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 =
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!