This episode, I'm going to look at a hodgepodge of items, one intended to pretty up the workbench and some font cross compatibility goodies for the Amiga.
True Type and Postscript Fonts
With the advent of OS 2.04, the Amiga gained access to AGFA Compugraphic fonts. While this opened a whole new avenue for Amigan's font use, it turned out that other font technologies would become more widespread. Postscript, and riding the coattails of Windows, True Type fonts have become ubiquitous.
In order to use these fonts on your Amiga, you needed to convert them to compugraphic or Amiga bitmap fonts, a cumbersome process. Well, with the efforts of Richard Griffith (ttflib for True Type Fonts) and Amish S. Dave (type 1 library for Postscript fonts) you can now use both Postscript and True Type fonts with your Amiga.
Figure 1:Postscript fonts on your Workbench
Type 1 Library
Short: Use type1 (postscript) fonts
Author: [email protected] (Amish S. Dave)
Uploader: [email protected] (Jamie Keir)
Type: util/libs
Written by Amish S. Dave, and updated for this version by Jamie Keir, Type 1 Library allows the use of Type 1 Postscript fonts, via the Amiga's Bullet.library (this is the Amiga's AGFA font mechanism.) Note that this is beta software, which means it isn't quite finished, and may contain bugs. I've been using for quite some time, and have not encoutered any problems, though. Usage is pretty simple, assuming you have a OS version with the bullet library. If I recall, Commodore introduced this with 2.04, but 3.0+ is recommended. Note that you will also need MUI for the T1Manager Program.
To install, unarchive to a temporary directory, then copy one of the files in the libs directory to your LIBS: directory. There are three versions, for the 68000, the 68030 and the 68040. You only need the one which matches your cpu. Once copied to your libs directory, rename the file to type1.library and then copy the t1manager program to a drawer of your choice. Your next step is to create a directory for your postscript fonts.
If you need a source of Postscript Type 1 fonts, look no further than Aminet, in the Text/pfont directory. You need to put the .pfb files in your posscript fonts directory. I don't know if Type 1 library uses the .pfm files, but when using the T1Manager program to install the fonts, select only the .pfb files. Once installed, the Postscript fonts will be available to any program.
True Type Font Library
Short: Ttf.library v0.7.5 truetype font engine
Author: [email protected] (Richard Griffith)
Version: 0.7.5
Type: util/libs
Requires: OS3.0+ 68030+
Distribution: freely distributable
Figure 2: and True Type Fonts!
Richard Griffith's True Type Font library allows you to use True Type fonts on your Amiga, just as you would any normal font. Installation is simple, after using the supplied installer, make a True Type fonts directory, and copy your True Type Fonts there. True Type Fonts (these are fonts with an extension of .TTF) are available from many sources on the Internet. Like the Type 1 Library, True Type Font Library comes with a font manager. The latest version has a working preview window, and an advanced options window for the more esoteric settings. Before installing, though, make sure your Amiga has OS 3.0+, and at least a 68030 processor, as the program requires. See Figure 2 and 3 for the True Type Manager, preview window, and options.
Figure 3:The True Type Library Options
How Much is that Birdie in the Window?
Figure 4:Birdie Prefs
Trond Werner Hansen's Birdie is a hack, and primarily meant for a graphics card, although from my experience works fine with AGA (and hence requires OS 3.0+ and AGA or a gra[hics card). What this program does is map a bitmap texture into the window borders. Birdie uses the Amiga's datatypes system, so any format of bitmap you have a datatype for can be used. You can use different patterns for selected and non-selected windows. You might also want to grab Maxime Gamboni's Prefs program, a graphical interface to set Birdie Options. Birdie Prefs requires MUI, though Birdie itself does not. Look at the Windows borders in all of the illustrations this issue for the Birdie Treatment, and at Figure 4 for the Birdie Prefs program. Birdie and Birdie prefs are available at the cybergrafx site:
