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1989-07-22
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Quick Font!
QFONT DOCUMENTATION
Demo/Beta version 1.4
July 4, 1989
Pre-release version 1.5
July 22, 1989
Copyright 1989 by Jamestown Software
2508 Valley Forge Drive
Madison WI 53719
608-271-2090
Jamestown Software will not be liable for any damages,
including lost profits, lost savings or other incidental or
consequential damages arising out of the use of or inability
to use QFONT, even if Jamestown Software has been advised of
the possibility of such damages, or for any claim by any
other party.
- Page 1 -
INTRODUCTION:
-------------
QFONT is a soft font editor for downloadable soft fonts for HP
LaserJet laser printers and compatibles. This version is the
fourth in a series: the first was only used internally, the
second (QFONT 1.3) was released with a number of features not
implemented. Version 1.4 was completely rewritten to add
virtually all the missing features from version 1.3, plus add
some new things. This release (QFONT 1.5) now has all functions
fully implemented, plus a number of new features not originally
planned.
QFONT supports Hercules Mono, EGA and VGA displays -- with or
without a mouse. We highly recommend the use of a mouse, but for
evaluation purposes you can (with some difficulty) use the
program without a mouse.
This documentation is admittedly very limited. We are still not
certain how the program will be distributed, but in any case,
registered and pre-registered users will receive the final
"shipping release" including a complete printed and illustrated
manual, supporting programs and sample fonts. Version 1.3 offered
a pre-registration price of $50 (which includes all preliminary
releases up to and including the shipping release), with the
final registration set at $80.
This version is the second of the promised preliminary releases
and is being shipped to all early registered users. Registration
is now $80, with the same offer: register now and get all
preliminary releases, plus the shipping release. Other
preliminary releases may or may not be posted on the Jamestown
Software BBS for general download.
SPECIFICATIONS:
---------------
Required computer...: IBM compatible, MS/PC-DOS 3.x.
Memory .............: 512K.
Video ..............: Hercules Mono, EGA, VGA.
Mouse ..............: Microsoft or compatible (strongly
recommended, but not required).
Printer ............: HP Laserjet or compatible.
Maximum Font Size...: about 2" (144 point) depending on style.
Orientation.........: edits portrait fonts only; save as
landscape built in.
SCREEN LAYOUT:
--------------
- Page 2 -
The screen is divided into four logical areas.
1. Upper left is a character display.
2. Lower left is an information and icon area.
3. Across the top right is a pull-down menu selection bar.
4. Remainder of the screen is the main edit area.
PULL-DOWN MENUS:
----------------
FILE -- general and file handling choices.
EDIT -- character editing choices.
TRANSFORM -- character modification and distortion.
PREFERENCES -- default choice for transformation actions.
INFO -- general help and information.
The choices for each of the menus are described below. New and
substantially different features to version 1.4 are single-
starred (*), and new 1.5 features are double-starred (**);
FILE:
-----
OPEN FONT FILE -- To load a font to be edited. A window will be
displayed where you may select a file. QFONT assumes fonts
with a ".SFP" extension, but you may change the file mask
for other files. Subdirectories are shown with a small dot
in front of their name. You may change subdirectories by
clicking on their name, and may change drives by clicking in
the "New Drive" box.
SAVE -- Saves the current font under it's original name. You will
be asked if you also wish to save a backup of the original
file.
SAVE AS... -- Saves the current file under a new name. The
original file remains current.
*MAKE LANDSCAPE -- Saves the current file as a landscape file, or
one in landscape orientation. QFONT will edit only portrait
orientation files, but you may save as landscape at any
time.
**NEW -- Create a "blank" font file so a new font may be created.
The basic parameters of the current file are used. You may
wish to "modify header" to establish something different.
**MODIFY HEADER -- Change the font header information. If you
change "Spacing", you can change proportional spaced fonts
- Page 3 -
to fixed spacing. You will be asked to confirm your request
because usually this conversion is less than perfect. QFONT
will make all reasonable changes to switch from one spacing
type to the other. Pitch (HMI) is the width used by the
printer when it receives any undefined character.
*TEST SPACING -- Allows you to enter text and view the spacing
between characters for possible left-offset and delta-x
adjustments.
**PRINT CHARACTER -- Prints a actual-size sample of the current
character and optionally, an enlarged version.
**DOWNLOAD FONT -- Built-in font downloader will download the
active font (including modifications) and optionally, print
a sample of all characters.
**SHOW CLIPBOARD -- Displays the current contents of the
clipboard which is the last block either "cut" or "copied".
The clipboard is not emptied when a new font is loaded, so
it is possible to load one font, copy a character, load a
second font, and then paste the character from the first
font into a character from the second font. A window
displays the width and height of the clipboard image so you
can determine if it will fit in the current character. If
it is larger than the current character, you may "modify
header" and change the cell width and height as needed.
QUIT -- End the program and return to DOS. QFONT will ask if you
wish to save any modified characters or files.
