Copyright: Font Monster v2.0a is ® 1993 by Steven Fox


Index

Program and documentation © 1992-1993 by Steven Fox, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC
Published and distributed by Leaping Lizards, Taiwan

This program is shareware, it is not free. Please register today.

Using Font Monster

What Font Monster does

Installing Font Monster

Using font groups without Font Monster

Registering Font Monster


Whats new In v2.0a
What's new in v2.0a

The major new feature is the font group function, which should prove useful to anyone who has a lot of fonts on their system but who doesn't want them all installed at once.

Additional TrueType data has been added, all of it is editable. Most of the time you shouldn't need to change it, it's there more for curiosity than anything else.

The CNFG window lets you change parameters, and you can register the program if you sent me twenty bucks. Registering activates a private INI file which keeps your settings from the previous session, and removes the subtle nags and the subliminal message (did you spot it?).

A number of minor bugs in v1.0 (and v2.0) have been found and squashed. See the release notes.


Release notes v1.0: December 1, 1992

In an effort to get this utility finished and distributed as quickly as possible, the file FMONSTER.TXT, will serve as the documentation as well as the HELP file.


Release notes v2.0: March 1, 1993

(TTF) Fixed bug in "SmartLink" which turned off "Regular" style if styles other than Italic or Bold were selected, and the opposite.

(TTF) Fixed bug so that all tables are always saved on 4-byte offsets.

(PFM) Fixed bug which caused the Type1 form to be hidden if Font Monster was associated with the "PFM" extension and started by double clicking on a .PFM font with File Manager.

(PFM) Fixed bug which tried to use TTF font name instead of PFM font name, in the dialog box which asks if you want to save changes. Whoops!

(TTF) Added a whole bunch of new font parameters to edit, for what it's worth. Mostly EmUnit related stuff from the "OS/2" table. Also some stuff from the "post" table.

(TTF) Changed most radio buttons to drop-down menus to conserve space. This also relieved Font Monster of an annoying bug in VB with redrawing the buttons.

(TTF) Brought items which I thought would be most important, or at least more interesting, to the main form. Bumped less important stuff to the second form.

(TTF) Added code which appropriately sets the Monospaced flag in the "post" table.

(ALL) Added configuration dialog box.

(ALL) Added code for registering the program, and writing FMONSTER.INI file. FMONSTER.INI file is enabled only for registered users.

(ALL) Removed Common Dialogs and replaced them with custom dialogs which preview font names. This also means CMDIALOG.VBX is not needed anymore.

(TTF) Added code for computing correct checksums for each font table, and the overall checksum in the "head" table, in an attempt to make Font Monster conform to the TrueType specification. This was a real pain because Visual Basic lacks UNSIGNED LONG integers, which is what is required to compute the checksums, and the fact that each LONG had to translated from Big Endian byte ordering, and eventually the checksum had be written back as Big Endian. Subsequently, since the process of converting and computing the checksums takes some time, particularly on slower computers, and since correct checksums are not actually required by Windows 3.1 or System 7, I made it an option which can be enabled/disabled.

(ALL) Recompiled and optimized code for Visual Basic 2.0. There will not be a VB1.0 compatible version. Switching to VB2.0 meant I no longer need to include the INSTSCRL.VBX file. Despite the optimization, the EXE file size has grown considerably due to the addition of new subs.

(TTF) Added option for installing .TTF files to SYSTEM directory, just like what Control Panel does.

(TTF) Fixed bug which didn't delete WIN.INI TrueType entries if they had previously been installed in the SYSTEM directory.

(TTF) Found bug in fonts converted by FontMonger 1.0 where PANOSE(Weight) byte is set incorrectly. Font Monster v2.0 will now deal with it by simply leaving the field blank. If unchanged by user, the buggy byte gets written back to the font as 0. The bug seems to have no effect on the font though.

(TTF) Possibly cured a troublesome bug. Font Monster v1.0 would occasionally not allow a user to open a font, for no apparent reason. A work-around was suggested in Font Monster v1.0; open another font, then try to open the one you want again. This bug occurred whether DOS's SHARE.EXE was installed or not. In this version I've added the keyword "Shared" to all file open statements which seems to have solved the problem. Probably causes others, but so far so good.

(ALL) Fixed bug which had allowed the program to be closed by Program Manager without first asking to save changes. Now any attempt to close Font Monster when a loaded font's data has changed will return a "Save Changes" dialog box.

(TTF) Changed terminology for the Weight Class. It now corresponds with the Microsoft Access weight terminology. Hopefully this will prove to be a standard. Exception: "Regular" was not changed to "Normal", as it's called in Access. Perhaps Microsoft thought "Normal" would be easier to understand than "Regular", but the TrueType spec. always calls it "Regular", in fact it requires it. Saying "Normal" in the Weight menu but "Regular" everywhere else would cause confusion, so I'm gonna leave it this way until convinced otherwise.

(TTF) Added WeightClass to "SmartLink". Selecting a weight from the Weight Class drop-down list box will also insert the text in the STYLE string data box. This was done in hopes that future applications will begin to support the additional weight variations, such as Microsoft Access.

(PFM) Fixed bug reading the Copyright string data of some fonts. This was due to the fact that at the time of Font Monster v1.0's release I had no documentation whatsoever about Type1 font files and had to reverse engineer the PFM. Actually, I still don't have any documentation. Stay tuned for v3.0!

(ALL) Modified the view window so that the control box can be moved, or temporarily removed, by the user. Also made the view window move to the back if it's maximized when the exit button is pressed, instead of being hidden.

(GROUP) Added the font group code.

(ALL) Improved the appearance of the button bar on all forms. Changed the icons on some buttons.

(ALL) Rewrote documentation. Made real Windows Help file.

(GROUP) After release of the v1.99¼ beta, made changes to greatly improve the speed of Type1 installation from a font group by keeping a copy of parts of the WIN.INI in memory rather than always accessing the disk. Also fixed a number of bugs reported by beta testers, and added most of their suggestions. Big thanks to Eric Luijer, Carlos McEvilly, and James Thomas in Taipei for beta testing.


Release notes v2.0a: March 3, 1993

Concentrating on the font group feature caused me to overlook a few quirks in other parts of the program. Fortunately, nothing major, but perhaps I should have named it "v2.04c"!

Some buttons will randomly stop responding to clicks. Check out Known bugs for details.

The "Delete font" button on the main TrueType window becomes permanantly disabled after deleting a font, however, the View window's "Delete font" button works. This was simply a bug in the code.

Fixed a bug where Font Monster created "ghost" 0-byte files in other directories, when trying to extract the name of a font, which, by the way, it would fail to do. This only would occur if a font was "Opened", then the font group function was used and the path was changed, then returning to the font edit window and opening another font.

Removed a bogus line in the code which made it impossible to scan through the files in a directory list box using the cursor up and down keys.

Fixed bug which wouldn't allow you to save an unnamed font group while exiting Font Monster.

Accidentally found an obscure bug which caused the "MORE" window to display on the screen while editing a Type1 font.

Changed several of the DDE commands in a futile effort to improve DDE communication with Program Manager when adding a font group icon. It's still buggy. The only change worth mentioning is Font Monster will now create the FMONSTER.GRP file specifically in the WINDOWS directory, instead of the default directory.

Lowered the 3D height of all buttons just for the hell of it.

Added a switch to turn ATM on or off before restarting the system.

Last, but not least, the README.1ST file claimed registration was only $5, a sloppy cut-and-paste from the "Ouija For Windows" README.1ST file. I supposes this proves I shouldn't try to work on two projects simultaneously.


Program Manager vs. Norton Desktop

If you are using Norton Desktop v2.0 instead of Program Manager you will have no problem using Font Monster v2.0a. Any references to Program Manger or File Manager in this documentation also apply to the Norton Desktop. A minor bug has been found when creating font group icons with Norton Desktop. Check out Known bugs for details.


Upgrading from Font Monster v1.0

Delete the old FMONSTER.EXE and FMONSTER.TXT. You also can delete INSTSCRL.VBX, CMDIALOG.VBX, and VBRUN100.DLL, unless other Visual Basic programs you use require them. The only VBX file still required by Font Monster v2.0a is THREED.VBX, which is the exact same file as was supplied with v1.0.


Upgrading from Font Monster v2.0

Just copy the new FMONSTER.EXE and FMONSTER.HLP over the old ones. Everything else is the same.


Installing Font Monster v2.0a

Font Monster v2.0a requires you to use Windows 3.1. It will not run in Windows 3.0 or OS/2 2.0. Beta testers say that Font Monster v2.0a works fine in the current beta WINOS/2 v2.1. If you own Adobe Type Manager (ATM), Font Monster will automatically detect it and act accordingly. Font Monster will work fine without ATM. It is recommended that you always have TrueType fonts enabled, do so from Windows' Control Panel.

The first time you run Font Monster it will tell Windows to associate Font Monster with the file extensions .PFM, .TTF, and .FM! by automatically editing the WIN.INI file. This will enable you to click on any file ending with these extensions, using File Manager, and Font Monster will start up and present that font's data on screen right away. Files with the .FM! extension are not fonts, they are Font Monster's font groups which it keeps in the same directory as the FMONSTER.EXE file.

FMONSTER.EXE

The main program. Copy this to wherever you like. You can assign it an icon in Program Manager using the usual procedure.

FMONSTER.HLP

This help file. Make sure this is located in the same directory as FMONSTER.EXE.

FILE_ID.DIZ

This is only used by PCBOARD BBSs to describe Font Monster. You don't need this file installed on your hard disk, it can be safely deleted.

README.1ST

This text file contains a basic description about Font Monster and how to install it on your hard disk. Since you are reading this help file now you can safely delete the file.

The following files must be installed in your WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory:

VBRUN200.DLL

The Visual Basic 2.0 run-time library, not included in the Font Monster .ZIP archive. You may already have it if you have other Visual Basic 2.0 programs. It is available for free on most BBSs, probably from wherever you got FMONST2A.ZIP from.

THREED.VBX

An additional Visual Basic file needed by Font Monster v2.0a. This file manages all the nifty looking 3D effects, and also gobbles up a big chunk of your system resources while Font Monster is running.

Moving Font Monster to another directory

The next time it starts, Font Monster will detect if it has been moved and automatically re-associate itself to its new location. Remember to move this .HLP file and all the .FM! files as well.


What Font Monster does for you

Font Monster is a multi-purpose font utility. It's ultimate goal is to be an all in one monster of a utility for font fanatics. It's primary intention is to cover ground that other utilities (shareware and commercial) missed out on, or didn't implement very well.

Font Monster allows you to edit TrueType and Type1 font data. Not the glyphs and stuff, but all the stuff which Windows uses to recognize a font, like the name, the weight, the style, etc., plus lots of esoteric stuff that you probably will never need to touch.

Font Monster lets you preview TrueType fonts before they are installed. If you decide to install a font you are previewing you can also install it with Font Monster, or later un-install it, or even delete the font file from your hard disk.

Font Monster manages your INI files. When you install or uninstall a Type1 font, Font Monster automatically makes all the necessary changes in your ATM.INI file and your WIN.INI file. When you install or uninstall a TrueType font, Font Monster automatically changes your WIN.INI file.

Font Monster manages your font files. When you install, uninstall, and delete fonts, Font Monster will take care of all the dirty work.

Font Monster can create font groups. These are special macro files containing a list of fonts to install. Activating one of these font groups will optionally uninstall the currently installed fonts, then install the set of fonts listed in the group. You can create as many of these font groups as you like, for all your various font situations. Font groups can even be saved as an icon in Program Manager and can be activated simply by clicking on the icon, thus eliminating the need to start up Font Monster each time you want to change fonts groups.

What Font Monster does not do

Some examples for using Font Monster


What Font Monster does not do

Font Monster does not do everything. Sometimes this is for the better, sometimes not:

Since TrueType and Type1 (using ATM) are the only real Windows standards, Font Monster won't support other type managers or font types. OS/2 users should note that Font Monster will not edit Type1 .AFM files, the standard format used by OS/2 ATM.

Changes you make to a font using Font Monster WILL NOT IN ANY WAY change the shapes of the characters on screen or as printed. Information such as kerning and hinting is simply copied byte-for-byte from the original font file. To edit the shapes of the characters you will need something like FontMonger, or Fontographer, or AllType.

Although you can view, install, uninstall, and delete Type1 fonts, you can not preview them. The technology exists to do so, as demonstrated by ATM v2.5, but it is still kept secret by Adobe Inc.

Font Monster is intended for personal use only. You should not use Font Monster to rename someone elses fonts and then sell them as your own, this is illegal. But if you do so, be aware that Font Monster does not change all the data in a font which identifies it to its original creator.

Font Monster does not convert fonts from one format to another.


Why should you use Font Monster? Some examples:

Here are some common situations the average font fanatic, such as yourself, might come across:

Let's say you have two different fonts from two different font vendors but both fonts have the same name. Windows will have no way of telling the difference which is which. By renaming one font, Windows (and you) will be able to call up either font.

