DJFont--Laserjet to Deskjet soft font converter
Version 0.3--June 3, 1989
Copyright 1989 Charles Tyson. All rights reserved.


(I used to have a much more comprehensive doc file for this program, but it
vanished during my last disk-cleaning frenzy. If you have any questions
about DJFont, you can contact me via Peoplelink (C-M-T) or Genie (C.Tyson))


The author grants permission to redistribute DJFont if
-- the program and this doc file are unaltered and distributed as a unit;
-- no charge is made for the program (excepting a nominal disk copying
charge or a standard connect charge for downloading time);
-- no ownership right in the program is asserted by the redistributor
against the author.
That last clause means, among other things, that any redistributor must cease
distributing DJFont at the request of the author. So there.

Please note that many soft fonts are copyrighted by their creators, and
cannot legally or ethically be converted unless you've bought the Laserjet
version of the font.

I don't ask any compensation for this program, but if it brings incalculable
pleasure to your life and you feel determined to reward me, send me a message
at one of my online addresses. I'll let you know where to send the check!


*** PROGRAM NOTES ***

DJFont converts soft fonts designed for the Hewlett-Packard Laserjet to the
format used by the HP Deskjet. It works only on proportional fonts in
portrait mode, and only on sizes up to about 24 point (but that covers most
worthwhile fonts). I am told that converted fonts also work on the Deskjet
Plus, but haven't tested it myself.

DJFont has a single menu controlled by the up and down arrow keys. Pressing
ENTER selects the highlighted choice.

1. Convert

The "Convert a soft font" option begins by asking you for the name of the
Laserjet font to be converted. Specify a path if the font file isn't in the
current directory. The program then makes a cursory check of the file to see
if it looks like a soft font (Note--version 0.3 sometimes crashes if the file
isn't).

If the soft font header doesn't have a 16-character description, you will be
prompted to enter one. This is purely cosmetic.

Next you will be prompted for the name of the Deskjet font file to be
created. Existing files will not be overwritten. I usually use the name
of the Laserjet file, replacing the extension with ".DJP".

The conversion then begins. The character being converted and the number of
characters remaining are shown on the screen so you can gauge the length of
your coffee break. Small fonts convert in a couple of minutes on an AT, but
larger fonts can take 10 minutes or more.

2. Sample

The "Print a sample" routine sends a sample of the converted font to the
Deskjet. Note that the printer is reset after the sample, so this routine
cannot be used to download fonts for regular use.

You are prompted for the file name of the converted font. Very little
checking is done before the file is sent to the printer, so be sure you
specify the converted Deskjet font, not the original Laserjet font!

3. Widths

The "Print character widths" routine asks for the name of a converted font
file, then sends the character widths (in 300ths of an inch) to the printer.
This information is necessary if you plan to construct printer drivers to
use converted fonts. Although DJFont makes the Deskjet character widths as
close to the Laserjet widths as possible, some characters end up a little
wider due to hardware limitations of the Deskjet.


*** USING CONVERTED FONTS (brief inadequate notes) ***

You first need a utility to download soft fonts to the Deskjet. Most makers
of Laserjet soft fonts provide such a program, and most of these programs
will work with Deskjet soft fonts as well. There are also some public domain
font downloaders that should work. Wordperfect 5.0 has the built-in capability
to manage downloads.

The more difficult step is to create a printer driver for your word processing
program. I have done this for Wordperfect 4.1 and 5.0; the process is
tedious (VERY tedious for 5.0, though the resulting driver is much more
powerful), and so many errors are possible that I can't begin to give any
helpful generalities. If you want to create a Wordperfect 5.0 driver and
get lost in the details, send me a message at the online services mentioned
above and I'll try to help.


------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NOTES from a user of DJFONT:

by Jerome Schneider UUCP: atglab!jls

After using the program to convert a bunch of the PD laserjet fonts, I
though I might pass on some observations, etc. about the program. Since
I can not find the original suthor, I suspect there is little chance of
getting the bugs fixed. Oh well, it's a usable package currently.

1 - I noticed that some smaller fonts, under 12 points, should be converted
as a one-pass print. Instead, a Tall font with two passes is created,
although the upper part of the characters are all zero. This occured only
on a few fonts, particularly the Bitstream Charter fonts I got with Word
Perfect. I actually used debug to modify the file, but it was a LOT of
work, probably only needed for often-used fonts.

2 - Many times, a large font about 22 to 24 points will just not be
accepted by the program. However, the only response is to jump quickly
back to the menu. If you try to continue, a system error occurs. I
found that the problem occurs when a font has several characters that
are taller than the 96 dot maximum DeskJet font height. The documentation
above implies that a message is printed about the font being too large,
but I never see it.

3 - The program will not take a font name from the command line -- you have
to remember the name of the font and type it in when prompted from the
menu. I realy wanted to apply it from a batch file, but could not.

4 - On larger fonts, the wodth of the SPACE char is converted as a very
big space. I had to patch the converted file using debug to eliminate
this. It is not straight-forward, however, so I don't know how to post
a simple method here.

5 - I found out that the test print option seems to fail if the font file
is longer than 32k bytes. The font file works, but the print option will
not download it properly, aborting very quickly. In any case, I usually
test the fonts by downloading a bunch of them, then holding the FONT key
while pressing the RESET button. This runs the font self-test in the DJ
and prints out any downloaded softfonts.


If anyone finds the original author, please pass these comments on to him.
Also, it would be nice if he included a mail address, etc. with the
program.

JS