WARNING: Fonter may not operate properly on systems using the SuperPrint font scaling program.
LICENSE INFORMATION
Fonter is a shareware program, with a Registration fee of only $15.00. If you use this program past a reasonable test period, you must register your copy..
Limitations: You must purchase a separate copy of Fonter for use on separate computers, with the following exception: You may use the same copy of Fonter on both a laptop and desktop computer, as long as you own both computers.
Support -- As a registered user, you'll be entitled to full support of Fonter. You'll also receive the latest version of the program on disk.
George Campbell
1472 Sixth Street
Los Osos, CA 93402
OsoSoft BBS -- (805) 528-3753
CIMail: GCAMPBELL
CompuServe ID: 71571,222
MEMORY PROBLEMS
This information applies to all Windows applications:
Windows 3.0 uses disk space as virtual memory, swapping data in an out of a file when needed. Being the disk hog that it is, Windows can quickly create a 5 MB swap file, or even more. Because of this, your Windows directory should be on a drive or partition with plenty of disk space. A good minimum is about 10 MB.
If you can't do this, use the SWAPDISK program, as described in the "Optimizing Windows" section of your manual, to move the swapfile to another drive. Another option, and a good one, is to set up a permanent swap file. You'll find information on this in the same chapter.
Fonter itself doesn't use any disk space, but the Print Manager creates temporary files, and these can be very large indeed, especially with ATM and a PostScript printer. If you see unusual errors when printing, this is probably your problem.
USING FONTER
Fonter is very, very simple, and takes care of most chores without any input from you, but there are several items to talk about.
First, start Fonter like any other Windows program. Just double click on the icon. You'll see a message telling you that the program is building a font list, then Fonter's window appears.
Fonter starts out in [Screen Mode], as indicated in the Mode text box at the upper right of the window. This mode allows you to view fonts in the [Font Sample] box at the bottom right of the screen.
Next, look at the top line of the screen. You'll see the familiar control bar, plus [Minimize] and [Maximize] buttons. You can minimize Fonter at any time, then expand it by double clicking on its icon. You can also size the Fonter window as you do any Windows window. You will, however, only be able to see part of the screen.
[WARNING:] Like all Visual Basic programs, Fonter can cause a system lockup if you minimize it, then [drop to DOS] while in Windows. To avoid this, don't drop to DOS with Fonter iconized.
MENU COMMANDS
[Options Menu] -- This menu branches to several other commands. Here are the commands, from top to bottom, with descriptions of their functions:
*Screen Display Only -- This command switches Fonter back from any other mode to the screen mode, the same as when you first ran the program. You can type text in the sample window, after first clicking inside the window.
*Print Font List (All Fonts) -- This command sets up Fonter to print a sheet or sheets containing samples of every available printer font for your current printer. Normally, when you click this command, you will see a brief description of the command's function. Just click OK to activate this mode.
You'll see "Print Font List (All Fonts)" in the Mode box. While in this mode, you can set the font size for printing, using the drop down list under the word "SIZE." The "FONT" list box is also active, but only affects the font sample display. The bold and italic buttons also apply to this mode.
*Print Font List (Selected Fonts) -- This command works just like the one above, but it prints only those fonts you've added to the "Selected Fonts" list. To add a font, click on the Font Selection arrow, click on a font, then click the "Add" button. The font will appear in the "Selected Fonts" window, and the Font Selection list box will drop down again. To remove a font from the "Selected Fonts" box, click on it, then click the "Remove" button.
*Print Character Set (Single Font) -- this command lets you print a sheet containing samples of the character set for the current font. Like the previous command, this one opens a box which describes the command's function. Again, click OK to activate the mode. The Mode box will reflect the current mode at all times. In this mode, you can set FONT and SIZE, in their respective drop-down list boxes.
In order to keep the entire character set on a single sheet, you're limited to font\ sizes between 6 and 12 points. Notice the "CHARACTER SET" buttons near the bottom of the Fonter Window. Click either of these to tell Fonter whether to print just the keyboard characters or the full ANSI character set. The Bold and Italic buttons apply to this mode.
In this mode, the default is to print a sample paragraph in your font, plus a chart showing the extended ANSI characters. To disable this and print a simple chart, as described above, click the "Include Text Sample" check box.
*Print Character Set (Selected Fonts) -- Works just like the command above, but prints charts only for fonts in the "Selected Fonts" window.
