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│ │ │ ▀▀▀▀▀█▀▀▀█ │ █ █ │ ▄▀█ █ │ ▄▀ █ █ │ ▀ ▀▀▀ ────────────────────────── │ FONT MANIA USER MANUAL │ █▀▀▀▀█▀▀▀█ ────────────────────────── │ █ █ █ │ █ █ █ │ █ █ │ │ █ █ │ ▀▄ ▄▀ │ ▀▄▄▀ │ ▄▀▀▄ │ ▄▀ ▀▄ │ █ █ │ │ █ █ │ ▀▄ ▄▀ │ ▀▄▄▀ │ ▄▀▀▄ │ ▄▀ ▀▄ │ █ █ │ │ ▄▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▄ │ █ █ │ █ █ │ █ █ │ ▀▄ ▄▀ │ │ ▄▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▄ │ █ █ │ █ █ │ █ █ │ ▀▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▀ FONT MANIA │ ShareWare Version │ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀█ EGA/VGA TEXT FONT EDITOR │ ▄▀ BY Ut... │ ▄▀ COPYRIGHT (C) 1991 REXXCOM SYSTEMS │ ▀▄ │ ▀▄ │ ▀▄ │ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ │ │ ─────────────────────────────────── T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S ─────────────────────────────────── Requirements..................................................1 Overview......................................................1 Quick Tour....................................................2 Using FONT MANIA..............................................3 Editing commands..............................................4 Using menus...................................................7 Saving Fonts..................................................9 Loading Fonts................................................1O Using COM Font Files.........................................1O Using Other File Formats.....................................11 Special Effects..............................................11 Letters "Running Together"...................................15 Registration.................................................16 Illustrations.....................................6,12,13,14,15 ────────── * ───────── i Requirements: IBM computer or 1OO% compatible "clone" DOS 2.O or higher EGA, VGA, or 1OO% compatible video system At least 5Ok of free memory Overview: Are you tired of the letter style of your computer? Are you looking for a change? Maybe you simply would like to have some fun? FONT MANIA might just be the answer. FONT MANIA is designed for editing EGA and VGA fonts with ease. It incorporates a user-friendly menu-driven sytem which makes using FONT MANIA incredibly easy. It is also packed with powerful tools for easy editing of fonts. Here are just a few examples of applications and uses for FONT MANIA: - Edit your computer's default text font, or create a completely new font-set. * - Save the font in a COM file which you can easily activate from the DOS prompt or from any BATCH file, including your AUTOEXEC.BAT - If you are a programmer, you can incorporate your redesigned fonts into your programs. - Use custom fonts to create special effects and more DEMO.EXE included with this package demonstrates several incredible uses of FONT MANIA. To run the DEMO, type the following: DEMO and press <ENTER>. The demo will run and you can print this manual, or the registration form at the end of the DEMO. * "SAVE" option available only with REGISTERED VERSION of FONT MANIA 1 QUICK TOUR: Type the following at DOS prompt: FM then press <ENTER>. FONT MANIA's editing screen should appear on the monitor. If not, check to make sure you are in the right drive and path, and the program file is there, then try again. You will see a giant 'A' in a blue area on left side of the screen. This is the editing area. To the right of the editing area are two boxes, one labeled STATUS, and the other labeled KEY. The STATUS box shows the current status of FONT MANIA. The KEY box shows the listing of the valid keys or key-combinations you may use. Try moving the cursor by pressing right arrow key. You will observe the cursor moving one space to the right. Try pressing other arrow keys. The cursor will move according to the arrows. Try pressing PgDn (Page Down), and you will see a huge 'B'. Press PgUp (Page Up) to return 'A' to the screen. Now press Space bar once. The pixel un- der the cursor will toggle on or off. Notice the change in the 'A' in the status box. Now, let's try loading a font. Press F3 and FONT MANIA will prompt you for a filename. Type the following: COM_DEMO then press <ENTER>. FONT MANIA will load the font. If there is an error, make sure you have the file COM_DEMO.COM in your current di- rectory. After FONT MANIA finishes loading the font, you will notice a change in the pattern of the huge 'A'. Let's try some other tools. Press and hold the ALT key; then press I. The whole character will be in- verted! Again, notice the change in the 'A' in the status box. You are encuraged to try all the commands listed in the KEY box. Now Press and hold ALT-A to save the font in COM file format. (NOTE: If you have the shareware version of FONT MANIA, this will generate an error message.) You will be prompted for a filename. Type: MYFONT Press <ENTER>. The font is saved with the name MYFONT.COM. (The COM extension is automatically added to your filename.) 2 Press ESC to exit the program. Press 'Y' when asked if you really want to exit. That's it!!!, you just learned how to use FONT MANIA!!! Pretty painless, wasn't it?! USING FONT MANIA: To run FONT MANIA from DOS, just type the following: FM [filename] and press <ENTER>. Where [filename] is the optional file name of a font file previously made with FONT MANIA. If the filename is inclu- ded, the font will load. If you do not specify a font filename FONT MANIA will use whichever font is already active, usually your computer's default ROM BIOS font. For more information on loading a font, see LOADING FONTS. FONT MANIA's editing screen will appear. There are many different area of this screen which serve different functions. It really is not confusing - just extremely comprehensive! Menu Bar: Across the top of the screen locate the menu bar. This menu bar shows menu titles. To "pull down" a menu, hold down the ALT key while pressing a key corresponding to one of the highlighted char- acters in the menu titles. Status Box: The box labeled STATUS provides the current status of FONT MANIA. LINES shows how many lines of text will fit into the current screen. The number of lines which may be displayed on the screen at one time varies depending on the number of scanlines and the height of the font. VDO shows the current video adapter in use in your system. SCANLINE shows how many horizontal scanlines are currently active. On EGA systems, this SCANLINE is always 35O. On VGA, the scanline may be set to one of the following values: 2OO, 35O, or 4OO. FILENAME shows the current font filename. If FILENAME shows NONE, that means the font has not yet been given a filename. 3 At the top of the box may be seen 2 smaller boxes. The first will display the current character being edited, and the second box will show the ASCII decimal value of that character. At the bottom of the box you will find 2 numbers separated by a colon (:). This is the current X:Y position of the cursor in the editing area. Key Box: This is the large box labeled KEY. This always shows the valid keyboard commands. It will show the key combination which per- form each function. Status Line: This line is located at the bottom of the screen. It will report what is currently happening. Editing Area: This is the middle left hand side of the screen. When the program is first excuted it will display a huge 'A' in a blue rectangle area with blinking cursor (yellow on red.) This is the area in which each character of the font-set will be edited. EDITING COMMANDS: All editing commands are displayed in the KEY box. Press F1 for the "second page." This is the list of commands and their functions: Up, Down, Left and Right arrow keys will move the cursor. Hold either Shift key in combination with one of the arrow keys to "drag" the pixel. (Some computers need the Num Lock key pressed first. If so, be certain to press Num Lock again when finished.) PgUp, PgDn - Change the editing character to the previous character or the next one. Space - The Space Bar toggles the pixel at the current cursor position on or off. CTRL-H, V - Blank the Horizontal line or Vertical line. 4 ALT-H, V - Fill (turn all pixels on) the Horizontal or Vertical line. CTRL-T, TAB - Select a character from the character set. The character table will appear. Use arrow keys to move the cursor to the character you want, then press <ENTER>. CTRL-D - Copy the default character, i.e.: If you have begun to edit a character you may cancel your editing with this command. ALT-X, Y - Insert a blank column or a row. CTRL-X, Y - Delete a column or a row. CTRL-A, S - Rotate the whole character Left or Right. CTRL-W, Z - Scroll the whole character Up or Down. * ALT-S - Save font. (COM format) See SAVING FONT. * ALT-A - Save as... (Permits entering a [new] filename) ALT-L - Load font. (COM format only) See LOADING FONT. CTRL-C - Clear the current character. (Blank the character) ALT-C - Copy a character to another location. You must start with the character which occupies your TARGET location in the editing area. When you press ALT-C the character table will appear. Use arrow keys to move the red cursor to the SOURCE character (which you want copied to the TARGET location). Press <EN- TER> to copy that character to your TARGET location. ALT-I - Invert the character. All of the pixels are reversed. Pixels which are on will turn off, and the pixels which are off will turn on. Insert - Insert a blank pixel at the current cursor position. All pixels to the right are shifted to the right one column-space. Delete - Delete pixel at the current cursor position. All pixels to the right are shifted to the left. * F2 - Save font. (Same as ALT-S) See SAVING FONT * "SAVE" option available only with REGISTERED VERSION of FONT MANIA 5 F3 - Load font. (Same as ALT-L) See LOADING FONT. F5 - Flip vertical. Directly inverts character, but does not reverse it horizontally. F6 - Flip Horizontal. Creates a "mirror image." F7 - Copy row. All pixels below the cursor are shifted down one row. F8 - Copy