Contents for FontConsultant help

Getting started

Overview

System requirements

Installing FontConsultant

Running for the first time

Description of the main window

Keeping FontConsultant up to date

Reference

Restricting the font list

Selecting fonts

Searching for a font

Changing the options

Finding the available fonts

Grouping fonts into catalogs

Installing and removing fonts

Copying/moving/deleting fonts

Looking at font samples

Inspecting character data

Examining copyfitting data

Printing font samples

Miscellaneous

Hints on choosing fonts

Hints on choosing a font size

Problems and errors


Overview

FontConsultant is a powerful tool that helps you to select, examine, and organise your TrueType and PostScript fonts. You can:

Install and remove fonts

Group fonts into catalogs

Restrict which fonts are shown in the font list

Look at font samples

View character data

Examine copyfitting data

Print font samples

Copy, move, or delete font files

Find all the available fonts


Installing and removing fonts

Windows keeps a list of installed fonts. You can alter this list by using FontConsultant to install or remove fonts. Although it is tempting to keep most of your available fonts installed, there are penalties. The more fonts you have installed the slower your Windows applications run, and the longer and more unwieldy the font lists become. FontConsultant makes it easy for you to install and remove fonts by allowing you to group them into catalogs


Grouping fonts into catalogs

Groups of fonts can be arranged into catalogs. Font catalogs can be installed and removed as easily as a single font. How you group your fonts is a matter of choice. You could for example have a different catalog for each of your projects (e.g., one for word processing, one for spreadsheet reports, etc). You can also use catalogs to restrict which fonts are shown in the font list.


Restricting the font list

The font list options let you choose which fonts are shown in the font list. For example, you could restrict the list to serif fonts, or only decorative TrueType fonts, or just the fonts in one of your catalogs. This lets you narrow your field of view to the style or group of fonts you are interested in. It also makes it easier to select fonts from lists that might otherwise be unwieldy.


Looking at font samples

A font sample is shown every time you select a font. The samples are there to help you identify and choose fonts. You can change the sample text by selecting from a range of styles or by typing in your own text. FontConsultant can show samples of all your available fonts, even those that are not installed.


Inspecting character data

Information about the height of characters, and the thickness of the lines that make up the characters, is shown every time you select a font. You can use this information to find fonts that are particularly tall (or short), or fonts that are particularly dark (or light).


Examining copyfitting data

The copyfitting data shows, for the selected font, the average number of characters and words per line. You can use this information to find the fonts that give you the best number of characters per line for your chosen point size and line length.


Printing font samples

The print option is a powerful tool for choosing fonts. It lets you print font samples in a variety of formats. For example, you can print lists of fonts arranged by name, alphabet length or stem thickness. You can print sample pages for each font showing alphabets (at a variety of point sizes), or paragraphs (at a variety of point sizes and line spacings). You can also print lists of font file names, full character sets together with the access codes, and custom sample sheets where you define the sample text, point size, line length, line spacing, and justification.


Copying, moving, and deleting fonts

To help you organise the fonts on your hard disk FontConsultant lets you copy, move, or delete them. Using FontConsultant to do this means you don't need to know the names of the font files (which often bear little relationship to the font names).


Finding the available fonts

To ensure FontConsultant knows about all of your available fonts you must do a FIND when you first run the program. This makes FontConsultant search your disks for font files. It adds the names of these fonts to its initialisation file so that the next time you run the utility it knows which fonts you have. You should also do a FIND every time you copy a new font to your hard disk. Until you do a FIND FontConsultant will not be able to include your fonts in the list.


System requirements

To use FontConsultant you must have Windows 3.1 and a VGA screen. If you want to make full use of PostScript Type 1 fonts you must also have Adobe Type Manager 2.5 or later.

FontConsultant has a limit on the number of fonts it can handle. You will not be able to use FontConsultant with more than 1200 typefaces or 5000 fonts.


Installing FontConsultant

To install FontConsultant you must use Windows' file manager to run the SETUP program on the installation disk. This copies all the necessary files to your hard disk and sets up FontConsultant to run under Windows 3.1.

You should also read the README.TXT file on the installation disk before running FontConsultant, as this contains important late breaking news.


Running for the first time

To run FontConsultant you must have a Windows' printer selected. The first time you run FontConsultant you must tell it where all your font files are. You do this using the FIND command. Until you do a FIND FontConsultant will not be able to install, remove or display any of your fonts.

FontConsultant keeps a record of where your font files are in its initialisation file. You will not need to do another FIND unless you add fonts to, or remove fonts from, your hard disk.

