Copyright: Please register your copy of Font Monster


Table of Contents
	12 December 1993   Program and documentation written by Steven Fox. Published and copyright © 1992-1993 by: Leaping Lizards, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.

This program is shareware, it is not free. Please register today.

What's new in v3.4 What Font Monster does Installing Font Monster	Registering Font Monster Suggested reading Copyright, distribution, & disclaimers


Suggested Reading

The help file in this version of Font Monster has been scaled down quite a bit from earlier versions in order to make Font Monster more convenient to download, and consequently, a lot of technical stuff has been omitted. If you have more interest in how fonts are designed, or font file formats, check out the following materials which were used in developing Font Monster:

TrueType Font Files v1.00; Microsoft Corporation
Contains everything you ever wanted to know about TrueType fonts: fundamentals, file formats, character sets, plus a lot more you probably couldn't care less about. Supposedly available from MS for free upon request, on disk in Word 2.0 format.

Microsoft Windows 3.1 Device Driver Kit; Microsoft Corporation
Contains some documentation on PostScript .PFM files. It's not totally accurate, but it's pretty close. The best way to obtain this is on the quarterly MSDN CD-ROM from Microsoft.

Adobe Type1 Font Format v1.1; Adobe Systems Inc.; Addison-Wesley Publishing; ISBN 0-201-57044-0
Describes the .PFB file format and gives some explanation how Type1 fonts work. None of the .PFB information is currently needed by Font Monster, but it's a good read anyway.


What's new in v3.4

Type1 fonts are now installable without restarting Windows. This also means Type1 fonts are also viewable and printable without installing. You must be using Adobe Type Manager (ATM) version 2.5, or higher, in order to have this ability.

Font groups have been enhanced significantly. You can now uninstall a group; and confirm and make changes to a font group before it proceeds.

The print functions are now enhanced to include general information about a font on the printout page by inserting variables in the user defined text strings.

Further improved memory and resource usage, greater speed, and the usual bug fixes everywhere.


Program Manager vs. Norton Desktop & PCTools
Program Manager vs. Norton Desktop & PCTools For Windows

If you are using Norton Desktop v2.0 or PCTools For Windows, instead of Program Manager, you should have no problem using Font Monster v3.4. Any references to Program Manager or File Manager in this documentation also apply to the Norton Desktop or PCTools.

A couple minor bugs have been found when creating font group icons with Norton Desktop and PCTools Desktop. Check out Known bugs for details.


Upgrading from a previous version
Upgrading from a previous version of Font Monster

1.	Delete FMONSTER.EXE, FMONSTER.HLP, FMHELPER.DLL, FMGROUP.ICO, all found in your Font Monster directory (your previous version may not have all these files). Be sure not to delete any files ending with ".FM!"

2.	Delete THREED.VBX, CMDIALOG.VBX, MSGBLAST.VBX, CTL3D.DLL, all found in your WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory.

3.	Copy the new files, FMONSTER.EXE, FMONSTER.HLP, FMONST.DLL, FMONSTER.TXT, to your existing Font Monster directory.

4.	Copy the new files, THREED.VBX, CMDIALOG.VBX, MSGBLAST.VBX, CTL3D.DLL to your WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory.

5.	If you don't already have it, obtain a copy of VBRUN300.DLL and copy it to your WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory.


Uninstalling Font Monster
Totally uninstalling Font Monster

1.	Delete all files found in your Font Monster directory, then delete the Font Monster directory.

2.	If you don't use any other Visual Basic programs, delete THREED.VBX, CMDIALOG.VBX, MSGBLAST.VBX, and  VBRUN300.DLL, all found in your WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory. If you aren't sure whether you use other Visual Basic programs, don't delete these files since they may be shared by other Visual Basic programs.

3.	If you are a registered user, delete the FMONSTER.INI file found in your WINDOWS directory.

4.	Remove the .FM!, .PFM, .TTF entries from your WIN.INI file in the [Extensions] section.


Installing Font Monster v3.4

Font Monster v3.4 requires Windows 3.1. It will not run in Windows 3.0 or OS/2 2.0. If you own Adobe Type Manager (ATM), Font Monster will automatically detect it and act accordingly, but Font Monster works fine without ATM. It is recommended that you always have TrueType fonts enabled, do so from Windows' Control Panel.

The first time you run Font Monster it will tell Windows to associate Font Monster with the file extensions .PFM, .TTF, and .FM! by automatically editing your WIN.INI file. This will enable you to click on any file ending with these extensions, using File Manager, and Font Monster will start up and present that font's data on screen right away. Files with the .FM! extension are not fonts, they are Font Monster's font groups which must be kept in the same directory as the FMONSTER.EXE file.

FMONSTER.EXE

The main program. Copy this to wherever you like, preferably its own subdirectory which has full read and write access. You can assign it an icon in Program Manager using the usual procedure.

FMONSTER.HLP

This help file. Make sure this is located in the same directory as FMONSTER.EXE.

FMONST.DLL

Contains the group icon resource, and the ATM 2.5 interface. Make sure this is located in the same directory as FMONSTER.EXE.

FMONSTER.TXT

This is an example text file used by the print function in Font Monster.

FILE_ID.DIZ

This is only used by BBSs to describe Font Monster. You don't need this file installed on your hard disk, it can be safely deleted.

README.TXT

This text file contains a basic description about Font Monster and how to install it on your hard disk. Since you are reading this help file now you can safely delete the file.

The following files must be installed in your WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory:

VBRUN300.DLL

The Visual Basic 3.0 run-time library, not included in the Font Monster .ZIP archive. You may already have it if you have other Visual Basic 3.0 programs. It is available for free on most BBSs, or from wherever you got FMONST34.ZIP from.

THREED.VBX

From Microsoft, this VBX manages all the nifty looking 3D effects, and it also gobbles up a hefty chunk of your system resources while Font Monster is running.

CMDIALOG.VBX

From Microsoft, this VBX allows you to setup and select a printer, and choose fonts, while running Font Monster.

MSGBLAST.VBX

From Microsoft, this VBX is used to update the status bar when using the pop-up menus.

CTL3D.DLL

From Microsoft, their "Windows 4.0" 3D-effects DLL.

Files created by, but not supplied with, Font Monster:

FMnnnnnn.FM!

Found in your Font Monster directory; these are the font group files.