How about if you copy some fonts over from the Apple Macintosh? The Apple naming scheme can sometimes be quite weird. For example, take the fonts named "Ren&Stimpy Bold 001.002" & "DavysRudeSymbols 10/23/91". Both of these names include some extra information which you don't want and it also confuses Windows when it tries to select the style variations in the font's family. Renaming the fonts will take care of this.

Word For Windows 2.0 tries to be so smart when you want to insert a symbol or a bullet. It will only allow you to select from those fonts in your system which are marked as symbol fonts. What can you do if you want to use a font which isn't a symbol font? Good luck, Word doesn't make it very easy for you. Use Font Monster to mark the font as Symbol and from then on Word will put it in its Symbol menu. This same situation also applies to CorelDRAW 3.0.

Some fonts, particularly Type1 fonts, are designed with Style formats incompatible with Windows. You may have Regular, Bold, Italic, and BoldItalic versions for a particular family but you may not be able to choose them the usual way, for example Ctrl-B for Bold, Ctrl-I for Italic. Instead you are forced to choose, for example, "Simpsons Bold" or "Simpsons Italic" from your font menu. This is because the styles were all marked as Regular when they were produced. Use Font Monster to set the correct Style and Family Name in each font. Then you can have one menu entry, "Simpsons", and choose the styles in your word processor the usual way.

Many font vendors (and also some applications, CorelDRAW! 3.0 is a good example, which bundle fonts with their programs), for legal reasons change the names of the fonts to something similar, but not the font's real name. Renaming the fonts to their official names will help you organize your font collection.

Font Monster also lets you preview TrueType fonts, even if they are not installed yet! If you like what you see you can install it permanently with Font Monster. If you don't like a font you can also un-install fonts from Windows with Font Monster, and even delete the font files from your hard disk.

If you have a lot of fonts installed at once you probably know how slow Windows takes to startup, and then how slow some applications take to get going, like PAGEMAKER 4.0. Use Font Monster's font group feature to create smaller groups of fonts, which you can install before you open a project that requires specific fonts. For example, you might be laying out a newsletter which requires 14 fonts, and then later you might work on a poster which requires 10 totally different fonts. Simply create two font groups containing the fonts needed for each project. Then as you switch projects, simply click in the corresponding font group's icon to uninstall the unneeded fonts and install the new fonts. You'll notice a remarkable difference in speed when compared to having all your fonts installed at once.

Font Monster now directly supports the additional weight variations implemented in Windows 3.1. At this time, the only other application known to support the additional weights is Microsoft's Access database. Once more applications support the additional weights, you can use Font Monster to rename the weights of your existing fonts.


Using Font Monster

 Open a font for viewing or editing

 Save changes to a font

 Restore original font data

 View and preview fonts

 Font groups

 Font Monster configuration

 About Font Monster

 Font Monster documentation

 Quit Font Monster

TrueType font data window

Type1 font data window

Font group window


Opening a font

The directory list box works just like the familiar Windows common dialog box. It will list only fonts that have the suffix .PFM or .TTF, for Type1 and TrueType fonts respectively. If a file is clicked once with the mouse, the actual font name will appear below. Double-clicking, or pressing the OK button, will open the font. After the font has been loaded, the appropriate edit window will appear.

Shortcut: Ctrl-O

TrueType font data window

Type1 font data window


Saving changes to a font

If you have made any changes to the font data you can save it either as an entirely new file, or replace the original file. Use the dialog box to select the directory and the filename.

Type1 only:

When saving a Type1 font you are only saving the .PFM file. If there is an accompanying .PFB file, it is not altered or renamed. If saving the .PFM file to a different directory, the .PFB is not copied. Note that Font Monster and Adobe Type Manager expect the filenames of the .PFM and the .PFB files to be the same, and in either the default ATM font directories or the same directory.

Shortcut: Ctrl-S will save changes to the font to the same filename you opened.

On an average 486-33:

Saving a Type1 font takes less than one second.

Saving a TrueType font takes from 5 to 10 seconds.

Saving a TrueType font with checksums enabled takes 10 to 20 seconds.


Restoring original font data

Press this button to restore all the original font data. If you have made changes and then saved the changes, this will only recall changes made following the last save.

Shortcut: Ctrl-U


Using the font viewing window
Using the font view window

A small window will pop up showing a depiction of the currently selected font. You can enlarge this window to full screen to get a real good look. Note that you can not display a Type1 font if it was not already installed before you started Font Monster. TrueType fonts, however, can be viewed whether they are installed or not.

The mini-window within the font view window can be moved, or removed by double-clicking on its control box located in it's top-left corner. Press any key to restore it.

 Open a font for viewing or editing

 Font Monster configuration

 Font Monster documentation

 Return to the previous window.

 Using the 3D effect	 Turning off the 3D effect

 Displaying a text string	 Displaying a single character

 Install or uninstall a font	 Delete a font file

Custom Text

Size

Character


Display 3D effect

Toggle a 3D effect with this button. There are four variations. Yes, this feature is pretty useless, and it probably won't exist in future versions of Font Monster, so enjoy it while you have a chance.

 Turning off the 3D effect


Turn off 3D effect

Turn off the 3D effect with this button. Looks blurry now, doesn't it?

 Using the 3D effect


Display custom text

When viewing a font you can enter text in the Custom text box. If you have selected Save configuration on exit whatever you type here will be recalled the next time you use Font Monster.

 Displaying a single character


Display single character

When viewing a font you can view single characters by sliding the Character slider between 32 and 255. If you have selected Save configuration on exit your selected character will be recalled the next time you use Font Monster.

 Displaying a text string


Font size

You can select the displayed size of the font you are viewing by moving the Size slider. The range is from 8 to 720 points. If you have selected Save configuration on exit the current size will be recalled the next time you use Font Monster.


Exit

If the view window is maximized, this will send the view window to the back before returning you to the previous font edit window. Otherwise, the view window will be hidden.


Font groups

If you own a lot of fonts your system can slow down significantly when you have a lot of them installed. Font groups are macros which allow you to automatically install and uninstall fonts, even without having to start up Font Monster. Create font groups for every situation where you need specific fonts installed. Having just the necessary fonts installed speeds up your system considerably.

 Create a new font group

 Save changes to a font group

 Font Monster configuration

 About Font Monster

 Font Monster documentation

 Return to the previous window.

