Font Preview 1.2 - A Tool to Preview Windows Fonts

Function: Preview displays a list of all fonts known to the system.
Click on a font, and a sample of the font is drawn in the large window
on the right. Option buttons along the top let you choose the font size,
set a new text string, get font metrics, and exit.

Installation: Copy preview.exe to any directory you wish. You can launch
it from Program Manager or your favorite menu system. There are no
special requirements.

Operation: Preview displays a list of available fonts in a list box on
the left side of the workspace, and a sample of the font in the larger
window at the right. You choose a font by clicking on the name in the
list box, or moving the highlight with the cursor keys. You can change
the font size by clicking the font size button, and choosing a new size.
You can change the sample string by clicking the String button and
entering the new text(52 characters max). The ? button brings up an
About dialog box. The Text Metrics button displays all the text metric
information about the currently displayed font.

Font Sizes:The font size dialog box displays all available sizes for
non-scalable fonts, and some representative sizes (up to 198 points) for
scalable ones. If you select a raster, non-scalable font and the current
font size is not availble, the closest available size (without scaling)
will be displayed.


Uses: Preview is an easy way to preview and select fonts while in your
favorite DTP or Word Processing program. Just run Preview, and keep it
as an icon, or hidden behind the main program window. When you need it,
click on the icon, or switch windows with alt-tab. Preview was written
to minimize its use of system resources, so hopefully this will be
practical for you.

Text Metrics: The best explanation of the various measures is given in
Petzold's Programming Windows book. Most of the information is in pixels
(the default mapping mode), and generally reflects the default values
for each face name. One exception is the weight, which is uniformly set
to 400 (i.e. medium), as the default value is often too heavy.

Constraints: Must be run on a 286 CPU or later.The more fonts that are
installed, the more memory Preview will need (although this burden
should not be too great).

Copyright Notice: Font Preview is a copyrighted work of Doug Overmyer.
However, it may be used freely, and distributed so long as this
explanation accompanies the original executable file.

Disclaimer: You use this program ENTIRELY at your own risk. It may or
may not be suitable for your needs. Any loss you suffer is at your own
cost. I do hope, however, that you find it useful.

Notes: Preview is written in Turbo Pascal for Windows. It has been
tested with ATM and the standard Windows fonts, at VGA, super-VGA, and
1024 resolutions. Release 1.2 added all iconic buttons, text metrics,
and a more appropriate selection of font sizes. Minor name change.

Problems, Suggestions: Please drop me a note on CIS:71021,2535

Author: Doug Overmyer, July 10, 1991