guarani.
As of August, 1989, we couldn't locate any Guarani fonts. Neither the screen fonts supplied by Apple nor the built-in LaserWriter PostScript fonts generally have the diacritical tilde over any of the characters except for the N, n, O, o, and A, a. However, Microsoft Word versions 3.0 and 4.0 have an overstrike ability that lets you put the tilde (or any symbol or character) over any character.

Other possible options are to try to locate a specific Paraguayan Guarani font or to design a screen font and/or a downloadable PostScript font yourself.

There are many programs that let you design your own fonts, including ATF FontMaker by Kingsley and KeyMaster by Altsys. For more details, search the Tech Info Library under "Microsoft," "ATF," or "KeyMaster."

There is also a company called "Linguist's Software", which sells international word processors, fonts, and other assorted software products. Search under their name to find other possible solutions.
Published Date: Feb 18, 2012