FMONSTER.FM~

Found in your Font Monster directory; this file contains a list of currently temporarily installed fonts. Font Monster updates this list when installing or uninstalling fonts via font groups.

xxxxxxxx.FO~

Found in your Font Monster directory; these filenames correspond to TrueType fonts which have been installed temporarily.

FMONSTER.INI

Found in your WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory after you register; this contains information about settings which have changed from the default.


What Font Monster does for you
What Font Monster does

Font Monster is a multi-purpose font utility. Its ultimate goal is to be an all in one monster of a utility for font fanatics. Its primary intention is to cover ground that other utilities (shareware and commercial) missed out on, or didn't implement very well.

Font Monster allows you to edit TrueType and Type1 font data. Not the glyphs and stuff, but all the stuff which Windows uses to recognize a font, like the name, the weight, the style, etc., plus lots of esoteric stuff that you probably will never need to touch.

Font Monster lets you preview TrueType and Type1 fonts before they are installed. If you decide to install a font you are previewing you can also install it with Font Monster, or later uninstall it, or even delete the font files from your disk.

Font Monster manages your INI files. When you install or uninstall a Type1 font, Font Monster automatically makes all the necessary changes in your ATM.INI and WIN.INI files. When you install or uninstall a TrueType font, Font Monster automatically changes your WIN.INI file.

Font Monster manages your font files. When you install, uninstall, and delete fonts, Font Monster will take care of all the dirty work.

Font Monster can create font groups. These are special macro files containing a list of fonts to install. Activating one of these font groups will optionally uninstall the currently installed fonts, then install the set of fonts listed in the group. You can create as many of these font groups as you like, for all your various font situations. Font groups can be saved as an icon in Program Manager and can be activated simply by clicking on the icon, thus eliminating the need to start up Font Monster each time you want to change fonts groups.

Font Monster prints font samples and entire font catalogs. This can be extremely useful for finding a particular font, or to see how a font looks when printed. It's also useful for finding a particular character in a dingbat font. Fonts do not need to be installed to be printed by Font Monster.

If you are a font designer using Fontographer or FontMonger to design your fonts, you can use the registered version of Font Monster to add your own trademark and copyright notice, as well as remove or change any of the string data those commercial programs automatically insert.

What Font Monster does not do

Some examples for using Font Monster


What Font Monster does not do

Font Monster does not do everything. Sometimes this is for the better, sometimes not:

Since TrueType and Type1 (using ATM) are the only real Windows standards, Font Monster does not support other type managers or font types.

Changes you make to a font using Font Monster WILL NOT IN ANY WAY change the shapes of the characters on screen or as printed. Information such as glyphs and hinting is simply copied byte-for-byte from the original font file. To edit the shapes of the characters you will need something like FontMonger, or Fontographer, or AllType.

Font Monster does not modify your fonts when you use the PRINT or GROUP features. The only way Font Monster will modify a font is if you use the font edit functions and change the data yourself, and then save it to the same file name. In all other respects, Font Monster behaves like any normal Windows application, and is as likely to damage your fonts as, say, Microsoft Word.

Font Monster is intended for personal use only. You should not use Font Monster to rename someone else's fonts and then sell them as your own, this is illegal. But if you do so, be aware that Font Monster does not change all the data in a font which identifies it to its original creator.

Font Monster does not convert fonts from one format to another.


Why should you use Font Monster? Some examples:

Here are some common situations the average font fanatic, such as yourself, might come across:

Let's say you have two different fonts from two different font vendors but both fonts have the same name. Windows will have no way of telling the difference which is which. By renaming one font, Windows (and you) will be able to call up either font if they are installed at the same time.

How about if you copy some fonts over from the Apple Macintosh? The Apple naming scheme can sometimes be quite weird. For example, take the fonts named "Ren&Stimpy Bold 001.002" & "DavysRudeSymbols 10/23/91". Both of these names include some extra information which you may not want and it also confuses Windows when it tries to select the style variations in the font's family. Renaming the fonts will take care of this.

Word For Windows 2.0 tries to be so smart when you want to insert a symbol or a bullet. It will only allow you to select from those fonts in your system which are marked as symbol fonts. What can you do if you want to use a font which isn't a symbol font? Good luck, Word doesn't make it very easy for you. Use Font Monster to mark the font as Symbol and from then on Word will put it in its Symbol menu. This same situation also applies to CorelDRAW!.

Some fonts, particularly Type1 fonts, are designed with Style formats incompatible with Windows. You may have Regular, Bold, Italic, and BoldItalic versions for a particular family but you may not be able to choose them the usual way, for example Ctrl-B for Bold, Ctrl-I for Italic. Instead you are forced to choose, for example, "Simpsons Bold" or "Simpsons Italic" from your font menu. This is because the styles were all marked as Regular when they were produced. Use Font Monster to set the correct Style and Family Name in each font. Then you can have one menu entry, "Simpsons", and choose the styles in your word processor the usual way.

Many font vendors (and also some applications, CorelDRAW! is a good example, which bundle fonts with their programs), for legal reasons change the names of the fonts to something similar, but not the font's official (or more common) name. Renaming the fonts can help you better organize your font collection.

Font Monster lets you preview fonts, even if they are not installed yet. If you like what you see you can install the font permanently with Font Monster. If you don't like a font you can also uninstall fonts from Windows with Font Monster, and even delete font files from your hard disk.

If you have a lot of fonts installed at once you probably know how slow Windows takes to startup, and then how slow some applications take to get going, like PAGEMAKER. Use Font Monster's font group feature to create smaller groups of fonts, which you can install before you open a project that requires specific fonts. For example, you might be laying out a newsletter which requires 14 fonts, and then later you might work on a poster which requires 10 totally different fonts. Simply create two font groups containing the fonts needed for each project. Then as you switch projects, simply click in the corresponding font group's icon to uninstall the unneeded fonts and install the new fonts. You'll notice a remarkable difference in speed when compared to having all your fonts installed at once.

Font Monster now directly supports the additional weight variations implemented in Windows 3.1. At this time, the only application known to support the additional weights is Microsoft's Access database. Once more applications support the additional weights, you can use Font Monster to rename the weights of your existing TrueType fonts.

You can print a catalog of all your fonts, which will allow you to quickly find a particular font without having to see them on screen.

You can print a page showing all the characters in a font. This is most useful for finding particular symbols in a dingbat font.


