tdrga@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Todd Drga) (05/20/91)
My questions to the net: What do I have to do to use some of the Mac fonts that I have found archived on various FTP servers? What program will convert the to GDOS (or other) fonts that I can use? I am interested in using the fonts for DTP and screen fonts. I am ignorant when it comes to Mac file structure, systems, etc. The doc files for some of the fonts mention things like 'Font DA Mover file' 'suitcase file' 'resource forks' etc. what do these mean *to me* as an Atari user? How easy is it to convert these various file types into something my machine can read/use? Are there UnBinHex and UnStuffIt programs for the ST or UNIX? Or do I have to find a Mac to unarchive these files? (I have a general idea what BinHex and StuffIt do - they are comparable to uuencode and ARC/LZH, respectively - or is this not the case) Thanks, Todd (E-mail replies if you have to explain something really trivial that I got wrong. Otherwise, post if it is of general interest) -- = INTERNET-> tdrga@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Todd Drga, UT Dept. of Drama) = = = = ' The dry grass will set fire to the damp grass ' = = = = African proverb brought to the Americas by slaves =
bart@bluemoon.uucp (Bart Jaszcz) (05/20/91)
tdrga@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Todd Drga) writes: > My questions to the net: > > What do I have to do to use some of the Mac fonts that I have found archived > on various FTP servers? What program will convert the to GDOS (or other) > fonts that I can use? I am interested in using the fonts for DTP and screen > fonts. Font DA (desk accessory) mover is an application on the mac that adds fonts or desk accessories to the system file... in other words, it sort of puts them in the assign.sys file (or root dir for accesories) The fonts are not (I repeat: are not) separate files... they come in bunches... like 20 fonts in one file... GDOS fonts come one by one (great system... I love my atari... why make things complicated???) I have no idea what the file format of the font files on the mac is... that's just the thing with the mac... you never know what the hell is going on in your computer... however, I'm an expert on gdos fonts... I just finished a program that outputs them to my 9 pin dot matrix without using gdos, or any system routines for that matter. So, if you find some specs on the mac fonts, and need help converting them... let me know, maybe I'll throw some ideas at you or something. :) Bart This is from bart@bluemoon.uucp bart%bluemoon@nstar.rn.com who doesn't have their own obnoxious signature yet
seldin@antares.concordia.ca ( JONATHAN SELDIN ) (05/21/91)
In article <49233@ut-emx.uucp> tdrga@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Todd Drga) writes: >My questions to the net: > >What do I have to do to use some of the Mac fonts that I have found archived >on various FTP servers? What program will convert the to GDOS (or other) >fonts that I can use? I am interested in using the fonts for DTP and screen >fonts. FONTZ! from Neocept will do this conversion. The documentation that comes with it gives all the necessary information. >I am ignorant when it comes to Mac file structure, systems, etc. The doc >files for some of the fonts mention things like 'Font DA Mover file' >'suitcase file' 'resource forks' etc. what do these mean *to me* as an >Atari user? How easy is it to convert these various file types into something >my machine can read/use? The documentation with FONTZ! gives all the necessary information about this. Perhaps the most important thing to know before starting is that the font files downloaded from Macintosh archive sites or BBS's must be separated into files each of which contains one size and style of one font. This requires the use of the Font DA Mover on the Macintosh (the program that moves fonts and desk accessories between files); it can be run under Spectre on an ST. Also, because the screen and printer resolutions for the Atari and Epson campatible printers differ from those for the Macintosh and the ImageWriter, the fonts will convert to odd sizes, and transforming them for use on the ST will require rescaling them. In my experience, this rescaling requires checking the design of each character, and can be very time consuming. I believe that some of the fonts which can be legally circulated have been converted for GDOS use and, if I am not mistaken, the results are available