If FontConsultant finds any fonts it doesn't know, it analyses them (to find out the character and copyfitting data), and saves the information in its data file. This analysis can take quite a long time if there are lots of fonts to be analysed (roughly four seconds per font). Fortunately unknown fonts are only analysed the first time they are found. You will find that FontConsultant already has data for many of your fonts.

See also

Finding the available fonts


Description of the main window

The FontConsultant window is divided into four main areas; the menu bar (along the top), the font selection area (on the left), the font data area (on the right), and the function buttons (along the bottom).

The font selection area

The font data area

The function buttons

The file menu

The search menu

The options menu


The font selection area

The font selection area is used to select fonts to be installed, removed, viewed, printed, copied, moved, deleted, or grouped into catalogs. You can use the RESTRICT FONT LIST options to restrict which fonts are shown in the font list. These let you narrow your field of view and are particularly useful when you have a large number of fonts.

The font list shows a list of all the TrueType and PostScript fonts that meet the selection criteria. TrueType fonts are prefixed by the letter 'T', PostScript fonts by the letter 'P'. If a font is not installed the prefix letter appears on a gray background.


The font data area

The font data area shows information about the most recently selected font in the font list. This includes character data, copyfitting data and a font sample window.

The character data shows the character heights and line thicknesses of the most recently selected font. You can use this data to help you choose fonts that are particularly short (or tall), or fonts that are particularly light (or dark).

The copyfitting data is a simple calculator that lets you see how many characters and words, at a given point size, will fit on a line of a given width. You can use this to help you find the combination of point size and line length that gives you the best number of characters per line.

The font sample text is an example of the most recently selected font. You can turn this display off (this speeds up selecting fonts), or change the text to something more appropriate.


The function buttons

FontConsultant's main functions are accessed using the buttons at the bottom of the window.

Function buttons

CATALOG
Groups the selected fonts into catalogs. You can use catalogs to simplify installing and removing fonts, and to organise your fonts into meaningful groups. You can also use catalogs to restrict which fonts are shown in the font list.

INSTALL
Installs the selected fonts, making them available to other Windows' applications.

REMOVE
Removes (uninstalls) the selected fonts from Windows' list of installed fonts. This simplifies the font lists displayed by Windows' applications, and can make the applications run a little faster.

FIND
Finds all the font files on your disk and ensures that FontConsultant knows about them.

PRINT
Prints samples of the selected fonts in a variety of formats.

HELP
Displays help information.

EXIT
Quits the FontConsultant application.


The file menu

The FILE menu gives you access to the following functions:

COPY FONT FILES
Copies the selected fonts to another font directory.

MOVE FONT FILES
Moves the selected fonts to another font directory.

DELETE FONT FILES
Deletes the selected fonts, erasing them from the disk.

FIND FONT FILES
Tells FontConsultant where to find your font files. Selecting this option has the same effect as choosing the FIND button.


The search menu

The SEARCH menu gives you access to the following function:

LOCATE FONT IN LIST
Finds the first font in the font list beginning with the name you give.


The options menu

The OPTIONS menu gives you access to the following functions:

MAXIMUM INSTALLED FONTS
Lets you change the limit on the number of fonts you can have installed. This is normally set to 200 (as recommended by Microsoft).

MEASUREMENT UNITS
Lets you change the measurement units used for line lengths in the copyfitting calculator and PRINT dialog box. This is normally set to centimetres but can be changed to picas or inches.


Restricting the font list

You can use the restrict font list options to choose which fonts are shown in the font list.These options let you select the catalog or font directory, the font type, and the style of the fonts in the list. An option is turned on when there is an 'X' in the check box. The catalogs/directories button switches back and forth between showing a list of catalogs or a list of font directories.

List of catalogs

List of font directories

Style options

Font type options


List of catalogs

When the catalogs/direcTORIES button reads 'CATALOGS' the list shows the names of the catalogs you have created, and those belonging to FontConsultant. When you select a catalog from this list its fonts are shown in the font list (subject to the other options described below).

FontConsultant has three catalogs of its own:

1	<INSTALLED FONTS>
Contains the names of all the installed fonts.

2	<UNINSTALLED FONTS>
Contains the names of all the uninstalled fonts.

3	<ALL AVAILABLE FONTS>
Contains the names of both the installed and uninstalled fonts.

See also

Grouping fonts into catalogs


List of font directories

When the CATALOGS/DIRECTORIES button reads 'DIRECTORIES' the list shows the names of all the font directories that FontConsultant knows about. Directories containing TrueType fonts are prefixed by 'T', those containing PostScript fonts by 'P'. PostScript directory names are shown in pairs. The first directory is where the .PFM files are kept, and the second directory where the .PFB files are kept. When you select a directory from this list the fonts that are stored in the directory are shown in the font list (subject to the other options described below).