File open and save

Open a font

The directory list box works just like the familiar Windows common dialog box. It will list only fonts that have the suffix .PFM or .TTF, for Type1 and TrueType fonts respectively.

Shortcut: Ctrl-O

Save changes to a font

If you have made any changes to the font data you can save it either as an entirely new font file, or replace the original font file. Use the dialog box to select the directory and the filename.

Shortcut: Ctrl-S will save changes to the font to the same filename you opened, without confirmation, and bypassing the "Save As..." dialog box.

Type1 only:

When saving a Type1 font you are only saving the .PFM file. If there is an accompanying .PFB file, it is not altered or renamed. If saving the .PFM file to a different directory, the .PFB is not copied. Note that Font Monster and Adobe Type Manager expect the filenames of the .PFM and the .PFB files to be the same, and they must reside either in the default ATM font directories or the same directory.

On an average 486-33:

Saving a Type1 font takes about 1 second.

Saving a TrueType font takes about 3 seconds.

Saving a TrueType font with checksums enabled takes about 6 to 10 seconds.

East Asian language TrueType fonts, which can often exceed 8 megabytes in size, may take 30 to 60 seconds to save.


Font groups

Font groups are macros which allow you to automatically install and uninstall fonts, even without having to start up Font Monster. Create font groups for every situation where you need specific fonts installed.

Font Groups are also used by the font print utility. Create groups of fonts you want to print out, then select the group from the font print utility before printing.

Save changes to a font group

You must save changes before you can activate, or do anything, with a font group. Font groups are always stored in the same directory as the FMONSTER.EXE file. Their file extension is .FM!.

How to add or remove fonts from a group

Select fonts in the list using the standard Windows method of using the left mouse button in conjunction with the SHIFT and CTRL keys.

Or use the right mouse button and choose "Select All" or "Deselect All" from the pop-up menu.

Use the right mouse button and select "Add fonts to group" or "Remove fonts from group" from the pop-up menu.

When a font is added to a group, it is removed from the available fonts list. You can not add a font to a group more than once. This is why the values preceding "Available fonts" and "Number of fonts found" may differ.

When a font is removed from a group, it may or may not be added to the available fonts list. This depends on whether the removed font is located in the current directory.

Shortcut: Double click on any single font name in a list to move it to the other list.

Delete Group

This will delete the current font group's nnnnnnnn.FM! file from your Font Monster directory. It will not delete the fonts, only the group!

Add group to Program Manager

This will create an icon in Program Manager which represents your font group. The current group name will be the name under the icon.

You can activate the font group at any time simply by double-clicking on its icon. A font group is essentially a macro, and it loads in only a very small portion of Font Monster. It gets to work pretty quickly, and when its finished it automatically quits Font Monster.

Activate afterwards

Allows you to link font groups together, or run a program or open a specific file after activating the group.

When another font group is indicated, when the activated font group is finished, it will activate the font group indicated. Likewise, if the second font group is linked to yet another font group, it will be activated, and so on.

When "[Program or file...]" is selected (always at the bottom of the list of groups), a dialog box will appear requesting the name of the program or file you wish to open after activating the group.

The options, "Uninstall all TrueType" and "Uninstall all Type1", if set in a font group, will not take effect when they are activated after the initial font group. For example, if "Group A" activates "Group B", and "Group B" has "Uninstall all TrueType" checked and "Group A" does not, all TrueType fonts will not be uninstalled because "Group A's" settings take precedence. However, all other settings, "Uninstall only", "Install fonts permanently", and "Autodownload all Type1 fonts" will be used from the following group's settings.

When using the font print utility, this function, and other font installation settings in a group, have no effect.

Type1 only:

The "Autodownload Type1" option can be set differently in each font group when you activate one after another. This can be an advantage in some situations where you can set up fonts in one group to be downloaded to a PostScript printer, and other groups not, yet they can all be installed from a single icon.

Prompt first

When a font group is activated, if this setting is checked, you will be able to confirm and change the settings in the font group, in fact, you can change the font group itself. Note that any changes you make are temporary and do not permanently affect the font group.

Uninstall only

The fonts in the font group will be uninstalled, rather than installed which is the default. When this setting is checked, the other install options will be disabled.

Uninstall all TrueType fonts

TrueType only:

When the current font group is activated, all TrueType fonts presently installed will be removed from the system. This allows you to create font groups that install either cumulatively or exclusively, and optionally, exclusively from Type1 fonts.

Uninstall all Type1 fonts

Type1 only:

When the current font group is activated, all Type1 fonts presently installed will be removed from the system. This function allows you to create font groups that install either cumulatively or exclusively, and optionally, exclusively from TrueType fonts.

Install fonts permanently

You can create a font group whose fonts are active only during the current Windows session. The next time you start Windows, those particular fonts would not be active. The default setting, however, is "permanent", which installs fonts for the current session as well as later sessions. This setting applies to both TrueType and Type1 fonts.

Autodownload all Type1 fonts

Type1 only:

This option will add the .PFB file to any PostScript printer entries in the WIN.INI file. This allows Windows to download the font as a soft font while printing. For example the following example does not autodownload the font:

softfont1=d:\win31\pfm\davyscat.pfm

The following example autodownloads the same font:

softfont1=d:\win31\pfm\davyscat.pfm,d:\win31\pfb\davyscat.pfb

See also:

Using Norton Desktop or PCTools For Windows

Tips and shortcuts


Activate Group
Font group installation status

If a group fails to install a font (because it has been deleted, or moved, or renamed), or if the font is already installed, you will not see any error messages. This is done to keep user interaction to a bare minimum.

TrueType only:

Note that Windows' Control Panel normally copies fonts to your WINDOWS/SYSTEM directory, Font Monster groups do not. Wherever the font was kept at the time it was added to a group is where Font Monster will expect to find it later when it installs it. So don't freak out Windows by trying to install a font stored on a floppy or CD-ROM that isn't in the drive.

Type1 only:

Font Monster automatically detects if Adobe Type Manger (ATM) is installed, and active, and acts accordingly when installing and uninstalling Type1 fonts. Font Monster will automatically install or uninstall the font to every PostScript printer installed on your system. Thus, if you don't use ATM and you have no PostScript printers installed, installing a Type1 font achieves absolutely nothing.

Unlike ATM, Font Monster can install a Type1 font residing in any directory. Font Monster expects both the .PFM and .PFB files to have the same name, and to reside in the same directory.

