How to use PUA encoded characters in Canvas Workspace

Learn how to use the cutes glyphs of your fonts.

 

 

Some fonts include a set of special characters that you can use when designing for a crafty project. These characters can include extra swirls, some variations, or shapes like hearts or stars.

In this post, we’ll explain how to use these special characters in Brother Canvas Workspace. Using these characters on the software is necessary to cut them with your Brother ScanNCut machine.

This article is part of our Ultimate Guide to Brother Canvas Workspace. Check the rest of the posts to learn all the secrets of this software. You’ll make the most out of your ScanNCut machine.

 

On this article:

What are PUA encoded fonts?
How to access the special characters of a font?
Why does my special character appear like a square on my canvas?

 

What are PUA encoded fonts?

 

PUA stands for Private Use Areas. PUA encoded fonts provide a set of special characters that you can use as an alternative to the standard ones. By adding these special characters, the font designer is giving the user new creative opportunities.

 

 

Operative Systems like Windows and Mac allow you to access these special characters. Once you’ve found these special characters, you can load them to design programs like Adobe Illustrator, Silhouette Studio, or Brother Canvas Workspace.

 

How to access the special characters of a font?

 

Accessing the special characters of your font depends on the software and the operative system you are using. Let’s take a look at the most common alternatives.

 

How to access special characters on Windows?

 

The first thing you need to do to access special characters on Windows is to install the font on your computer. To do this, follow the steps on our manual about installing fonts on Windows.

Once you’ve installed the font on your computer, you need to access the Character Map. Every computer with Windows includes this app. You can use it to visualize all the characters of a font (also known as glyphs).

 

 

Open Character Map and display the dropdown menu. Here, you’ll find all the fonts you have installed on your computer.

Select the font you want to use. Make sure to check the “Advanced View” box.

 

 

In the “Group by” category, select “Unicode Subrange.”

 

 

A new dropdown menu will appear on the right side. Scroll to the bottom and select “Private use characters.”

 

 

Now, you will see the PUA encoded characters on the left side.

Click on a character to make it bigger. To use a glyph, click on it, press “Select,” and hit “Copy.” Now, you’ve copied this character to your clipboard.

 

 

To paste the character on Canvas Workspace, hit ctrl + v. You can also do this by right-clicking on your canvas and hitting “Paste” in the options menu.

And that’s it! The special character is now on your canvas. You can repeat this process as many times as you need.

 

How to access special characters on Mac?

 

The first step to find special characters on Mac is to install the font on your computer. Follow the steps on this tutorial about installing fonts on Mac. It’s straightforward!

After you’ve installed the font, go to the Applications folder. On the Applications Folder, search for a program called Font Book. It’s the same program that you’ve used to install the font.

Open Font Book. Here, you’ll see a list with all the fonts you’ve installed on your device.

 

 

Every time you select a font from the menu, you’ll see a sample with some characters on the screen.

To see all the font characters, you have to switch to the “repertoire” preview. To do this, click “View > Repertoire.”

 

 

Select the character that you want and copy it. You can do this by clicking “Edit > Copy” or hitting “CMD + C” on your keyboard.

 

 

Now, you can paste your character on your canvas. You can do this by hitting “CMD + V” on your keyboard.

 

Why does my special character appear like a square on my canvas?

 

If Canvas Workspace displays your character as a white box, don’t worry! It’s completely normal; it happens because Canvas Workspace is displaying your character in a default font.

The default font does not have a version of the special character you are pasting. For this reason, it shows a blank square.

To fix this, select the character and apply the right font to it. The special character will show up after this change.

 

 

We hope you have found this tutorial useful. Have fun creating with your PUA Encoded fonts in Brother Canvas Workspace.