CompuServe Thread

#Fonts in PW 3.0

5 messages in this thread
#103440From: Steve HallMay 8, 1990 4:28 PM
Will ProWrite 3.0 have the ability to look in different directories for fonts? I would like to be able to have a couple of font directories and switch between them from within ProWrite. Or at least be able to start ProWrite, reassign the FONTS: dir and then tell ProWrite to "relookup" the fonts. – Steve –
#103441From: New Horizons SoftwareMay 8, 1990 5:24 PM
No, ProWrite 3.0 does not allow you to change font directories while running the program. You need to quit ProWrite, assign fonts: to your new directory, and then run it to switch from one font directory to another. James Bayless New Horizons Software, Inc.
#103556From: Black Belt SystemsMay 9, 1990 1:39 AM
Sounds like something that needs fixing, or at least updating. IT's easy enough to do. Ben Amateur Radio Callsign is A A 7 A S
#103608From: New Horizons SoftwareMay 9, 1990 11:22 AM
Ben, It's not too hard to have a program switch font directories, there are two possible ways for a program to it: 1. Reassign "fonts:" to the new directory. Not a good thing to do to the user, since it affects _all_ programs, and could potentially cause confusion to programs that are not expecting it (and a program shouldn't be mucking with these global path assignments behind the user's back anyway). 2. Bypass the system's diskfont.library and go directly to the font data. This would render the program incapable of automatically taking advantage of future enhancements to diskfont.library (and enhancements are coming). This solution is on par with bypassing Intuition and doing your own window and menuing system just to avoid some of the quirks of Intuition. Not a good idea either. Obviously, both "solutions" have great drawbacks, and that is the reason we don't do it. It has always been our policy of having our programs work _with_ the system, and not bypass it. James Bayless New Horizons Software, Inc.
#103626From: Black Belt SystemsMay 9, 1990 2:41 PM
Um…. um…. gee. We don't do either one, and we get the functionality the user desires. Here's what we do: We have a menu action where the current fonts information for OUR program is flushed – nothing else. Then the user can insert a new disk named "FONT" and he has an entirely new library of fonts available. Then next time he asks for a particular font, we go get it. If he's HD based, he can reassign on his own. The trick for us was to let go of the current font data. For your application, that might get a little rough, as you probably have multiple fonts open at one time. You could cache them, though. I think. I'm used to thinking in terms of one font open at a time. Ben Amateur Radio Callsign is A A 7 A S