on atari.archive. For those who are interested, Macintosh files come in a format that combines a text part and a binary part; these parts are called, respectively, the data and resource forks. Because of this special format, transferring a binary file between a Macintosh and a system like the ST or UNIX requires special software at both ends. For those who have Spectre, the program Transverter will do this kind of transformation; since my UNIX host does not have the necessary UNIX end of the special transfer software, when I want to download a binary Macintosh file, I transfer it to my ST using Kermit (since my host does not have x-modem or y-modem) and then use Transverter to get it into Macintosh format. >Are there UnBinHex and UnStuffIt programs for the ST or UNIX? Or do I have >to find a Mac to unarchive these files? (I have a general idea what BinHex >and StuffIt do - they are comparable to uuencode and ARC/LZH, respectively >- or is this not the case) There are such programs for UNIX; mcvert for UnBinHex and unsit for UnStuffIt, both obtainable from archive sites. But I do not know of any program running under UNIX that will separate fonts into separate files, which is what is needed to use FONTZ! So to convert Macintosh files for GDOS use, you will need a real Macintosh or Spectre. >Thanks, You're welcome. I hope this helps. >Todd >(E-mail replies if you have to explain something really trivial that I got >wrong. Otherwise, post if it is of general interest) > > >-- >= INTERNET-> tdrga@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Todd Drga, UT Dept. of Drama) = >= = >= ' The dry grass will set fire to the damp grass ' = >= = >= African proverb brought to the Americas by slaves = Jonathan P. Seldin Department of Mathematics seldin@alcor.concordia.ca Concordia University, Montreal seldin@vax2.concordia.ca -- Jonathan P. Seldin Department of Mathematics seldin@alcor.concordia.ca Concordia University, Montreal seldin@vax2.concordia.ca
tdrga@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Todd Drga) (05/21/91)
In article <301@daily-planet.concordia.ca> seldin@antares.concordia.ca ( JONATHAN SELDIN ) writes: > >The documentation with FONTZ! gives all the necessary information >about this. Perhaps the most important thing to know before >starting is that the font files downloaded from Macintosh archive >sites or BBS's must be separated into files each of which >contains one size and style of one font.... [description of lots of frightening (to me) stuff deleted] >-- >Jonathan P. Seldin >Department of Mathematics seldin@alcor.concordia.ca >Concordia University, Montreal seldin@vax2.concordia.ca Well, after reading all of that, I have decided to give up on converting mac fonts. I don't have and there is no way I can afford Spectre, so that blows the whole thing out of reach. I did find source for the unbinhex and unstuffit programs at sumex.stanford.edu (thanks to the person who suggested it) along with some other mac conversion programs. The good thing to come out of my abortive attempt is that I compiled my first programs on the Sparc here at school. (this is coming from an dictionary-definition end user, so its a big deal to me) Thanks to everyone who helped me out. Maybe someday I'll be able to afford Spectre. (hah, right!) Todd -- = INTERNET-> tdrga@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Todd Drga, UT Dept. of Drama) = = = = ' The dry grass will set fire to the damp grass ' = = = = African proverb brought to the Americas by slaves =
goo@hpindda.cup.hp.com (Michael Goo) (05/22/91)
/ tdrga@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Todd Drga) / writes... >What do I have to do to use some of the Mac fonts that I have found archived >on various FTP servers? What program will convert the to GDOS (or other) >fonts that I can use? I am interested in using the fonts for DTP and screen >fonts. The program Fontz! by (the now defunct) Neocept can convert Mac fonts (amongst many other formats) to GDOS fonts. I haven't worked too much with this program, but the general idea is that you load the font into Fontz!, select the resolution you want for the GDOS font, and then use a pixel editor to touch up the rough spots caused by the resolution conversion. It's better than starting from scratch, but it ain't trivial either. One place I know you can get Fontz! is from B+C Computervisions in Santa Clara, California (408)749-1003. I am not associated with Neocept or B+C in any way etc. etc. blah blah blah.
