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Introduction to TrueEdit


TrueEdit is organized around tables, the building blocks of the sfnt format used for TrueType GX fonts. For the most part, font developers add new glyph effects, position effects, and other support to a font by adding new tables.

Most of the functionality of TrueEdit is provided through a graphical interface. TrueEdit's menus contain just a few commands, but they let users access powerful dedicated editors for a wide variety of tables. Many of the editors share some basic operating characteristics, introduced in this chapter.

The technologies behind QuickDraw GX are complex, and TrueEdit cannot offer an easy-to-use interface for every purpose. For areas of GX not supported by TrueEdit, or not covered in this manual, a background in software engineering and access to technical documents on QuickDraw GX will be invaluable.

TrueEdit also does not support every aspect of font development. In particular, you cannot create new fonts in TrueEdit; you can only add onto existing TrueType fonts. Adding GX effects is neither the first nor the last step in GX font production, and this manual assumes you have access to other tools for creating TrueType outlines, metrics, and instructions.

Introduction to TrueEdit introduces TrueEdit and describes three important areas:

A familiarity with these operations is essential to using TrueEdit and understanding the rest of the manual.

Getting started

The basics of using TrueEdit -- installation, starting up, choosing commands -- are the same as for any other Macintosh application. This section outlines some specific requirements and update information for TrueEdit 2.0.

[!]Check the Release Notes for the latest information on system requirements and software updates.


To find out what version of TrueEdit you have, choose About TrueEdit... from the Apple menu while TrueEdit is running.

System requirements

TrueEdit 2.0 requires the following minimal Macintosh configuration:


TrueEdit does not require QuickDraw GX to run. However, you will need access to a system running QuickDraw GX to proof and test your fonts.

The TrueEdit application itself is about 1,400K; there are no auxiliary files. To install TrueEdit, just copy it to a convenient folder. The total amount of disk space required depends on the kind of fonts you are creating and the extent of your GX work, as described in the section "Font size" in TrueType GX Fundamentals.

The normal memory allocation for TrueEdit is 4096K. If you want to work with large fonts, or multiple fonts at once, you should increase the memory allocation.

License and support

TrueEdit is provided free of charge to developers creating fonts for use with QuickDraw GX. There are no license fees or restrictions on its use.

Right now, support and ongoing development for TrueEdit are limited. TrueEdit is not finished or fully tested, and Apple can make no guarantees on its operation or reliability. Also, future versions may change or remove the features described in this manual.

For information on the latest version of TrueEdit and other Apple font tools, contact Apple Developer Support at the address:

devsupport@applelink.apple.com


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Arleigh Movitz (movitz@apple.com)
Dave Opstad (opstad@apple.com)
Kristian Walsh (walsh.k@euro.apple.com)