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Gold Medal Software 1
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Gold Medal Software Volume 1 (Gold Medal) (1994).iso
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fsp520.arj
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README.TX_
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README.TX
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1993-12-03
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WELCOME TO
F O N T S P E C
---------------
OVERVIEW: FontSpec Pro is the Ultimate Windows Font Manager. The application
======== has three areas of interest:
1. View installed fonts
2. Print font specimen sheets
3. Install and manage fonts
As a Viewer:
-----------
You can display your installed fonts in sizes from 8 to 999 points,
using different effects and justification modes. Instead of
trying to remember what all those cryptic font names look like you
can view actual multi-line samples of the font right on your screen.
As a Printer:
------------
You can print pro-quality font specimen sheets of your installed
fonts using a variety of options, including single or two-column or
full sheet formats. You select what the specimen sample will say or
you can create your own sample text. You select point sizes, which
fonts to print, add time, all caps... almost anything can be
customized to your satisfaction.
As a Font Manager:
-----------------
Here's the really exciting part! If you're like most of us you have
more than likely collected a large number of fonts. Having all those
fonts installed at the same time takes up memory and slows Windows
down. FontSpec Pro gives you a way to manage those fonts in smaller
bite-size chunks we call "Font Groups." A Font Group is a collection
of fonts which you intend to use for a given purpose. For example,
you can create a group of fonts which you use for a given customer.
Or, you can create a group of your favorite fonts.
Each Font Group is given a name (such as "My Favorite Fonts"). You
can then install and activate any Font Group you choose.
As a bonus feature, you can also preview each font before it's ever
installed. This feature helps you decide if you really want to keep
a particular font or not. And, if you decide you don't want a font
(it doesn't matter if it's already installed or if it's not yet
installed), you can remove and delete any font you don't want.
MARKETING Shareware (not freeware). Please feel free to distribute this
========= application to everyone as long as no monies are collected, except
for a small disk duplication fee if necessary. If you find this
program of value to you please don't think that the "other guy"
will send in his registration (he probably won't). As of today,
October 28th 1993, over 3500 copies of FontSpec have been
distributed and only 47 people have registered (ugh!). So, I'm
COUNTING ON YOU(!) to do the right thing and register:
---------------
UniTech Corporation
2697 McKelvey Road
Maryland Heights, MO 63043
Phone: 314 770-2770
Registration is just $25.00 (Do it. You'll feel great!)
Visa, Mastercard, checks ok
When you register FontSpec Pro you can be assured of a realistic
upgrade policy: You register just once. The registered version will
recognize new version upgrades within the same whole-number revision
(version 5.0, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3 etc... to 5.9 are all treated the same).
That means you can download upgrades -=+*AT NO COST*+=- except for
line charges.
SET-UP: FontSpec Pro is self-installing. Depending on whether you have the
====== shareware version or the registered version, you do the following:
If this is a shareware copy of FontSpec:
---------------------------------------
. Decompress your file (ZIP,ARC,whatever). Here's an
approximation of what you'll end up with:
FS-SETUP EXE Setup program. Run from windows
README NOW This file
README TX_ Setup decompresses documentation
CHANGES TX_ Setup decompresses new features
FS-MENU EX_ Setup decompresses file launcher
FS-VIEW EX_ Setup decompresses font viewer
FS-PRINT EX_ Setup decompresses font printer
FS-FONTS EX_ Setup decompresses font manager
FONTSPEC DL_ Setup decompresses DLL utility
UNI-N TT_ Setup decompresses truetype font
UNI-B TT_ Setup decompresses truetype font
SS3D2 VB_ Setup decompresses VBX utility
THREED VB_ Setup decompresses VBX utility
. Put all of the files into a temporary directory
or on a floppy diskette.
. Start Windows. Choose "Run" from the File Menu.
Type "A:\FS-SETUP.EXE" or you can use the path of the
temporary directory where the files reside.
