* New "Output Options" dialog added to provided control over the type of output produced by theTypeBook. They provide additional control over compatibility with the more obscure printing environments by restoring (from versions prior to 3.0) full reliance on the selected printer driver.
The print driver normally performs all translation for the Mac's native drawing form (Quickdraw) to the native form of the selected printer (which could be anything Postscript,TrueImage,PCL,etc.). When versions 3.0 and later are connected to a Postscript printer, theTypeBook will bypass the driver translation and send pure postscript code instead. This is necessary inorder to provide landscape orientation and cropmarks on PS imagesetters. It also provides a speed improvement on standard PS laserwriters - the amount of postscript code executed is less.
In reality, the printer driver cannot be (easily) bypassed entirely as it also maintains communications between the computer and "a" printer. When communication is established at print time a number of things are setup automatically. Namely, the options you select in the Page Setup are defined before any output actually occurs. THERE ARE NO OPTIONS! If an application such as theTypeBook wishes to override the settings a significant effort is required at the printer language level (PS) to weedout undesirables. The "printer language level" implies a certain amount of device dependence (acutally implementation dependence).
Any Postscript printer that uses version 5.2 or later of the standard Apple LaserWriter driver should be compatible with theTypeBook's Postscript. Any other driver's may or may not be. Especially if they are seen as a postscript driver by the Mac. Hence the "Output Options" provide a means to automatically override the direct use of postscript. If a non-postscript printer is selected theTypeBook will detect this and print using Quickdraw anyway.
The "Output Options" are accessible by holding down the option-key and selecting "Output Options" from the file menu. The Output Options temporarily replace the Page Setup selection in the File menu while the option key is held down. A dialog is displayed containing the two basic options:
"Auto Postscript Detection"
This is the standard operating mode. If a printer identifies itself as a postscript printer theTypeBook will send it postscript code directly. If a non-postscript printer is detected, output will be sent through the driver as Quickdraw and then translated by the driver. Also the appropriate resolution of a bitmapped version of the footer logo will be selected automatically.
"Always Use Quickdraw"
This mode overrides the automatic postscript detection and always draws pages using Quickdraw. The Quickdraw image is then translated by the printer driver as it is being sent to the printer. This represents the maximum compatibility achived through normal means. In Quickdraw mode you also have the option to manually select a logo resolution. This provides some additional control over how the logo looks and how fast it will print.
When you have finished configuring the output click OK implement the changes. Or, Cancel to abort any changes. The selections you make will be remembered by theTypeBook until you change them again.
* Added option to the Layout Fonts and Measures dialog to control whether or not font names are printed in reversed type on the Line Showings and Type Showings pages. Fonts names on these pages are normally printed white on a black background so that they standout from the specimen displays. Turning this option "on" cause the font names to print black on white with a line above and a line below instead.
* The option to include Font Family data automatically in the page comments is now remembered by theTypeBook between launchings.
* Both small icons and color icons have been added for aesthetic improvement.
* Added "Type Showing Specs" to the Layouts menu. This provides control over the display specimen size and the size and leading of the sample paragraph. The space occupied by the large and small type specimens used in the Type Showings page now adjusts depending on the type size of the large specimen. The smaller the large specimen is, the more room becomes available for the small specimen.
Version 3.07
* Bug fix to AKA names introduced with "Use AKAs" in the Print Dialog. AKA was not used on some layouts. This has been corrected.
* New postscript dictionary implemented for more reliable compatibility with postscript printers.
* New routines for verification of fonts available when theTypeBook is launch. Eliminate duplicated alerts while providing a more thorough check.
* Added new "Index page" for printing pages with up to 42 fonts per page. A dialog to control the title of the index page has also been added to the Fonts and Measures menu.
Version 3.08 (three days later...)
* Bug fix for spool printing when Output options are set for "Auto Postscript Detect" mode.
* Revised Index Layout introduced in 3.07 (limited release) for a more appealing look and additional samples per page now equal to 48 samples.