 Quit Font Monster

Selecting a font group

 Add selected fonts to the current group

 Refresh the font name list

 Remove selected fonts from the current group

 Activate Group

 Delete Group

 Add group to Program Manager

Current group name

Remove all TrueType

Remove all Type1

Autodownload all Type1

Font name

File name

Path name

Restart Windows

Return to current windows session


Create a new font group

Click here to create a new group. Note that when the font group window is first displayed, a new, empty, font group is automatically created.


Save changes to a font group

After you have created or edited a font group, click here to save the changes. You must save changes before you can activate a font group. Font groups are always stored in the same directory as the FMONSTER.EXE file. Their file extension is .FM!. Their format is similar to the WIN.INI file, and they can be examined with a text editor, although Font Monster is capable of managing these files automatically.


Return to previous window from font group window
Return to previous window

This closes the font group window and returns you to the previous font window.


Current group name

To select an already saved font group, click on the down-arrow and a drop-down list will appear from which you can select an existing font group.

A group name can be up to 64 characters long. When you add the group to Program Manager, this name will appear under the icon. Note that the first 8 letters of a group name also serve as its DOS filename. Therefore you should avoid naming font groups with exactly the same first 8 characters.


Add selected fonts to the current group

Click here to add the selected fonts to the group. You select fonts in the list using the standard Windows method of using the mouse in conjunction with the SHIFT and CTRL keys.

When a font is added to a group, it is removed from the available fonts list. You can not add a font to a group more than once. This is why the values following "Available fonts" and "Number of fonts found" may differ.

Shortcut: Double click on any name in the list to add it to the current group.


Refresh the font name list

Re-reads the font files in the current directory. This is usually not necessary as Font Monster does this automatically.


Remove selected fonts from the current group

Click here to remove the selected fonts from the group. You select fonts in the list using the standard Windows method of using the mouse in conjunction with the SHIFT and CTRL keys.

When a font is removed from a group, it may or may not be added to the available fonts list. This depends on whether the removed font is kept in the currently selected directory.

Shortcut: Double click on any name in the list to remove it from the group.


Activate Group

To activate a font group, click here. Immediately, a small window will pop up displaying the current install/uninstall status. If any Type1 fonts are installed or uninstalled by the font group, and ATM is active, you will be asked if you want to restart windows. If a group fails to install a font (because it has been deleted, or moved, or renamed), or if the font is already installed, you will not see any error messages. This is done in an effort to keep user interaction to a bare minimum.

At any time, you can press this button to cancel any further installing or uninstalling by the font group.

TrueType only:

Note that Windows' Control Panel normally copies fonts to your WINDOWS/SYSTEM directory, Font Monster groups do not. Wherever the font was kept at the time it was added to a group is where Font Monster will expect to find it later when it installs it. So don't freak out Windows by trying to install a font stored on a floppy.

Type1 only:

Font Monster automatically detects if Adobe Type Manger (ATM) is installed, and active, and acts accordingly when installing and uninstalling Type1 fonts. Font Monster will automatically install or uninstall the font to every Postscript printer installed on your system. Thus, if you don't use ATM and you have no Postscript printers installed, installing a Type1 font achieves absolutely nothing.

Unlike ATM, Font Monster can install a Type1 font residing in any directory. Font Monster expects both the .PFM and .PFB files to have the same name, and to reside in the same directory.

But a more likely situation for ATM users is that all their Type1 fonts were copied and separated into different directories by ATM when it originally installed them. Font Monster handles this gracefully by first determining the default directories ATM uses for storing fonts. Then if a user installs a .PFM file residing in ATM's default PFM directory, it will automatically install the coresponding .PFB file in ATM's default PFB directory. That is, assuming Autodownload all Type1 has been enabled. Otherwise, only the .PFM file will be installed.

See also:

Using font groups without Font Monster

Tips and shortcuts


Delete Group

This will delete the current font group's nnnnnnnn.FM! file from your Font Monster directory.


Add group to Program Manager

This will create an icon in Program Manager which represents your font group. The current group name will also be the name under the icon. Each group will always use the same "F-monster" icon, but you can change this later if you wish.

See also:

Using Norton Desktop

Using font groups without Font Monster

Tips and shortcuts


Remove all TrueType fonts

When the current font group is activated, all TrueType fonts presently installed will be removed from the system. This allows you to create font groups that install either cumulatively or exclusively, and optionally, exclusively from Type1 fonts.


Remove all Type1 fonts

When the current font group is activated, all Type1 fonts presently installed will be removed from the system. This will require restarting Windows afterward. This function allows you to create font groups that install either cumulatively or exclusively, and optionally, exclusively from TrueType fonts.


Autodownload all Type1 fonts

This option will add the .PFB file to any Postscript printer entries in the WIN.INI file. This allows Windows to download the font as a softfont while printing. For example the following line does not autodownload the font:

softfont1=d:\win31\pfm\davyscat.pfm

The following line autodownloads the same font:

softfont1=d:\win31\pfm\davyscat.pfm,d:\win31\pfb\davyscat.pfb


Font group view

To allow you to better organize you font groups, you can chose to view the fonts either as their actual name, their file name, or their entire path and file name.


Restart Windows

Return to current Windows session

If you activated a font group which either installed or uninstalled Type1 fonts, or if you installed or uninstalled Type1 fonts from the view window, and if ATM is installed, you will need to Restart Windows before the changes can take effect.

You have the option of not restarting right away by pressing the Return to current Windows session button. You may want to press this button if you plan to install or uninstall more Type1 fonts right away. Font Monster will remind you once again to Restart Windows before you exit the program.

You also have the option of switching Adobe Type Manager (ATM) on or off before restarting.


Using font groups without Font Monster

After you have created and saved a font group, and added it to Program Manager, it's ready to be activated at any time simply by double clicking on it. A font group is essentially a macro, so it loads in only a small portion of Font Monster. It gets to work pretty quickly, and when it's finished it automatically quits Font Monster. The only interaction on your part will be if Type1 fonts were installed or uninstalled by the font group. Then the you must press a button to either restart Windows or return to the current session.

See also:

Tips and shortcuts

Activate Group


Font Monster settings

This button calls up a window with buttons which allow you to control how Font Monster behaves. The registered version of Font Monster will allow you to save these settings from session to session, otherwise you will may need to change the settings each time you start Font Monster. Yet another good reason for registering today.

 = YES	 = NO

 "SmartLink" enabled

 Install TrueType fonts to SYSTEM directory

 Install Type1 fonts as autodownload for PS

 Compute TrueType checksums

 Save settings on exit

 How to enter your registration code


SmartLink
"SmartLink"

For TrueType only:

Enabling this allows you to link any changes you make in one field to other appropriate fields. For example, clicking on the Bold, Actual Style will automatically enter the word "Bold" in the Style field. Likewise, typing in a Family Name will change the Windows Name simultaneously.

