SAMPLE: Plotting TrueType Characters

• Microsoft Windows Software Development Kit (SDK) for Windows version 3.1

SUMMARY

The HPPLOT plotter driver does not support the plotting of TrueType fonts. This driver only plots fonts that are native to the plotter or are Windows vector fonts. It is sometimes desirable to be able to plot a larger range of fonts. Incorporating the use of TrueType fonts on a plotter greatly increases the range of fonts a plotter can draw.

The TTPLOT sample demonstrates a method of displaying TrueType fonts on a plotter. This method involves selecting a TrueType font into a screen display context and calling the GetGlyphOutline() function to retrieve the curve data points of a TrueType character in the TrueType font rasterizer's native format. Then, with the data it retrieved, it performs a series of MoveTo() and LineTo() calls to draw the TrueType character.

This sample can be used with any printer, and it also demonstrates the new Windows 3.1 printing functions, SetAbortProc(), StartDoc(), EndDoc(), StartPage(), and EndPage(). This sample application will not run on a version of Windows earlier than Windows 3.1.

TTPLOT can be downloaded as a self-extracting file from the Microsoft Software Library (MSL) on the following services:

• Microsoft Download Service (MSDL)

        Dial (206) 936-6735 to connect to MSDL
        Download TTPLOT.EXE (size: 26113 bytes) 
  

• Internet (anonymous FTP)

        ftp ftp.microsoft.com
        Change to the \SOFTLIB\MSLFILES directory
        Get TTPLOT.EXE (size: 26113 bytes) 
  

MORE INFORMATION

This sample demonstrates how to draw TrueType characters on a plotter with the MoveTo() and LineTo() functions. First, it retrieves a glyph's curve data points in the rasterizer's native format by calling GetGlyphOutline() with GGO_NATIVE specified in the third parameter. It must call this function twice. The first time the function is called, NULL is placed in the lpBuffer parameter so the required buffer size to hold the data is returned. The second time GetGlyphOutline() is called, the native data is placed in the buffer specified by the lpBuffer parameter.

A glyph outline is returned as a series of contours, each of which can be a straight line or a quadratic curve. The TTPLOT sample interprets the data returned from GetGlyphOutline() and then draws the lines specified by calling the MoveTo() and LineTo() functions on the plotter device context. The quadratic curves, as well as the lines, are both drawn as normal straight lines. A description of this native curve data can be found on pages 382-383 of the Windows SDK "Programmer's reference, Volume 2: Functions" manual or by searching for the GetGlyphOutline() function in the "Win31 Help" Windows help file. This sample also lets you choose a desired TrueType font by bringing up the ChooseFont() common dialog box. Before drawing the font, the plotter DC is placed in the MM_ISOTROPIC mode so the fonts will be the same size on the screen as they are on the plotter.