* Added a more user-friendly application environment
* Added support for desk accessories (ie. Chooser)
* Added display of number of fonts, fonts per page, & total pages needed
Introduction
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The major reason that I wrote this program was for my own use, but then I thought that maybe some other people could use it also. My problem was that I tended to collect a large number of public domain TrueType fonts and then I would forget what they all looked like. It was also a problem when other people used my computer and they needed to know what each and every font looked like. My first solution was to use a word processor and type in a sample of each font onto a two column page. This worked OK, but it was extremely slow and tedious to add in new fonts and change old ones.
That's where FontPrinter comes in, basically all you have to do is launch the program and then click the mouse a few times. Then FontPrinter will create and print a document containing all of your fonts in their own typeface.
Basically what the program does is add all the fonts visible to your system to an internal menu and then traverse that menu until all the fonts have been printed. Because the program prints out the font name just as it appears in a normal font menu, if you have bitmaps for all the different styles of a particular font installed, they will also get printed out, not just the Roman version. Also if you have any fonts that contain only capital letters you need to change their names using ResEdit to end with 'Caps'. This will cause FontPrinter to print that font name in all capitals so you won't get any of those missing character boxes on the printout.
Instructions
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After the information dialog comes on the screen, you can click the mouse button to dismiss it and continue. Now a small window will appear. This window contains a program logo and also shows you how many fonts are visible to FontPrinter, how many columns are in use, how many fonts will be printed on each page, and how many pages will be needed using the current print settings.
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You can change some values that will affect the final printout by using the FontPrinter Setup... menu item in the File menu. When you choose this item, you will be presented with the following dialog :
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From here you can set several printing options, including printing in a single column across the whole page instead of two half page columns, having your own text used on the printout instead of the font name, having the program maintain the preferred font size even if it won't fit in a column (it will be truncated), and including the name of the font in your choice of font and size in front the sample text (useful if you enter your own text string). If you check the "Make Current Settings..." checkbox then, when you click the OK button, all setup values will be saved inside FontPrinter and reloaded each time the program is launched. This allows you to configure FontPrinter the way you want just once and then next time you run the program you just need to select the print command.
When you choose Print... from the File menu, the standard Print Job dialog box will appear and if you press the OK button the page creation and printing process will begin. The following window will appear :
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As FontPrinter draws each font on the page it will let you know what the current font is and approximately how far it has to go via the progress bar. You can stop this process by clicking on the Stop button.
I have only tested this program on the limited number of machines and printers that I have access to so I make no guarantees that it will work with every possible combination of software and hardware.
If you use this program I would appreciate it if you would send $5.00 to:
Mark J. Anderson
Bloss Hall #306
Corvallis, OR 97331-1201
Or at least send me some E-mail saying what kind of system setup you have (ie. what printer, computer, VM? 32-bit?) and whether or not my program worked for you. Any suggestions for future versions and/or comments are also welcome via E-mail to andersm@prism.cs.orst.edu.