This is an invaluable feature because the data in the string fields should generally not conflict with one another, or with the settings elsewhere. Yes, there are a few rare exceptions, but unpredictable things can happen in your font menus if you're not careful.

It is highly recommended you turn on "SmartLink" and leave it on, always.


Install TrueType fonts to SYSTEM directory

For TrueType only:

When installing a TrueType font you may wish to copy it to your WINDOWS/SYSTEM directory for whatever reason, as Windows' Control Panel does by default. This will make Font Monster automatically copy the .TTF file to the WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory when installing. Note that the original .TTF file is not deleted. Also note that uninstalling a font installed in this way doesn't remove the .TTF file from the WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory. If you wish to do so, use the [image] button to both uninstall and delete the .TTF file.

Font groups are not affected by this setting, they install TrueType fonts in their current directory only.


Install Type1 fonts as autodownload for PS

For Type1 only:

This option will add the .PFB file to any Postscript printer entries in the WIN.INI file. This allows Windows to download the font as a softfont while printing. For example the following line does not autodownload the font:

softfont1=d:\win31\pfm\alphabet.pfm

The following line will autodownload the same font:

softfont1=d:\win31\pfm\alphabet.pfm,d:\win31\pfb\alphabet.pfb

Font groups are not affected by this setting.


Compute TrueType checksums

For TrueType only:

The TrueType specification requires each internal table to be given a checksum, and then the entire font should be given a sort of master checksum. In reality, neither Windows 3.1 nor Apple System 7 bother to even look at these checksums. You can safely leave this setting turned off, and as a consequence, Font Monster will take a lot less time when saving.

Should there ever be a case in the future when an operating system requires these checksums, you can open and then resave your fonts with this setting turned on to create the correct checksums.


Save settings on exit

For registered users only:

With this button enabled, Font Monster will save settings automatically in a file called FMONSTER.INI in your WINDOWS directory, every time you quit. Settings include the status of all the buttons on the configuration window, the current directory, the custom text,  the size, and single character settings on the view window.


How to enter your registration code

Now that you have paid your twenty bucks, you can register. You only need to do this once. Enter your name and your ID number exactly as written on your registration letter which you received. Press OK and you should see a note thanking you for registering. By the way, thanks again for registering.

Registering enables the FMONSTER.INI file, allowing you to save your settings.


Who?

Pressing this button reveals the startup screen and a reminder to register this program. Click on the picture to return.


Help

You can press this button to get general help about the currently window. You can optionally press F1 to get specific help about the item you are currently editing (this help file is fully context sensitive).

This help file serves as the only documentation for Font Monster.


Quitting Font Monster

Guess what this button does? If you have modified your font data, Font Monster will ask you if you want to save it first.


Editing TrueType font data

Some TrueType fonts originally created on the Apple Macintosh do not implement all of the following tables. These tables will be disabled when you open such a font.

Windows Name

Family

Style

Copyright

Unique ID

Version

Postscript Name

Trademark

Vendor ID

Actual Style

Protection

Italic Angle

Family Type

Proportion

Weight Class

Width Class

 Install or uninstall a font	 Delete a font file

 Additional editable data


Editing Type1 font data

Family Name

Postscript Name

Copyright

Style

Proportion

Family Type


Family Name (Type1)
Family Name

This is the name which a Postscript font presents in your Windows font menus. It is essentially the same as the Family Name for TrueType fonts, and likewise it should remain the same for all Style variations within the same Family.


Postscript Name (Type1)
Postscript Name

This is the name a Postscript printer will expect to find in the .PFB font data file. If it does not match you will not be able to print.

It is strongly suggested you do not change this field, unless you will NOT be downloading the .PFB file to a Postscript printer. Only change this field to match the name of a Postscript printer's internal ROM font.


Copyright (Type1)
Copyright

Font vendors and designers put their copyright notices in this field. It has no bearing on how the font installs or displays.


Style (Type1)
Style

Type1 fonts can only be one of four styles: Regular, Bold, Italic, or BoldItalic.

Regular style can be chosen by unchecking both Bold and Italic checkboxes.

BoldItalic style can be chosen by checking both Bold and Italic checkboxes.


Proportion (Type1)
Proportion

For some reason nearly all the fonts you will find are marked as Monospaced, even fonts which are proportional. Changing this field to Proportional will probably not affect how the font behaves. But who knows?


Family Type (Type1)
Family Type

This is a sort of general classification your font would belong to. If a font is not installed but needed by a document, Windows will try to substitute a font which matches the same family type. Note that the style terminology is different than in TrueType fonts.

Setting this to Symbol, for example, would allow your font to be recognized by Word For Windows 2.0  or CorelDRAW! 3.0 as a symbol font.


Windows Name (TrueType)
Windows Name

This is what Windows uses to list the installed fonts in application font menus. This is really a combination of the Family and the Style. The exception being when a Style is "Regular", then the Windows Name shouldn't include the word "Regular" after the Family. Unpredictable things will happen in your font menus otherwise. Don't try it.

See also:

"SmartLink"


Family (TrueType)
Family

This is a common name given to a family of fonts. For example, Arial comes in four variations, or Styles, and they all have the same Family; Arial. Windows expects the Family to be the same as the Family depicted in the Windows Name field. Otherwise a font may not display correctly, if at all.

See also:

"SmartLink"


Style (TrueType)
Style

Examples of Style are "Bold", "Bold Italic", "Italic", "Oblique", "Regular". Windows expects the Style to follow the Family in the Windows Name field, the exception being when a font Style is "Regular", in which case the Family and the Windows Name should be the same. By entering the word "Bold" in the Style field, it doesn't mean the font will be recognized as Bold by your applications. That's set by Actual Style, another control which is quite independent of the string data.

See also:

"SmartLink"


Copyright (TrueType)
Copyright

Font vendors put their copyright notices in this field. It has no bearing on how the font installs or displays.

If this field does not already exist in the font, you will see the words "Font Monster v2.0a" in red.


Unique ID (TrueType)
Unique ID

This should contain a number or string which is different than any other font in your system.

If this field does not already exist in the font, you will see the words "Font Monster v2.0a" in red.


Version (TrueType)
Version

The version field identifies the font's release and version information from the vendor. Apparently, some SETUP.EXE programs will access the Version field to automatically install updates of your fonts. This field has no bearing on how the font installs or displays.

If this field does not already exist in the font, you will see the words "Font Monster v2.0a" in red.