But a more likely situation for ATM users is that all their Type1 fonts were copied and separated into different directories by ATM when it originally installed them. Font Monster handles this gracefully by first determining the default directories ATM uses for storing fonts. Then if a user installs a .PFM file residing in ATM's default PFM directory, it will automatically install the corresponding .PFB file in ATM's default PFB directory. That is assuming Autodownload all Type1 has been enabled. Otherwise, only the .PFM file will be installed.

See also:

Tips and shortcuts


Restart Windows

Return to current Windows session

ATM versions under 2.5 only:

If you activated a font group which either installed or uninstalled Type1 fonts, or if you installed or uninstalled Type1 fonts some other way, you will need to Restart Windows before the changes can take effect.

You have the option of not restarting Windows right away. You may want to do so if you plan to install or uninstall more Type1 fonts right away. Font Monster will remind you once again to Restart Windows before you exit the program.

You also have the option of switching Adobe Type Manager (ATM) on or off before restarting Windows.


Font Monster settings

This panel controls how Font Monster behaves. The registered version of Font Monster will allow you to save these settings from session to session, otherwise you will may need to change the settings each time you start Font Monster. Yet another good reason for registering today.

 = YES	 = NO

SmartLink

TrueType only:

Enabling this allows you to link any changes you make in one field to other appropriate fields. For example, clicking on the Bold, Actual Style will automatically enter the word "Bold" in the Style field. Likewise, typing in a Family Name will change the Windows Name simultaneously.

This is an invaluable feature because the data in the string fields should generally not conflict with one another, or with the settings elsewhere. Yes, there are a few exceptions, though unpredictable things can happen in your font menus if you're not careful. If you need to work on an "exception" font, turn off SmartLink temporarily.

Fonts with optional foreign language names are one of these exceptions. SmartLink has been designed to work with US ENGLISH font names only.

Note that changes you make in one font table will not affect the string data in the other font tables (such as a different language) in the same font, whether you use SmartLink or not.

It is highly recommended you turn on "SmartLink" and leave it on, always.

Install TrueType fonts to SYSTEM directory

TrueType only:

When installing a TrueType font you may wish to copy it to your WINDOWS/SYSTEM directory for whatever reason, as Windows' Control Panel does by default. This will make Font Monster automatically copy the .TTF file to the WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory when installing. Note that the original .TTF file is not deleted. Also note that uninstalling a font installed in this way doesn't remove the .TTF file from the WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory. If you wish to do so, use the "Delete font" button to both uninstall and delete the .TTF file.

It is highly recommended that you keep your TrueType fonts in a directory (or directories) other than the WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory. This feature has been added only for completeness.

Font groups are not affected by this setting, they install TrueType fonts in their current directory only.

Install Type1 fonts as autodownload for PS

Type1 only:

This option will add the .PFB file to any PostScript printer entries in the WIN.INI file. This allows Windows to download the font as a soft font while printing. For example the following line does not autodownload the font:

softfont1=d:\win31\pfm\alphabet.pfm

The following line will autodownload the same font:

softfont1=d:\win31\pfm\alphabet.pfm,d:\win31\pfb\alphabet.pfb

Font groups are not affected by this setting.

Compute TrueType checksums

TrueType only:

The TrueType specification requires each internal table to be given a checksum, and then the entire font should be given a sort of 'master' checksum. In reality, neither Windows 3.1 nor Apple's System 7 bother to even look at these checksums. You could safely leave this setting turned off, and as a consequence, Font Monster will take a little less time when saving.

Note that some font utilities designed to check for invalid fonts may report a "bad" font if they detect that you did not compute checksums when saving a font. You should be aware that your font is NOT bad despite what they may say.

Should there ever be a case in the future when an operating system or application requires these checksums, you can open and then resave your fonts with this setting turned on to create the correct checksums.

Associate .TTF and .PFM files

Every time Font Monster starts it will read the WIN.INI and check that the extensions .PFM and .TTF are associated to Font Monster. If this setting is enabled, it will reassociate these extensions if they have been changed or deleted, or if Font Monster has been moved to a different directory.

By assigning these extensions to Font Monster, you can double click on a font in File Manager and Font Monster will automatically start and read in that font's data.

Use Font Group icon

If you use Program Manager as your Windows shell, this setting defaults to "Yes", otherwise it defaults to "No". Setting to "Yes" will give font groups a custom icon contained in the FMONST.DLL file, setting to "No" gives font groups the default Font Monster icon. Norton Desktop v2.0, for example, can not use custom icons when creating font groups. If this bug is fixed in the future, or if your shell can accept custom icons, change this to "Yes".

Play sounds if available

You can disable the sound effects by setting this to "No". The default is "Yes".

Save settings on exit

Registered users only:

With this button enabled, Font Monster will save settings automatically in a file called FMONSTER.INI in your WINDOWS directory. Settings include the status of all the buttons on the configuration window, the current directory, the custom text,  the size, and single character settings on the view window, and the print function settings.

Program Manager group name

This is the name of the Program Manager group (sometimes called a "folder") in which Font Monster will put the font group icons when you add them to Program Manager.

Default Specific Platform

Foreign language versions of Windows 3.1 only:

Used by Font Monster to determine the name table to use when installing and viewing a font. By default, and in the English language version of Windows, Font Monster will look for the UGL character set. If this is set to some other value, Font Monster will look for that table first, then if it is not found it will look for the UGL character set. If that is not found, Font Monster will look for a Macintosh platform string table.

Nearly all fonts, except Dingbat fonts (such as WingDings) will be UGL character set.

Chinese TrueType fonts require Character set 4 to be the default when installing.

Font Monster also uses the Default Language to determine the name table to use when installing.

Default Language

Foreign language versions of Windows 3.1 only:

Used by Font Monster to determine the name table to use when installing and viewing a font. By default, and in the English language version of Windows, Font Monster will look for the US English string table. If set to some other value, Font Monster will look for that table first, then if is not found, Font Monster will look for the US English language name table. If that is not found, Font Monster will look for the first name table in the font.

Nearly all fonts contain a US English name table.

Not many fonts contain name tables other than US English.

If your localized version of Windows has a default language other than English, such as Chinese, you should set this setting to the appropriate language in order to make fonts install properly.