Bob_BobR_Retelle@cup.portal.com (05/22/91)
Todd Drga asked about using Mac fonts on an ST... It's entirely possible to convert Mac fonts to use in GDOS applications, but it's not a trivial task, nor is it particularly easy to do. The program I've used is FONTZ, a commercial product of Neocept, Inc. It will convert several different types of fonts into GDOS compatible fonts, includin Mac and Amiga. It works well, and allows you to touch up the converted fonts and even design your own original fonts. The sticky part is getting the fonts into the ST in the first place. My solutions involved using not only the ST, but a Magic Sac Mac emulator and pc-ditto, the IBM emulator. Most Mac fonts are available in various point sizes. However, they are usually appended to one another in one large font file. FONTZ will only process the FIRST complete font set in such a group, and ignore the others. Usually this will be the tiniest point size, making it very difficult to scale the font to larger, more usable sizes. The solution is to go into Mac emulation mode and use the FONT/DA MOVER to split up the font and save it as individual files, one for each different size of the font. This will also take care of the problem of unarchiving the fonts, as you can run STUFFIT to unstuff or unpack the font in Mac mode. Then you're faced with getting the font onto an ST readable disk. This can be accomplished by using the TRANSVERTER program to convert the files onto ST disks. If you don't have a Mac emulator, your options are very limited. Most Mac fonts are either STUFFed or PAKed. Unfortunately, as far as I know there is only an UNPIT program for the ST, no unSTUFFers. If the file you want to try converting is STUFFed, you can run the IBM emulator, pc-ditto, and use a PC utility that will unSTUFF the files onto ST readable disks directly. Again, FONTZ will only convert the first font, if there are more than one font sizes in the file. Another solution would be to have a Mac owning friend split the fonts up and modem the files to you. And lastly, most Mac fonts are Shareware, not Public Domain. It's a lot of work, but it can be worth it..! BobR
johnr@cged.co.uk (John Richards) (05/24/91)
>Todd Drga asked about using Mac fonts on an ST... > Fontkit Plus V3 will convert Mac fonts to GEM fonts (though I haven't tried it). Fontkit Plus is a great package for editing bit-map fonts. I've used it for creating screen fonts for use with Fleet Street Publisher 3. It will also convert Calamus fonts. It's available from the ST Club in England. Cost is about 19.95 pounds. If you want the address, e-mail me and I'll find it. -- John Richards
wilsona@dcs.glasgow.ac.uk (Alan Wilson) (05/24/91)
The easiest way to get stuff from a Nac is to format a DOS disc on an FDHD equipped mac (all of the later ones), and simply copy the fonts onto it. Stick the disc in an atari and run 'mac2gem' from (wait for it...) the ST Club on it. Easy. No problem. If you do not have access to a Mac then it is a problem. There is some PD stuff on terminator. A non FDHD Mac involves connecting the computers together. Note: Format the MS-DOS disc using 'Apple File Exchange'. Alan Wilson (No relation to anybody connected with the ST Club...) -- ############################################################################### # /\ / Alan # USEnet : wilsona!glasgow!mcsun!... #
hyc@hanauma.jpl.nasa.gov (Howard Chu) (05/28/91)
When I set about converting PD Mac fonts using NeoCept Fontz!, I had access to a nearby Mac as well (my roommate's, at the time.) I used a Mac app called Font Librarian to split up Font sets into individual files, and then MacArc to collect them into a single .ARC file. Then I just used Ymodem to transfer to the ST. (Stupid Mac doesn't have a free Zmodem that I'm aware of. Of course, this was also a couple years ago...) Unarchive the files on the ST, load into Fontz!. There's nothing particularly difficult, it is just very very tedious/time-consuming. You need to spend a great deal of time touching up the scaled bitmaps for your particular output device. The Mac fonts are generally for screen and imagewriter, which are both 72x72dpi output devices. The ST screen is 80 or 90dpi depending on how your monochrome monitor is adjusted... Fresh out of the box an SM124 gives you 90dpi (and that 1 inch black border...). If you're not too fussy, and more than a little bit lazy, like me, you can use the screen fonts directly without scaling them, just setting the proper amount of spacing. Scaling for your printer is a big hassle, one that I only did for a select few fonts. Best advice is to take the largest available screen font, then scale that to the largest desired printer font. When that is done, it'll be less work scaling down to the smaller printer font sizes. My biggest gripe with working with the printer was that I had no real control over the actual resolution. (Using a KXP-1091i, and the FX driver.) I really wanted to write my own GDOS printer driver for the KXP, but never took the time to do it. I guess this is now a moot point since FSMGDOS is coming out... -- -- Howard Chu @ Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA Disclaimer: How would I know, I just got here!