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FONT MANIA USER MANUAL � ����������
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FONT MANIA �
Unregistered Version 2.2 � ����������
EGA/VGA TEXT FONT EDITOR � ��
BY Ut... � ��
COPYRIGHT (C) 1992 REXXCOM SYSTEMS � ��
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T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S
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Requirements..................................................1
Overview......................................................1
Quick Tour....................................................2
Using FONT MANIA..............................................3
Editing commands..............................................4
Using menus...................................................6
Saving Fonts..................................................9
Loading Fonts................................................10
Using COM Font Files.........................................11
Installing a Memory Resident Font............................11
Using Other File Formats.....................................12
Creating Special Effects.....................................13
Letters "Running Together"...................................17
Automatic Mode Reset.........................................18
Creating Tall, Small and Wide Fonts..........................18
Restoring the Default Font...................................19
Copying, Distribution and Registration.......................19

Illustrations...............................6,13,14,15,16,17,18

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Note: If this document is printed on a printer which does not fully


support the extended character set, portions of the document
will not print correctly. These portions include the name
REXXCOM which appears on the right of the title page, plus the
illustrations.
i
Requirements:

IBM computer or 100% compatible "clone"


DOS 2.0 or higher
EGA, VGA, or 100% compatible video system
At least 80k 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.
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 yellow 'A' in a black 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 press the tab key (that's the key with right and
left arrows on it). The entire character set will appear in place of
the editing area. Move the cursor in various directions. Press the
Enter key to return to the editing area ... it will now contain a
large image of the character your cursor was on when you pressed the
Enter key.

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. 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.)

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?!
2
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. (Functions when editing area is visible;
does not function when character set is visible.)

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 or that
Font Mania has not been provided with the name of the font during the
current session.

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.
3
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 black
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.

ALT-H, V - Fill (turn all pixels on) the Horizontal or


Vertical line.

TAB - Select from the character set. The large yellow-


on-black font disappears to be replaced by the char-
acter table. 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.

4
CTRL-B - Mark the beggining of block

CTRL-E - Mark the ending of block

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-A - Save as... (Permits entering a [new] filename)

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. See SAVING FONTS

F3 - Load font. 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.
5
ESC - Exit FONT MANIA. The font you edited will be left
active. Type, and text will appear onscreen in
its altered (custom) form. To restore the compu-
ter's default 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 these commands. After all, it is the
best way to learn 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:


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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.

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 BLOCK. To activate a menu, make sure
the editing area is visible rather than the character set. 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.

6
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 F2 command. Font
Mania will save the font in COM format. See SAVING FONTS for more
information. If 'FILE NAME' shows a name, that name will be used
and you will NOT be warned that the file already exists.

Save As...:
Selecting this item is the same as using ALT-A. Font Mania
will prompt you to enter a filename for the font. See SAVING FONTS
for more information. If you enter the name of an existing file
you will be warned of that fact.

Save ASM:
Save the font in ASSEMBLY text file format. See SAVING FONTS
for more information.

Save PAS:
Save the font in PASCAL format. See SAVING FONTS for more
information.

Save C:
Save the font in C header file format. See SAVING FONTS for
more information.

Save BIN:
Save the font in raw BINARY format. See SAVING FONTS for more
information.

Load:
Selecting this item is identical to using F3. 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.

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: 200, 350, and 400. 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.

7
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 (block 'Move up') leaving blank lines at
the bottom of the font block, a lesser height may be selected without
causing deletion 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 <ESC> followed by 'Y' and then type MODE CO80
and <ENTER>. If done with care rebooting is not
needed. It is a good idea to write this on a "Post-
it" note and stick it on your wall!

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

200 8
350 14
400 16

By using different combinations of HEIGHT, FONT and SCAN LINES,


you can create a screen which can display, almost anywhere, between 12
and 400 lines on a VGA system!!!

BLOCK menu:

This menu contains some of the editing commands which are


likely to be used for all characters or for a block of characters
simultaneously. Each of the functions listed in the BLOCK menu
perform the same function as the editing commands, but on the
set (block) of characters rather than only one character.

8
One unique function in this BLOCK menu is the BLOCK LOAD*
function. This option is similar to LOAD in the FILE menu, but in-
stead of replacing the current font by loading another entire font
file, BLOCK loads only the character(s) in the current block. Thus
it is easy to combine different portions (one or more characters) of
more than one font COM file. The uses of this feature are many. Just
as an example, if for some reason you wanted lowercase text to appear
in one style and uppercase in another style, you could "block copy"
lowercase from one font COM to another. To set your block, press the
Tab key to bring the entire character set to the screen. Place the
cursor on the first character of the desired block and press B (for
"Begin"). Then move the cursor to the last character of the block and
press E ("End"). Now Tab again and select BLOCK LOAD. Type the name
of the font COM from which you want to load the characters of the
block. In an instant the job will be done!