Registering

Now that you have paid your twenty bucks, you can register. You only need to do this once. Enter your name and your ID number exactly as written on your registration letter which you received. Press OK and you should see a message thanking you for registering. By the way, thanks again for registering.

Registering enables the FMONSTER.INI file, allowing you to save your settings.

Registering immediately disables all "nags".

Registering allows you to edit the Copyright, Trademark, VendorID, and Protection fields.


Installing or uninstalling a font

If the caption reads:

"Install font", clicking on this will install a font permanently in your system.

"Uninstall font", clicking on this will remove the font from Windows. It will not be deleted from your hard disk, but that can be done with the "Delete font" button.

"(Can't install)", then no font is currently open, either because one has not been opened yet (as might occur when you first start the program), or an error occurred when attempting to open a font.

TrueType only:

Note that Windows' Control Panel normally copies fonts to your WINDOWS/SYSTEM directory, Font Monster, by default, does not. You can make Font Monster install fonts in the WINDOWS/SYSTEM directory by changing the Font Monster configuration. Otherwise, wherever the font was kept at the time it was installed is where Windows will expect to find it later. So don't freak out Windows by installing a font stored on a floppy or CD-ROM.

Type1 only:

Font Monster automatically detects if Adobe Type Manager (ATM) is installed and acts accordingly when installing and uninstalling Type1 fonts. Font Monster will automatically install or uninstall the font to every PostScript printer installed on your system. Thus, if you don't use ATM and you have no PostScript printers installed, installing a Type1 font with Font Monster will do absolutely nothing.

Unlike ATM, Font Monster can install a Type1 font residing in any directory. Font Monster expects both of the font's .PFM and .PFB files to have the same name, and to reside in the same directory. However . . .

. . .a more likely situation for ATM users is that all their Type1 fonts were copied and separated into different directories by ATM when it originally installed them. Font Monster handles this gracefully by first determining the default directories ATM uses for storing fonts. Then if a user installs a .PFM file residing in ATM's default PFM directory, it will automatically install the corresponding .PFB file in ATM's default PFB directory. That is assuming Install Type1 fonts as autodownload for PS has been enabled. Otherwise, only the .PFM file will be installed.

See also:

Restart Windows


Font print utility

The print routines use previously created font groups.

Use the right mouse button to insert variables into any text fields:

Variable	Description	Example
^a	Font file date & time	Tuesday, March 10, 1992, 3:10:00 AM
^d	Current date	Sunday, December 12, 1993
^f	File name	arialbi.ttf
^g	Group name	Basic windows fonts
^l	Total fonts in the group	14
^m	Paragraph break	(prints subsequent text on a new line)
^n	Font name	Arial Bold Italic
^p	Path name	c:\windows\system\arialbi.ttf
^r	Current font number	3
^s	Font file size	71,880
^t	Font type	TrueType
^u	User name	Bill Gates
^#	Current page number	3
^^	Caret symbol	^

Use the right mouse button to insert the text "(Don't print)" into any text field and that text field will not print.

A font group doesn't have to be active in order for it to be installed. You can printout TrueType and Type1 (with ATM 2.5 or higher) fonts in a font group even if they are not installed.

Create a font group specifically designed for printing, but not for installing. Unlike when installing fonts, when printing, there is practically no limit to the number of fonts in a font group.

You can select individual fonts in a group for printout by clicking the left mouse button (in combination with the Ctrl and Shift keys). Be sure to also click on the "Selected fonts only" box.

When using the Font Print utility, font group links, and all other font installation settings, have no effect. Only the font names from a group are used.

If your printer runs out of memory while printing a page, set your Windows printer driver to "Print TrueType as graphics", if supported. You may also need to set ATM (2.5 or higher) to "Print ATM fonts as graphics" if you are printing Type1 fonts with ATM.

You can not print uninstalled Type1 fonts to a PostScript printer, even if you use ATM (2.5 or higher). This is because the Windows PostScript printer driver must check the WIN.INI file for installed fonts, if it can't find a font there, it won't print it. Stupid huh?! Your best bet is to either install the fonts before printing, or switch your printer to a different mode, such as PCL, if possible.

You can select more than one style of page to be printed during a single print job. For example, you can printout a Character chart, a Sample page, and a Font catalog, all at the same time.

All buttons and selections are "live" during printing. For example, if you change the Custom text during printing a font catalog, all subsequent text will be the changed text.

The "STOP" button can be slow to respond during printing. This is due to the way Visual Basic handles printing. Be patient, clicking once on the STOP button will eventually stop the print job. However, any pages already sent to the printer can not be stopped.

Use "Page pause" to temporarily interrupt printing between pages. Some laser printers print more reliably if you do this.

Dot matrix printers often print with different margins than what you might expect. If you get borders or text printing off the edge of the page, try experimenting with the Page Margin settings to optimize printing on your dot matrix printer.

Each page during a printout is treated as a separate print job. Thus, if you look at Print Manager during printing you may see several print jobs queued up there. The reason for this is to force Windows and Visual Basic to clear all unneeded resources between pages. This increases printing speed and system reliability.

All printouts automatically scale to the selected paper size and orientation. For example, you can adjust the page margins to allow a larger amount of space on the left side, then you can easily bind all the pages later for future reference. Note that these settings are relative to the printable portion of the page, not the physical page; setting all the margins to "0" will use the maximum amount of printable area available to your printer, which may not necessarily be the entire page. Use the right mouse button to toggle between inches or centimeters.

The "Sample page" function will use the custom text in a file called FMONSTER.TXT, which should be found in the same directory as the FMONSTER.EXE program. You can edit this text file by clicking on the "EDIT..." button, which will use your default text editor. Note that you can also use the variables, described above, in this text file. This file can be up to 8192 character long.


Sounds

 Sound test...

Font Monster supports Windows 3.1 multimedia sounds. Copy the following lines to the [Sounds] section in your WIN.INI file. Then use Windows' Control Panel to assign sounds to .WAV files already in your system. The Font Monster Multimedia Upgrade Kit includes a collection of interesting and original samples and will also do all the work of modifying your WIN.INI file for you. You can obtain the Font Monster Multimedia Upgrade Kit as freeware, probably from the same place you got Font Monster 3.4.

