Category : Font Collections
Archive   : BARBARA.ZIP
Filename : HANDFORM.DOC

 
Output of file : HANDFORM.DOC contained in archive : BARBARA.ZIP
HANDFORM.EXE
(c) 1994 by Alexander Walter


What is "handform.exe"?
=======================

The program "handform.exe" will try to make printed output look more natural
when using the "barbara.sft" script font supplied here. It automatically
substitutes ligatures in the font, and randomizes the printed output.

A batch file included here in the archive "download.zip" will download the
bitmapped version of the font to a LaserJet or compatable printer, and
can optionally print a file using it.



How Does "handform.exe" Work?
=============================

The program "handform.exe" works as follows: It will read an ASCII file you
want to print with the handwriting font "barbara.sft" supplied here. Then,
using information given in the configuration file "handform.ini", it writes
a second file which contains your ASCII text modified in the following ways:

1. It will substitute ligature characters. The ligatures to substitute are
given in the "[ligatures]" section of the "handform.ini" file.

2. It will substitute preferred pairings for letter pairs. This is useful
if several versions of a particular character exists in the font, and some
versions look better when paired than other pairs. These preferences are
given in the "[preferences]" section of the "handform.ini" file.

3. For all other characters, if there exist multiple versions of the
character, it will randomly substitute one of the versions of the
characters. The multiple character definitions are given in the
"[equivalences]" section of the "handform.ini" file.



How Do I Use "handform.exe"?
============================

Suppose you have an ASCII file named "barbara.txt". Make sure the control
file "handform.ini" is in the current directory; then you use "handform.exe"
by typing the following command from the DOS command line:

handform barbara.txt

This creates a second file named "barbara.hw". If you view "barbara.hw" on
screen using the DOS 'type' command, it will look like gibberish. But when
you print it using the "download.bat" batch file supplied here it will
contain all the right handwriting characters.

If you get a message that the file "handform.ini" wasn't found, make sure
it is in the current directory.



How Do I Print a File That Has Been "Handformed"?
=================================================

The easiest way is to use the "download.bat" batch file that is included.
This batch file also uses a few other files containing PCL commands needed
to download the font and use it in the LaserJet. All of these files need
to be in the current directory. The syntax for doing this would be:

download barbara.sft barbara.hw

The "download.bat" batch file, as well as the bitmapped font "barbara.sft"
will work only with LaserJet and compatable printers.

One a file has been handformed, you can still import the handformed file
back into Windows as described below.



Can I Use "handform.exe" With My Word Processor?
================================================

No -- the "handform.exe" program only works with ASCII text files. It
would become confused by the binary format of your word processor document.

However, most word processors can save a document in ASCII format. If
yours has this feature, you can save your document as ASCII, then run the
"handform.exe" program on your saved ASCII file. Your ASCII file must
have a carriage return and line feed (CR/LF) at the end of each line,
otherwise you may get the error message "out of string space" when running
the "handform.exe" program.



Can I Use "handform.exe" With Windows?
======================================

Not directly. Although you can use the TrueType version of the handwriting
font, "barbara.ttf", in Windows just like any other TrueType font, you will
need to go through a few extra steps to get the advantage of the more natural
output possible by "handforming" a document.

Export or save your Windows document to disk in ASCII format; make sure that
this includes carriage returns and line feeds (CR/LF). Run the "handform.exe"
program on this saved ASCII file, then do an ASCII import of the handformed
file back into Windows. If necessary, format the imported file back into
the TrueType version of the handwriting font "barbara.ttf".

If you see the message "PERMISSION DENIED" when trying to handform an ASCII
file, this is caused by the DOS program "share.exe". You will need to close
the file in your Windows word processor before running the "handform.exe"
program.



ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ»
º º
º #### ##### ###### #### # ## # º
º # # # # # # # # # # º
º #### # # ##### # # # # # º
º # ##### # # # ###### # º
º # # # # # # # # # # º
º #### # ###### #### # # # ###### º
º º
º º
º #### ###### ###### ###### ##### º
º # # # # # # # º
º # # ##### ##### ##### # # º
º # # # # # ##### º
º # # # # # # # º
º #### # # ###### # # º
º º
ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ

Now available for a new lower price of $99, have a custom font made from
your printing or handwriting. You'll get fonts in both bitmapped and
TrueType format, plus a free font editor for LaserJet bitmapped fonts.
Send printing or writing samples on white, unlined 8.5" x 11" paper plus
$99. Don't forget to include upper/lower case, numbers, and all those
funny characters like: ~!@#$%^&*()_+|`-=\[]{};':",./<>?

Do you have custom bitmapped fonts you want converted into TrueType format?
This service is available for just $10 per font. Quick turn-around, too.


ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÑÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ»
º Alexander Walter ³ Toll free USA only: (800) 262-0827 º
º 182 ILER Dr. ³ otherwise: (908) 671-5080 º
º Middletown, NJ 07748 ³ or: (908) 949-0507 º
ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÏÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ
Compuserve ID: 76500,1423


  3 Responses to “Category : Font Collections
Archive   : BARBARA.ZIP
Filename : HANDFORM.DOC

  1. Very nice! Thank you for this wonderful archive. I wonder why I found it only now. Long live the BBS file archives!

  2. This is so awesome! 😀 I’d be cool if you could download an entire archive of this at once, though.

  3. But one thing that puzzles me is the “mtswslnkmcjklsdlsbdmMICROSOFT” string. There is an article about it here. It is definitely worth a read: http://www.os2museum.com/wp/mtswslnk/