SAMPLE: Creating a Custom Raster Font

• Microsoft Windows Software Development Kit (SDK) for Windows versions 3.0 and 3.1

SUMMARY

Fonts are stored as resources in resource-only dynamic-link libraries (DLLs). The process of creating a custom font library involves creating new font resources and inserting them into a DLL that has no code. Fonts must be in a resource-only library.

The Windows 3.x Font Editor supports editing raster fonts compatible with Windows versions 2.x and Windows version 3.x.

It is also possible to create a font-resource DLL that does have a code segment, which alleviates the problem of having to use a special linker.

Sample code that demonstrates using the normal linker is also available in the Software Library, in a file called MYFONT.

Download MYFONT.EXE, 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 MYFONT.EXE (size: 16514 bytes) 
  

• Internet (anonymous FTP)

        ftp ftp.microsoft.com
        Change to the \SOFTLIB\MSLFILES directory
        Get MYFONT.EXE (size: 16514 bytes) 
  

MORE INFORMATION

Basic Steps (Overview)

  I. Create font files using the Font Editor.
 II. Create a font-resource script.

 IV. Create a module-definition file that describes the fonts.
  V. Compile and link the sources.

Step I: Create a Font File

1. Invoke the Font Editor.

Note 1: It is not possible to generate a new font from scratch; an existing font file must be edited. Two fonts, ATRM1111.FNT and VGASYS.FNT, are supplied with the Windows 3.x SDK to provide a font on which to base new fonts.

Note 2: The names of the font formats are deceiving. Windows 3.0-compatible format works only in 386 enhanced mode. Window 2.0-compatible format works in all modes; therefore, it is usually better to save fonts in 2.0 format.

Step II: Create a Font Resource Script

1. Create a resource script (RC) file.

      MyFont1 FONT  MYFONT1.FNT
      MyFont2 FONT  MYFONT2.FNT

Step III: Create a Dummy Code Module

1. Write an assembly language procedure that generates no code.

2. Assemble the code to create an object file (OBJ). (This step may seem unnecessary but it is required; otherwise, the linker will complain because the linker will create an executable that does not have any object files. Creating the dummy code module with its null code segment forces the linker to create the required executable DLL).

          .xlist
          include cmacros.inc
          .list

          sBegin CODE
          sEnd   CODE
          end

Step IV: Create a Module Definition File

1. Add a LIBRARY statement with the font resource title.

The DEF file for a font library might resemble the following:

   LIBRARY FONTLIB
   DESCRIPTION 'FONTRES 133, 96, 72: MyFont, Terminal (7 point)'
   STUB 'WINSTUB.EXE'
   DATA NONE

WINSTUB.EXE is a small file that prints the message "This application requires Microsoft Windows" if the user tries to run the application under MS-DOS.

The NONE attribute indicates that the library does not require its own automatic data segment.

The description string MUST begin with the FONTRES text so that Windows will know that this is a font resource library.

(See the "Microsoft Windows Software Development Kit Guide to Programming" for more information and examples.)

Step V: Building the Font Resource Library

1. Use MASM to assemble the dummy code into an object file.

The following is an sample makefile:

     all: fontlib.exe

     fontlib.obj: fontlib.asm
         masm fontlib.asm;

     fontlib.exe: fontlib.mak fontlib.def fontlib.obj \
                  fontlib.rc fontlib.fnt
         link4 fontlib.obj, fontlib.exe, NUL, /NOD, fontlib.def
         rc fontlib.rc
         rename fontlib.exe fontlib.fon

Using LINK Instead of LINK4:

Important note: The specification of LINK4 in the sample above is not an error. The standard linkers supplied with Microsoft C version 5.1 and Microsoft C version 6.0 produce error messages when an attempt is made to create an executable file that has no segments. LINK4.EXE is not shipped with the Windows 3.x SDK. However, it is shipped with the Windows 2.x SDK and with the Windows 3.x DDK.

If Steps III, IV, and V of the procedure given above are modified as follows, LINK versions 5.12 and later can be used to create font files:

NEW Step III: Create a Dummy Code Module

Create a code segment in the dummy code module by creating an empty Windows Exit Procedure (WEP). This code might resemble the following:

          .xlist
          include cmacros.inc
          .list

          sBegin CODE
          cProc WEP,<FAR,PASCAL,PUBLIC>,<si,di>
               parmW EntryCode
          cBegin WEP
          cEnd WEP
          cEnd CODE

          end

NEW Step IV: Create a Module Definition File

Modify the DEF file provided above to add the following lines:

   EXETYPE   WINDOWS
   CODE      MOVEABLE DISCARDABLE
   EXPORTS   WEP @1 RESIDENTNAME

NEW Step V: Building the Font Resource Library

Modify the makefile to refer to LINK instead of to LINK4.

Using MASM 6.0 Instead of MASM 5.1

If the font file is built using version 6.0 of the Microsoft Macro Assembler (MASM), use version 5.3 of the CMACROS.INC file included with MASM instead of version 5.2 of the file included with the Windows SDK.

To access the fonts, use AddFontResource() with the DLL name, and RemoveFontResource(). Use CreateFont() or CreateFontIndirect() to retrieve a handle to a font with the specified attributes. Use SelectObject() to put the font into a specified DC.

The face name of the font (for example, "System" or "Helv") can be specified when the font is created using the Font Editor. This same face name is specified as the lpFaceName parameter when calling CreateFont() or CreateFontIndirect(). The face name can be any name desired.