*Print Font Book (All Fonts) -- This command prints a complete set of character set sheets for your printer, plus the Font list sheet described above. The font size is locked at 12 points. NOTE: On my HP LaserJet II, with a 25-Mhz machine and about 100 fonts, this process took over seven hours, so run this one at night or sometime when you don't need your system. If you need to [cancel] the operation, just click the EXIT button. The program will abort at the end of the next font. If you've checked bold or
italic or both, that will be reflected in your printouts.
NOTE: The choices you've made with the buttons on the main screen will apply to the font book, so you can create customized text for the font list sheets, and set all options for the character charts.
*Print Font Book (Selected Fonts) -- Same as above, but prints a book of just your selected fonts. In this mode, you may set font sizes between 6 and 12 points.
*Display ANSI Number List -- This command in the Options menu toggles the screen display of ANSI characters in the Font Sample box. If it's checked, the entire character set will appear in the Font Sample box for the current font. You can scroll down to view the ANSI code for each character. If it's not checked, you'll just see a brief sample of the font's appearance, in either the default text, or your customized text. Note that displaying the ANSI code list takes some time each time you change fonts, so
you may want to leave this option unchecked most of the time. Also, the CHARACTER SET buttons control how many ANSI characters are displayed.
*Make Current Font Default -- On some systems, the font at the top of Fonter's list of fonts will not be appropriate as the generic font for titles and labels on printouts. This is especially true for users with dot matrix printers. For this reason, you may use this command to make any font on the list the [default labeling font]. If your printouts don't look right, or the font used for labels looks odd, then select a [generic font], such as Courier or Helvetica or another font, then click on this command.
NOTE: Selecting a font in this way will not affect your font choice on other options, so you can continue to use the program as usual. Try printing a font list without choosing a default font. If things look OK, then you can ignore this command.
*Full Screen Font Chart -- This command displays a full screen showing your current font. You can also display this screen by clicking the [Full Screen] button or by pressing <Alt>-F. While in this screen, buttons at the bottom of the screen allow you to control the character set for display, zoom the display, or return to the Fonter main screen. If you press [Zoom] once, then use your mouse to select a character or characters, pressing Zoom again will display that character in a very large size for inspection.
Click the [Un-Zoom] button to return to the normal Zoomed display. You can use the Edit menu or any normal Windows editing tools in this screen. Bold and italic attributes appear in the full-screen display. Click the [Return] button to go back to Fonter's normal display
*Run Control Panel - Printers -- This command runs the Windows Control Panel, opening the Printer Setup window. Use it if you need to change printers or alter the setup of your current printer. When you're done, exit the Control Panel in the usual way to return to Fonter. In some cases, you may have to exit Fonter, however, before these changes go into effect.
*Colors -- These two options allow you to select the default Fonter blue background or a simple white background. Use the one you like.
*Exit -- Another way to quit Fonter.
[Edit Menu] -- This menu contains the usual Windows Edit commands.
*Cut -- Cuts selected text to the Clipboard. Use <Shift>-<Del> as a shortcut.
*Copy -- Copies selected text to the Clipboard. Use <Ctrl>-<Del> as a shortcut.
*Paste -- Pastes text from the Clipboard to the current text box. Use this to test specific text from another application to see how it looks in your selected font. Shortcut: <Shift>-<Ins>.
*Custom Font List Text -- Use this command to enter text to display in the Font Sample box. You'll enter text in a dialog box.
[Tips Menu] -- This command lists several menu options which give you handy tips about using various aspects of Fonter.
[About Menu] -- This command has two options.
[Help Menu] -- This command calls up this Help Screen. To use the help system, simply click on any topic in the left box. Click Return to Program to exit Help.
*About Fonter -- Information about Fonter 4.1
*Order Form and OsoSoft Program Info -- This command opens a new window, containing an order form for other OsoSoft products. You fill it in, just like any other Windows form, using <TAB> and <Shift>-<TAB> to move between fields. [Info...] buttons beside each product call a description of that product. When you're finished, just click the [Print] button. Click [Exit] to return to Fonter.
ON-SCREEN OPTIONS
You'll see several options in the Fonter main window. To choose any of these, simply click on the one you want, or press <Alt> while you type the underlined character. Here's what they do:
*Custom Font List Text -- Click here to type the text you want to appear in the Font Sample window and in your font lists. An editing box will pop up. To revert to the normal mode, just click this option again. The editing box will disappear, but the text remains in the box. To re-activate the text, click this command again. This command is equivalent to the "Custom Font List Text Sample" command in the "Edit" menu.
*Character Set Options -- These three buttons control the appearance of character set charts. Choose either Keyboard ANSI (default) or Extended ANSI. The Include Text Sample option determines whether a sample paragraph is included in character charts. It overrides the other two options.
