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Types of Fonts

Two types of fonts are available on the Amiga: bitmap and outline. Bitmap fonts are defined as a pattern of dots that compose a character. Bitmap font files are stored on disk for each size. Outline font character shapes are defined mathematically and are generated to whatever size or resolution is needed.

Topaz, the Amiga's default font, is a bitmap font stored in ROM. Other bitmap fonts, such as Helvetica, Courier, and Times are included on your Amiga disks. You can, however, create or purchase additional bitmap and outline fonts.

When choosing a font, you also specify a size in pixels, which describes the height of a character. After you have selected a font, the available sizes for it are displayed in a scroll box in a font requester. Higher numbers represent larger fonts. The maximum size allowable is 124 points.

You can use available font sizes or enter a new size. The Amiga can scale both bitmap and outline fonts to a specified size. However, scaled bitmap fonts often appear distorted.

Using Bitmap Fonts

Although bitmap fonts produce acceptable screen displays, their resolution is usually too low for high quality printouts.

Bitmap scaling stretches or squeezes the bitmap pattern, causing scaled bitmap fonts to appear distorted. If you enter a size that is not listed for a bitmap font, try to double an available size or cut an available size in half to preserve the font's proportions. For example, to produce a font between an 18 and 24 point Helvetica, use 22 since it is twice the height of the existing 11 point font. Fonts can also be scaled with the Fonts Preferences editor described on page 8-5.

Some application programs include their own fonts, font management utilities, or font scaling technology. These may use the Amiga's fonts and font technology. Read the application's manual carefully to learn how to produce the fonts you need.

Using Outline Fonts

Outline fonts are available on Amiga systems with Release 2 and higher system software. The Amiga uses Agfa Compugraphic Intellifont® technology that is managed through the Intellifont utility, described in this chapter. Compugraphic fonts for MS-DOS computers can be purchased and used on the Amiga.

Because of their large size and memory requirements, outline fonts are best suited to expanded systems equipped with hard disks. You can use them with floppy disk systems, but you may need to delete items from the Workbench backup disk to make room for them.

Outline fonts can be printed at the highest resolution of your printer, typically better than screen resolution. Outline fonts do not have separate files for each point size; instead, outline fonts are mathematically generated as required. As a result it can take longer on the first try to access an outline font than a bitmap font.

Using Proportional and Non-proportional Fonts

Both bitmap and outline fonts can be proportional or non-proportional. Proportional fonts are those in which each character occupies only the amount of space it actually needs. For example, a w character uses more space than an i character. These fonts are used to display normal text. Non-proportional fonts, also called monospaced fonts, are those in which each character occupies the same amount of horizontal space. Such fonts are easier to handle when creating numeric tables.

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