Article View: comp.fonts
Article #2709comp.fonts FAQ.2.Mac-Info
From: Norman Walsh
Date: Mon, 21 Jun 1993 13:19
Date: Mon, 21 Jun 1993 13:19
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Posted-By: auto-faq 2.4
Archive-name: fonts-faq/part4
Version: 1.4.1
Subject: Chapter 2
Macintosh Information
Subject: 2.1. Font formats
Postscript Type 1 fonts can be installed on the Macintosh only by
using accompanying bitmapped fonts.
Postscript Type 3 fonts are installed on the Macintosh in the same
way that Type 1 fonts are.
Truetype fonts: no bitmapped font is necessary with this type,
though commonly used sizes are often supplied.
Bitmap fonts: on the Macintosh, bitmap fonts also contain the
kerning information for a font and must be installed with both type
1 and type 3 fonts. Their presence also speeds the display of
commonly used font sizes.
Subject: 2.2. Frequently requested fonts
Many fonts are available at various archives. The king of Macintosh
font archives is mac.archive.umich.edu. On mac.archive.umich.edu,
the fonts are located in the following folders:
/mac/system.extensions/font/type1
/mac/system.extensions/font/type3
/mac/system.extensions/font/truetype
The following fonts are in Type 1 format for the Macintosh. Some
are also available in TrueType format.
* Tamil
Paladam, T. Govindram
* Hebrew
ShalomScript, ShalomOldStyle, ShalomStick, Jonathan Brecher
* Japanese
Shorai (Hirigana, with application)
* Star Trek
StarTrekClassic, Star TrekClassicMovies, StarTrekTNGCrille,
StarTrekTNG Titles, TNG monitors, StarFleet, Klinzai (Klingon
font)
* Command-key symbol
Chicago (TrueType or bitmap, key: Ctrl-Q), Chicago Symbols
(Type3, key: 1), EncycloFont (Type3, key: d)
* Astrologic/Astronomic symbols
Hermetica (Type1), InternationalSymbols (Type 3, Mars and Venus
only), MortBats (Type3), Zodiac (bitmap)
* IBM OEM Line Drawing Characters
Try Adobe PrestigeElite or Adobe LetterGothic. They have all the
characters you want, but the `line draw' characters are unencoded
--- you will need tools to reencode the outline font itself and
make a new PFM metric files.
Or try IBMExtended from Impramatur Systems in Cambridge, Mass. It
already is encoded using IBM OEM encoding (some DOS code page).
The IBM version of Courier distributed freely under the X11
Consortium also contains the appropriate characters. It is
distributed in PC format, however. Again, the font will have to
be reencoded for Windows. Appropriate AFM files for this font can
be obtained from: ibis.cs.umass.edu:/pub/norm/comp.fonts. The
file is called IBM-Courier-PC8-SymbolSet-AFMs.zip.
Many of these mac fonts are available in files that are either
entitled xxxx.sit or xxxx.cpt. xxxx.sit files are Stuffit
archives. xxxx.cpt files are Compact Pro archives. StuffitLite
(shareware 25) and Compact Pro (shareware 25) are available at the
standard ftp sites. Uncompressors for these programs (free) are
also available at the archive sites. Check the
utilities/compression utilities folders.
Subject: 2.3. Commercial font sources
Commercial fonts can be obtained from a number of different
companies, including the large font houses: Adobe, Font Haus, Font
Company, Bitstream, and Monotype. At these companies, fonts cost
about $ 40 for a single face, and must be purchased in packages.
Adobe, Bitstream, and Monotype also sell pre-designated type
collections for slightly lower prices.
Image Club sells a wide selection of fonts for about $ 50 for a 4
font family.
Other, cheaper companies sell fonts of lesser quality, including
KeyFonts, which sells a set of 100 fonts for $ 50 and Cassady &
Green's Fluent Laser Fonts, a set of 79 fonts for $ 99. Cassady &
Greene also sells Cyrillic language fonts in Times, Bodoni, and
Helvetica sell for about $ 40 for each 4 font family.
Underground Phont Archive (Jason Osborne, <
V065HJKU@ubvms.cc.buffalo.edu>): is a distributor of
shareware/freeware truetype fonts. Many of these fonts can also be
obtained at the mac.archive.umich.edu archive site. Currently [ ed:
as of 7/92 ] 170 fonts, which are distributed for $ 35, +3 shipping
for overseas orders. (Some fonts may have additional shareware
fees).
Foreign language fonts, ranging from Egyptian hieroglyphics to
Cyrillic can be obtained from Ecological Linguistics.