* Added edit functions to the Edit menu for all character strings (known as templates) that make up the page layouts. Both the standard (std.) and alternate (alt.) templates may be edited to your selection. The alternate templates are used when "Metric measures" is selected in the Layout fonts and Measures dialog. In any of the edit dialogs click OK to confirm the changes or Cancel to abort. The values may be restored to the original default values of theTypeBook by clicking the Defaults button. This permits the layouts to be fine tuned temporarily or semi-permanently.
* Move the Color Sample Text select from the Layout menu to the Edit Menu to coincide with the new editing functions added to the Edit menu.
* Reorganized the Layout menu grouping similar items together.
* Added All Characters Specs dialog to the Layouts menu. This provides control of the starting size of the Characters page sample and whether the size should be automatically scaled so that all characters will fit on the page. The range of valid point sizes is 36 through 300 points.
Version 3.08s1
* Bug fix for index page layout. One too many fonts where gathered up for a page when a sufficient number where available. This caused the name of the first sample to disappear in addition to printing the extra font out of position. (ya just gotta tell me.)
Version 3.09
* Added the option to change the font used by the template editing dialogs to the Edit Menu. Since system fonts do usually use many of the special characters they are displayed a empty boxes when used. By changing to another font that supports a full character set it may be easier to edit some templates. Select Change Edit Font and the list of available fonts will be displayed. Note that font style variations are not available for selection. Bitmap fonts will not appear if they are not enabled in the main font list. If the current font is not available, the Monaco font will be appended to the list and selected as the default.
* Implemented AKA names on the Index layout introduced in the previous version. Also fixed AKA names on the Type Showings layout. Previously AKA names would not be used on the print out even if check-on in the Print dialog.
* Revised application to facilitate future updates via an updater utility. theTypeBook has increased in size to a point where updates via a separate utility become practical. Only versions 3.09 and later will be able to take advantage of it. However, update requests via conventional mail will always be honored.
Version 3.1
* Bug fix: A memory leakage problem occuring when reading AKA files and footer scripts. This was due to not disposing of memory allocated by the NewString toolbox function before exiting the routine that called it.
* Bug fix: A conflict that developed between the Font Manager and calls to Get/Release Resource has been eliminated. This resulted in a variety of errors on different machines. On my machine, for example, it operated normally and the problem could only be identified by inspection using MacsBug.
* Revised layout of the Print dialog. Added information regarding the current layout selected for printing to the "Output Status" line. Output status now appears in a framed box of the bottom of the print dialog.
* Added Index layouts for A4, Legal, and Tabloid page sizes. Each shows 54, 60, and 104 font specimens per page, respectively. The Index page is the first (and only, at this time) layout that will utilize the tabloid page size. Attempting to print other layouts with a tabloid page size selected will produce the "Invalid Page Size" error message. A special feature of the tabloid page size is the page title will be centered over the specimens area, which is normally centered on the page.
NOTE: it takes a fair amount of time to print 104 fonts, about 30 minutes on my LaserWriter Plus with a modified version of LaserCheck loaded.
* Added option to Line Showings Specs dialog to print Outline names on the "Outer" margin. When Font ID comments are enabled, they will still be printed opposite the Outline name but switch back and forth between the left and right side of the page as well.
Version 3.11
* Updated to work with Apple's LaserWriter 7.2 driver now shipping with the LaserWriter Pro 600 series printers. This new driver apparently configures itself to the currently attached printer. If you experience problems in "Postscript mode" please report them as soon as possible. To overcome this problem, hold down the option key and select the Output Options (replaces Page Setup) in the File menu and switch to QuickDraw only. This will keep you printing, but without cropmarks, and bitmaps are used in place of EPS logos.
* Currently selected page size has been added to the Print Dialog's output status message.
* Under system 7.0 and 7.1 the font used in the Color Sample Settings dialog looked funky as Geneva is apparently no longer restricted to the number defined in Volume I of InsideMac. The routine has been changed to look for system fonts by name. If Geneva (it was a system font) is not found, the default system font will be used (usually Chicago).
* Oddly, using the LW 7.2 driver on my system (7.1, SE, LW+), the new default print record theTypeBook gets from the system has the pagesize "A4" set as the default value. Since this bothered me for a few hours, theTypeBook now checks the selected page size against the selected layout for printing. If the pagesize is not supported by the layout a dialog will appear indicating the need to change the Page Setup options.