Style options

You can restrict the font list to one or more of the following font styles.

Font styles

SERIF
Fonts with serifs have small strokes at the ends of the main strokes of the characters. Times is a serif font.

SANS SERIF
Sans serif fonts do not have serifs. Helvetica is a sans serif font.

DECORATIVE
Decorative fonts often have curves or slants in the normally upright strokes of the letters, or contain special characters. A font is classified as decorative if it has been marked as decorative by the manufacturer, or if there is a curve or slant in the vertical stroke of the letter 'p'. ZapfChancery is a decorative font. The classification of fonts as decorative is intended as a guide only. Some decorative fonts could also be classified as serif or sans serif. You may find some non-alphabetic symbol fonts amongst the decorative fonts.

SYMBOL
Symbol fonts do not have alphabetic characters. Wingdings is a symbol font. Some font manufacturers incorrectly mark their symbol fonts as decorative so you may have to look amongst the decorative fonts to find the symbol font you want.

ITALIC
The slanted version

ROMAN
The upright version


Font type options

You can restrict the font list to TrueType and/or PostScript type 1 fonts. TrueType fonts are prefixed by the letter 'T', PostScript fonts by the letter 'P'.


Selecting fonts

You can use the font list to select TrueType or PostScript fonts for viewing, printing, installing, removing, copying, moving, deleting, and grouping into catalogs.

You can restrict which fonts appear in this list using the RESTRICT FONT LIST options.

TrueType fonts are prefixed by the letter 'T', PostScript fonts by the letter 'P'.

If the prefix letter appears on a dark blue background the font is installed. If the prefix letter appears on a gray background the font is not installed.

To select a single font in the list click on it. To select a continuos range of fonts use the shift key. To add or remove a single font to/from your selection use the control key.

See also

Restricting the font list


Searching for a font

For font lists containing many fonts it can be quite laborious finding a font by scrolling through the list. A quicker way is provided by the SEARCH menu. This brings up a dialog box that lets you enter the name, or first few characters, of the font you want to find. FontConsultant searches the font list for the first font starting with the name you give.


Changing the options

You can use the OPTIONS menu to change the MAXIMUM INSTALLED FONTS limit and the MEASUREMENT UNITS.

The MAXIMUM INSTALLED FONTS limit defines the maximum number of fonts that FontConsultant will let you have installed at any one time. This is normally set to 200 (the limit recommended by Microsoft). If you increase the limit you may find that some of your applications have difficulty listing all of your available fonts. Generally it is better to keep the number of installed fonts to a minimum, as the more fonts you have installed the slower your applications will run.

The MEASUREMENT UNITS are the units you use to specify the line lengths in the copyfitting calculator and the PRINT dialog. The default units are CENTIMETRES. You can change the units to PICAS or INCHES.

Changing the installed fonts limit

Changing the measurement units


Changing the installed fonts limit

To change the maximum number of installed fonts that FontConsulant will let you have:

1	Choose the OPTIONS menu and select the MAXIMUM INSTALLED FONTS option. Another menu appears.

2	Select the new limit for the maximum number of installed fonts.


Changing the measurement units

To change the measurement units used for line lengths in the copyfitting calculator and the PRINT dialog:

1	Choose the OPTIONS menu and select the MEASUREMENT UNITS option. Another menu appears.

2	Select CENTIMETRES, PICAS, or INCHES to be used as the new units of measurement.


Keeping FontConsultant up to date

When you copy new fonts to your hard disk you must do a FIND so that FontConsultant knows where the new fonts are. You must also do a FIND if you delete fonts from your hard disk so that FontConsultant knows the fonts are no longer available.

See also

Finding the available fonts


Finding the available fonts

You can use the FIND button to tell FontConsultant where your available fonts are. Until you do this FontConsultant will not know what fonts you have.

If FontConsultant finds any fonts that are not listed in its data file it will analyse them (to get the character and copyfitting data) and add the information to the file. It takes roughly four seconds to analyse each font, so if you have lots of unknown fonts the analysis may take some time, please be patient! You are strongly advised not to have any other applications running when you do a find as this may slow things down even more.

For TrueType fonts FontConsultant also looks in the subdirectories of the selected directory. You can make FontConsultant locate all the TrueType fonts on your disk by selecting the root directory for that disk.

Finding TrueType fonts

Finding PostScript fonts

Confirming font classifications

Removing unwanted directories


Finding TrueType fonts

To make FontConsultant aware of all the TrueType fonts in a directory, and its subdirectories:

1	Choose the FIND button. The FIND dialog box appears.

2	Make sure the TrueType check box is checked.

3	From the list of TTF directories select the directory you want FontConsultant to look in. If the directory you want is not there, choose the ADD button, and select a new directory from the dialog box that appears.

4	Choose the OK button to do the find.


Finding PostScript fonts

To make FontConsultant aware of all the Postscript Type 1 fonts in a directory:

1	Choose the FIND button. The FIND dialog box appears.

2	Make sure the PostScript check box is checked.

3	From the list of PFM/MMM directories select the directory you want FontConsultant to look in for the font metric files. If the directory you want is not there, choose the ADD button, and select a new directory from the dialog box that appears. Now do the same for the PFB/PSS directory containing the font outline files. It is important that you tell FontConsultant where both types of file can be found.

4	Choose the OK button to do the find.


Confirming font classifications

If FontConsultant finds any fonts it doesn't have data for it analyses them to record the character and copyfitting data, and discover the font's style (i.e. serif, sans serif, decorative, or symbol). If you choose the CONFIRM FONT CLASSIFICATIONS option in the FIND dialog FontConsultant will, for every font it analyses, display a dialog box showing a sample of the font and the style. You can then confirm or change the style.


Removing unwanted directories

FontConsultant keeps a list of all the directories you have done a FIND on. You can remove a directory from this list by selecting it and choosing the REMOVE button. You may want to remove a directory if you delete all the fonts in it, or if the directory is on a removeable media (e.g. CD-ROM) that is no longer present. You may also want to remove directories that contain duplicate fonts.


Grouping fonts into catalogs

You can use the CATALOG button to create, delete, and update catalogs. Catalogs are lists of fonts that you create to help you organise your fonts. They provide a quick way of installing and removing large numbers of fonts.

For information about FontConsultant's built in catalogs, and how to use catalogs to restrict the font list, see Restricting the font list.

Creating a new catalog

Adding fonts to a catalog

Removing fonts from a catalog

Deleting a catalog


Creating a new catalog

To create a new catalog of fonts:

1	Select the fonts you want to put in a catalog

2	Choose the CATALOG button. A dialog box appears.

3	Enter the name of the catalog you want to create. Catalog names must start with a letter.

4	Choose the ADD FONTS TO CATALOG option

5	Choose the OK button


Adding fonts to a catalog

To add fonts to an existing catalog:

1	Select the fonts you want to add to a catalog

2	Choose the CATALOG button. A dialog box appears.

3	Use the catalog list to select the catalog you want to enlarge

4	Choose the ADD FONTS TO CATALOG option

5	Choose the OK button


Removing fonts from a catalog

To remove fonts from an existing catalog:

1	Select the catalog from the catalog list

2	Select the fonts you want to remove

3	Choose the CATALOG button. A dialog box appears.

4	Choose the REMOVE FONTS FROM CATALOG option

5	Choose the OK button


Deleting a catalog

Deleting a font catalog removes the catalog name from the list of catalogs. It does not affect the fonts in any way.

To delete a font catalog:

1	Choose the CATALOG button. A dialog box appears.

2	Use the catalog list to select the catalog you want to delete

3	Choose the DELETE CATALOG option

4	Choose the OK button. The catalog is deleted.


Installing and removing fonts

You can use the INSTALL and REMOVE buttons to add fonts to, or remove fonts from, Windows' list of installed fonts.

Installing fonts

Removing fonts


Installing fonts

You can change the maximum number of fonts that FontConsultant will let you have installed by choosing the MAXIMUM INSTALLED FONTS option from the OPTIONS menu.

To add fonts to Windows' list of installed fonts:

1	Select the fonts you want to install

2	Choose the INSTALL button. A dialog box appears.

3	Choose the ADD TO INSTALLED FONTS option if you want to add the selected fonts to those already installed. Choose the REPLACE INSTALLED FONTS option if you want to replace the installed fonts with the selected fonts.

4	Choose the OK button to install the fonts

If, having installed a font, it does not appear in an application's font list, you may have to quit the application, and start it again to make it aware of the newly installed font. If the application still does not show the font in its font list you may have to restart Windows.

Installing a font adds it to the list of installed fonts. It does not copy the font onto the disk or move the font file from one place to another. To load a new font onto your disk you should use the installation software that comes with the font.


Removing fonts

To remove fonts from Windows' list of installed fonts:

1	Select the fonts you want to remove

2	Choose the REMOVE button

If, having removed a font, it still appears in an application's font list, you may have to quit the application, and start it again. If this doesn't work you may need to restart Windows. You may need to do this if the font you want to remove is currently being used by another application.

Removing a font removes it from the list of installed fonts. It does not delete the font file. If you want to delete a font file you should use the DELETE FONT FILES option in the FILE menu.


Copying/Moving/Deleting fonts

You can use the FILE menu to copy, move, or delete your font files.

