NTWord: FixDrawShowThru, FixWhiteText Disable Print Fonts

ID: Q119510

The information in this article applies to:

SYMPTOMS

In Word for Windows NT, the FixDrawShowThru and FixWhiteText registry settings may disable built-in printer fonts and print text as graphics.

CAUSE

For certain printers, the FixDrawShowThru and FixWhiteText settings configure the printer driver to print TrueType fonts as graphics (bitmap images) when a drawing layer object intersects text on the page or when white text appears on a black background. However, these settings also print text formatted for a printer font as a graphic image because the built-in printer fonts on these printers typically cannot place an opaque graphic over text.

When this happens, Word for Windows NT substitutes a TrueType font for the built-in printer font and then prints the TrueType font as a graphic. For example, a Hewlett-Packard (HP) LaserJet III prints Times New Roman (a TrueType font) as a graphic instead of using CG Times (a built-in printer font).

Under Windows NT, the Print TrueType Fonts As Graphics option becomes Print Text As Graphics, so Windows NT disables built-in printer fonts as well as TrueType fonts. In other words, this option under Windows NT prints all fonts as graphics, not just TrueType fonts.

NOTE: These settings do not affect vector fonts (such as Modern, Roman, and Script), which always print as graphic images.

MORE INFORMATION

FixDrawShowThru is a registry setting that Word for Windows NT uses to work around a limitation of many printers in which solid graphics cannot obscure text beneath them, especially in cases where the graphic only partially obscures the text.

Word for Windows NT uses the FixWhiteText setting to work around the limitation of printers that cannot print white text on a black background.

The FixDrawShowThru and FixWhiteText registry values are stored in the following location

   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Word\6.0\<printer name>

where <printer name> is the full name of the printer in use. You can find this name in Windows NT Print Manager.

For more information about these settings, please see the following article(s) in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q111884
   TITLE     : Modifying Advanced Printer Settings in Word 6.0 for Windows

KBCategory: kbenv KBSubcategory: Additional reference words: 6.0 heuristic reverse white-on-black registry word6 winword download truetype fonts WINWORD6.INI ntword wordnt
Keywords          : kbprint kbenv
Version           : 6.0
Platform          : WINDOWS

Last Reviewed: February 5, 1998