EDIT:
-----
ZOOM -- Define a section of displayed character and show it with
enlarged pixels for easier editing.
*ERASE BLOCK -- Define an area of the displayed character, then
erase all dots within that area. Does not affect any stored
block.
*CUT BLOCK -- Define an area of the displayed character, store
the area for later recall, then erase all dots within the
area. Replaces any block currently stored.
*COPY BLOCK -- Like cut block, but does not erase the block after
it has been defined. Replaces any block currently stored.
*PASTE BLOCK -- Recalls the currently stored block and allows it
to be positioned anywhere on the currently displayed
character. Note: when paste block is active, three selection
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boxes are displayed in the information area: MIRROR, INVERT
and PATTERN. Mirror flips the block side-to-side, invert
flips it top-to-bottom, and pattern stamps a pattern on the
block. The block may be pasted as either black or white
dots.
**DRAW CURVE -- Draws a bezier curve. You select the starting
and ending points for the curve, then a third "control
point" which determines the arc of the curve. After defining
the first two points, the curve will "rubber-band" until the
third point is set. The curve may be plotted in either
black or white.
*DRAW ELLIPSE/ARC -- To draw a circle, horizontal ellipse,
vertical ellipse and arcs thereof. This feature is best
learned by experimenting. Read the help messages displayed
in the top menu bar area for your options, but note that you
use both right and left mouse buttons for various actions.
Note: this feature may also be selected by clicking on the
"target" icon in the information area.
*DRAW BOX -- Draw a rectangle of various line widths.
*SET DELTAX-OFFSET -- To set the left offset and delta-x values
for each character. Left offset is the number of dots from
the right edge of the previous character to begin printing
the current character. Delta-x is used to set the right edge
of the current character. These two values determine the
spacing between characters when they are printed. Note: you
can view the character spacing of your edited font by
selecting "test spacing" from the FILE menu.
*SET GUIDELINES -- Use to define temporary vertical and
horizontal guidelines to help determine relative positioning
from character to character. Note: defined guidelines are
cleared when a new font is loaded.
*GET NEW CHARACTER -- Use to select a new character to edit. All
the characters in the font will be shown in a reduced size
so you may select the one you wish to edit. Note: you may
simply press any key for immediate display... resizing all
the characters for this choice does take a few seconds.
SAVE CHARACTER -- Stores the current character, replacing the
previously saved version.
CLEAR CHARACTER -- Erases all the dots for the current character.
Note: the saved version is not replaced until you request
that it be replaced.
HOLD CHARACTER -- The current character is saved in a buffer for
later recall. Useful for possible "undo" if you are
- Page 5 -
experimenting with some radical changes, or for creating a
common character or shape for use among several characters.
RECALL CHARACTER -- Recalls the character saved in a buffer with
the "hold character" function. Note: the current edit
character is replaced, but the saved version is NOT replaced
until you confirm that you wish to do so.
TRANSFORM:
----------
All transformations of characters may be made on the current
character, or a range of characters. When selecting a range, be
sure to FIRST define the starting and ending characters in the
range, then click on the "range" box.
*OUTLINE -- Outlines the character(s) using the current outline
width default. Note: the character size is not enlarged
through the outline function, so the actual shape of an
outlined character and the original solid character are the
same.
*SHADOW -- The character is first outlined using the current
outline width, then a drop shadow is added using the current
shadow width. Cell size and deltax are adjusted as needed.
**MAKE BOLDER -- The character is made bolder by adding dots to
the right and bottom as defined in the current bold/lighten
width default. Small characters should first be made bolder
before they are outlined. The position of the character
relative to the baseline is not changed.
**MAKE LIGHTER -- The character is made lighter by removing dots
as defined in the current bold/lighten width default. The
position of the character relative to the baseline left
offset is not changed.
REVERSE -- The characters are reversed so they will print white
on a black background. Cell size, left offset, and deltax
are all adjusted as needed, and an appropriate black "space"
character is defined. Note: reverse characters only work if
the text is printed "flush left or right" and not
"justified" to a particular width. Also note that line
spacing must be set to precisely the height of the
characters, or a thin white line will show up -- or the
bottoms and tops of the characters will disappear. You may
set the actual height of the reverse characters by modifying
the header and changing the cell height before transforming
the font. Reverse type is nice, but tricky to pull off.
STAMP PATTERN -- The currently selected pattern is "stamped" on
- Page 6 -
the character.
*SLANT -- The character is slanted to the left or right and
results in a pseudo-italic face. Cell size is adjusted as
needed.
*RESIZE -- Characters may be enlarged or reduced in size in both
the horizontal and vertical directions. Increasing the
vertical size while decreasing the horizontal results in a
"condensed" type face -- or increasing the horizontal while
decreasing the vertical results in an "extended" type face.
Cell size and baseline are adjusted as needed. Note:
reducing usually results in characters that need only a
little clean-up, but enlarging often creates characters that
require a fair amount of clean-up to look good. Always
reduce a type face when possible. In others words, start
big and work down.
