Installing and Using Accessory Fonts

Use your PC to Master Japanese and Chinese

Installing and Using Accessory Fonts

Use Other Fonts

If you have access to another Asian word processor, you can export a Smart Characters document to a format suitable for printing in the other word processor. The limitation of converting to the other format is that pronunciations or notes cannot be printed as in Smart Characters. Fortunately, if the other product's font file format(8- 5) is compatible with Smart Characters, its fonts can be used directly in Smart Characters.

Using an Installed Font

You can use an installed native symbol set(D- - 7) (11:JIS, 15:BigFive, or 16:GuoBiao) font in the following ways:

Use it to render native format text files which you open by selecting the Interpret As option in the File | Open File Format(3- 2) dialog, which registers the native symbol set(D- - 7) as the default, thereby displaying the characters from the native font.
Give the native symbol set font a distinct typeface(4- 11) name (not CombinedMing). Use the Format Character(3- 16) dialog Add Typeface command to add the typeface name to a Smart Characters document, then select the typeface. Smart Characters will concord (translate) the characters in the 0: Combined(4- 9) to the native symbol set, and display the native font. However, characters not in the native font will display as the missing character.
Create a new Combined symbol set font, and copy the characters from the native font to the new font. This is useful for merging Chinese and Japanese fonts. See Converting Fonts(8- 6).

Installing a Font

Although accessory fonts typically install themselves into the Smart Characters system, you can install fonts from other Asian word processors that don't have Smart Characters Install programs by yourself. The basic steps to installing a font are:

If necessary, copy the font onto your disk.

The \Sc\System directory is the default for Smart Characters fonts, but you can use any directory or drive. If it already exists in another directory (for use with another word processor), just note the directory.

Native fonts are generally installed treating the alphabetic portions of the font as all characters (no object types). Adding alphabetic fonts(4- 13) (fonts with object type(4- 2) other than Chars(D- - 2)) requires creating dictionaries and keyboard definitions(12- 6).

Select File | Install to invoke the Install Bitmap Font(3- 43) dialog. Examine the existing entries. Note that fonts may be combined or split among a number of font files. You must make a separate font entry for each span in the font's code space(D- - 2).
Select a file that is similar in characteristics to the file you wish to install, then select New to create a new font file entry with duplicate configuration information at the end of the font file list, and invoke the Install Bitmap Font(3- 43) dialog.
Select Browse to locate and open the new font.
View the font while adjusting each of the 15 font parameters for an intelligible and accurate display to discover or "reverse engineer" the font installation parameters. Specify a typeface(4- 11) name that is unique and meaningful.

If you have difficulties, Apropos Customer Service(F- - 1) may be able to look up the font specifications, or figure them out for you. See the examples for the optional native fonts FancyJIS, PlainJIS, BigFive, GuoBiao (you can obtain these fonts by calling Apropos Customer Service).

Clock OK to install the font. See Using an Installed Font(8- 5).

For installation of large numbers of fonts in which you know the parameters, it might be faster to use a text editor (or File | Open | As Is | Interpret File As) to duplicate entries in the Scw.ini Bitmap Fonts(B- - 4) section.

Converting Fonts

You may need to create additional fonts for special purposes. If you have access to a particular font or typeface(4- 11) from a native word processor that you wish to use with Smart Characters, you can convert the typeface from the native word processor's symbol set(D- - 7) to the Smart Characters 0:Combined(4- 9) symbol set(D- - 7):

Use File Install(3- 43) to select the 0:Combined font closest to the desired point size(D- - 6), then select New to open the Install Bitmap Font(3- 43) dialog. Change the Point size and typeface name as desired, then select Create and enter a font file name(8- 4) to create a new, empty font.
Use the Convert Font(3- 46) dialog to select the Combined symbol set font of the closest point size(D- - 6) as the From font, and the new font as the To font. Select the Range copy method and set both ranges to 0-8229 (the entire font), then select Copy to copy the fonts. This step assures that there will be default characters for those missing in the native font.
Open, then use the Start(3- 48) command to display the native font in the Combined map mode. Note that missing characters are not copied.
Use the Convert Font dialog to select the native font as the From font, then select Copy to copy the native font to the new font. Repeat the select and copy step to merge an alternate language.

Need more info? Go to the Customer Service Page. Questions or comments? E-mail to Apropos Customer Service

Apropos Customer Service home page 617-648-2041
Last Modified: March 23, 1996