Version 3.2
* Added Even/Odd page printing. Radio Buttons "Even", "Odd", and "Both" have been added to the Print dialog. They become enabled only when the "Alternate Left/Right" checkbox is turned on. Odd prints only the left-facing pages, and Even prints only the right-facing pages from the currently selected range of typefaces. This greatly simplifies the creation of a catalog using two-sided page.
* Enabled Page range printing. In previous versions the page "From" and "To" entries in the Print dialog were ignored. These entries now perform normally although thier benefit may be minimal - you still have to establish some kind of organization.
* Added two new selections to the FontList menu: "Save Ordered List" and "Use Ordered List". "Save Ordered List" saves a copy of the current font list to a tab delimited text file. Each line in the text file represents a record that consists of: Outline Name, FOND Name, Style, and Type. This list may be used for other purposes, however, it is intended to serve as a temporary sort file for those with extraordinary needs. The list can be opened by most database and spreadsheet programs, re-sorted - say by font type, and then exported back to a text file. The resulting list file would then be loaded back into theTypeBook using the "Use Ordered List" selection.
When an Ordered List is loaded theTypeBook verifies that each font in the list is installed. If not, it will excluded. NOTE: Additionally installed fonts not in the list are also excluded. Only fonts both in the list and installed can be selected for printing. Additionally, selection of typefaces via typing the name is disabled. Both AKA text files and Face Comment files (described below) may be merged into an Ordered List. Load times will be somewhat longer however.
Any action that causes the list of available typefaces to be rebuilt will automatically discard the Ordered List. These include: selection of "Sort On Outline Names", "Show Bitmap Fonts", and selection of "Suitcase II" in the Apple menu. All previously described consequences of a loaded Ordered List will be restored to normal operation.
* Changed point size of standard Page Comment to 7 pts and added a another line for a total 3 lines. The default textwrap width remains at 270 pts allowing for elaborate Page Comments. Rudementary formatting may be accomplished with <Return> characters.
* Added a new "Comments" menu to facilitate the management of individual typeface comments. Known as "Face Comments", it is basically identical to AKA Names in both features and functions. Each typeface in the list may have a comment "all its own" that appears on all layouts except the Index layout. Typefaces which have a Face Comment assigned to them appear with an "!" (exclamation point) in front of thier name in the list of available typefaces.
The length of a Face Comment has a maximum of 128 characters, though less space is available depending on the layout. Use Face Comments to make notations about vendors, other names, prices, etc..
On the main Sample Page and All Characters Page, the Face Comment appears just below the page header, right justified. On the KeyCaps Page the Face Comment appears right justified at the bottom of the chart. On the Sixup Page it appears just below the specimen name, right-justified. On the Line Showings page the Face Comment appears just below the specimen name and switches between left and right justified when "Names on Outer Margin" is on in the Line Showing Specs dialog.
To facilitate the addition of the Face Comment a couple of minor changes have been made to the Sixup layout and the Line Showings layout. On the Sixup layout, the format of the Font ID information has changed by combining the ID number and Font Type into a single line separated by a comma. On the Line Showings layout, the vertical spacing has been changed to provide more samples per page at larger sizes (fewer at smaller sizes). Additionally, the vertical position of the specimen will adjust with the display area depending upon the presence of a Face Comment for that specimen.
Summary of the "Comments" menu.
> Page Comments has been moved from the Layouts menu. Its function and command-key equivalent remain the same.
> Assign Face Comment - optionally selected via command-\ or by holding down command-option while double-clicking on a typeface name.
> Use Comments List - reads a tab-delimited text file matching Outline names in the first column to the list of available typefaces and assigning the text of the second column to the Face Comment for that typeface when found. Note: Face Comment text files and AKA Names text files are interchangable.
> Save Comments List - creates a tab-delimited text file of all currently assigned Face Comments.
> View Comments List - Displays a scrolling list of all currently assigned Face Comments.
> Clear Face Comments - Clears all currently assigned Face Comments.
