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Appendix B
Tr u e Ty p e fonts store individual text characters as mathematical descriptions of
lines and curves, rather than as groups of pixels (a bitmap). When a program
asks for a character in a particular size, such as 33 points, the computer uses
mathematical calculations to enlarge the character’s outline to 33 points and
fill in the dots for the monitor or printer output.
Sometimes you’ll still get jagged edges when you print a document, even
when you use a TrueType font. In nearly all cases, this is because there isn’t
enough memory available to scale the font properly for printing. This may
happen, for example, when you’re running several programs at the same time.
Because you don’t need a separate font for each character size in order for
your printing to look good (as you do with bitmapped fonts), TrueType font
names don’t have numbers in them.
How does a font look? To s ee what a TrueType or bitmapped font looks like
on your screen, double-click the font’s icon to open it. A sample of that font
appears (in three sizes for TrueType fonts and in the size you opened for
bitmapped fonts).
You can also use the Key Caps desk accessory to examine fonts. See the
documentation that came with your computer for instructions.
Bitmapped fonts
Bitmapped fonts consist of “pictures” of a typeface at specific sizes. For
example, you might have bitmapped fonts at 10-, 12-, and 18-point sizes
installed in your computer. For best results you need a separate font file for
each size of character you want to use.