Similarly, you may combine 2 sets of uppercase characters, one


style to appear when caps lock is "on" and the other when it is "off."
First copy "A" to the "a" location within one COM file; continue
through the alphabet and save the file as TEMP.COM. Load a COM file of
a different font style and mark the lowercase characters as a block.
Then BLOCK LOAD that block from TEMP.COM and you will have a new font
COM file with two sets of uppercase characters. Another use for the
block load/block copy option is to move special characters from one
font COM file to another, as when you have a file containing a nicely
shaped star or skull or special logo, and you want to copy it into a
different font COM file. How would you like to have a text appear on
the screen with your signature in script at the bottom? Load a script
font COM (you'll get one with the registered version) and copy the
letters of your name to characters not used in your text. If you are
Tom Pane, copy T to !, o to @, m to # and so forth. Save the file as
TEMP.COM and then block load !@#$%^& to the COM you'll use for your
text. When you type !@# $%^& Tom Pane will appear in "handwriting!"

SAVING FONTS:

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 executed,
rather than 8O columns. Then FONT MANIA will prompt you for a file
name. Enter a name, including path if desired, with no extension.
If there is an existing file of the same name you will be alerted
to avoid overwriting it. The extension COM will be added automat-
ically. After saving you will be returned to the editing screen.
*The block load and block copy options are available in the registered version
of Font Mania.

9
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.

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
responding values for SCANLINE and FONT HEIGHT:

SCANLINE FONT HEIGHT

200 8
350 14
400 16

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
languages other than the languages above.

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 the program 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]

10
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

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.

INSTALLING A MEMORY RESIDENT FONT:

If it is desired to have a particular font remain active during


the running of various programs, it may be loaded as a memory-resident
program with the use of the R or I options. For example, type this at
the DOS prompt followed by <ENTER>:

COM_DEMO I

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).

The command line options which are available are:

<filename> [B#] [H|?] [I|R|U]

<filename> - name of the COM file


B# - specify character generator block to use
(should be set to 0)
H - display help
? - same as above
I - install font in memory
R - permanently install font in memory
U - uninstall font from memory.

One a font is installed in memory, the following three keyboard com-


mands will be available:
11
CTRL+ALT+E - enables automatic font loading
CTRL+ALT+D - disables automatic font loading
CTRL+ALT+F - user-requested unconditional font loading

For example, suppose you want to load the font into the character
generator block 0 and install the font in the memory. You would
use the command:

AMB b0 i

then press enter. Notice the use of the 'I' option. This option
enables you to uninstall the font from memory at any time with
the 'U' option. For example, to uninstall AMB.COM type the fol-
lowing:

AMB u

If you ever encounter software compatibility problems when using


the I option, try the R option instead. But be aware of the fact
that when the R option is employed the font COM may not be removed
from memory without restarting or resetting the computer. It may,
however, be temporarily disabled with keyboard commands mentioned
above.

USING OTHER FONT FILE FORMATS:

In general a program must use the ROM BIOS interrupt 10H (16), the
screen control interrupt, function 11H sub-function 10H to load the
font. The following are the parameters needed to call the interrupt:

AH = 11H
AL = 10H
BH = points (bytes per character)
BL = block (use 0)
CX = number of character defined by table (256)
DX = first character code in table (use 0)
ES = segment of the table
BP = offset of the table

For ASSEMBLY, C, and PASCAL, 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:
12
SHELL "AMB.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.

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:

"<" ">"

������������������ ������������������
� ������ ������� � ���������������
� ������ ������� � ���������������
� ������ ������� � ���������������
� ������ ������� � �����������
� ������ ������� ۲����������������
� ������� ۲��� �����
۲���������������� ۲��� ���� �����
۲����� � ۲��� ���� �����
۲��������� ����� ۲��� �����
۲��������� ����� ۲����������������
۲��������� ����� ۲������� ���� �
۲��������� ����� ۲������� ���� �
۲��������� ����� ۲������� ���� �
۲���������������� ۲������� �
������������������ ������������������

Whenever the font containing these 2 designs is active, typing


"<" will create a small "UT" initial, and typing ">" will create
"LOU". These are just sample letters and designs. You may use
any letter, numeral or design you wish.

