VisualFont is a desktop utility shareware that allows you to view BitMap or TrueType fonts present or not in the Fonts folder of the System's Folder. The aim of this application is to scan folders of fonts (for example on a CD-ROM) than can contain thousands of fonts (N.B.: the "Fonts" folder is limited to 128 fonts). I developed this program because I've got a collection of 4000 fonts that I wanted to view easily and download the ones I liked.
Note that if the fonts are contained on a CD-ROM, accessing each file is long, compared to fonts present on the hard disk. So the best is to view the fonts on the hard disk, and in small folders.
How to use the application?
Follow instructions on the main dialog. Each file of the folder will be analyzed sequentially , and if the file is a font, it will show a string in this font (this string will be the font name or if you checked the box "Also in main window" the string that you entered in the "String in Zoom Window" edit text). The button "Save" is intended to write the file's name in a list that you can save at any moment, or even download the corresponding files. When a font is displayed, you can drag it to the Finder to save it. Typing a number on the keyboard will make the application reach this number, i.e. it will index this number in the folder. Also, in order to scan a new folder, you can simply drag it from the Finder in the central rectangle. To scan parent directory, type Command Key Up. If the file currently viewed is a folder, simply type Command and Key Down to scan it. At any time, you can enable the help messages in the help menu.
How to use the Preferences dialog?
This dialog is made of two main parts: the current settings, and the advanced options.
Current settings:
The option "Automatic Font Stop" is useful when the folder which is being scanned contains several types of files, e.g. when it doesn't contain only fonts. This will allow you to jump from one font to another. Be careful with this option because in the case of (for example) 150 non-font files and one font file at the index 151, you will have to wait a long time until the application reaches 151. In particular, be careful when this option is set at the beginning, because you won't have any control. To reset all settings, throw the file "VisualFont prefs" of the "Preferences" folder in the trash .
The first edit text item "Delay between fonts in the same file" sets the delay of displaying on the screen several fonts that are present in the same file, often in the case of a font suit, that can contain several font families (in most cases variations on the plain font). This option doesn't set in any case the delay between two values of the index. If the option "Only view first font" is checked, this delay will not be considered.
The Advanced Options:
The font types: "VisualFont" can't view PostScript fonts, only BitMap and TrueType (or outline) fonts. 'NFNT' or 'FONT' resources describe the BitMap glyphs, whereas 'sfnt' resources describe TrueType glyphs. 'FOND' resources describe the general characteristics of a font family, and can handle both glyph descriptors.
The file types:'FFIL' files are font suits that may contain 'FOND' resources associated to all three 'NFNT', 'FONT' and 'sfnt' resources. 'tfil' files may contain 'FOND' resources associated to bitmap glyphs, and 'ffil' files may contain 'FOND' resources associated to truetype glyphs. WARNING: In reality, each file type could contain any resource type. The indications are for general purpose only.
System requirements:
Needs System 7.
This application has been tested on a Power Macintosh 7200 running MacOS 7.5.3 and MacOS 8.0, on a Mac II cx running system 7.1 and system 7.5.3, on a LC running system 7.1, on a PM8600 running MacOS 8.0 and on a PowerBook 3400 running MacOS 7.6 and MacOS 8.0.
I'm not a professional programmer, only a student, so this software is not perfect, even if a drastic error handling and memory management has been made during one year.
Contribution and contacts:
If you find a bug, please report it to me via e-mail (quenotj@esiee.fr). Please send your contribution (10$, 50FF, 15DM, 5£, etc) by mail (Jean-Baptiste Quenot, 23 rue de Wattignies, 75012 Paris, FRANCE).
Also, tell me all the features you would like me to add or modify for future versions, that will be delivered according to the success of version 1.0., or even new software ideas.
Known bugs:
Scanning the folder "System Folder:Fonts" sometimes disturbs the display. The remedy is to copy the folder before scanning it. But the consequences are not that worth.
The application runs usually with 550k memory to display even large fonts files. You can lower down this limit, but to avoid any trouble, never run the application under 250k memory!
You expressly acknowledge and agree that use of VisualFont is at your exclusive risk. VisualFont, any related files and documentation are provided “AS IS” and without any warranty of any kind, expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose.
