Font Edit

Font Edit is an easy to use menu oriented program that allows the
creation and editing of character sets for use with the DEFT AGS
package. It requires at 64K of memory and at least one disk drive , and
will run on any type of Color Computer.

Font Edit may be started by either using DEFT Shell or by LOADM'ing it
and EXEC'ing it. On startup it will try to read the file 'Preferen/DAT'
from Disk drive 0. This file contains information that is used by the
program to determine what input device and what font to use. If this
file is not present, the font editor will use the keyboard for input and
try to read the file 'Saratoga/FNT' from drive 0. If this font is not
present, the program will not be able to function correctly and will
exit.

After the program reads in the initial system font, the screen will
switch to graphics mode. This is the working screen for the program. It
is divided into two parts, the font area and the menu bar. The menu bar
is the area at the top of the screen, and the font area is the white box
occupying the center.

The menu bar is used to select most of the commands given to the
program. It consists of a number of choices, with the current one in
reverese video. By moving the input device (or pressing the right and
left arrow keys if using the keyboard), you may move the cursor to
indicate your choice. When you have the cursor positioned on your
choice, press the button (or ENTER key). This will select that item from
the menu bar. Some of the menu bar entries will then drop down a menu of
choices. This menu works like the top menu bar, except the up and down
arrow keys are used instead.

The Menu Bar

The first item on the menu bar will produce a menu allowing you to
recieve information 'About DEFT AGS' or 'About Font Edit'. Selection of
wither of these will inform you of the current version of the software
you are using.

The next item is the 'File' menu. This allows you to load fonts from
disk, save fonts and save fonts with a different name. Selecting the
load function will read the directory of the current default disk
(initially the one that Font Edit was read from), and display a list of
fonts that are on the disk. To load a font, just position the cursor at
the name and press the button. The font will be read in from the disk.
The next entry on this menu is 'Save'. This will save the current font
back to the disk using the same name. If the current font is 'Untitled'
, as it is on startup, the 'Save' function will be disabled. The other
function is 'Save As ...'. This also saves the font on the disk, but
asks for the name to save it as first. Only eight characters are
allowed, and the extension of 'FNT' is automatically added.

The next menu bar item is 'Edit'. By selecting this, the cursor will
leave the menu bar and move into the font area. To return tothe menu
bar, move the cursor to the very top of the screen. We will discuss how
to edit a character in the next section.

The next entry on the menu bar is 'Aids'. As this implies, this will
present a menu of editing 'aids' that allow you to completely clear the
character set or define which character is the maximum defined one.
Clearing the character set will ask for conformation if the set has been
modified since it was last saved, and will change the title
to'Untitled'. Changing the maximum defined character will remove the
menu and ask you to select the max character. Move the flashing cursor
to the character you want to be the highest one and press the button. If
you change your mind, just try again BEFORE you save the font to disk.
Only the characters up through the maximum defined one are saved tothe
disk, and all others are lost.

The next to last selection on the menu bar is 'Preferences'. This will
present a menu allowing you to change the default drive number, the
current screen mode and colors, and the device used for input. The
devices are listed in the DEFT AGS guide, along with a description of
each. If you select a device that you do not have connected to your
computer, press the 'BREAK' key. This will select the keyboard as the
input device.

The last menu item is 'Quit'. This will quit the font editor and return
you to DOS (or DEFT Shell if the program was started from there). If the
font you are working on has been changed since it was last saved a
warning will be given and you will be asked to confirm. If you confirm
the font editor will be exited and all changes made will be lost.

Editing a character set

To edit the character set, select the 'Edit' entry from the menu bar.
This will position the cursor inside the font area. You may then move
the cursor to the character you wish to edit and press the button. This
will present an editing box, showing a blowup of the character along
with the character in normal size printed in normal, bold, dim and
reverse. This will allow you to see how the finished product will look.

At the top of the editing box is an arrow pointing down and an indicator
that tells the current width of the character. By moving the cursor to
the top and desired width the width of the character can be changed. The
characters used by DEFT AGS may be any width from 0 to 8. This width
normally includes on row of blanks on the right of the character that is
used to seperate them when they are printed. If this row is not included
the characters will butt into each other on the screen.

At the bottom of the editing box are three boxes with the choices 'Save'
, 'Clear', and 'Cancel'. Save will save all of the changes you have made
to the character and then remove the editing box. Cancel will restore
the character to how it was before you started editing and then close
the box. Clear will clear the character and set the width to zero. If
you select Clear by accident, just select Cancel to restore the
character. If you are using the keyboard for input it may take several
presses of the left and right arrows to move between the boxes.

In the middle of all this is the character itself. You may change the
character by placing the cursor over the dot you want to change and
pressing the button. This will change the color of that dot from black
to white (or white to black). If you are using any input device BUT the
keyboard, you may hold the button down and move the device around to
change the other dots to the same color. Be careful to stay out of the
boxes at  the bottom and the width area at the top.