column. All pixels to the right of the cursor are shifted to the right once. ESC - Exit FONT MANIA. The font you edited will be left active. Type, and text will appear onscreen in its altered (custom) form. To reset the font, type the following DOS command: MODE CO80 (Note: 2nd character is letter O, last is zero.) then press <ENTER>. You are encouraged to try all of these commands. After all, it is the best way to learn how to use FONT MANIA. Notice that CTRL commands will usually delete something, and ALT commands usually add something to the editing character. CTRL-A, S, W, and Z are easy to remember. Notice where A, S, W, and Z are placed on the keyboard. ILLUSTRATION SHOWING HOW FONTS MAY BE EDITED TO ALTER THEIR STYLE: ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓ ▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓ ▓▓▓▓█ █▓ ▓▓▓▓█ █▓ ▓▓ ▓▓▓█ █▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓█ █▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓█ █▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓█ █ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓█ █▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓█ █▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓█ █▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓█ █ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓█ █▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓█ █▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓█ █▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓█ █ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓█ █▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓█ █▓ ▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓█ █ ▓▓█ █▓ ▓▓▓█ █▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓█ █▓▓ ▓▓▓▓█ █ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓█ █▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓█ █▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓█ █▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓█ █ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓█ █▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓█ █▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓█ █▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓█ █ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓█ █▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓█ █▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓█ █▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓█ █ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓█ █▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓█ █▓ ▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓ ▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ┌────────┐ ┌───────┐ ┌────────┐ ┌───────┐ │ORIGINAL│ │ALTERED│ │ORIGINAL│ │ALTERED│ └────────┘ └───────┘ └────────┘ └───────┘ Create a new font style by altering your default font to a taller, thinner font by deleting some pixels and adding others. Do the same to each letter of the alphabet. Save, and you have a brand new letterstyle! Once you are "in the swing of it" each letter takes less than 1 minute to revise. 6 USING MENUS: FONT MANIA has been written as a menu-driven program to make it easier to learn and use. FONT MANIA has 5 different menus: FILE, SCAN LINE, FONT, HEIGHT, and GLOBAL. To activate a menu, press and hold the ALT key, then press a key corresponding to the highlighted letter in a menu title. Use arrow keys to select the items in the menu or to change to another menu once you have accessed one of them. FILE menu: Contains 8 items: Save, Save As..., Save ASM, Save PAS, Save C, Save BIN, Load, About, and Exit. Selecting from among these items will permit the use of the following functions: Save: Selecting this item is the same as using ALT-S or F2 command. Font Mania will save the font in COM format. See SAVING FONT for more information. Save As...: Selecting this tiem is the same as using ALT-A. Font Mania will prompt you to enter a filename for the font. See SAVING FONT for more information. Save ASM: Save the font in ASSEMBLY text file format. See SAVING FONT for more information. Save PAS: Save the font in PASCAL format. See SAVING FONT for more information. Save C: Save the font in C header file format. See SAVING FONT for more information. Save BIN: Save the font in raw BINARY format. See SAVING FONT for more information. Load: Selecting this item is identical to using ALT-L. FONT MANIA loads the saved font file (COM format only) and reinitializes itself. See LOADING FONT for more information. About...: Displays information about FONT MANIA. 7 Exit: Selecting this item is the same as pressing ESC. FONT MANIA will ask if you really want to exit the program. If the font has been modified after the last saving of the font in COM file format, FONT MANIA then ask if you want to save the font. SCAN LINE menu: Contains 3 items: 2OO, 35O, and 4OO. Each of the numbers cor- responds to the number of scan lines on your monitor screen. This scan line changing feature is operable only on VGA systems. If you have EGA and try to change the scan line, FONT MANIA will display an ERROR message. EGA always has 35O scan lines. FONT menu: Contains 3 items: 8, 14, and 16 points. Each of the items cor- responds to your computer's ROM BIOS font. EGA systems have only 8 or 14 point fonts. 