You should obtain the file VBRUN300.DLL which is not included with
this distribution, but is required for FontSpec to run. It wasn't
included because many people already have this file on their system
so it would be a waste of time to download it again (and again and
again). I hope you can appreciate why the file wasn't included. It
may already be on your system (check your \Windows directory or your
\Windows\System directory). The file can also be obtained from most
bulletin boards, CompuServe forums or America Online.
If you've purchased FontSpec:
----------------------------
Installation is a snap! Start Windows. Choose "Run" from the File
Menu and type "A:\SETUP.EXE" (not FS-Setup, that's for the people
who haven't registered... yet).
Both registered and shareware versions
--------------------------------------
You can reinstall FontSpec Pro at any time by selecting the
FontSpec install icon from the FontSpec Group.
GETTING Double-click on the FontSpec Launcher icon. Each time you start the
STARTED launcher, it reminds you that you can relocate the launch pad to any
======= part of your screen by clicking (and holding down) the left mouse
button on the launch pad's BORDER and then moving to where you want
the pad to be, then release the mouse button. This is also known as
"Drag & Drop".
The launch pad's color changes once every minute (no it's not an
offbeat clock). The color changes to help remind you that the launch
pad is active. Also, the pad does it's very best to stay on top of
whatever application you may have running. This means that you have
access to FontSpec Pro from within other Window's applications.
Let's start with the Viewer. Single-click on the pad's view button.
VIEWER The viewer starts up with a sample of one of your fonts in 60 points
====== (points are a unit of measure used by the typography industry). One
inch equals 72 points.
The viewer makes no changes to your system, so don't be afraid to
experiment. Click on the large Setup button at the top of the form.
The font sample is replaced with a setup form. This is where you
customize the viewer to suit your needs. You can show all the way up
to 999 points if you wish by changing the maximum point size. My
personal preference is 72 points.
When the viewer starts up, it initially shows one font face. If you
want to see multiple lines at startup, select "off" for the
Startup Zoom option ("on" means you are zooming in one font).
If you don't have a very, very fast computer then you might opt to
show just one font at a time (the default).
If you want to view fonts other than TrueType then make that
selection next. But you should know that bitmapped fonts will look
"jaggy" in larger point sizes (for example, MS Sans Serif in
24 point will look ok, but will look yucky at 98 points). Leaving
this setting on the default of Truetype Only will guarantee viewing
fonts that look good at any size.
Of the five type specimens that you can view, two are user-definable
(you can use whatever words and characters you need). You can either
type your own words in the two User Defined Specimen option boxes or
you can click the Default Value buttons for default text.
All of these settings can be changed at any time, so don't worry
about what you type now. You can change it later, if you wish.
Click on the large Done button to save and exit setup (if you click
anywhere else outside of the setup form then the information will
not be saved -- handy if you changed your mind).
The rest is up to you now. Select a sample from the five specimen
buttons, change point sizes, justification, italics, bold...
experiment. By the way, by now you must have noticed that there is
a one-line help area just about the viewport. When you move the
mouse over different controls, this area (I call it "MouseHelp")
tells you what the controls do. Try moving your mouse over the
moving advertisement at the top of the screen. (Hint!)
PRINTER FontSpec Pro really shines when printing specimen sheets. To use the
======= Printer application you must have two fonts already installed. Both
came free with Windows and are on your original Windows disks if you
haven't installed them. The two fonts you must have installed are
Arial and Arial Bold. You probably have both installed already, but
if not, you should do so before running the Printer application.
To run the Printer application, single-click on the Launch pad's
Print button. You can move the mouse around for help (just like in
the Viewer). Click on Setup before printing.
Starting Page number defaults to 1. Use this to set a starting page
number in case you're printing lots of pages and something goes
wrong, or if you want to begin printing with a different page
number for sections or whatever. The printing starts with the first
font selected regardless of this number. Only the printed page
number is affected by this option.
The Page Header is what prints at the top of each page and the Page
Footer is what prints at the bottom of each page (this will get
clearer after you've printed a sample page).
Just like in the Viewer, you can enter your own text for the two
User-Defined specimens.