Postscript Name (TrueType)
Postscript Name

This is a unique name a Postscript printer will use to identify the font. It does not have to be the same as the Windows Name or Family name, but has no bearing on how the font displays or prints otherwise.

If this field does not already exist in the font, you will see the words "Font Monster v2.0a" in red.


Trademark (TrueType)
Trademark

Some font vendors put their font name trademark notices in this field. It has no bearing on how the font prints or displays.

If this field does not already exist in the font, you will see the words "Font Monster v2.0a" in red.


Vendor ID (TrueType)
Vendor ID

This is not the royalty owner of the original artwork, this is the company responsible for the marketing and distribution of the typeface. It is reasonable to assume that there will be 6 vendors of ITC Zapf Dingbats for use on desktop platforms in the near future (if not already).  It is also likely that the vendors will have other inherent benefits in their fonts (more kern pairs, unregularized data, hand hinted, etc.). This identifier will allow for the correct vendors type to be used over another, possibly inferior, font file. These id's are assigned by Microsoft.


Actual Style (TrueType)
Actual Style

This identifies the font's actual style. This is different than the Style string data. Windows applications use the Actual Style to determine what kind of font this is. Note that only Regular, Bold, Italic, & BoldItalic are currently valid in Windows 3.1. You can set the other styles if you want, but Windows 3.1 will ignore them.

Choosing both Bold and Italic will identify a font as BoldItalic.

If a font is Regular, choosing any other style will turn off the Regular style checkbox. Likewise, choosing the Regular checkbox will turn off all other checkboxes.

It is possible to have all the Actual Style checkboxes unchecked if a font does not fit any specific style classification.

If your font is originally from an Apple Macintosh you may find that some of the Style selections have been dimmed. That's because the Mac only recognizes the Bold & Italic bits, and nothing else. If the other choices are dimmed then the extra information that Windows uses was not included in the font. If this is the case then most of the other fields will also be dimmed.

To make an Apple Macintosh font Regular style, uncheck both Bold and Italic checkboxes

See also:

"SmartLink"


Protection (TrueType)
Protection

None

Fonts that are not licensed may be embedded within a document and shipped freely to other users. When that font is unbundled from the document and installed on the target machine, the user of that machine acquires the identical rights, obligations and licenses for that font. This font is also subject to an end-user license agreement, copyright, design patent, and/or trademark.

Licensed

Fonts that are licensed are also subject to a license agreement and must not be modified, embedded or exchanged in any manner without first obtaining permission of the legal owner.

Read-only

Fonts that are read-only indicate that they may be embedded within documents but cannot be installed permanently on the target machine. Windows 3.1 provides API support for read-only embedding. Applications that embed fonts may not embed fonts which are not licensed and must de-install any read-only embedded fonts when the document that uses the fonts is closed. Any document which includes a read-only embedded font must not allow the user to edit the document; it can only be viewed and/or printed.

The fact is, if you own Font Monster, none of these settings make a bit of difference!


Italic Angle (TrueType)
Italic Angle

The Italic Angle goes in counter-clockwise degrees from the vertical. Zero for upright text, negative for text that leans to the right (forward).


Family Type (TrueType)
Family Type

This is a sort of general classification which a font belongs to. If a font is not installed but needed by a document, Windows will first try to substitute a font which matches the same family type. Note that the style terminology is different than in Type1 fonts.

Setting this to Symbol, for example, would allow your font to be recognized by Word For Windows 2.0  or CorelDRAW! 3.0 as a symbol font.

See also:

PANOSE


Proportion (TrueType)
Proportion

The relative spacing of the characters in the font. This setting is particularly useful for marking a font as Monospaced.

See also:

PANOSE


Weight Class (TrueType)
Weight Class

Indicates the visual weight (degree of blackness or thickness of strokes) of the characters in the font. Note that these weights are directly supported by Windows, but to date, only one application, besides Font Monster, is known to support them, Microsoft's Access database. Until these additional weights are more greatly supported, you probably should stick to the standard Regular and Bold weight names. Boring huh?

See also:

"SmartLink"


Width Class (TrueType)
Width Class

Indicates a relative change from the normal aspect ratio (width to height ratio) as specified by a font designer for the glyphs in a font.


Installing or uninstalling a font

If the caption reads, "Install font", clicking on this will install a font permanently in your system. If the caption reads, "Uninstall font", clicking on this will remove the font from Windows. It will not be deleted from your hard disk, but that can be done with the Delete font button.

TrueType only:

Note that Windows' Control Panel normally copies fonts to your WINDOWS/SYSTEM directory, Font Monster,  by default, does not. You can make Font Monster install fonts in the WINDOWS/SYSTEM directory by changing the Font Monster configuration. Otherwise, wherever the font was kept at the time it was installed is where Windows will expect to find it later. So don't freak out Windows by installing a font stored on a floppy.

Type1 only:

Font Monster automatically detects if Adobe Type Manger (ATM) is installed and acts accordingly when installing and uninstalling Type1 fonts. Font Monster will automatically install or uninstall the font to every Postscript printer installed on your system. Thus, if you don't use ATM and you have no Postscript printers installed, installing a Type1 font with Font Monster will do absolutely nothing.

Unlike ATM, Font Monster can install a Type1 font residing in any directory. Font Monster expects both of the font's .PFM and .PFB files to have the same name, and to reside in the same directory.

But a more likely situation for ATM users is that all their Type1 fonts were copied and separated into different directories by ATM when it originally installed them. Font Monster handles this gracefully by first determining the default directories ATM uses for storing fonts. Then if a user installs a .PFM file residing in ATM's default PFM directory, it will automatically install the coresponding .PFB file in ATM's default PFB directory. That is, assuming Install Type1 fonts as autodownload for PS has been enabled. Otherwise, only the .PFM file will be installed.

See also:

Restart Windows


Deleting a font file

When you delete a font, it is automatically uninstalled. You don't need to unistall it first. Remember, deleting a font actually deletes the files from your hard disk. If you need to recover an accidentally deleted font, exit Windows immediately and use the DOS command, UNDELETE, to try to recover the missing files.

TrueType only:

Clicking on this button will delete the font's .TTF file and its corresponding .FOT (if it's already installed) from your hard disk. You will be prompted whether you really want to do so or not first. This is especially useful if you are previewing a number of new fonts, you can immediately delete them if they are duplicates or useless.

Type1 only:

When you delete a Type1 font, Font Monster will attempt to delete both the .PFM and the .PFB files. It will first prompt you whether you wish do to so or not.


Additional editable font data
Additional editable TrueType font data

This additional font information is available for editing but in almost all cases it should not be changed. Only those knowledgeable about this kind of stuff should mess with this. If you are interested to know more, you can obtain a copy of the TrueType specification, available from Microsoft.