Copying font files

Moving font files

Deleting font files


Copying font files

To copy font files:

1	Select the fonts you want to copy

2	Choose the COPY FONT FILES option from the FILE menu. A dialog box appears.

3	Select the directories you want to copy the fonts to. If a directory you want is not there, choose the ADD button, and select a new directory from the dialog box that appears.

4	Choose the OK button to copy the fonts


Moving font files

You will only be allowed to move fonts that are not installed.

To move font files to another directory:

1	Select the fonts you want to move

2	Choose the MOVE FONT FILES option from the FILE menu. A dialog box appears.

3	Select the directories you want to move the fonts to. If a directory you want is not there, choose the ADD button, and select a new directory from the dialog box that appears.

4	Choose the OK button to move the fonts


Deleting font files

You will only be allowed to delete fonts that are not installed.

To delete font files, removing them from the disk:

1	Select the fonts you want to delete

2	Choose the DELETE FONT FILES option from the FILE menu


Looking at font samples

You can use the show sample check box to view a sample of the most recently selected font.

Viewing uninstalled fonts can be rather slow. You may prefer to turn off the show sample check box when selecting uninstalled fonts for installing or printing.

Turning font samples on and off

Changing the sample text


Turning font samples on and off

1	Click on the show sample check box. Font samples are shown when there is an 'X' in the check box.


Changing the sample text

1	Choose the CHANGE TEXT button. The change text dialog box appears.

2	Select the text option you want, or select the CUSTOM option and enter some sample text.

3	Choose the OK button. Your chosen text sample will be used from now on.


Inspecting character data

You can use the character data to find the height and stroke thickness of the characters in the selected font.The character data are:

M height

x height

Stem width

Hairline width


'M' height

The height of the letter 'M'. This is a guide to the height of capital letters. You can use the 'M' height, together with the 'x' height, to calculate the difference in height between upper and lower case letters. Some fonts have very little difference between the two and may not be suitable if you need capital letters to stand out clearly. 'M' height data is not available for symbol fonts.


'x' height

The height of the letter 'x'. This is a guide to the height of lowercase letters. Fonts with larger 'x' heights tend to be more legible, but often require more space between the lines of text and give you fewer words per page (due to wider characters). You can use the 'x' height to help you decide the best trade-off between legibility and words per page. 'x' height data is not available for symbol fonts.


Stem width

The width of the vertical stroke of the letter 'l'. This is a guide to the thickness of the main strokes that make up the characters of the font. It is also a good guide to how black the characters look. Generally the thicker the stem width the blacker the character. By printing out a list of fonts arranged according to their stem width you can select a font that is as dark or as light as you want. Stem width data is not available for symbol or decorative fonts.


Hairline width

The width of the right-hand stroke of the letter 'V'. This is a rough guide to the thickness of the thin, hairline, strokes that make up the characters of a font. For some fonts (e.g. most sans serif fonts) the stem and hairline widths are the same. For others (e.g. most serif fonts) the hairlines are much thinner than the stems. Fonts that have hairlines significantly thinner than the stems appear lighter on the page than fonts with the same stem and hairline widths. Hairline data is not available for symbol or decorative fonts.

You should avoid using fonts with very narrow hairlines in situations where there may be some degradation in the printed output. For example, if the document is to be photocopied on a low resolution copier or where the text is to be printed white out of a solid background.


Examining copyfitting data

You can use the copyfitting data to find the best combination of point size and line length for the selected font. You can change the measurement units used for line lengths by selecting the measurement units option from the options menu. You might for example prefer to give line lengths in picas rather than centimetres.The average number of characters and words that will fit on a line is intended as a guide; the actual values will depend on your text, and the application used to produce your document.

Studies have shown that columns of text are easiest to read when there are between 10 and 12 words per line (60 to 70 characters).

Finding the best combination of point size and line length:

1	Select a font

2	Adjust the point size to your preferred size. This will depend on the nature of your document. (See Hints on Choosing a Font Size for information on how to select an appropriate point size.)

3	Adjust the line length until the average number of characters per line is within the range 60 to 70.

You may find that you cannot get an acceptable line length for the given point size. In this case you could try adjusting the point size. If you still can't get an acceptable combination you should try selecting a font with narrower (or wider) characters.

Finding how much text will fit on a page

1	Select a font

2	Adjust the point size to the required size

3	Adjust the line length to the required length

4	Read off the average number of words per line and multiply it by the number of lines on a page. This gives you the average number of words per page.


Printing font samples

You can use the print button to print samples of your selected fonts, in one of six different styles.