* Changed program logic so prompts to save AKA Names and Face Comments occur after Suitcase II has been selected from the Apple menu, but before it actually opens. If the response is No to the "Save" prompt both AKA Names and Face Comments will be discarded and the Suitcase II desk accessory will open normally. If the response is Yes, the standard file Save dialog will appear. After the file(s) is saved the Suitcase II desk accessory will open. If you Cancel the Save dialog, the entire action will be aborted including opening the da.
* Added "Index Showing Specs" to the Layouts Menu. It is almost identical to the Line Showings Specs. Enter a valid point size in the range of 12 pt to 36 pt. The maximum number that will fit in one column will be displayed. Enter a number per column less than or equal to the maximum number displayed. On all pagesizes, except tabloid, there are three columns. At 12 pts on a letter pagesize the maximum is 30 per column or 90 specimens per page. On a tabloid (11"x17") pagesize, the maximum per column is 50 yielding 200 fonts per page.
Notes About printing massive index pages...
Be sure that the fonts you are printing are in perfect condiition, ideally you would have already printed them at least once. This is mainly due to the amount of time required to download and image a large number of fonts.
When "Unlimited Downloadable Fonts" is on, postscript printers usually keep only those fonts for which there is an immediate need. Others are discarded and redownloaded if needed again later. Typically not more than the last three fonts used remain in the printer memory. In a nutshell... providing that not one of the characters in any of the fonts produce a postscript error, the printer will NOT run out of memory. It works on my 1.5MB LaserWriter Plus though it takes 45 minutes for the 90 specimen letter page!
SuperATM and Multiple Masters provide for an interesting twist. They require that "Unlimited Dowloadable Fonts" be disabled (off). This indicates that SuperATM must manage the printer's memory in some other way. What this implies is still unclear and I would like to hear about any experiences other may have.
* Added rudementary checking for resource problems when the list of available typefaces is built. When completed, if any errors were detected a dialog will be displayed showing the FOND name <if possible> and the kind of error encountered.
* Added support for MasterJuggler users identical to that for Suitcase II.
* Routine added to freeware version to search for alternative font faces when the preferred faces CAN NOT BE IDENTIFIED ACCURATELY via the true outline name. If necessary, theTypeBook will make one up from three of the very basic fonts included with each mac. These are Helvetica, Times, and Palatino.
Version 3.21
* Bug fix - the number of specimens per column in the Index Layout Specs dialog was not saved into the settings properly resulting in a number one less than was originally entered the next time theTypeBook was launched.
* Bug fix - When the maximum number of font specimens for the Index Layout was expanded to 200 the internal indexes where overlooked. Consequently, on the 105th face the names at the beginning would begin to lose characters. Deceiving at first glance, but eliminated now.
* The number of index samples for all layouts has been increase by one for each column on the page. This creates some odd numbers for total specimens, but makes maximum use of the available space. The previous 50 per column left an unusual amount of space above the page footer. So now there is a 204 font specimen maximum on a tabloid Index layout.
* Revised Print Status dialogs to reflect the face name of the font specimen "about" to be drawn. For Quickdraw printers, the face name appears only in the "Preparing Page..." dialog. During this dialog a Quickdraw picture is created containing all the information that will appear on the printed output. For Postscript printers, the face name appears only in the "Printing Page..." dialog. Since there is not an intermediate Picture created, the face name is the "next one" that will be sent to the printer. For Postscript printers only, a status bar has also been added that reflects the completion status of the current page.
To activate the new Print Status, hold down the Shift-Option key combination while clicking the OK button in the Print dialog.
* Implemented program segmentation which will free as much memory as possible when the actual printing process begins. This does not provide a major increase as "printing" is theTypeBook's primary purpose, but it will be that much more unlikely for certain printers (and driver software) to run out of memory during printing.
* Previously Face Comments would not appear on the printed pages unless either Fond ID comments or Page Comments also active. This has been correct and Face Comments now operate independently of the other two comment features.
* Corrected basic postscript programming error introduced in version 3.2 as part of the Apple driver 7.2 compatibity update. In postscript mode, theTypeBook assumed that the "mediasource" postscript command was "always" available - oops! Now it checks for the presence, and then takes the appropriate action accordingly.
* When Page Comments already exists, when the Page Comments dialog was opened again, if Cancel was clicked the comment would be discarded - if OK was clicked it would be retained. This should have just Cancelled any changes made to the comment and not deleted it. This has been corrected.