FMActivate=,Font Monster-Activate group

FMAdd=,Font Monster-Add icon

FMCancel=,Font Monster-Cancel

FMClick=,Font Monster-Click

FMDelete=,Font Monster-Delete

FMExit=,Font Monster-Exit window

FMDrag=,Font Monster-Font list change

FMGrid=,Font Monster-Font grid

FMGroup=,Font Monster-Font groups

FMHelp=,Font Monster-Help

FMInstall=,Font Monster-Install font

FMKeep=,Font Monster-Keep image

FMNew=,Font Monster-New

FMOk=,Font Monster-Ok

FMOpen=,Font Monster-Open font

FMPrint=,Font Monster-Print fonts

FMCnfg=,Font Monster-Program config

FMQuit=,Font Monster-Quit

FMSave=,Font Monster-Save font

FMStart=,Font Monster-Startup

FMStop=,Font Monster-Stop!

FMUndo=,Font Monster-Undo changes

FMUninstall=,Font Monster-Uninstall font

FMView=,Font Monster-View font

FMWho=,Font Monster-Who?


Tips and shortcuts

Drop any font group icon into your StartUp folder and every time you start windows that font group will take effect.

You can use a previously created font group as a template for a new font group. Simply select the font group, type in a new name, and press the "SAVE" button. You can then add/delete fonts, change settings, etc.

Use the "Activate afterwards" feature to link one Type1 font group marked as Autodownload, to a second Type1 font group marked as NOT Autodownload. This will allow you to install fonts, some of which already reside in your PostScript printer's ROM, and some of which must be downloaded as soft fonts, as if they were all in a single group.

If you have a common set of fonts which you use regularly, create a font group containing just those fonts. Then use the "Activate afterwards" feature in other groups to ensure all your other font groups keep those fonts installed.

If you need specific fonts only for a specific project; a newsletter, for example; use the "Activate afterwards" feature to install the fonts and then start your application and open your newsletter file -- all by clicking on a single icon.

If you own CD-ROMs with collections of fonts, create a font group for each CD-ROM, and then add it to Program Manager. After inserting the CD-ROM, activate its font group to install the CD-ROM fonts.

Create a font group containing just the standard font families that come with Windows 3.1; Arial, New Times Roman, Courier New, and WinDings. Uncheck the "Remove all TrueType" and "Remove All Type1" settings, then add the font group to Program Manager. This way you can install those fonts quickly whenever they are needed, such as by this help file, but still retain the fonts you are using presently.

Create a font group containing the same standard fonts as the above tip, but instead, check the "Remove all TrueType", and optionally check "Remove All Type1". You can use this group to quickly uninstall all installed fonts, and reduce all your fonts to the bare minimum.

You can use Windows' File Manager to select fonts. Simply locate the font you want to view or edit, and double click on it. Font Monster will automatically start up and load in the data for that font.

Setting the "Family Type" field to Symbol will allow your font to be recognized by Word For Windows 2.0  or CorelDRAW! as a symbol font.

Creating a KEEP window uses large amounts of Windows' system resources. Do not create too many, and close them when they are no longer needed.

The GRID is relative to the current size of the View window. To get the largest grid, maximize the View window. The display point size will automatically adjust itself relative to the size of the grid.

TrueType only:

When editing TrueType data, always enable "SmartLink". This will prevent you from changing names or style settings incorrectly.

Some TrueType fonts originally created on the Apple Macintosh do not implement all of the available tables. These tables will be disabled (grayed) when you open such a font.

Type1 only:

It is strongly suggested you do not change the "PostScript Name" field. Its primary use is to match the name of a PostScript printer's internal ROM font. If it does not match you will not be able to print.

ATM (versions under 2.5) users only:

You can not view uninstalled Type1 fonts, or Type1 fonts that you have installed during the current session. You will need to restart Windows before Type1 fonts can be viewed. Upgrading to ATM 2.5 would be a wise investment.


Known bugs

Although this list is rather long, I'm just trying to document every little thing I've come across. The fact is, Font Monster is fairly stable. Practically all these bugs are related to Font Monster having trouble interacting with OTHER applications that are not behaving properly. This version of Font Monster has been more extensively tested than any previous release. Big thanks to my beta testers around the world for doing such a fantastic job.

Always run Font Monster from a drive or directory that is not write protected. Font Monster creates font groups, and temporary files, in its own directory. For example, you should not run Font Monster from a CD-ROM, or on a network without full read/write privileges. Instead, copy it to your own local hard disk first.

Some video drivers may totally freak out Visual Basic and cause Font Monster to display the buttons out of place, and the startup screen may appear really off center, among other things. In fact Font Monster will look pretty bad. I've seen this happen on two systems which both were using a Super VGA resolution with large fonts, instead of the usual small fonts. Font Monster has been optimized for systems using the small fonts simply because it's the more common setup. I tried to optimize for both large and small fonts but had no luck. I don't know if the fault of this bug is due to Visual Basic, the THREED.VBX file (my most likely guess, considering other problems I've had with it), or the VGA drivers. If Font Monster looks weird, change to small fonts.

Don't install or remove PostScript printers while Font Monster is running. The reason is Font Monster scans the WIN.INI file for PostScript printers when it starts up. If you must install or remove a PostScript printer, quit Font Monster first. Any changes of the PostScript printers while Font Monster is running may have unpredictable results.

If you are previewing a TrueType font when you switch to the font group window, and you subsequently activate a font group which removes all TrueType fonts, when you quit Font Monster, or open another font, you may get a message box claiming that it "Can't remove the previous font because it did not install properly". This happens because Font Monster tried to remove the previewed font from the system but discovered, to its amazement, that it had already been removed. Simply disregard this error.

You cannot run two copies of Font Monster at one time. Thus, you also cannot activate a font group icon from Program Manager while Font Monster is running.

This is not a bug with Font Monster, but with Windows: Don't try to install too many fonts in your system. Windows is said to support only 253 font families. In addition, adding fonts adds a lot of lines to the WIN.INI file. If you add too many fonts, the WIN.INI will grow so large that it will become inaccessible, causing all sorts of problems for Windows.

The View window may, on rare occasions, forget which font it is displaying, particularly at large and small point sizes. It will instead try to display the first font in your font list, usually it starts with the letter "A", like "Arial". Click on the VIEW button again to restore the original font.

Trying to open defective fonts can sometimes drive Font Monster nuts.