Print options

LIST OF FONTS SORTED BY
Choose this option to print a list of your fonts sorted by name, alphabet length, 'x' height, or stem width. Each font in the list has an entry consisting of the name of the font and a piece of sample text. You can choose the text and point size of the sample text.

TEXT SAMPLES
Choose this option to print a page for each font that shows a selection of characters at 40pt, and sample paragraphs at a variety of point sizes and line spacings. You can use these sample pages to compare fonts, and to select the most appropriate point size and line spacing. Text samples cannot be printed for symbol fonts.

CUSTOM TEXT SAMPLES
Choose this option to print sample paragraphs according to your own specifications. You can define the text, point size, line spacing, line length, number of lines and justification of the paragraphs. You can use these sample pages to compare fonts using your own text and paragraph specifications. FontConsultant will print as many fonts as it can on each sheet. Custom text samples cannot be printed for symbol fonts.

SIZE SAMPLES
Choose this option to print a page for each font that shows the lowercase alphabet at a variety of point sizes between 6pt and 40pt. You can use these sample pages to help you select the most appropriate point size.

CHARACTER SET SAMPLES
Choose this option to print a sample page for each font that shows all of the available characters together with the ALT codes you must use to enter characters that are not on your keyboard. You can use these sample pages to make sure that a font has all the characters you need.

LIST OF FILE NAMES
Choose this option to print a list of fonts together with their file names. FontConsultant gives the full directory path for each font so that you can see where it is kept.

If possible you should print the font samples on the printer you intend using for the final output of your document. Differences between printers, print drivers, and the resolutions of output devices, can dramatically affect the appearance of fonts.

The more fonts you have selected the longer it will take to print the samples. Printing can take quite a long time, so please be patient!


Printing lists of fonts

You can print a list of your selected fonts by choosing the LIST OF FONTS SORTED BY option from the PRINT dialog box. You can sort your font lists according to one of the following options.

Options

NAME (GROUPED)
Prints a list of fonts, grouped by style, and placed in alphabetic order.

NAME (UNGROUPED)
Prints an ungrouped list of fonts arranged in alphabetic order.

ALPHABET LENGTH
Prints a list of fonts, grouped by style, and sorted according to the length of the font's lowercase alphabet. You can use these lists to find fonts that are as narrow or as wide as you require. You may find that some of the fonts in the list appear to be in the wrong position with regard to their length. This is due to the way the printer handles resolution problems. Symbol fonts are not included in the list.

'X' HEIGHT
Prints a list of fonts, grouped by style, and sorted according to the height of the letter 'x'. You can use these lists to find fonts that are as tall or as short as you require. Symbol fonts are not included in the list.

STEM WIDTH
Prints a list of fonts, grouped by style, and sorted according to the thickness of the vertical stroke of the letter 'l'. You can use these lists to find fonts that are as dark or as light as you require. Symbol and decorative fonts are not included in the list.

Each font in the list has an entry consisting of; the name of the font, and a piece of sample text. You can choose the text and point size of the sample text. You can also put your own heading at the top of each page.

To print a list of fonts:

1	Select the fonts you want to print

2	Choose the PRINT button. A dialog box appears.

3	Choose the LIST OF FONTS SORTED BY option

4	Choose how you want the list to be sorted (e.g. NAME or ALPHABET LENGTH)

5	Choose the text to be used for the font samples from the SAMPLE TEXT list box, or enter your own text

6	Select the point size of the font sample using the up or down buttons next to the point size box

7	If you want to add a heading to the top of each page, enter the text in the HEADING box

8	Choose the OK button to print the font list


Printing text samples

You can print a sample page for each selected font by choosing the TEXT SAMPLES option from the PRINT dialog box. Text sample pages show a selection of characters at 40pt, and sample paragraphs at a variety of point sizes and line spacings. You can use these sample pages to compare fonts, and to select the most appropriate point size and line spacing. Text samples cannot be printed for symbol fonts.

The text for the sample paragraphs comes from the file SAMPLE.TXT that can be found in the directory where you installed FontConsultant. You can use Windows' notepad editor to change this text to something more appropriate. The SAMPLE.TXT file must contain only printable characters (i.e. no returns or tabs).

To print text samples:

1	Select the fonts you want to print

2	Choose the PRINT button. A dialog box appears.

3	Choose the TEXT SAMPLES option

4	Choose the OK button to print the sample pages


Printing custom text samples

You can print sample paragraphs, to your own specifications, for each selected font by choosing the CUSTOM TEXT SAMPLES option from the PRINT dialog. FontConsultant will print as many different font samples as it can on each page, using two columns if the line lengths permit. You can use the custom sample pages to compare fonts using the actual text, point size, line spacing, and line length that you will be using in your final document. Custom text samples cannot be printed for symbol fonts.