Registered users can also select a printer and print orientation
from this setup form. Shareware users can try these features but
the printer will remain selected as it was before running the
application. If you want to change your printer on the shareware
version, you can do so by using the normal Windows options
available to you. Click on the Done button to save and exit setup.
Selecting Fonts to Print
------------------------
Select the facenames you want to print from the listbox on the left.
You can either click on the Select All Fonts button or single-click
on individual names. The selected fonts appear in the adjacent
listbox. If you change you mind you can click on the Clear All Fonts
button or single-click on individual names to remove them from the
listbox. If you want to print most (but not all) of your fonts, then
you can click on the Select All Fonts button followed by clicking on
the individual names that you don't want.
Select Sheet Style
------------------
There are three different sheet styles to choose from. The Single
Column Sheet prints your specimens one to a line across the page.
The Two-Column Sheet (the default) gets the maximum number of fonts
on a page (by the way, 18-point looks great in this format). The
Full Sheet style prints sample paragraphs (greeking), the entire
standard character set in normal and italics, and a one line sample
in every size from 6 to 72 points -- all on one page! (This takes
alot(!) of time and alot(!) of paper so you might want to use this
option sparingly.) Please note that selecting the Full Sheet Style
removes some of the other options available to you because they are
not needed (no sense in selecting a point size when all the point
sizes are printed, for example).
Select a Print Sample
---------------------
You can select from four different specimens. The first two are the
same as in the Viewer application and the last two can be customized
by you (using setup). The default is Paragraph Text, which includes
printing the facename as part of the specimen. All choices print the
facename in 6-point type directly under each specimen line.
Select Print Styles
-------------------
If you want to see absolutely everything then check off all four
variations. FontSpec Pro will skip bold fonts if you don't really
have them installed, but will print in italic even if you don't
have an italic font installed (thanks to Windows). On my system,
I got rid of all my italic fonts since I can print them anyway.
Why take up valuable disk space, right? On the other hand, you'll
find some very nice italic fonts which, because of their design,
you'll want to keep since a close facsimile just isn't the same.
Other Options
-------------
You can add the time at the bottom of each page (the date is added
automatically). Adding the time helps you judge how long each page
takes so the next time you don't have to just sit and watch. The
All Caps option is good if you just can't stand to look at fonts
which have no lowercase characters (usually they print a box or some
other stupid character instead of lowercase). Selecting All Caps
prints the specimen line in all capital letters. You can also
eliminate page numbers. Why would you want to do that? Well, suppose
you have a forty or fifty page specimen book and want to replace
page 17... with 2 or 3 other pages... yikes!!! Without this option
you'd have to reprint all the other pages, but if you don't use
page numbers... get the idea?
Select the point size to print each specimen line in. My preference
is 18 points. This size is big enough to clearly see the font and
still get a respectable number of characters on each line.
Print Your Specimens (finally!)
--------------------
Once everything has been selected to your satisfaction, click on the
big Print button. As each font is sent to the printer you will see
a sample of the type in the Quick View window. Just above this
window is a print progress area that displays the name of the font
and the elapsed print time.
Notice that the print button has been replaced by a stop button. You
can stop printing anytime, but if you click the stop button, please
be patient. It takes some time for the printing to actually stop.
During the printing process, you'll notice that the progress area
will display a "Waiting for Windows" message and it looks like
things have stopped or "frozen". Don't be alarmed! FontSpec Pro is
doing just fine, but is waiting for Windows to catch up to it. As
soon as Windows has processed the font information, FontSpec Pro
will resume printing. If you have a fast computer (and a fast
printer) you may not see any delay at all.
FONT The Font Manager has so many options that I hope I can describe each
MANAGER well enough to you! Bear with me on this. You can start the Font
======= Manager by single-clicking on its' Launch pad button. Remember, too,
that like the Viewer and Printer, you have MouseHelp available to
you at all times simply by moving the mouse over an area of your
screen.
Compare Fonts
-------------
As you may have discovered, some fonts are really the same as others
but have a different name. This can get to be a problem because you
could end up with duplicates that take up valuable disk space and
memory. If you suspect a duplicate, or if you just want to look at
a font (installed or not, it doesn't matter). You can do so by
navigating to the directory which has the font file.
