Fonts
Most web design tools permit the browser to decide the ultimate display of text. The first problem arises, when the visitorÆs computer is missing some of the fonts that the web master is using on the web site. But even if all fonts exist, there is an issue that various browsers and operating systems interpret the same font specifications and HTML tags differently. Height, width, spacing - even the individual character itself is inconsistent. As a result, a web designer can never predict the final appearance of a page.
StudioLineÆs text editor has been programmed with extra intelligence to overcome the majority of these inherent incompatibilities. If necessary, it will even generate complex HTML tables to achieve the proper spacing. The resulting text blocks have a consistent appearance in most browsers. However, the extra control elements may limit the usefulness of any text, if web site visitors attempt to copy it from the browser to a word processor.
Choosing Fonts
Care should be taken that only widely available fonts are used on a web site.
Many web site visitors will have access to the fonts supplied with Microsoft Windows. Since Microsoft Office is popular amongst businesses, many users will also have some, if not most, of the fonts supplied with Microsoft Office.
System |
Supplied Fonts |
Microsoft Windows |
Arial, Comic Sans MS, Courier New, Marlett, Symbol, Times New Roman, Wingdings
For a cross reference of fonts included with various applications, see http://www.microsoft.com/typography/fonts/ |
Apple Macintosh |
Chicago, Charcoal, Courier Regular, Geneva, Helvetica, Monaco, New York, Palatino, Symbol, Times |
Unix |
charter, clean, courier, fixed, helvetica, lucida, lucidabright, lucidatypewriter, new century schoolbook, symbol, terminal, times, utopia |
Microsoft Internet Explorer |
Andale Mono (formerly Monotype.com), Arial Black, Georgia, Impact, Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Webdings |
Netscape Navigator |
Bitstream Prima Serif, Bitstream Prima Sans, Bitstream Prima Sans Mono |
Generic Fonts |
Generic font names will leave the final appearance up to the browser. The system of the web site visitor will choose a font that matches the general classification of the generic font name:
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Character Translation
Caveats with Font Names
Some operating systems use the same font names, even though the fonts are indeed different. Sometimes a font name may not even be unique on a single computer: the same font name (e.g., "Symbol") may be shared between typefaces generated with different technologies (TrueType, Bitmap, PostScript). In these cases, the actual font and technology chosen will vary with the font size, operating system and browser. Thus, the same letter in the same font may have a different appearance on different systems. The MacOS will even replace certain characters of the "Symbol" font against entirely different ones.
It is also possible that the same font may be known by slightly different names in various operating systems and their versions. To avoid potential pitfalls, especially with the "Symbol" font, permit StudioLine to render text as graphic.
Caveats with Font Sizes
Various browsers, versions and operating systems apply different factors when displaying a chosen font "size". The actual width of characters, height and spacing between lines and the number of lines needed for a given text block are often unpredictable. This can lead to alignment problems, if underlying imagery requires a portion of a text column to be rendered as graphic. In that case, it may be safest to let StudioLine render the entire text block as graphic.