Font Monster uses the standard Private INI API functions for writing the .FM! group files, therefore, two fonts with exactly the same name can only be entered once in a group. Since Windows doesn't support fonts with the same names anyway you can work around this "problem" by renaming the fonts before adding them to a group.

If you are using Norton Desktop v2.0 and you use the font group function to add or remove an icon, and then you exit Font Monster right away, Windows sometimes pops up a dialog box mentioning a DDE problem, usually around 1 minute later. Choosing "Close" gets rid of the dialog box and doesn't seem to cause any further problems.

Also related to Norton Desktop v2.0, the custom icon for font groups do not work. To work around this, Font Monster checks the shell name and if it's not Program Manager it will use the regular Font Monster icon for font groups. If you use PCTools For Windows you can still force Font Monster to use the group icon by changing the settings in the CNFG window.

PCTools For Windows will insist on creating a new "Font Monster" folder on your desktop, even if one already exists elsewhere. This is a really lame bug, Central Point had better fix this.

TrueType fonts containing UNICODE (DBCS) string data are not guaranteed to save properly under English language Windows 3.1 due to an as yet undetermined quirk in the Windows API. It is recommended you use an international version of Windows of the same language as the fonts, i.e., Chinese Windows 3.1 to edit Chinese language fonts.

Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Japanese, and Korean are currently the only languages Font Monster supports when saving TrueType UNICODE (DBCS) strings. All other languages are assumed to be 8-bit ANSI characters, and will be translated to UNICODE by setting the high byte to 0 and the low-byte to the ANSI character. I may be wrong, but it looks like this is a workaround Windows 3.1 itself apparently uses in order to avoid doing real UNICODE encoding/decoding of European languages. In any case, such code conversion doesn't exist in the Windows 3.1 API, and Microsoft's own fonts use the same method, so I had to take this route.

Adding way too many fonts to a font group may cause a GPF error and crash Font Monster. We're talking about more than 600 fonts. This is probably due to a Visual Basic 3.0 memory limitation.

If you rename a TrueType font which is currently listed in a font group with the original name, installing that group will generate an annoying "Invalid TrueType font detected" error which immediately switches off all TrueType fonts in your system. To avoid this problem, simply remove that font from the font group, then add it again with its new name.

Make sure you have the Visual Basic 3.0 compatible THREED.VBX, supplied with Font Monster v3.4 in your WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory. Some older Visual Basic programs may reinstall an older version, which isn't compatible with Font Monster v3.4, in which case Font Monster will refuse to run. Also make sure you don't have an older version of THREED.VBX anywhere else in your PATH.

You should have a default printer selected before you can run Font Monster. You can set your default printer from Windows' Control Panel.

Some printers will refuse to print very well with Font Monster. Many users have written in and included some pretty yucky looking samples. Unfortunately, so far no one has mentioned specifically which printer they were using. I can't personally test every possible printer, but it appears dot-matrix printers cause the most trouble.


Shareware registration

Font Monster is distributed as shareware. This gives you the privilege of trying out this program before you pay for it. It doesn't mean it's free. Of course, you already know this.

It's still only $20 !!! *

Registering Font Monster will give you peace of mind, and, it will also entitle you to the special code which will enable the FMONSTER.INI file, turn off the neon sign, and disable the printing of the registration page from the print functions. Your registration code is valid for all subsequent versions of Font Monster.

Click here if you want to pay by CREDIT CARD -- toll free!

Send the money (CASH ONLY!) to this address: Sorry, but I can't accept checks, nor cheques for that matter. They will be returned!	Leaping Lizards 7F, No.8, Lane 197 Chuang Ching Road Taipei 110, Taiwan, R.O.C.
Your special code, and the latest news about Font Monster, will be delivered in a perfumed air-mail envelope all the way from Taiwan, with some pretty neat looking Chinese stamps on it! Not bad for twenty bucks, right? Also please mention where you obtained your copy, and the version number. Much appreciated would be comments on things you would like to see added or improved in later versions. You should allow about 3 to 4 weeks for delivery of your special code. I don't send out a disk because the unregistered version is exactly the same as the registered version, only minus your ID code.

If you just can't wait: Include your e-mail address and I can register you by e-mail the same day your payment is received.

How to contact the author for product support

How to be the first on your block to receive the next version of Font Monster

Attention Windows shareware authors


PsL
For credit card orders only

For all you guys who worry about sending me cash in the mail, you now have no excuse not to register. You can now register Font Monster with Master Card, Visa, American Express, or Discover, from Public (software) Library (PsL), a very reputable shareware distributor which offers a registration service to us shareware authors. There will be an additional US$5.00 handling charge added, making the final price for registration US$25.00. You can also order the current version of Font Monster from PsL for a few bucks more. Ask them for details.

Toll-free (voice)	Outside the US (voice)	Fax
800-2424-PSL	713-524-6394	713-524-6398
CompuServe E-Mail	Internet E-Mail	Regular mail
71355,470	71355.470@Compuserve.Com	Public (Software) Library P.O.Box 35705, Houston, TX 77235-5705.

THE ABOVE NUMBERS ARE FOR ORDERS ONLY.

Any questions about the status of the shipment of the order, refunds, registration options, product details, technical support, volume discounts, dealer pricing, site licenses, etc., must be directed to Steven Fox at Leaping Lizards.
Please don't call PsL for anything except registering or ordering.

PsL will notify me by e-mail the day of your order, and I will send your registration directly to you from Taiwan either by regular mail, or by e-mail. Please allow 2-3 weeks for delivery by regular mail, 2-3 days for delivery by e-mail.


Contacting the author
User assistance

By modem:

I can respond to questions asked by non-registered users of Font Monster only by modem. I can be contacted on-line in the public networks RIME Windows (RIME Node: TWWDE) conference, the FIDONET Windows conference,  and the I-Link Desktop Publishing conference. Send the message addressed to Steven Fox. Sometimes the e-mail takes several days to get here, and sometimes it doesn't make it at all, but it's worth a try. The e-mail on I-LINK is particularly spotty out this way so avoid I-LINK if possible.

Perhaps the best and most reliable way to get send a private message quickly, and get a response back just as quick, is via FidoNet/UUCP, my e-mail address is:

steven.fox@f921.n720.z6.fidonet.org

This service is available to users of nearly all the major on-line services around the world, like CompuServe, BIX, Internet, AOL, as well as many local BBSs.