13
BUTTONS:

One way to create "buttons" is to modify any 4 characters to


the following designs:

"{" "|" "}" "*"

���������������������������������������������������������������������
۲���������������۲� ��۲���������������۲�
���
۲������������� � ������������ � ���������������
������������ �
۲����������� ��۲���������������۲� ������������۲���
�����
۲��������� ����۲���������������۲��� ����������۲�
���
۲��������� ����۲���������������۲��� �����������

۲������� ������۲���������������۲����� ���������

۲������� ������۲���������������۲����� ���������

۲������� ������۲���������������۲����� ���������

۲��������� ����۲���������������۲��� �����������

۲��������� ����۲���������������۲��� ����������۲�
���
۲����������� ��۲���������������۲� ������������۲���
�����
۲������������� � ������������ � ���������������
������������ �
۲���������������۲� ��۲���������������۲�
���

۲���������������۲���������������۲���������������۲��������
��������
���������������������������������������������������������������������

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.
14
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:

"=" "]" "-" ">"

���������������������������������������������������������������������

۲���������������۲���������������۲���������������۲��������
��������
۲����������������
��������۲���������������۲����������������
۲� �������������
������۲���������������۲����������������
۲��� �� �������
����۲���������������۲����������������
� �� �� � � � �������������
۲����������� � � �
������
۲� �� � � � ���
۲��� �������� � � �

۲� �� � � � ���
۲����������� � � �
������
� �� �� � � � �������������
۲��� �� �������
����۲���������������۲����������������
۲� �������������
������۲���������������۲����������������
۲����������������
��������۲���������������۲����������������
���������������������������������������������������������������������

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.

15
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
hourglass designs with the 1-through-5 numeral characters:

"1" "2" "3"


������������������ ������������������ ������������������
۲���������������� ۲����������������
۲����������������
� ��� � ��� � ���
� ��� � ���������� ��� � ���������� ���
� ��� � ��� � ������ ���
� ��� � ��� � ���
۲� ����� ۲� ����� ۲� �����
۲��� ������� ۲��� �� ������� ۲��� �������
۲��� �� ������� ۲��� ������� ۲��� �� �������
۲� ������ ����� ۲� ������ ����� ۲� �� �� �����
� ���������� ��� � ���������� ��� � ���������� ���
� ���������� ��� � ���������� ��� � ���� ���� ���
� ���������� ��� � ��� ��� ��� � �� �� ���
� ��� � ��� � ���
۲���������������� ۲����������������
۲����������������
������������������ ������������������ ������������������

"4" "5"
������������������ ������������������
۲���������������� ۲����������������
� ��� � ���
� ���������� ��� � ���������� ���
� ���������� ��� � ���������� ���
� �� ��� � ���������� ���
۲� ����� ۲� ������ �����
۲��� ������� ۲��� �� �������
۲��� �� ������� ۲��� �� �������
۲� ������ ����� ۲� �����
� ���� ���� ��� � ���
� ��� � ���
� ��� � ���
� ��� � ���
۲���������������� ۲����������������
������������������ ������������������

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!

16
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 samples, JULIE.COM and POOTER.COM are 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:
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~
������������������ ������������������ ������������������
۲���������������� ۲������xx��������
۲����������������
۲��� ��� ۲��� xx ��� ۲��� �����
۲��� ����� � ۲��� xx��� � ۲��� ��� ���
۲��� ����� � ۲��� xx��� � ۲��� ��� ���
۲��� ����� � ۲��� xx��� � ۲��� ��� ���
۲� ����� � ۲� xx��� � ۲� ��� ���
� � � xx � � ���
� ������ � � �xx��� � � ���� ���
� ������ � � �xx��� � � ���� ���
� ������ � � �xx��� � � ���� ���
� ������ � � �xx��� � � ���� ���
� ������ � � �xx��� � � ���� ���
۲���������������� ۲������xx��������
۲����������������
۲���������������� ۲������xx��������
۲����������������
۲���������������� ۲������xx��������
۲����������������
۲���������������� ۲������xx��������
۲����������������
������������������ ������������������ ������������������
ORIGINAL "A" EDITED "A"
FILLS WIDTH OF BLOCK ONE COLUMN REMOVED PIXELS AUTOMATICALLY
(TOO WIDE FOR EGA) RELOCATE LEFT AS SHOWN
17
AUTOMATIC MODE RESET:

In saving a font, selecting "automatic mode reset" will cause the


scanline of a VGA system to reset to an EGA scanline if you you have
chosen a scanline of 350 (font height should also be set at 14). The
included file CHUNKY.COM is in this category. There are often advan-
tages to using the EGA scanline. For example, this row of extended
characters appears as a solid bar of dots when the EGA scanline is
used:

��������������������������������������������������

The same row will appear as 50 dotted rectangles if the VGA scanline
is in effect. NOTE: An EGA system can not be reset to a VGA scanline.