Once you have selected the right directory, you can use the two
listboxes (top, right) to select an installed font and a font file
(installed or not). A sample of each will be displayed at the
bottom of the form. This is a scrollable area so you can see and
compare two fonts side by side using the entire character set.
To the right of the two samples is an arrow which points to the
current font (use the tab key to toggle between the two). Whichever
font is being pointed to is also displayed in the center part of
the form and is continuously adjustable in size by using the scroll
bar to the left of the sample. If FontSpec Pro detects two fonts
which are the same (or very close) it will highlight them for you
automatically.
Express Delete
--------------
If you decide to remove a font (installed or not) you can do so by
using this option. The font which is being pointed to is the font
which will be deleted. You are asked for a confirmation before the
delete actually happens. If you are pointing to the FONT FILE then
the file will be deleted. If you are pointing to the INSTALLED font
then both the file and the installed font will be removed from
Windows.
Express Install
---------------
If you see a FONT FILE that you like, you can use Express Install to
immediately install the font in Windows. If you check the Copy File
to Windows box then the font will be copied to the Windows directory
otherwise it will be installed based on the directory it is located
in (note that the font should then remain in this directory).
Managing Font Groups
--------------------
A Font Group is a collection of one or more fonts which for whatever
reason you would like to use keep and use together. A group of your
favorite fonts, a group of fonts you use for a certain client, a
group of fonts you use only occasionally. Whatever you needs, Font
Groups come in very handy.
Making Your First Group
-----------------------
Click on the Make button located in the Font Group Manager frame.
Since this is your first group you are given the opportunity to
save your current Windows configuration in case you later want to
restore everything to pre-FontSpec use. It's up to you, but why not?
The next form allows you to create your font group. First select
the drive and directory where your fonts are located. The font files
appear in the adjacent listbox. If you single-click on any file name
you will see a sample of the font in the Quick View window below.
If you double-click on the file name it will be added to the Font
Group listbox. Likewise, if you single-click on any name in the
Font Group listbox you'll see a sample and if you double-click, then
the name will be removed from the Font Group listbox.
You can add fonts to the Font Group from many directories at the
same time. Just navigate to the directory and add the fonts.
When you have assembled a Font Group you are satisfied with, enter
a group name of your choice in the group name box and, optionally,
check the Copy Fonts to Windows box. Click on the Done button (or
Cancel button to discard the group).
If your group does not include Arial and Arial Bold you will be
reminded that FontSpec Pro needs these fonts for printing
specimen sheets. If you don't plan on printing specimen sheets then
it doesn't matter, otherwise you are given the opportunity to add
these fonts to your group.
Installing Your Font Group
--------------------------
From the Font Group Manager frame, click on the drop-down listbox
and select a previously created Font Group. Click on the Install
button. The selected Font Group is processed, installed and is
immediately made available without restarting Windows.
Depending on the size of the group, this can take anywhere from a
few moments to as much as a minute. The installation progress is
displayed in the Font Group Manager progress window.
Deleting A Font Group
---------------------
Select a previously created group name then click the Delete button.
Modifying A Font Group
----------------------
Select a group name. Follow the same instructions for making a Font
Group. The only difference is that your fonts will already be in
the Font Group listbox ready for your changes. The only thing you
can't change is the Font Group name previously assigned.
FINAL I really hope you enjoy using FontSpec Pro. But please remember that
COMMENTS maintaining a program of this scope requires time. It also takes
======== time to talk with the people who call (I always welcome callers,
registered or not) and to help them with FontSpec and sometimes even
with other problems they have unrelated to FontSpec.
I'm doing my part by submitting this kind of product to the share-
ware community. You can do your part by supporting these efforts in
the form of registration. $25 bucks... it's not a lot. Thank You.
UniTech Corporation
2697 McKelvey Road
Maryland Heights, MO 63043
Phone: 314 770-2770
Registration is just $25.00 (Do it. You'll feel great!)
Visa, Mastercard, checks ok