*Attributes Options -- You may choose [Bold] or [Italic] attributes or both for displayed and printed fonts. These settings affect all operations of the program, except the character charts, which display all font attributes.
*Clear -- This button clears the font sample window. Use it when you want to cut and paste your own text between applications, or when you want to see just how your text looks in a particular font.
SELECTING A FONT
To select a font name in Fonter, just click the list box arrow under the [FONT box]. You'll see a drop-down list. Click on any displayed font name. You can scroll through the list with the mouse and the scroll bar, or type the first letter of your font for faster action. If several fonts begin with the same letter, just continue pressing the letter until your desired font appears.
Similarly, you can choose a size for your font in the [FONT SIZE box] to the right of the FONT box. You can supply a size not shown in the list by typing that size in the box. Fonter ignores fractional font sizes. As soon as you choose a font, it will appear in the sample box. If you have checked the Display ANSI Number List option, you'll have to wait a few seconds while Fonter composes the list. REMEMBER: you can type your own characters in the Sample window as well. Just click in the window, then type as you wish.
You can also check the Bold or Italic check boxes, or both, to view or print your fonts with those attributes.
USING THE SELECTED FONTS OPTIONS
To move the currently selected font into the [Selected Fonts box], just click the [Add] button. To remove a font, click on any font in the "Selected Fonts" box, then click the [Remove] button. To use these fonts, choose options containing the words "Selected Fonts" in parentheses. You may add as many fonts as you like to this box, and may even include duplicate fonts if necessary.
PRINTING WITH FONTER
Fonter begins printing as soon as you click OK in the message box displayed after each print command in the Options menu. You won't be able to do anything else the operation is complete. However, if you click the Exit button, Fonter will exit after printing the current font.
POSTSCRIPT PRINTERS -- The Catch...
If you use Fonter with a Postscript printer, or a laser printer with a PostScript cartridge, plus ATM from Adobe systems, there are a couple of things to watch. First, ATM does not install fonts in a downloadable format in WIN.INI. See your ATM documentation for an explanation of how to make the necessary WIN.INI changes.
Second, when using ATM, you may see fonts in the font list which will not print. In fact, you may receive an error from the printer or have the printer actually lock up if you try to print with these fonts. This problem is even more severe with some PostScript cartridges, which cannot send error messages back to your PC.
Fortunately there's a simple solution. By using the "Selected Fonts" feature in Fonter, you can simply add the fonts you know are available in your printer, then print just those fonts in any of the three formats.
SHAREWARE AND PUBLIC DOMAIN ATM FONTS
If you use ATM under Windows to scale fonts, you've made a good choice. The program simplifies the entire font process to a point where using fonts is child's play. These days, you can find literally hundreds of shareware and public domain PostScript Type 1 fonts for use with ATM. But.....
Some of these fonts, especially those converted from Macintosh fonts, have incomplete character sets. When Fonter and many other programs attempt to display these fonts on the screen, nothing happens. Indeed using such a font can cause others to disappear as well.
To locate these fonts, print a complete font list with Fonter. If you find lines showing just the font name, or nothing at all, you've located a bad font. NOTE: Remember, one bad font can spoil the whole barrel. Once you print the sample list, which may have several holes in it, you need to remove the offending fonts.
Look at the list, then load the ATM Control Panel. Delete the font which was the first that didn't print. DON'T DELETE THE OTHER BLANK FONTS!!!. Now, use Fonter to print another sample list and repeat the deletion process, if necessary.
While you may hate to lose a font, I guarantee that a font that gives Fonter a bad time will certainly be a pain in the neck in other programs as well.
BE PATIENT!
Printing either the character chart or the font sample sheets takes some time. This is especially true if you're using ATM or have tons and tons of fonts. The font sample sheets take an especially long time, since Fonter has to load each font. Also, remember again that printing a font book can take HOURS! If you need to abort printing while in the font book mode, click the Exit button. Fonter will exit after finishing the current routine.
YOUR MACHINE IS NOT LOCKED UP!
Once the pages go to the Print Manager or other spooler, you may either select another font or option or exit the program.
EXITING FONTER
To quit Fonter, just click the [EXIT] button. You can quit anytime the arrow cursor is visible, even if your pages haven't emerged from the printer. If you click this button while an operation is going on, you'll exit at the end of the current routine.
THANKS for registering Fonter.
Fonter is copyright 1991, 1992 by George Campbell. All rights reserved.