A font which is not saved with automatic mode reset may produce a
small problem when it is installed on a system other than the one on
which it was created. For example, a font created on a VGA system
will be slightly "taller" if used with EGA, and the listing of a long
file directory will result in the apparent "disappearance" of the DOS
prompt and cursor below the bottom line of the screen. If this occurs
do not panic. Simply clear the screen with the CLS command and your
DOS prompt and cursor will reappear in the top left corner. The re-
verse effect will occur if a font made on an EGA system is displayed
on a VGA monitor. 25 lines of text will not extend to the bottom of
the screen, because each line will be vertically "stunted." To pre-
vent these minor annoyances when you anticipate that your font may be
used on both systems, save it as a 14-point font with a scanline of
350 and select automatic mode reset. If this is done, the font height
will not vary regardless of whether it is used with VGA or EGA.

There are times when it is advantageous not to use the automatic mode
reset. For example, if you want the text on the screen to "magically"
change to a different font, you must have the 2nd font saved without
automatic mode reset. Otherwise the screen will blank during the mode
set and the change will not appear as magical.

CREATING TALL, SMALL, AND WIDE FONTS:

Use ALT-N and ALT-O to select various combinations of scanline and


point size before saving a font. Then exit the program and check the
results. Also try saving a font in 40 column mode rather than the
usual 80 column mode. When this is done, you must reload the font
after exiting Font Mania. Experimentation will teach you more than
we can provide here, and you will enjoy discovering the combinations
which will provide the tallest and widest fonts as well as the tiniest
ones.
18
RESTORING THE DEFAULT FONT:

The default font style is that which appears on your screen when
you start your computer. Your computer has one particular font or
lettering style stored in its read-only memory or ROM. When a COM
file created in Font Mania is put into use, at a later time you may
wish to return to the default font. This will happen automatically
each time your computer is started or reset, unless your AUTOEXEC.BAT
file is set up to load a font COM. However, it is not necessary to
reset the computer to return the default font to the screen. If
neither the I nor R option has been used in loading the font COM file,
typing the following DOS command will restore the default font after
the Enter key is pressed: mode CO80

If the font COM file has been installed with the I option, it must be
uninstalled with the U option. This will restore the default font.
If the font COM is one which resets the video mode, restoring the
default font will not restore the computer's default video mode (EGA
or VGA scanline) if it has been changed. To restore the video mode or
scanline run EGA.COM or VGA.COM (included with registered Font Mania).
VGA.COM has no effect if you are using a system with an EGA monitor.
If you write a batch file or program which resets the video mode, and
you anticipate its use on both EGA and VGA systems, you may end the
file with commands which run EGA.COM followed by VGA.COM. In this way
you may be assured the system will be reset to both the default font
and the default video mode or scanline.

COPYING, DISTRIBUTION AND REGISTRATION:

Shareware (unregistered) Font Mania may be freely posted on


BBSs, listed in shareware catalogs and copied for friends, as long as
the complete package of files is kept together in unaltered form.
You may use the unregistered edition of Font Mania for two weeks free
of charge. After that time, if you decide you want to continue using
it, you must become a registered user. When you register you will
receive the following by return mail:

1. The registered version, with block-load/block copy functions


2. At least 24 ready-to-use custom fonts in the form of COM files
3. CGA.COM, EGA.COM, VGA.COM video mode/scanline utilities
4. The program ZMEM - the "memory walker" program
5. The program UFF - the file-finder program
6. User support to answer your questions
7. Other programs and utilities which you will enjoy using

Please complete the registration form which follows, and mail with
payment in full. Thank you.

If you have questions regarding the use of Font Mania you may write to
REXXCOM at the address on the registration form, or leave a message on
CompuServe. Address Email to CompuServe ID 72656,2765.
19
======================================================================
FONT MANIA Version 2.2 REGISTRATION FORM
======================================================================

NAME: ________________________________________________________

ADDRESS: ________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________
(Include ZIP code or equivalent)

PHONE: (______)- _______ - __________________

DISK SIZE (check one):

[ ] 3.5" [ ] 5.25"

======================================================================

DESCRIPTION QTY. EACH Total

Registered version of FONT MANIA _______ X $17.00 = __________


Includes block-load/block-copy functions

The following will be included at no extra charge:


- 24 or more ready-to-use custom fonts (COM files)
- The program ZMEM - the "memory walker" program
(take a walk through your memory!)
- VGA.COM, EGA.COM, CGA.COM utilities to emulate
or reset VGA, EGA, or CGA scanlines on VGA monitors
- The program UFF - the file finder program
- User support by mail or CompuServe EMail
- Other programs which you will enjoy using

Add $1.00 for each 3.5" diskette _______ X $1.00 = __________

Shipping & handling ($2.00 US & Canada; $5.00 elsewhere)= __________

New Jersey residents, please add 7% sale tax = __________

TOTAL = __________

Enclose cash, check or money order payable to:

REXXCOM SYSTEMS

Always send cash by certified mail.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mail this form with payment in full to:

REXXCOM SYSTEMS
P.O. BOX 111
SCHOOLEY'S MTN., NJ 07870
THANK YOU.

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