GP Fault Occurs When Selecting a Font in WordArt 2.x

• Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 6.0, 6.0a
• Microsoft WordArt, versions 2.0, 2.0a, 2.0b
• Microsoft Windows operating system version 3.1

SYMPTOMS

When you are creating text with Microsoft WordArt, a general protection (GP) fault may occur immediately after you select a font.

CAUSE

This error is caused by a problem in the internal kerning table of the font. WordArt kerns fonts by default.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, disable the WordArt kerning feature before selecting the font with the following steps:

1. From the Format menu, choose Spacing Between Characters.

2. Clear the Automatically Kern Character Pairs check box.

MORE INFORMATION

WordArt 2.0 uses TrueType fonts, which have internal kerning tables. Kerning tables list the amount of space that should be placed between two specific characters, such as "W" and "A", which normally would appear to have extra spacing between them because of the slanted nature of the characters. Applications such as WordArt use kerning to make the spacing between characters more consistent.

If the font's kerning tables are not implemented properly, WordArt may cause a GP fault.

WordArt version 2.0a corrected problems with the kerning feature in the 2.0 version. However, fonts that do not produce GP faults in the 2.0 version may do so in the 2.0a and later versions.