OpenType Features
Ligatures
When two or more characters combine into a single glyph.
Standard Ligatures (liga)
The most common ligatures solve collision problems between letters like f and i. These are enabled by default in most applications.
fi fl ff ffi ffl
Common f-ligatures
Discretionary Ligatures (dlig)
More decorative ligatures like ct, st, sp. These must be explicitly enabled and are often too ornate for body text.
Contextual Alternates (calt)
Smart substitutions based on surrounding characters. Essential for code fonts (turning -> into arrows) and connected scripts.