Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!malgudi!caen!uwm.edu!ux1.cso.uiuc.edu!midway!midway.uchicago.edu!francis From: francis@zaphod.uchicago.edu (Francis Stracke) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.programmer Subject: Re: Neat Idea for a System Extension!!!! Message-ID: Date: 7 Jun 91 21:05:47 GMT References: <1991Jun7.101930.28539@athena.cs.uga.edu> Sender: news@midway.uchicago.edu (NewsMistress) Organization: Mathematics Department, University of Chicago Lines: 42 In-Reply-To: fore@athena.cs.uga.edu's message of 7 Jun 91 10: 19:30 GMT In article <1991Jun7.101930.28539@athena.cs.uga.edu> fore@athena.cs.uga.edu (Howard Fore) writes: >With System 6.0.7i and 7.0, hundreds if not thousands of Macintoshes' fonts >menus will be thrown into disarray with a hodpodge of font formats. In the TrueType is essentially transparent to apps. The same call that builds the font menu under earlier systems will work with TrueType, or indeed with any sort of Apple-format font ('NFNT' fonts get recognized), and I think we can expect Apple to keep it working if they add a new font format in the future. And there's no need to choose the right font if you've got TT & bitmaps in your system; the system will figure out which one is needed. I'm not sure what the problem with Adobe-format fonts is; I've never really used ATM. >P.P.S. The way i envision this se working is by the immediate options under the font menu would be hierarchial menus such as "Type 1", "Type 3", "Bitmapped", "TrueType", "MultipleMaster", etc. with each of these hmenus containing the listing for the fonts of that type. i.e., like TypeReunion. No, no! This is *evil*! In the first place, users shouldn't have to *care* what format their fonts are in. This is a basic of Mac: if the user can't see it, he shouldn't have to worry about it. For another thing, apps see the Font menu as a single menu; if you start splitting it up, you'll have to patch the menu manager all to hell to fool them into thinking it's still just one. And patches may not be all that hard, but they have a habit of clashing. -- /============================================================================\ | Francis Stracke | My opinions are my own. I don't steal them.| | Department of Mathematics |=============================================| | University of Chicago | What do you get if you multiply 6 by 9? | | francis@zaphod.uchicago.edu | --Ultimate Question | \============================================================================/