Options

You can customize the sample paragraphs in a number of ways:

TEXT FILE
Choose the TEXT FILE button to select a file containing the text for the sample paragraphs. A dialog box appears from which you can choose one of your own files. Text files must consist only of printable characters (i.e. no returns, tabs or formatting characters). You can create these text files using Windows' notepad editor. The default text file is the SAMPLE.TXT file supplied with FontConsultant.

POINT SIZE
Choose the up and down buttons next to the POINT SIZE box to change the point size of the samples.

LINE SPACING
Choose the up and down buttons next to the LINE SPACING box to change the line spacing of the sample paragraphs.

LINE LENGTH
Choose the up and down buttons next to the LINE LENGTH box to change the line length of the sample paragraphs. By default line lengths are specified in centimetres. If you want to specify line lengths in picas or inches you can change the default by choosing the MEASUREMENT UNITS option from the OPTIONS menu in the main window.

NUMBER OF LINES
Choose the up and down buttons next to the NUMBER OF LINES box to specify how many lines of text you want in each sample paragraph.

JUSTIFICATION
Choose the JUSTIFICATION check box if you want the samples to be justified.

To print custom text samples:

1	Select the fonts you want to print

2	Choose the PRINT button. A dialog box appears.

3	Choose the CUSTOM TEXT SAMPLES option

4	If you want to use your own text for the samples choose the TEXT FILE button, and select your own text file from the dialog box that appears

5	Select the point size for the text by clicking on the up and down buttons by the POINT SIZE box

6	Select the line spacing for the paragraphs by clicking on the up and down buttons by the LINE SPACING box

7	Select the line length by clicking on the up and down buttons by the LINE LENGTH box

8	Select how long you want the paragraphs to be by clicking on the up and down buttons by the NUMBER OF LINES box

8	If you want the paragraphs to be justified click on the JUSTIFIED check box

9	Choose the OK button to print the custom sample pages


Printing size samples

You can print samples of your selected fonts in a range of point sizes by choosing the SIZE SAMPLES option from the PRINT dialog. FontConsultant creates a sample page for each font showing the lower case alphabet in a variety of point sizes from 6pt to 40pt. You can use these sample pages to help you select the most appropriate point size.

To print size samples:

1	Select the fonts you want to print

2	Choose the PRINT button. A dialog box appears.

3	Choose the SIZE SAMPLES option

4	Choose the OK button to print the sample pages


Printing character set samples

You can print a complete set of characters, for each selected font, by choosing the CHARACTER SET SAMPLES option from the print dialog. Each sample page shows all of the available characters together with the ALT codes you must use to enter the characters if they are not on your keyboard. You can use these sample pages to make sure a font has the characters you need, and to find out what ALT code is required for the special characters (e.g. accented characters).

To print character set samples:

1	Select the fonts you want to print

2	Choose the PRINT button. A dialog box appears.

3	Choose the CHARACTER SET SAMPLES option

4	Choose the OK button to print the sample pages


Printing lists of file names

You can print a list of file names for your selected fonts by choosing the LIST OF FILE NAMES option from the PRINT dialog. FontConsultant prints the full path name and file name for the font files alongside the font names.

To print a list of font file names:

1	Select the fonts you want

2	Choose the PRINT button. A dialog box appears.

3	Choose the LIST OF FILE NAMES option

4	Choose the OK button to print the file names


Hints on choosing fonts

Here are some hints on choosing fonts.

Character set issues

1	Does the font have all the characters you need? Not all fonts have a full set of characters so you should check that the font has everything you require. This is particularly important if you are going to use the font for printing maths or foreign languages. You can use the PRINT option to look at the full character set of a font.

2	Does the font contain any characters that will jump out of the page at the reader? Unless you are looking for a particularly lively effect you should avoid such fonts. A quiet and restful font will make the reading of long passages more pleasant.

3	Does the font contain characters that might be confused with each other? Some fonts, particularly sans serif fonts, do not distinguish clearly between 'i', 'l', 'I', and '1'. If it is important to distinguish between these characters you should avoid fonts that do not make the difference clear.

Printer issues

1	Will you be using a low quality production method such as a photocopier? If so you should avoid fonts with thin hairlines because they may break up during the production process. You should also avoid fonts with very small 'x' heights because the bowls of letters such as 'p' and 'b' may fill in.

2	Before making the final choice you should print and examine a sample of the font at the size, line length, and line spacing you are going to use in your document. If at all possible, you should use real text and print the sample page using the application and printer you are going to use. Don't be tempted to use a screen sample to choose the font as the resolution is much too coarse.

3	Will the font be used reversed out of a solid background? If so you should avoid fonts with very thin hairlines as the lines may fill in when the document is printed. You should also increase the space between characters to stop them melting into each other.

