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README.TXT
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1994-06-17
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************************************************************
* README FILE FOR FontFolder V1.1 *
************************************************************
GENERAL
This README file gives basic information for installing and
starting FontFolder for the first time. For more detailed
instructions on starting and using FontFolder, consult the
on-line Help.
INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS:
Copy the FONTFOLD.EXE and FONTFOLD.HLP files to any
directory, but do not put them in the same directory as your
FontFolder 1.01A files unless you intend to overwrite the
previous version, as the filenames are the same. If you
install version 1.1 in a different directory and already
have created a Master Library and customized settings with
FontFolder 1.01A, copy over the FONTFOLD.INI and MASTLIB.DAT
files from your FontFolder 1.01A directory.
If you stored the FONTFOLD.INI file in a directory different
from the one containing FONTFOLD.EXE for version 1.01A, you
can do a similar thing for version 1.1. If you want to
maintain a working copy of version 1.01A while testing
version 1.1, use a different directory to keep the
FONTFOLD.INI files separate. The two versions use different
entries in OS2.INI, so they will not conflict.
After starting FontFolder for the first time, bring up the
Help and read the sections on FontFolder Overview,
Installing FontFolder and Using FontFolder for basic
familiarization with the program. Help is also available
for all menu items; hit F1 when the menu item is selected.
PROBLEMS ON FONTFOLDER STARTUP:
When you start FontFolder the first time you may find that
it complains about a number of fonts that you have already
"installed" in OS/2 through the OS/2 Font Pallete. This can
be for a number of reasons outlined below, all of which
represent legitimate problems that FontFolder is attempting
to deal with. (Of course it may also be true that
FontFolder is incorrectly objecting to a legitimately
installed font. If that appears to be the case, please
bring the situation to my attention via one of the routes
described at the end of this ReadMe file.)
Situations where FontFolder will object to an already
"installed" font:
1. The OS/2 Font Pallete is unfortunately not too
discriminating in what it will "install" in OS/2. There are
examples of font AFM files that are totally unreadable
because of garbage in the file. The Font Pallete will
"install" these files, although they are unusable and show
up in the Font Pallete list as blank lines. FontFolder will
reject a file if the OS/2 api that is used to query font
information can't at least return a name for the font (the
blank line in the Font Pallete occurs because no font name
was returned for the file).
2. Users have been known to install a font in OS/2 and then
later move the OFM and PFB files for this font to a
different directory or even erase them, without first
un-installing the font from OS/2. However, OS/2 keeps a
record in OS2.INI of where it thinks the files are for
installed fonts, and when it can't find them there on
bootup, things get quite confusing. The user finds that a
previously installed font "no longer works", but when they
try to re-install it they find they can't because OS/2
insists it is already installed. FontFolder checks the
listings in OS2.INI and verifies that both a PFB file and an
OFM file exist where OS2.INI claims they are located.
In both of the above cases, FontFolder a) does not show the
font in the installed fonts list, and b) puts up a message
box alerting the user to the problem and offering to remove
the entry for this font from OS2.INI. You should note what
font files FontFolder can't find, and then accept the offer
to clean up OS2.INI. If the problem is simply that the font
files have been moved, you can then go and find out where
the font files are currently located (if they still exist)
and register the fonts with the Master Library from the
correct location.
KNOWN PROBLEMS/LIMITATIONS:
1. There are "bad fonts" out there. A "bad font" is defined
here as any font that either won't install in OS/2, or when
installed won't display or even worse sends the system in to
some sort of never-never land. My experience with the 400+
fonts I have is about 1-2% fall in to this "bad font"
category. This does not necessarily mean that something is
wrong with the font, just that the font and OS/2 do not get
along. In my experience, "bad fonts" are almost always
caused by a bug in OS/2's PMATM.DLL that occurs with certain
"complex" fonts, rather than as a result of anything being
wrong with the font files themselves. FontFolder screens
out some but not all "bad fonts" that the OS/2 Font Pallete
lets pass.
Viewing these "bad fonts" in the Font Information window can
cause a variety of things to happen, from the harmless case
of nothing appearing in the sample window, to a SYS 3175
error, to a total lockup of the machine that requires a
reboot. I so far have found no way to protect against the
total lockup. Needless to say, if a font causes this to
happen, remove it from the Master Library.
2. OS/2 does not allow FontFolder to remove any font from
memory that was not installed by FontFolder in the current
session. FontFolder always updates the OS2.INI file and
shows the font as removed, but if you check the Font Palette
or look in the font list presented by your application, you
will see that the font is still there. It will be gone the
next time you reboot.
This is not a problem if you don't change fonts frequently
since any font removed by FontFolder will be gone the next
time you reboot. However, if you work with large numbers of
fonts during a single session, you may end of with very
large numbers of fonts installed in OS/2, with performance
and even perhaps error problems. The way to avoid this is
to only keep a minimum number of fonts, the ones you use
all the time, loaded in OS/2 at startup. Then start
FontFolder and keep it open during the entire session if
you are going to work with large numbers (100's) of fonts
during the session. FontFolder can be minimized when you
are not using it, but don't close it. This way, FontFolder
can completely remove any font it installed (as long as you
aren't currently using the font in an open application).
Before closing FontFolder, clean up your installed font list
by removing all the fonts other than your basic font set.
(HINT: Define a FontPack to be your basic set of fonts.
Then just before closing FontFolder, remove everything extra
and install this FontPack. That will guarantee that you
always have the correct base set installed on bootup).
3. It is easy to browse large numbers of fonts in the Font
Information window with version 1.1 of FontFolder. This can
quickly consume large amounts of memory, causing problems if
you are short of swap file space. Look in the online Help
Index for "browsing fonts" and read this section to
understand what the memory requirements are when browsing
fonts.
*********************************************************************
FONTFOLDER SUPPORT:
Support for FontFolder is provided on Compuserve in OS2BVEN,
Section 1 (GO OS2SHARE). Latest versions of FontFolder will
also be posted to the library there. Or send e-mail to to
me at [75013,1701] on Compuserve.
Cliff Cullum