You have got your hands on one of the most original fonts available, wether thru the shareware circuit or else.
Nahkt was the name of a famous scribe, hence the name of this font. It works pretty much like some of our foreign fonts : each key bears the character closest to the phonetics of the hieroglyph. Therefore, if you wanted to write your name, in most of the cases, typing it would normaly create a readable approximation of the Egyptian glyphs.
Scientists and Egyptologists may find this set of symbols rather limited. Of course, the purpose here is not at all to re-create a full hieroglyphs dictionnary, but rather to help computerists discover one of the most ancient ways of writing. As a matter of fact, it is quite an intellectual enjoyment to be able to use on one of the most modern means of communications these symbols originated long before our alphabet.
Hieroglyphs where usualy written downways, and right to left. Rule was, animals and humans would face the reader. In other words, if a sentence where to be read right to left, beings where facing left. However, the "right to left" rule was not always used. Sometimes, left-to-right was prefered. Therefore, this font contains both ways for each hieroglyph. It is much easier for our usual systems.
Sometimes, a noun would be encased in a box. Pretty much like (this), except parenthesis would be joined by upper and lower bars. This font offers the possibility of encasing characters. First type in 8 (left "parenthesis"), followed by the symbol you want to encase, and immediatly after, "9". This symbol is treated by the computer as a "non forwarding character" which prints as bars, but does not push the cursor to the right. For each glyph, you should repeat the 9 in order to encase it, top and bottom. At the end of the sentence, type in ";" to close the box. That way of treating nouns was used for important persons, usualy high priest of Pharaos.
I lurned most of these details in a unique and enriching little book, which I strongly recommand if you feel like lurning more about this way of writing : "Hieroglyphs. The writing of Ancient Egypt", from Atheneum, New York. For a very minimal price, you will be able to lurn how to write in hieroglyphs, how scribes of the ancient times where taught their job, and how Champollion decoded the mystery of these scriptures, during the 19th century.
Here are some ideas about how to better enjoy our dingbats fonts.
- On-Screen coloring : after the font has been installed in the system, you can access it from any application. Try using the TEXT tool in Windows Paint or any Macintosh color drawing programs, to have the pictures appear on your screen. You can then practice coloring them with the FILL tool (paint pot), or the brushes.
- Printer output : This font prints out very fine on most printers. At any size, really, the result is always great. Try printing really big pictures. You will then be able to color them with crayons or watercolors, to create splendid posters.
- Mobiles : tired of the everlasting stars mobiles ? Try printing out some characters, and glue them on cardboard. After cutting them out around the edges, and with some coloring, you will be able to assemble very original mobiles.
- Monster stickers : any good office supply store has in stock laser printer labels, which work great in most printers. Use these to printout original stickers, which can be placed on books, doors, lunchboxes, etc.
These are just a few ideas around dingbats. No doubts you will come up with much more creative uses for these fellows. We will appreciate any new hint, which can be passed around to other fans.
This font is shareware. I hope it's quality and originality please you. It is a sample only of our wide collection, meant to help you discover it's originality and quality. If you like it, and decide to continue to use it, you must register. See following chapters about details. See also "Great Fonts Offer" document and discover how, by registering, you will get 50 exclusive fonts to thank-you for paying the very low registration an usage fee. You will also discover how to get, for the very limited registration price, the Kids Treasure font pack, where you will find Egyptian Hieroglyphs, an illustrated Alphabet, "Scary" letters for Halloween, and many other fun fonts for kids and educational purposes.
By the way, if you are into education, and would like to see some new fonts based on your ideas, please contact me. I love this kind of projects.
Thank-you in advance for any comment and suggestions you may have. In particular, if you have a favorite written or printed representation you may want to have made as a font, please send it along with your registration. It will take place in the project file folder, and if I follow-up on your suggestion, you will get this brand new font for free !
Shareware distribution gives users a chance to try software before buying it. If you try a Shareware program and continue using it, you are expected to register. Individual programs differ on details -- some request registration while others require it, some specify a maximum trial period. With registration, you get anything from the simple right to continue using the software to an updated program with printed manual.
Copyright laws apply to both Shareware and commercial software, and the copyright holder retains all rights, with a few specific exceptions as stated below. Shareware authors are accomplished programmers, just like commercial authors, and the programs are of comparable quality. (In both cases, there are good programs and bad ones!) The main difference is in the method of distribution. The author specifically grants the right to copy and distribute the software, either to all and sundry or to a specific group. For example, some authors require written permission before a commercial disk vendor may copy their Shareware (see enclosed VENDOR.DOC).
Shareware is a distribution method, not a type of software. You should find software that suits your needs and pocketbook, whether it's commercial or Shareware. The Shareware system makes fitting your needs easier, because you can try before you buy. And because the overhead is low, prices are low also. Shareware has the ultimate money-back guarantee -- if you don't use the product, you don't pay for it.