Version 3.22
* Corrected problem with some other third-party utilities that add items to the Print dialog. Previously theTypeBook's items would not allow access outside the basic or its own functions. This was the result of not calling the standard filter after theTypeBook's. "In theory", it should be compatible with all print enhancement utilities now, including fax modems.
* Depending on certain conditions and user selections the font used for face comments would sometimes follow the font of the current specimen when printing Line Showings or Type Showings pages. This bug was introduced when Face Comments gained thier independence from Font ID comments. It is now restored to using the currently selected Body Font, from the Layout Fonts & Measures dialog.
* In recent revisions to the Page Comments routines the text entered in the Page Comments dialog became tied to the Use Font ID selection. That is, text entered in the Page Comments dialog would not print unless the Use Font ID item was also checked. This has been corrected, text entered and Use Font ID are now handled independently.
* Improved compatibility with MasterJuggler+ and conflicting FONDs. MJ+ works around conflicts by keeping track of which suitcase file each font is located in. If a FOND ID exists in more than one suitcase MJ+ can still supply the correct font to the system. Previously theTypeBook would omit conflicting fonts from the list of available typefaces, and present a dialog identifying the problem. theTypeBook now adds conflicting fonts to the list of available typefaces. It still presents the dialog when conflicts are present. If you are using MJ+, then you can simply ignore the conflicts and rely on MJ+'s abilities. If you are not, then printed results may be unpredictable until conflicts are resolved.
Version 3.23
It must be murphy's law, as soon as you show or give a piece of software at least one thing you have forgotten will immediately come to light!
* The ever illusive truetype identification that seems to slip with each update has finally been nailed (I believe!). Not so much a problem of identifying TT, just a matter of timing and first things.
* Corrected finder info to reflect the current version of theTypeBook.
Version 3.24
* Fixed bug which allow certain typefaces to over run the print area of the 36 pt display when Extra Color Samples were used.
* Fixed bug the prevented automatic font comments from printing on the Main Sample page when printed immediately after the 6Up Showings page.
* Made text templates unpurgable during printing to fend off memory hungry print drivers.
* When editing the Color Samples Text, all non-applicable menu selections are now disabled until the Color Samples Text window is closed.
* Renamed Output Options (selected with option-File menu) to "Other Options" and added a checkbox to the dialog to disable checks for conflicts and system heap FONDs. This provides compatilibility with certain Font system configurations, in particular, Carpetbag and split system font families in system 7.1
Also moved menu item strings for Page Setup and Other Options to STR# resources for ease of localization.
* Added compatibility for the new "LaserWriter 8.0" and "PS Printer 8.0" print drivers due out very soon from Apple and Adobe respectfully. Unfortunately, these drivers do not add the "programmability" I had hoped that they would. Though the impact is minor, it directly affects the usage of cropmarks in theTypeBook. In order for a page with cropmarks to print properly, the PPD (or PPDs) you are using with the driver must be edited to provide page sizes that are at least 50 points greater in each direction than the normal size. Editing PPDs is beyond the scope of this documentation, you will have to contact Adobe to obtain instructions on editing PPDs.
Hopefully, the need to edit PPDs will be greatly reduced before the actual release of the new drivers but this seems unlikely. I have already spoken to both Apple and Adobe... I like the idea of using PPDs through the print driver except that in this implementation "_ONLY_" the print driver gets to see it. Too bad, because there is a lot of information contained in a PPD that a "printing application" could make good use of. Such as exact page sizes for cropmarks, variable pagesize support, color support, available linescreens, etc...
NOTE: Due to the fact that the new drivers have not been officially release the "official names" are not yet set in concrete. theTypeBook makes a number of comparison when launch to ensure the previously saved print settings are appropriate. Portions are the driver names are used for this (all characters except the revision number and the space that separates it from the name). This is necessary since version numbers alone may not be unique.
To alieviate potential problems the names used for comparing the currently selected print driver are now contained in STR# resources that are easily changed using ResEdit, or other resource editor application. This will allow for subsequent correction, if necessary, after the official release of the new drivers.
