Designing vector fonts

An EngView vector font is a file that consists of separate drawings for each font symbol. When you create a vector font, you create each symbol in a separate drawing, and then save the resultant file as an .evfnt file. You then proceed by saving the font file in your installation's Vector Fonts folder. By default, this folder resides in C:\EngViewWork7\Settings\EngView Fonts\Vector Fonts.

To create a vector font

1. To begin, do any of the following:

• On the Tools menu, point to EngView Font, and then click New Vector Font.
• On the Objects menu, point to Texts, and then click EngView Vector Text.

A new project opens, with three default drawings: A, {space} and {missing}. A default bounding rectangle appears at the origin of the coordinate system.

Drawing the symbols

NOTE: Draw each symbol of the font in a separate drawing.

2. Set the parameters that determine the font's distances:

NOTE ON UNIT CONVERSION: A parameter's expression uses a three-argument function: unitconv(Arg 1; "Arg 2"; "current"), Arg 1 is a value; Arg 2 sets the measurements units for Arg 1; Arg 3=current guarantees that when you apply the font to a structure, the Arg 1 value will be converted in currently used metric units. See the following example:

unitconv(10,00; "mm"; "current"). Here, the program treats the parameter's value in the metric units set in the second argument (10 mm). When the third argument is "current," when we apply the font to a structure, the font will stay 10 mm high, regardless of the currently used metric units.

Font parameters

A font is defined by four parameters.

H is the section of the letter between the base line and the x-line.

ASC is the ascender height, the distance between the x-line and the ascender line.

DESC is the descender height, the distance between the base line and the descender line.

ExternalLeading in multi-line texts, the distance between the descender line of the upper line and the ascender line of the lower line. The parameter plays a role in the calculation of the line spacing: Line Spacing = ASC+H+DESC+ExternalLeading.

See the distances that the parameters correspond to in single- and multiple-line texts.

3. Click the tab of the drawing A, and then assign a value to the local parameter W. The parameter controls the width of the symbol. It is the horizontal distance between two letters' leftmost points.

The width (12 in the example) is the sum of the actual width of the letter and an empty space to its right, which ensures a breathing space to the next letter.

TIP: The value of W can be presented as a sum — for example, a+b. Here, a is the actual width of the letter; b is the added space. This approach is used in the Cyrillyc19 font, which comes with your installation:

4. Draw the first letter of your font.

IMPORTANT: If the first letter you are drawing is other than a CAPITAL A, or you want to draw a small a, you must rename the drawing. Vector fonts are case-sensitive. If the capital letter A is drawn in the drawing, the drawing name must be А; if another drawing has the small letter a, also its name must be a.

5. Continue by drawing all the other symbols that you want the font to have.

Drawing the space

The drawing {space} must remain empty, but you must set a value for the interval.

Drawing the missing symbols

In the drawing {missing} draw the symbol that will appear each time you type a symbol that's not part of the currently applied font.

Saving the perfa font

After you have defined the perfa font, you proceed by saving it and making it ready for use. Perfa fonts are saved as EVFNT files in your installation's Vector Fonts folder. By default, the path is C:\EngViewWork7\Settings\EngView Fonts\Vector Fonts.

6. On the File menu, click Save.

The Save As dialog box appears opening the Vector Fonts directory.

7. Give the perfa font file a name that makes sense to you, and then click Save.
8. To begin using the font, restart the program. After you restart, you will see your new font in the contextual edit bar when you start typing vector texts.