*SHIFT -- Characters may shifted within their cell in all four
directions.
PREFERENCES:
------------
X:Y STATUS ON/OFF -- When the cursor is within the character edit
area, x:y coordinates can optionally be displayed at the top
right of the screen.
**USE CROSSHAIRS/ARROW FOR EDIT -- When within the character edit
area, the cursor can optionally be shown as either an arrow
or crosshairs.
**SHOW/HIDE GRID -- On a color monitor, the grid in the edit area
may be shown or hidden.
**SHOW/HIDE TRANSFORM PROGRESS -- When transformations are
performed on a range of characters, each character is
normally shown at the left of your screen after it has been
modified so you can monitor the transformation process. If
you have a slower system, you may turn the display of
modified characters off and reduce the overall time it takes
to perform the transformation.
SET FILL PATTERN -- Select your current fill pattern to be used
when "stamping" patterns on characters or blocks, or
"filling" enclosed areas with the F10 function key.
SET OUTLINE WIDTH -- Select the width of outlined characters.
**SET BOLD/LIGHTEN WIDTH -- Select the number of dots to use when
the "make bolder" and "make lighter" choices are made in the
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TRANSFORM menu.
SET SHADOW WIDTH -- Select the number of dots to use to create
the drop shadow when the "shadow" choice is made in the
TRANSFORM menu.
INFO:
-----
Copyright and other information about QFONT.
THE MOUSE AND THE KEYBOARD:
---------------------------
Generally speaking, the left mouse button is used for most
actions. When in the edit area, the left button will turn a black
dot "off", and a white dot "on". If it is pressed and held, dots
will be continue to be drawn in black or white, depending on the
first dot drawn.
The right button is used to draw lines. Position the cursor at
the start on a line and press (and release) the right button.
Move to the other end of the line and press the right button
again. Look at the top of the screen for instructions. Note that
to plot the line as black dots you press the left button, or as
white dots, by pressing the right button.
The cursor will generally change from an "arrow" to a "pointing
hand" when different actions can be made.
Clicking "outside" an active area will generally abort the
action.
Always check the menu area for special instructions when
performing an action.
Function key "F9" will stamp a pattern on the current character.
Function key "F10" fill perform a "fill" from the current cursor
location. The top menu areas can be selected by pressing alt-F
(FILE), alt-E (EDIT), alt-T (TRANSFORM), alt-P (PREFERENCES) and
alt-I (INFO). A new character to be edited can be selected by
simply pressing the appropriate keyboard key. Note: the "high-
bit" characters can be loaded by pressing and holding the alt key
and entering the character number on the numeric keypad. If the
requested character is not currently defined, nothing will
happen.
- Page 8 -
THE "SCROLL" ICON:
------------------
Because QFONT can edit a character that is larger than can be
displayed on the screen, a "scroll" icon is displayed in the top
left corner of the information area. It consists of a square with
a number, plus triangles pointing up, down, left and right.
The number inside the square is the size of each dot in the
"grid" of the edit area. QFONT adjusts the grid to be as large
as possible for the size of characters displayed, ranging from 1
to 6. You may click on the number if you wish to change the size
of the grid. If the entire character can be displayed at a larger
size than you request, QFONT will simply ignore your requested
size and use the larger size.
If only a portion of a character can be displayed, one or more of
the triangles will change color. You may click on the
highlighted triangle to scroll in that direction. On a color
monitor, the portion of the character that is displayed in the
edit area is also highlighted in the character display area.
If you are in "zoom" mode, the grid size is displayed in the box.
Clicking outside the edit area will "un-zoom" the edit area and
return it to its previous display.
REGISTRATION OF QFONT / SHAREWARE AND SO ON:
--------------------------------------------
This preliminary version of QFONT continues to be offered for
personal use as "shareware", which is a distribution method
whereby you try the program for a short period and if you find it
to be of value you send a registration fee of $80 to:
Jamestown Software
2508 Valley Forge Drive
Madison WI 53719
In return, you will receive all further releases up to and
including the final "shipping" release, complete with printed and
illustrated manual, supporting programs and sample fonts.
Registration is required for commercial, corporate and government
use. Note that QFONT is a copyrighted program and is NOT "public
domain."
Technical support is available at:
Voice telephone number: 608-271-2090 (real people)
Jamestown Software BBS: 608-271-3685
(1200/2400 baud, 8-N-1, 24 hrs)
- Page 9 -
INVOICE / REGISTRATION FORM
Jamestown Software
2508 Valley Forge Drive
Madison, WI 53719
Sold to: __________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
Date: ____________________________
=================================================================
____ copies of QFONT (1.5 or newer) @ $80 ea....... _____________
____ add $3 for 3.5" disk in place of 5.25" ....... _____________
____ add $7 for delivery outside of US/Canada ..... _____________
SUBTOTAL ..................................... _____________
Sales tax (Wisconsin residents) .............. _____________
TOTAL enclosed ............................... _____________
=================================================================
Thank you for your order.
- Page 10 -