16 point font is available on VGA systems. Once you select a font, FONT MANIA loads the corresponding font into the edit- ting buffer and resets itself. WARNING: When a font is selected from the FONT menu, if you have been editing another font your changes will be lost unless you first save your revised font for future use. HEIGHT menu: Contains 16 numbers which correspond to the height to which a font may be changed. The font being edited is NOT lost when this option is used. If the height selected from this menu is greater than the height of the current font, the current font will "STRETCH" to the height selected. If the height selected is shorter than the current height, one or more lines at the bottom of the block will be lost. If this occurs there is no command which will restore the missing part. If characters are moved up (global CTRL-W) leaving blank lines at the bottom of the font block, a lesser height may then be selected without causing destruction of the lowermost pixels of the characters. WARNING: Selection of a short height may cause characters to be so truncated that the program's menu will be il- legible! Should this occur, you must immediately press these keys in sequence: ESC/Y/N/SPACE and type MODE CO80. If done right, rebooting is not needed. IMPORTANT: SCANLINE and FONT HEIGHT must "match" in order to make a perfect 25-line display when the font is used. The following chart indicates the corre- sponding values for SCANLINE and FONT HEIGHT: SCANLINE FONT HEIGHT 2OO 8 35O 14 4OO 16 8 GLOBAL menu: This menu contains some of the editing commands which are likely to be used for all characters simultaneously. Each of the functions listed in the GLOBAL menu perform the same function as the editing commands, but on the complete set of characters rather than only one character. By using different combinations of HEIGHT, FONT and SCAN LINES, you can create a screen which can display, almost anywhere, between 12 and 4OO lines on a VGA system!!! SAVING A CUSTOM EDITED FONT: FONT MANIA offers many saving formats: COM, ASSEMBLY, PASCAL, C, and BINARY. The standard format is COM file. This is also the only format which FONT MANIA can load. COM: Saving in COM format is very simple. You can press ALT-S, ALT- A, or F2 while the editing screen is visible. If you use ALT-S or F2, and the font file already has a name, FONT MANIA will save the file using that name and overwrite the old file. If the font has not yet been named, or if you use ALT-A, FONT MANIA will ask if you want to save it in 4O column mode. If you press 'Y', the resultant COM file will change the screen mode to 4O columns when excuted, rather than 8O columns otherwise. Then FONT MANIA will prompt you for the name of the file. Enter the file name of your choice, including path if desired, with no extension. The exten- sion COM will be added automatically. After saving you will be re- turned to the editing screen. ASSEMBLY: To save in ASSEMBLY format, you must select Save ASM from the FILE menu. You will be asked for the filename. Again, no extension is needed. The extension ASM will be automatically added to the end of the file name. After the name is entered you will be prompted for a reference to be used. This is the name used as the label for the font data. You will be returned to the editing screen after FONT MANIA has completed these two saves. PASCAL: To save in PASCAL format, select Save PAS from the FILE menu. You will be asked for the filename. Again, no extension is needed. The extension PAS will be automatically added. When prompted for a reference, enter a name to be used as the label for the font data. You will be returned to the editing screen after the save. 9 C: To save in C Header format, select Save C from the FILE menu. You will be asked for the filename. Again, no extension is needed. Extension H will be automatically added to the end of the file name. After the file name is entered, you will be prompted for a reference. This is the name to be used as the label for the font data. You will be returned to the editing screen after FONT MANIA saves the file. BINARY: To save in raw BINARY format, select Save BIN. No extension is needed; extension BIN is automatically added to the end of the file name. After entering the file name, you will be asked for a reference. This is the name to be used as the label for the font data. You will be returned to the editing screen after FONT MANIA saves the files. This format is for use with langua- ges other than the languages above. NOTE: SAVE options are available with REGISTERED VERSION of FONT MANIA ONLY LOADING A FONT: There are 3 ways to load a font for editing. Because FONT MANIA will use whichever font is active at the time FONT MANIA