Please consult the vendor list for a more complete list of vendors.
Subject: 2.4. Font Installation
* System 7
Install the fonts by opening the suitcase containing the bitmap
file and dropping the fonts into your system suitcase, located
inside your system folder. You will need to quit all other
applications before doing this. For a TrueType font, the icon for
the font will have several letters in it, instead of just one.
Dropping it into your system suitcase will make all sizes of the
font available. For Postscript type 1 fonts, you also need to
place the printer font in the extensions folder in your system
folder. If you are using ATM you need to place these fonts in the
root level of your system folder (not inside another folder).
Using Suitcase, a font management utility, you can avoid
cluttering your system folder with printer fonts.
You can make new suitcases of fonts (generally not needed, but
used by those who use Suitcase) by using Font DA mover. It
operates the same as in system 6, except that the most recent
version must be used.
* System 6
Bitmap fonts can be installed using Font DA mover to move the
fonts, located inside suitcases, into your system. You will need
to restart your computer to make these fonts available. Printer
fonts must be placed in the system folder, not inside any other
folder.
Truetype fonts can be used with system 6 if you get the Truetype
init. Then the fonts can be installed in your system with Font DA
mover. Suitcase can also be used under system 6.
Subject: 2.5. Font utilities
* SUITCASE
Suitcase is a nifty little system extension that lets you avoid
having to install fonts into your system. In system 6, it means
that you can avoid restarting your system every time you want to
install a new font.
In system 7, Suitcase lets you avoid quitting all applications
before making fonts available. Some programs, like Quark Xpress
will automatically update their font list when you open a new
suitcase, allowing much more flexibility in opening and closing
font suitcases and making different sets of fonts available.
Suitcase appears in your Apple menu in both system 7 and 6 and
allows you to open suitcases, as though they were files, thus
making the fonts contained in them accessible to programs.
In addition, when suitcase is installed, printer fonts can be
stored with the bitmap suitcases they correspond to, instead of
having to drop them into your system folder.
The most recent version of Suitcase is compatible with TrueType.
Suitcase is about $ 54 form the mail order places.
* MASTER JUGGLER
Claims to do similar things
* ATM
Adobe Type Manager is an Init and Control panel allows accurate
screen display, at any size of Postscript type 1 fonts. It's
function is replicated with Truetype (but for different outline
font format). With it installed, you can print fonts of any size
to non-postscript printers. When using ATM, printer fonts must
either be stored with the bitmap files opened with suitcase (when
using Suitcase), or they must be stored in the root level of the
system folder (with System 7.0, printer fonts must be stored in
the Extension folder if you are not using Suitcase). ATM is now
available, with the System 7.0 upgrade, as well as directly from
adobe with 4 Garamond fonts.
ATM is not built into System 7.1 as previously expected. With
System 7.1, printer fonts must be stored in the Fonts folder if
you are not using Suitcase.
If you are using version 7.x prior to 7.1, the following hack
allows you to have a Font folder (if you don't use Suitcase):
Open the second 'DCOD' resource from the ATM 68020/030 file. Do
an ASCII search for the string "extn" and change it to "font"
(it's case sensitive). Save, close, and Reboot.
This process should work for 68000 machines using the proper ATM
file instead.
* Super ATM
This is a utility that will create fonts, on the fly, that match
the metrics of any Adobe-brand fonts you don't have. It does a
remarkably good job of mimicry because it uses two "generic"
Multiple Master typefaces, serif and sans serif to simulate the
appearance of the missing typefaces. (There is a 1.4 megabyte
database file that allows Super ATM to simulate the fonts that
aren't there.) You also get Type On Call (a CD-ROM), which has
locked outline fonts, and unlocked screen font for all but the
most recent faces in the Adobe Type library.
* TTconverter
A shareware accessory available at the usual archives will
convert Truetype fonts for the IBM into Macintosh format.
* Microsoft Font Pack
If you work with a mixture of Macs and PCs running Windows 3.1,
this is a good deal; 100 TrueType fonts compromising the Windows
3.1 standard set and the two Font Packs for Windows. This
includes various display fonts, the Windows Wingdings font, and
the Lucida family.
A variety of programs, for example, Font Harmony, etc. will allow
you to change the names and ID numbers of your fonts.
Fontmonger and Metamorphosis will let you convert fonts among
several formats (type 1 and 3 and Truetype for the Mac and PC), as
well as letting you extract the font outlines from the printer
fonts.