DISCLAIMER - AGREEMENT
Users of MATCH SOFTWARE FONTS must accept this disclaimer of warranty:"MATCH SOFTWARE FONT is supplied as is. The author disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, including, without limitation, the warranties of merchantability and of fitness for any purpose. The author assumes no liability for damages, direct or consequential, which may result from the use of MATCH SOFTWARE FONT"
These fonts are "shareware program" and are provided at no charge to the user for evaluation. Feel free to share it with your friends, but please do not give it away altered or as part of another system. The essence of "user-supported" software is to provide personal computer users with quality software without high prices, and yet to provide incentive for programmers to continue to develop new products. If you find this program useful and find that you are using this font and continue to use this font after a reasonable trial period, you must make a registration payment of $20 (in US funds) to Match Software. See order form at the end of this document.
This small $20 fee is intended to pay for this font usage licensing. It is agreed the user had plenty of time to evaluate it in any way he wanted, and to decide to register for it. The fonts included with the registered version of this font are indeed a complementary gift, and do not constitute a new acquisition. It is understood user will not be entitled for any money back, if for any reason he did not like one or several of them.
This registration fee will license one copy for use on any one computer at any one time. You must treat this software just like a book. An example is that this software may be used by any number of people and may be freely moved from one computer location to another, so long as there is no possibility of it being used at one location while it's being used at another. Just as a book cannot be read by two different persons at the same time.
LIMITED WARRANTY
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This font is shareware. You had all the time you wanted to experiment with it in any way you wanted to, and for as long as you wanted to, before deciding to register. It means you found it satisfactory enough to pay the small usage fee.
Therefore, Match Software cannot accept any claim for money back, for any reason, after you have decided to, and did register.
If for any reason the registered version of the font was provided to you on a defective media (disk), it will be exchanged for a new one at no cost.
If you have suggestions for improving this font, we appreciate your comments. It does not mean we will fix or modify the font in the way you wish in a given time, or that we must do it in any way. However, if we feel the suggestion is appropriate, next version of the font may be inspired from these advises.
We decline any responsibility if for any reason this font is put to bad use in any way. It worked fine on a regular configuration, and on a regular printer, with the most usual software packages. If, for any reason, it could not work on your specific configuration, Match Software cannot be held responsible. As technical combinations are almost infinite, and because systems evoluate in ways we cannot predict, it might happen a new system, or a particular configuration, does not work with a font. For instance, because a new version of the system requires a new font format. In general, we will try to keep up with the system versions, and eventually offer upgrades, if possible, but it does not constitute an obligation, nor would it be the case if you acquired a set of seats cover for your specific car, and require they fit any new car you may decide to buy later on.
Hardware characteristics may also pose problems. For instance, it appears that some ink-jet printers or dot-matrix printers, used with Windows, cannot print accurately some complex fonts. It could happen with "dingbats" fonts, made out of small pictures, like Nahkt Hieroglyphs, or Dinosotype, for instance. For some reason, sometimes some sizes show on the screen as little square boxes, and print fine. Or the opposite ; it shows fine on the screen and never prints. Or worse, it does not print either on the screen, nor on the printer. We found no explanation to this phenomenon. It looks very much like a solid glitch either in Windows itself, either in the printer's drivers. Until His Majesty Microsoft fixes the problem, we are sorry to admit we cannot find any way to directly circumvent it (at least easily ; see Q & A in OFFER_50.TXT).
Some printers have also some very strange limitations concerning TrueType fonts. We had some nightmares with HP-Compatible printers which are not, in their native mode, capable of accommodating more than, say, 5 TT fonts. If configured as HP clones, however, they would print fine hundreds of beautiful TrueType fonts. Think about this kind of glitches, before accusing our fonts of not functioning properly.
Another bad use of a font may be generation of counterfeit documents, or any kind of falsified printing. We decline any responsibility in such and event. Please do not use our fonts for any illegal purpose.
USAGE LICENSING REGISTRATION
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If you got this font from a commercial shareware distributor, like on-disk vendors, CD compilations or on-line service, the price you eventually paid does not include usage licensing. Commercial distributors charge you for their time spent in selecting, promoting and shipping the shareware, or any other weird reason they might think of, but in no case for usage fees. In other words, should you decide to use this font on regular or publishing purposes, you still must acquire usage licensing by registering, before doing so.
This applies especially to desktop publishing, or any kind of publishing. If you should use this font in any publishing activity, you must register, and also mention in the copyright notices name and origin of the Match Software fonts you used. For instance "Bujardet Freres fonts from Match Software".
Thank-you for complying with these simple rules. If you publish books or any other intellectual creation, would they be records, software, videos or any other creation, you probably want to get recognized for it. Please do not deprive us from our small share of it, minuscule registration fee included. Thank-you !