Those of you with cheap long distance rates are welcome to call the local English language BBS, World Data Exchange (WDE), a PCBoard 15.0 system, where the latest updates, and betas, of Font Monster will always be posted first: 886-2-695-2326. Login with your real name, and use the password: WDECHINAROC to have instant, free, download access for Font Monster files, plus some limited access to other files and data on the BBS. Check the upload directory for files named FMON*.ZIP. Please leave me e-mail and say "Hi" if you call! WDE is also a useful BBS if you have any interest in Chinese, Taiwan culture, or being an expat in Taiwan.

By fax:

I welcome comments and suggestions by fax. My fax number is: 886-2-729-0863. However, due to the cost of overseas calls, I cannot respond via fax unless you are a registered user, you are offering huge sums of money, or you want to review Font Monster in your magazine.


Copyright, distribution, & disclaimers

Font Monster and this documentation were written by me, Steven Fox. I am the sole owner of this piece of intellectual copyright and you must abide by all the legal mumbo-jumbo that always goes along with such things. Got it?

IF THIS PROGRAM MESSES UP YOUR SYSTEM, SUE ME.

Shareware dealers: You are permitted to distribute Font Monster as long as you distribute the unaltered FMONST34.ZIP archive file you received. You may charge a fee for such distribution as long as it is less than US$5, and that it is made quite clear before distribution that this software is shareware and that an additional fee is required by the author. If you do not abide by this notice, I reserve the right to refuse further distribution of Font Monster by your company.

CD-ROM and book publishers: You are permitted to publish the unaltered FMONST34.ZIP as long as you notify me in some way beforehand so that I can directly provide you with the latest update; and you must send me a copy of the CD-ROM or book on which Font Monster was included after it has been published. Failure to do so is a violation of my copyright, and will result in my refusal to allow inclusion of Font Monster on any further material published by your company, and you can expect to see your name here. I'm tired of being cordial about this, because far too many CD-ROM and book publishers are making zillions more $$$ than me off my hard work, and most of you don't even attempt to contact me. The least you all can do is send me a copy of your publication.

Everyone else: Free distribution is most important to the success of Font Monster. If you like Font Monster and have a modem, please do everyone a favor and upload the unaltered FMONST34.ZIP to as many sites or BBSs as you possibly can. Your effort will be much appreciated by everyone.


About the Author

Speaking in a third-person tense:

After leaving school, for several years in the mid-80s he wrote utilities, not unlike this one, for his small company in London. In the late-80s he wrote MIDI software, designed several alternate operating systems for Ensoniq keyboards, and designed sounds, for his music-software company, Leaping Lizards, in Seattle. During this time in Seattle he also worked on the underground live TV program, "The New Spud Goodman Show", as their electronic graphics designer, and he also invented "BLAST!", a digital sampler car horn/car alarm. After a lengthy backpack tour of South-east Asia, he settled in Taipei where he is one of the few people his age who has never taught English there. He's presently working as a freelance computer and electronic publishing consultant for the relatively small foreign business community in Taipei, but he still refuses to wear a tie. He used to write the weekly Computer Talk section for the leading English language daily newspaper in Taiwan, The China News. However, he had to quit because he's currently suffering from a rather serious repetitive stress injury on both his wrists and he wants to warn fellow computer nerds that it CAN happen to you, so take care.

This release is dedicated to Jessie Chen, without her, Font Monster v3.4 might have been finished three months earlier.

The top 5 audio CD's played while programming v3.4 (in no particular order):

A Night at the Opera, Queen

East Side Story, Squeeze

Smiley Smile/Wild Honey, The Beach Boys

Powaqqatsi, Philip Glass

Rubber Soul, The Beatles

How to contact the author


popShareware
Font Monster v3.4 is not free software. You are permitted to evaluate this program for a couple weeks after which you must either discontinue using it, or (preferably) register. There are reports that not registering shareware brings you lots of bad karma. Please feel free to give copies of Font Monster to your friends, if you have any.


popSpecialoffer
If you would like a disk with the next version of Font Monster on it when it is released, send an additional $10 with your registration to cover costs. At least one or two more shareware versions are planned for release in the first half of '94, but no exact dates have yet been set.

As an added bonus, your disk will also contain selected shareware releases from Leaping Lizards, space permitting.


popSharewareAuthors
Special offer:

For other Windows shareware authors only, I will register Font Monster for you for free if you send me a disk with a registered version of your latest program, utility, font, game, or whatever. As long as it's for Windows please, I'm trying to avoid DOS these days. It's next to impossible to find current shareware here in Taiwan. I will also distribute your shareware around Taiwan if you wish. I'm happy to say that I've had several shareware authors send me their stuff. Keep it coming.


popcash
The government here in Taiwan does not allow an official non-resident, such as myself, to open a bank account, and in addition, foreign banks must charge a hefty service fee (more than US$40 bucks) to anyone who wants to cash cheques, and it often takes ages for them to clear anyway. So after cashing a US$20 cheque, I would actually lose $20! Does this situation suck? Yeah.

Credit card registration is now possible via a toll-free number, fax, or e-mail. Click here for details.

Due to popular demand, I can now accept currency from any of these countries: Japan, England, Switzerland, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Germany, Canada, Australia, as well as USA. You'll have to figure the conversion rate yourself, but please try to send no less than the equivalent of US$20. Paper money only please.

Please send me cash only, please. No money orders or postal orders either. If you send me a cheque, I'll just have to return it to you. I'm not kidding. I still receive a lot of cheques despite all my warnings, but I guarantee I won't register you unless you send cash.

To date, no major catastrophes have occurred from people sending me cash in the mail. If you are paranoid about such things, you can register or even insure your letter before you send it. Believe me, if people were sending me money, and I wasn't responding, Font Monster wouldn't still be around after more than one year already.

Air mail postage from the US for an average envelope with some money and letter is currently 50 cents.


Sound test

Click on the icon to hear the assigned sound. If you hear no sound, either the Font Monster extensions have not been added, or no sound has been assigned, or system sounds are disabled, or you have no sound card, or you have no speakers, or possibly, you are deaf.

Start program  Quit program  Open font  Save font  Undo changes  View font  Keep image button  Grid button  CNFG button	Install font  Uninstall font  Ok button  Cancel button  Delete button  Exit button  Font list change  Button click	Print button  Stop button  Font group button  New button  Activate font group  Add font group icon  Help  Who?

 Edit Control Panel sound settings...