is loaded, you may first load a font (COM file) and then run FONT MANIA. This method is somewhat unreliable, especially if the cur- rent screen mode is 4O columns. It is preferable to use the com- mand line method to effect loading of the font and FONT MANIA together. To load a font using the command line method, type the following at the DOS prompt and then press <ENTER>. FM [filename] In the above command "filename" is the name of a FONT MANIA COM file. The file will be loaded automatically. To load a different font while FONT MANIA is in operation, use ALT-L or choose "Load" from the filemenu which is accessed with ALT-F. You will be prompted for a filename. After entering the filename FONT MANIA will load the font and reinitialize itself. USING COM FONT FILES: COM files are easiest to use. Just type the name of the COM file at the DOS prompt; font will be loaded and the SCAN LINE will be set (on VGA systems). For example, to load the font file named COM_DEMO.COM type the following command and press <ENTER>: COM_DEMO 1O As the file is loaded the scan line will be set to the correct scan line setting (VGA systems only). The font will be active as long as there is no change in video mode and no other font is loaded. If it is desired to have a particular font remain active, it may be loaded as a memory-resident program with the use of the R option. For ex- ample, type this at the DOS prompt followed by <ENTER>: COM_DEMO R The font will be loaded and remain resident in memory until the compu- ter is reset or turned off. Such a memory-resident font will reload whenever a change occurs in video mode, but graphics will not be af- fected. To see how much memory is used by a font file, run ZMEM.EXE (Comes with the REGISTERED VERSION of FONT MANIA). USING OTHER FONT FILE FORMATS: In general a program must use the ROM BIOS interrupt 1OH (16), the screen control interrupt, function 11H sub-function 1OH to load the font. The following are the parameters needed to call the interrupt: AH = 11H AL = 1OH BH = points (bytes per character) BL = block (use O) CX = number of character defined by table (256) DX = first character code in table (use O) ES = segment of the table BP = offset of the table For PASCAL, ASSEMBLY and C see the following files for examples of the above. These may be typed to the screen or printed: PAS_DEMO.PAS ASM_DEMO.ASM C_DEMO.C For other languages, a programmer might use the COM file format by shelling out to DOS to load the COM file. For example, in Quick Basic the following command may be utilized: SHELL "COM_DEMO.COM" Alternately, the BINARY format may be used by loading the content of the file into a memory buffer, putting the memory address of that buffer into ES:BP, filling in the parameters, and then calling inter- rupt 1OH. Do not use the R command line when shelling out to run a font COM file. This action will generate a fatal error which will halt the system. NOTE: The compiled programs PAS_DEMO.EXE, ASM_DEMO.COM & C_DEMO.COM are also enclosed. Can not be loaded into FM because they are not FM COM files. They may be converted to FM COM files with the registered edition of Font Mania. 11 CREATING SPECIAL EFFECTS The spceial effects used in the DEMO program are quite easy to make with FONT MANIA. Some effects are done by combining two or more characters. Here are several examples showing how you may create special effects with FONT MANIA: INITIALS: In this effect, once the COM file is loaded, typing one key will produce a word, name or initials in miniature letters. It is quite easy to alter a character (or more than one, if you like) to achieve this effect. Pick any character you want to convert to its new use. You might select characters such as < and > for example, and totally change each of them: "<" ">" ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ █ ▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █ ▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █ ▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █ ▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █ ▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █ ▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓ █ █▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓ █ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓ █ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓ █ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ █ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ Whenever the font containing these 2 designs is active, typing "<" will create a small "UT" initial, and printing ">" will create "LOU". These are just sample letters and designs. You may use any letter, numeral or character you wish. 12 BUTTONS: One way to create "buttons" is to modify any 4 characters to the following designs: "{" "|" "}" "*" ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█▓▓ ▓▓█▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█▓▓ ▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ █ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ █ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ █ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓█▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓█▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█▓▓ ▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓█▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓█▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓█▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓█▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓█▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓█▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█▓▓ ▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓█▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ █ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ █ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ █ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█▓▓ ▓▓█▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█▓▓ ▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ For the example, use the characters shown above the designs to create the buttons. The above is just a sample design for 14- point fonts. You are not limited to this design, of course. It is not difficult to see how these redesigned characters may be put together to make buttons. When the font COM file contain- ing these designs is active, typing "{|}" will create an unselect button, and "{*}" will create a select button, Just as in the DEMO. GUIDED MISSILE: The missile used in the demonstration was constructed of four characters strung together. Below are the designs and the char- acters used to make a guided missile: "=" "]" "-" ">" ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ ▓▓▓▓▓▓█▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓ ▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓█ ▓▓▓▓█▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █ ▓▓ ▓▓ █ █ █ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ █ █ █ ▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓ ▓▓ █ █ █ ▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ █ █ █ █ █▓▓ ▓▓ █ █ █ ▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ █ █ █ ▓▓▓▓▓█ █ ▓▓ ▓▓ █ █ █ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓ ▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓█ ▓▓▓▓█▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ ▓▓▓▓▓▓█▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ 13 In the preceding example the equals sign (=) has been rede- signed to be the flame, the bracket (]) becomes the tail piece, the minus sign (-) is the body of the missile, and the greater- than symbol (>) the head of the missile. When the font contain- ing this design is active, typing (or having a program "print") this string: "=]--->" will create a missile pointing to the right. Notice the use of more than one minus sign in the string. By in- cluding more than 1 body character the missile becomes as long as desired. To create left-to-right movement, your program must print the missile with a leading space: " =]--->". First print the string at the far left edge of the screen, beginning in column 1. Then re- print the same string 1 character to the right of the first string so it overlaps the original. The leading space will automatically erase the unwanted part of the first missile-image on the screen. AN ANIMATED CHARACTER: As in other simulated animations, the secret behind creating an animated character is the display of a sequence of slightly differ- ent characters at one location. For example, you may create these designs with the 1-through-5 numeral characters: "1" "2" "3" ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █ ▓▓█ █ ▓▓█ █ ▓▓█ █ ▓▓█ █ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓█ █ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓█ █ ▓▓█ █ ▓▓█ █ ▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓█ █ ▓▓█ █ ▓▓█ █ ▓▓█ █▓▓ ▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓ ▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓ ▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓ ▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓ ▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓ ▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓ ▓▓ ▓▓ ▓▓▓▓█ █ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓█ █ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓█ █ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓█ █ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓█ █ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓█ █ ▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓ ▓▓█ █ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓█ █ ▓▓▓ ▓▓▓ ▓▓█ █ ▓▓ ▓▓ ▓▓█ █ ▓▓█ █ ▓▓█ █ ▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ "4" "5" ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █ ▓▓█ █ ▓▓█ █ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓█ █ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓█ █ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓█ █ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓█ █ ▓▓ ▓▓█ █ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓█ █▓▓ ▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓ ▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓ ▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓ ▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓ ▓▓▓▓█ █ ▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓ ▓▓█ █ ▓▓█ █ ▓▓█ █ ▓▓█ █ ▓▓█ █ ▓▓█ █ ▓▓█ █ ▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ 14 Because each character differs just slightly from the first one, simply create the first one "pixel by pixel" in Font Mania. Then use the ALT-C "copy" command to create 4 copies; modify the copies as shown here. By displaying these five characters in sequence at one location on the screen, the illusion of an hourglass with fall- ing sand is created. With a time-delay after each character's dis- play, plus a loop, the animation of a character which is no larger than one uppercase letter is easily created! These few examples of special effects which may be made with FONT MANIA provide a mere hint of possibilities. There is no limit to effects which may be created with altered fonts made by FONT MANIA. LETTERS "RUNNING TOGETHER": Characters which are the full width of the block will be correct when used with a VGA monitor, but the letters will "run together" on an EGA monitor. The enclosed sample font file POOTER.COM is in this category. Wide fonts may be made narrower for use on EGA systems by reducing their width, as we did by narrowing the POOTER font and saving it as POOTER2.COM. To make the letters and numerals narrower, we used Font Mania to remove one vertical column from each character with CTRL-X. In some cases we added a pixel or two to improve a let- ter's appearance. If we made an error, we restored the original font with CTRL-D and tried again. The conversion of POOTER to POOTER2 was accomplished in less than 1O minutes. Try not to lose sight of the possibility of your fonts being used on an EGA system. ILLUSTRATION SHOWING HOW THE POOTER FONT WAS EDITED TO MAKE POOTER2: ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓x▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓ ▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓ x ▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓ █ █▓▓▓▓ ▓x▓▓▓ █ █▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓ ▓█ █▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓ █ █▓▓▓▓ ▓x▓▓▓ █ █▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓ ▓█ █▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓ █ █▓▓▓▓ ▓x▓▓▓ █ █▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓ ▓█ █▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓ █ █▓▓ ▓x▓▓▓ █ █▓▓ ▓▓▓▓ ▓█ █ █ █ x █ █ ▓█ █ ▓▓▓▓▓▓ █ █ ▓▓x▓▓▓ █ █ ▓▓▓▓▓ ▓█ █ ▓▓▓▓▓▓ █ █ ▓▓x▓▓▓ █ █ ▓▓▓▓▓ ▓█ █ ▓▓▓▓▓▓ █ █ ▓▓x▓▓▓ █ █ ▓▓▓▓▓ ▓█ █ ▓▓▓▓▓▓ █ █ ▓▓x▓▓▓ █ █ ▓▓▓▓▓ ▓█ █ ▓▓▓▓▓▓ █ █ ▓▓x▓▓▓ █ █ ▓▓▓▓▓ ▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓x▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓x▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓x▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓x▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ORIGINAL "A" EDITED "A" FILLS WIDTH OF BLOCK ONE COLUMN REMOVED PIXELS AUTOMATICALLY (TOO WIDE FOR EGA) RELOCATE LEFT AS SHOWN The font files POOTER.COM, POOTER2.COM and JULIE.COM are enclosed for you to load, experiment with, and use. 15 REGISTRATION: This document is part of the ShareWare Version of FONT MANIA. Feel free to make copies for distribution to friends and colleagues. Shareware Font Mania may be freely posted on BBSes so long as the complete package of files is kept together in unaltered form. Be aware of the fact that the shareware version of Font Mania cannot create a font COM file or save the font in any format. However, any altered font made with the shareware version will remain in effect on the computer after you exit the program. It will be lost if the video mode is reset, as may occur if another program is loaded. If it is desired to reset the video mode to the default font of your computer, type the following command at the DOS prompt and press <ENTER>: MODE CO80 To be able to save your creations, send for the registered ver- sion of FONT MANIA. The registration fee is $1O.OO. Add $2.OO per order for shipping and handling ($4.OO outside North America). Add $1.OO if a 3.5" diskette is needed. To register, print the registra- tion form which is included as REG.FRM. To print this form, turn on your printer, set your paper to begin printing at the top edge, and type the following command at the DOS prompt, followed by <ENTER>: COPY REG.FRM PRN All orders for the registered version of FONT MANIA must be sent to the following address with payment in full (cash, check or money order): REXXCOM SYSTEMS P.O. BOX 111 SCHOOLEY'S MTN., NJ O787O USA Remember to include your name, address, zip code, and phone number. Sorry, no credit card or C.O.D. Make checks payable to: REXXCOM SYSTEMS Thank you. 16