Choosing fonts for body text

1	Will the font be used for body text? If so you should look at the 'x' height of the font as this will affect the legibility of the document and the number of words you can fit on a page. Fonts with a larger 'x' height tend to be more legible, but often need more space between the lines of text and will give you fewer words per page.

2	Will you be mixing normal and bold versions of a font? If so you should look at the stem width data to make sure there is a very clear and obvious difference between the two versions, bearing in mind the quality of your production method. Subtle differences may work fine on high resolution printers but will be lost on medium to low resolution printers.

3	Will the column width be particularly narrow? If so you should use the copyfitting data to select a font that is narrow enough to fit an acceptable number of characters on a line.

Choosing fonts for headings

1	Is the font going to be used for long headings? If so you should look at the copyfitting data and consider using a condensed font (i.e. a font with narrow characters) as this will reduce the length of the headings and make it more likely that they will fit on a single line.

Before you make your final choice of font it is always worth asking your friends and colleagues for their opinion!


Hints on choosing a font size

Fonts are measured in units called points; where a point is 1/72 of one inch. The size of a font does not tell you how tall the uppercase or lowercase letters are. What it does tell you is the maximum height taken up by most of the font's characters. This is roughly the distance between the top of a lowercase 'k' and the bottom of a lowercase 'p'. More precisely, it tells you the minimum distance you must allow between lines of text to avoid the characters on one line overlapping characters on the line above or below. This means that a 10pt font should have a minimum line spacing of 10pt, a 12pt font a minimum line spacing of 12pt, and so on.

Different fonts, at the same point size, may not have the same character heights. For example, the characters of 10pt Helvetica are taller than those of 10pt Times, although they both occupy the same depth from line to line. When choosing a point size you should bear in mind the appearing height of the font. This is the height that the font's characters actually appear on the printed page. The appearing height is determined by the height of the lower case letters, and is normally expressed as the x-height of the font.

The following table of point sizes is intended as a guide. It shows which point sizes are best suited to which applications. For fonts with a relatively small x-height you may find the larger point size in the range more appropriate. For fonts with a relatively large x-height you may find the smaller of the point sizes more appropriate.

Point size	Application
5,6,7,8	Pocket books, notes, appendices, indexes, etc.
9,10,11,12,13,14	Continuous reading, minor headings, extracts
14,16,18,20,24	Chapter and major sub-headings, maintenance manuals, young children's books, books for the partially sighted, lectern bibles
24,30,36,42,48	Title pages, jacket designs
56,60,72,96	Jacket designs, posters
If you are choosing more than one font size for a document you should try to keep the number of sizes to a minimum. Three is usually the fewest that can be used successfully, and five is almost always enough. There should be an obvious difference between the sizes; for example, 9pt should not be used next to 10pt or 14pt next to 16pt. If the difference is too small the reader will either not notice or it will look as if a mistake has been made.


Problems and errors

Fontconsultant takes a long time to load

You can speed up the time it takes FontConsultant to load by reducing the number of fonts you have installed and/or reducing the number of available fonts.

Fontconsultant can't find the data file

Check that the FONTCONS.DAT file is in the directory where you installed FontConsultant. If it is not you can copy the file from the installation disk using the file manager.

The font list doesn't show fonts that I know I have

1	Make sure that you have the correct catalog or directory selected.

2	Make sure that the RESTRICT FONT LIST options do not exclude the fonts you want. You may find that FontConsultant does not classify some fonts as you would expect.

3	Make sure that the correct printer is selected as the default (see the print manager in the Windows control panel).

4	Try doing a FIND to make sure FontConsultant knows about all of your fonts.

5	The font list can only show TrueType and PostScript fonts. Other printer specific fonts cannot be shown.

The list of decorative fonts contains non-alphabetic symbol fonts

FontConsultant relies on the manufacturer's marking of a font to determine whether the font is symbol or decorative. Some font manufacturers incorrectly mark their symbol fonts as decorative.

Newly installed fonts don't appear in my application's font list

If, having installed a font, it does not appear in an application's font list, you may have to quit the application, and start it again to make it aware of the newly installed font. If the application still does not show the font in its font list you may have to restart Windows.

Newly removed fonts still appear as installed in my application's font list

Quit the application, and start it again to make it aware of the newly installed font. If the application still shows the font in its font list you may have to restart Windows.

Problem removing fonts

If you are having difficulty trying to remove an installed font it may be because it is still being used by another application. Alternatively it may be because there is another copy of the font elsewhere on your disk or because the initialisation file is out of date. You should update the initialisation file by doing a Find on all of your font directories, and then reboot Windows.