Subject: 2.6. Making outline fonts
This is very, very difficult. Many people imagine that there are
programs that will simply convert pictures into fonts for them.
This is not the case; most fonts are painstakingly created by
drawing curves that closely approximate the letterforms. In
addition, special rules (which improve hinting, etc.) mandate that
these curves be drawn in specific ways. Even designing, or merely
digitizing, a simple font can take hundreds of hours.
Given that, there are two major programs used for font design on
the Macintosh, Fontographer ( 280) and FontStudio ( 400). These
programs will allow you to import scanned images, and then trace
them with drawing tools. The programs will then generate type 1, 3,
TrueType and Bitmap fonts for either the Macintosh or the IBM PC.
They will also generate automatic hinting. They also open
previously constructed outline fonts, allowing them to be modified,
or converted into another format.
As far as I know, there are no shareware programs that allow you to
generate outline fonts.
Subject: 2.7. Problems and possible solutions
1. Another font mysteriously appears when you select a certain font
for display.
This is often the result of a font id conflict. All fonts on the
Macintosh are assigned a font id, an integer value. When two
fonts have the same id, some programs can become confused about
the appropriate font to use. Microsoft word 4.0 used font id's to
assign fonts, not their names. Since id's can be different on
different computers, a word document's font could change when it
was moved from one computer to another. Other signs of font id
problems are inappropriate kerning or leading (the space between
lines of text). Some font ID problems can be resolved by using
Suitcase, which will reassign font ID's for you, as well as
saving a font ID file that can be moved from computer to computer
to keep the id's consistent. Font ID problems can also be solved
with several type utilities, which will allow you to reassign
font id's. Most newer programs refer to fonts correctly by name
instead of id number, which should reduce the frequency of this
problem.
2. When using a document written in MSWord 5.0, the font
mysteriously changes when you switch from your computer at home
to work, or vice versa.
This is the result of a bug in MSWord 5.0. The MSWord 5.0
updater, which can be found at the info-mac archives at sumex (in
the demo folder), will fix this bug.
Subject: 2.8. Creating Mac screen fonts from Type 1 outlines
Peter DiCamillo contributes the following public domain solution:
BitFont is a program which will create a bitmapped font from any
font which can be drawn on your Macintosh. In addition to standard
bitmapped fonts, it works with Adobe outline fonts when the Adobe
Type Manager is installed, and works with TrueType? fonts. BitFont
will also tell you how QuickDraw will draw a given font (bitmapped,
ATM, or TrueType) and can create a text file describing a font and
all its characters.
BitFont was written using MPW C version 3.2. It is in the public
domain and may be freely distributed. The distribution files
include the source code for BitFont.
Berthold K.P. Horn <bkph@ai.mit.edu> contributes the following
solution.
This is a commercial solution. A font manipulation package from Y &
Y includes:
AFMtoPFM, PFMtoAFM, AFMtoTFM, TFMtoAFM, AFMtoSCR, SCRtoAFM,
TFMtoMET, PFBtoPFA, PFAtoPFB, MACtoPFA, PFBtoMAC, REENCODE, MODEX,
DOWNLOAD, SERIAL, and some other stuff I forget.
To convert PC Type 1 fonts to MacIntosh use PFBtoMAC on the outline
font itself; then use AFMtoSCR to make the Mac `screen font'
(repository of metric info). You may need to use PFMtoAFM to first
make AFM file.
To convert MacIntosh font to PC Type 1, use MACtoPFA, followed by
PFAtoPFB. Then run SCRtoAFM on screen font to make AFM file.
Finally, run AFMtoPFM to make Windows font metric file.
Y & Y are the `TeX without BitMaps' people (see ad in TUGboat):
Y & Y makes DVPSONE, DVIWindo, and fonts, for use with TeX mostly,
in fully hinted Adobe Type 1
Y & Y, 106 Indian Hill, Carlisle MA 01741 USA
(800) 742-4059
(508) 371-3286 (voice)
(508) 371-2004 (fax)
Mac Screen fonts can be constructed from outline fonts using
Fontographer, as well.
Technical Details
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From: walsh@cs.umass.edu (Norman Walsh)
Newsgroups: comp.fonts,comp.answers,news.answers
Subject: comp.fonts FAQ.2.Mac-Info
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Date: 21 Jun 1993 13:19:11 GMT
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Reply-To: walsh@cs.umass.edu (Norman Walsh)
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Summary: This posting answers frequently asked questions about fonts.
It addresses both general font questions and questions that
are specific to a particular platform.