Serif Style

Weight

Contrast

Stroke Variation

Arm Style

Letterform

Midline

X Height

Family Class

Family Subclass

Em Units

Avg Width

Strikeout Size

Strikeout Position

Underline Size

Underline Position

Subscript X Size

Subscript X Offset

Subscript Y Size

Superscript Y Offset

Superscript X Size

Superscript X Offset

Superscript Y Size

Superscript Y Offset

Win Ascent

Win Descent

Typo Ascender

Typo Descender

Typo Line Gap

Em percentage

 Return to first screen of editable data


PANOSE (TrueType)
PANOSE

The PANOSE definition contains ten digits each of which currently describes up to sixteen variations. Windows 3.1 uses Family Type, Serif Style and Proportion in the font mapper to determine family type.  It also uses Proportion to determine if the font is monospaced.


Family Class (TrueType)
Family Class & Family Subclass

The family Class and family Subclass are registered values assigned by IBM to each font family.  This parameter is intended for use in selecting an alternate font when the requested font is not available. The Family Class is the most general and the family Subclass is the most specific. These values classify a font design as to its appearance, but do not identify the specific font family, typeface variation, designer, supplier, size, or metric table differences.  It should be noted that some font designs may be classified equally well into more than Family Class or Subclass. Such designs should be matched to a classification for which substitution of another font design from the same class or subclass would generally result in a similar appearance of the presented document.


Em units (TrueType)
Em unit related data

Em units compose an imaginary square in which each character resides. The greater the number of Em units, the higher the potential resolution of a font. The Em Units value itself should never be changed, but related data can be tweaked by advanced users. The valid range for Em units is from 16 to 16384.


Em percentage (TrueType)
Em percentage

This displays the current proportion of the selected item in relation to the number of EM units. This value is read-only.


Return to the first screen

Brings you back to the first TrueType data screen.


Tips and shortcuts

When editing TrueType data, always enable "SmartLink". This will prevent you from changing names or style settings incorrectly.

Drop a font group icon into your StartUp folder and every time you start windows that font group will take effect.

If you own CD-ROMs with collections of fonts, create a font group for each CD-ROM, and then add it to Program Manager. After inserting a CD-ROM, activate it's font group to install the CD-ROM fonts.

Create a font group containing just the standard font families that come with Windows 3.1, Arial, New Times Roman, Courier New, and Wingdings. Uncheck the Remove all TrueType and Remove All Type1 settings, then add the font group to Program Manager. This way you can install those fonts quickly whenever they are needed, such as by this help file, but still retain the fonts you are using presently.

Create a font group containing the same standard fonts as the above tip, but instead check the Remove all TrueType, and optionally check Remove All Type1. You can use this group to quickly reduce all your fonts to the bare minimum.

You can use Windows' File Manager to select fonts. Simply locate the font you want to view or edit, and double click on it. Font Monster will automatically start up and load in that font.


Known bugs

Topping the list is a real bugger of a bug. This MAY never happen to you, but some buttons of the "SSCOMMAND" type will randomly stop responding to clicks. Furthermore, this will happen only when running the compiled FMONSTER.EXE file, but never when running from the VB development environment, which makes it difficult to catch. After spending several hours trying to work around this, I've come to the conclusion that the THREED.VBX file is the source of this bug, and it's probably related to the fact that it was designed for Visual Basic v1.0, whereas it's now being used in a VB 2.0 program. I replaced the "OPEN" button on the View window with an IMAGE control displaying a bitmap of the "OPEN" button. This appears to stop the most reproducable of this kind of bug which also affected other buttons on the same window. The drawback is the "OPEN" button doesn't "depress" when you click it, but at least it works. If you acquire an updated version of the THREED.VBX, and I wouldn't know how to explain how to find out if your version is a newer one since they all sport different dates, I would suggest you replace the one supplied with Font Monster with the newer one and see if it works/helps. If I obtain a newer version, I'll release another interim version, otherwise, the upcoming Font Monster v3.0 is going to undergo a major overhaul to avoid this bug. By the way, Sheridan Software and Microsoft produced the THREED.VBX, not me. So curse them if your buttons stop working.

The View window sometimes forgets which font it is displaying, particularly at large and small point sizes. It will instead try to display the first font in your font list, usually it starts with the letter "A", like "Arial". Click on the View button again to restore the original font view.

Trying to open defective fonts can sometimes drive Font Monster nuts.

Font Monster uses the standard Private INI API functions for writing the .FM! group files, therefore, two fonts with exactly the same name can only be entered once in a group. Since Windows doesn't support fonts with the same names anyway you can work around this "problem" by renaming the fonts before adding them to a group.

If you are using Norton Desktop v2.0 and you use the font group function to add or remove an icon, and then you exit Font Monster right away, Windows sometimes pops up a dialog box mentioning a DDE problem, usually around 1 minute later. Choosing "Close" gets rid of the dialog box and doesn't seem to cause any further problems. My only guess at solving this is to change the following line in the NDW.INI:

DDEInitiateDelay=750

to something else. However, several tries at this didn't help on my system. Anyone got any ideas?

Adding a font group to Program Manager or Norton Desktop sometimes randomly fails, and sometimes it puts the font group in the active folder, rather than the "Font Monster" folder.

Using the Microsoft DDESpy utility reveals some invalid parameter messages related to adding font groups to Program Manager. However, the format of the messages being sent are identical to messages sent by other C language applications. Yet, the commands still work, so it beats me what the heck is going on. Must be a buggy implementation of DDE in Visual Basic 2.0. (?)

Some video drivers may totally freak out Visual Basic and cause Font Monster to display the buttons out of place, and the startup screen may appear really off center, among other things. In fact Font Monster will look pretty bad. I've seen this happen on two systems which both were using a Super VGA resolution with large fonts, instead of the usual small fonts. Font Monster has been optimized for systems using the small fonts simply because it's the more common setup. I tried to optimize for both large and small fonts but had no luck. I don't know if the fault of this bug is due to Visual Basic, the THREED.VBX file (my most likely guess, considering the other problems I'm having with it), or the VGA drivers. If Font Monster looks weird, change to small fonts.

Don't install or remove Postscript printers while Font Monster is running. The reason is Font Monster scans the WIN.INI file for Postscript printers when it starts up. If you must install or remove a Postscript printer, quit Font Monster first. Any changes of the Postscript printers while Font Monster is running may have unpredictable results.

The first 8 letters of a group name also serve as its DOS filename. Therefore you should avoid naming font groups with exactly the same first 8 characters.

