FONT-EDIT F O N T C R E A T I N G T O O L how do i...?
How do I create a font? (The Font Assisten)
How do I take further chars (from a Windows-fonttype) in my font?
How do I take other stuff as a letter in my font? (Not a char from a Windows-fonttype.)
How do I arrange the letters in my font?
This file should be like a 'FAQ'... but this is the first one - without user's questions. I only can hope, that your questions are the same ;)
Further informations and help, you'll find in the FontEdit hlp-file you can start in the programm by opening the "?" menu-point and pressing "help".
I've also made a TUTORIAL. But, what a shame-- it's written in german. I only can hope, that you speak german. By the way, you'll see that my english isn't very "fluently", sorry about that. (I become better, sureley.)
...really good question, the primery question, the only important question. But when I completely answer this, you needn't to respective the others.
better: How do I use the FontAssistent? --Yeah!
When you start FontEdit, you'll certainly see nothing, only lot of windows. (Ohh! It confuse me.) No fear! Don't pay attention to that. First, click on "File" in the menu above and than choose "New font...". Now, you have to enjoy a little friend - the Font Assistent...
Here, you have to decide, if your font should be contain all letters of the ASCII- or ANSI-chartable (it's always the basic) or if the font should only have the place for the all chars without th chars 0-31 (number in the ANSI-chartable) or should contain all letters and numbers (a-z, A.-Z, 0-9).
Than you have to decide, what resolution the letters should have. I mean the size of each letter (or char, I know it as the same).
When you like to use your selections for the next, aktivate "Standard values" - your actually deciderations will keep.
Now, press "Next"...
The colors are the question now. Choose your colortable. (You'll certainly know it as "palette" - Patrick, the coder, call it colortable, like all good coders...he said. ;) When you decide "Standard", the Standard.pal will be used, when "current" was aktivated by you, FontEdit will use the colortable, written in the FONTEDIT.INI (Join it, nice file.). Choose "Own", when you like to use a "foreign" colortable, press "Load...". FontEdit know lot's of pal-types. Try it. Ok, you have your fine colors. FontEdit have to realize now, what color you want to use as transparentcolor - the color, you won't see when you use your font with the mode320.tpu and font320.tpu or your own units (or,or,or do what you want). Click with the left-mouse-button on a color in the table. Use the right-mouse-button to choose a fontcolor.
Press "Next"...
Here, you can choose a chartype your font should based on. In the table above, the font will shown. All chars, you'll take in you own font, are in the left list under the table. When you've choosen first, "whole chartable" (remember, that was the first step), all chars are in this table, when you've decided, that only all letters and numbers should contain in your font, than you'll find all letters and numbers in the list. E.g., you have a-z, A-z and 0-9 in your list 'cause you've choosen "numbers and letters". When you just like it, to throw the "0" away, you can do it, yeah. Mark the "0" in the list and press the "Del selected"-button. Ok, do you understand the way? You can also delete all or take all in the list; play, when you like it. (What a sensless game;)
Press "Finish" (Yeah!)...
Realize, what you see. Than you can tell me other questions...
How do I take further chars (from a Windows-fonttype) in my font?
You have your font, but you want to take more letters in your font - from a windows-ready-made-font, because you want to you this (it's easy, you aren't a artist) or you'll use is it as a basic.
Open the "Fonts"- and the "Preview"-window, when they aren't already open. (Menupoint "Options" in the menuline.)
Choose a fonttype in the "Fonts"-window. ("Select font:" - Arial, TimesNewRoman, etc.) You can decide, if the font should be in bold, underlined or italic. Choose a letter from the table. Press the"Shift"key and hold the left mousebutton pressed, move to a position in your font (a letter - empty or fuel - in the chartable) and take your finger away from the mouse. After that difficult work, the "Properties for letter Drag&Drop"-window will be shown. Here, you have to decide, if the letter from the windows-font could overwrite the -maybe- existing letter in your font or it should works transparent. (Of course, it isn't important when you want to place the choosen letter in a empty place of your font.) Because a letter of a windows-font is discolored (I mean, without any color, you see black), you have to choose a color of the letter you want to move. (The color known as foreground color, the color known as backround color or something else - look at the "colors"-window.) Press "OK".
You can avoid these properties by pressing the "Strg"-key instead of "Shift" when doing Drag&Drop. The latest selections will be used. --good, or what?
How do I take other stuff as a letter in my font? (Not a char from a Windows-fonttype.)
First, let the "main"-window show your empty letter (mark it in the "preview"-window... tip: you can change the mark by using the arrow-keys), that you like to fill with something, that isn't a char from a Windows-fonttype.
You can import a picture in your letter. That means, you have to load a picture-file or you can capture the desktop. Let's do it...
In the "Main"-window (you usually work with this) are 3 symbols - 3 menus, choose the third. Do a click on it. The menu contains three points: "Import letter", "Make photo from desktop" and "Show import picture clipboard" (Usually disabled.)
Let's try the first. Click on "Import letter". You have to choose a bitmapfile (supported types: BMP, DIB, PCX, EMF, WMF, ICO). I hope you have one. Mostly, a picture is bigger than your letter (remember: max. 32x32!) - pictures are often 320x200, 640x480 or bigger. Hmm. What now? No problem - a window called "Import Picture (pictureselection)", show your choosen bitmap. Now your cursor is shaped like a rectangle with a cross in the middle - so big like your letter, when you click on a place in the picture, this part will be taken into your letter. Yeah. Note, that the bitmap has certainly a other colortable as your font - it doesn't matter, FontEdit change the colors of the bitmap to the colors of your choosen colortable.
In the same way, it'll works, when you make a photo from desktop.
Of course, when there's something (a picture) in the Windows-clipboard, you can paste it in your letter.
"Show import picture clipboard" means, that the latest imported picture (from a file or a desktopcapture) will show in the "Import Picture (pictureselection)"-windows, immediately. --Yeah.
How do I arrange the letters in my font?
Go into the "Preview"-window, where your font is shown in a chartable. All letters are here in their postions - and you want to change this postions. (Because you think, you need a change.)
When you want a letter to other position, mark it, press "Shift", hold your finger on the left mouse-key and move it the position in the chartable, you want the letter there. Let the mouse-key clicking up ;) and you will see the "Properties for letter Drag&Drop". Here, you can decide, if the letter should overwrite the maybe existing letter in the aim-positon or not (transparent), you needn't choose a color 'cause your letter has it. Using "Strg" instead of "Shift" will use the latest selections of this property.
The right-mouse-menu ("popupmenu"):
When you press the right mouse-button in the chartable of the "Preview"-window, a menu with all things you need to edit your table will be shown. (It also contains a "undo"-function...up to 99 latest steps, a milestone!) All commands refering to the actually selected letter (the current letter), "delete", "cut", "copy", "paste", "insert selected letter" (from the windows-font, shown in the "fonts"-window), "delete selected letter" (more than "delete", you'll only see black, "delete" let the transparent color there).