If you are previewing a TrueType font when you switch to the font group window, and you subsequently activate a font group which removes all TrueType fonts, when you quit Font Monster, or open another font, it may give you a message box claiming that it "Can't remove the previous font, nnnnnn.FOT, because it did not install properly". This happens because Font Monster tried to remove the previewed font from the system but discovered, to it's amazement, that it had already been removed. Simply disregard this error.

You cannot run two copies of Font Monster at one time. Thus, you also cannot activate a font group icon from Program Manager while Font Monster is running.

This is not a bug with Font Monster, but with Windows: Don't try to install too many fonts in your system. Windows is said to support only 250 or so font families. In addition, adding fonts adds a lot of lines to WIN.INI file. If you add too many fonts, the WIN.INI will grow so large that it will become inaccessable, causing all sorts of problems for Windows.


Shareware registration

Font Monster is distributed as shareware. This gives you the privilege of trying out this program before you pay for it. It doesn't mean it's free. Of course you already know this. The only significant nag you will see in Font Monster v2.0a is the Custom text which will always say "Unregistered copy of Font Monster v2.0a", but you can change it by simply typing something else in. I think that's fair.

It's only $20!!!

Registering Font Monster will give you peace of mind, and, it will also entitle you to the special code which will enable the FMONSTER.INI file. Your registration code will be valid for ALL subsequent versions of Font Monster. I may experiment with more aggressive nags and cripples in future versions of Font Monster unless registrations pick up.

Send a US twenty dollar bill (cash only!) to the following address:

Leaping Lizards

5F 189 Tze-Lee Road

Chung-Ho City 235

Taipei Hsien, Taiwan, R.O.C.

Your special code will be delivered in a perfumed air-mail envelope all the way from Taiwan, with some pretty neat looking Chinese stamps on it! Not bad for twenty bucks, right? Also tell me where you obtained your copy. Much appreciated would be comments on things you would like to see added or improved in later versions.

How to contact the author

How to be the first on your block to receive the next version of Font Monster

Attention Windows shareware authors

 How to enter your registration code


Contacting the author
User assistance

By modem:

I can respond to questions asked by non-registered users of Font Monster only by modem. I can be contacted on-line in the RIME network (RIME Node: TWWDE) Windows conference and the I-Link network Desktop Publishing conference. Send the public (if its kind words) or private (if its unkind) message addressed to Steven Fox. Sometimes the e-mail takes a week to get here, and sometimes it doesn't make it at all, but it's worth a try. Compuserve? In Taiwan? Forget it, I'm not a millionaire.

Those of you with cheap long distance rates are welcome to call the local English language BBS, World Data Exchange (WDE), a PCBoard system, where the latest versions (and betas) of Font Monster will always be posted first: 886-2-935-5784. Login with your real name, and use the password: WDECHINAROC to have instant, free, download access for Font Monster files, plus some limited access to other files and data on the BBS. Check the upload directory for files named FMON*.ZIP. Please leave me mail if you call. WDE is also a useful BBS if you have any interest in Chinese, Taiwan culture, or being an expat in Taiwan.

By fax:

I welcome comments and suggestions by fax. My fax number is: 886-2-729-0863. However, I cannot respond via fax unless you are a registered user, or unless you want to review Font Monster in your magazine.


Distribution and copyright

This program and documentation was written by me, Steven Fox. I am the sole owner of this piece of intellectual copyright and you must abide by all the legal mumbo jumbo that always goes along with such things. Got it?

If this program messes up your system, sue me.

If you want to distribute Font Monster elsewhere you may do so as long as you distribute the unaltered .ZIP archive file which you received. You may charge a fee for such distribution as long as it is less than a couple bucks, and that it is made quite clear before distribution that this software is shareware and that an additional fee is required by the author.


About the Author

Speaking in a third-person tense:

Steven Fox is American, 28. For several years in the mid-80s he wrote utilities, not unlike this one, for his small company in London. In the late-80s he wrote MIDI software, wrote several alternate operating systems for Ensoniq keyboards, and designed sounds, for his music software company, Leaping Lizards, in Seattle. During this time in Seattle he also worked on the underground live TV program, "The New Spud Goodman Show", as their electronic graphics person, and he also invented "BLAST!", a digital sampler car horn/car alarm. After a lengthy backpack tour of South-east Asia, he settled in Taipei where he is one of the few people his age who has not taught English there. He's presently working as a freelance computer and electronic publishing consultant for the relatively small foreign business community in Taipei, but he still refuses to wear a tie. He also edits and writes the Computer Talk section for the leading English language daily newspaper in Taiwan, The China News.

Apart from writing a couple custom voice mail applications in C, there hasn't been much call for programming in Taiwan, the locals can always do it cheaper than him, and well, probably better too. So in an effort to keep his programming skills intact, he bought Visual Basic. Font Monster is the first program he's written with VB, and now that he has VB2.0 he's planning other projects. Smaller though, definitely smaller, Font Monster has really become a monster at using his free time.

How to contact the author


popShareware
Font Monster v2.0a is not free software. You are permitted to evaluate this program for a couple weeks after which you must either discontinue using it, or (preferably) register. There are reports that not registering shareware brings you lots of bad karma. Please feel free to give copies of Font Monster to your friends, if you have any.


popSpecialoffer
If you would like a disk with the next version of Font Monster on it when it is released, send an additional $10 with your registration. At least two more major updates are scheduled; June 1, 1993 and September 1, 1993. As an added bonus, your disk will also contain selected shareware releases from Leaping Lizards.

Available now:

StarTrek .WAV files. The classic sound effects from the classic original TV series.

James Brown .WAV files. The classic James Brown grunts and squeals, now for Windows.

Cartoon Sound FX .WAV files. 72 classic cartoon sound effects.

Ouija For Windows. A program for contacting spirits on the other side, using Windows and a mouse. Really.


popSharewareAuthors
Special offer:

For other Windows shareware authors only, I will register Font Monster for you for free if you send me a disk with a registered version of your latest program, utility, font, game, or whatever. As long as it's for Windows please, I'm trying to avoid DOS these days. It's next to impossible to find current shareware here in Taiwan. I will also distribute your shareware here in Taiwan if you wish. I'm happy to announce that I've already had some shareware authors send me their stuff. Keep it coming.


popcash
The government policy here in Taiwan makes it impossible for an official non-resident such as myself to open a bank account, but in addition, local banks always charge a hefty service fee to cash checks from out of the country, which would basically leave me with enough change to buy lunch and catch the bus back home. Please send cash only, please.