TrueType Fonts

TrueType fonts are shapes that are described by their outlines. Instead of being composed of bitmaps (as raster fonts are) or lines (as vector fonts are), TrueType fonts consist of a series of contours.

The TrueType downloadable fonts included with Windows 95 support the Arial®, Courier, Symbol, and Times New Roman® font families. The following table shows TrueType files included with Windows 95.

Note The Courier New TrueType Font also ships with the OEM character set to support use of Courier New TrueType fonts in MS-DOS – based applications.

TrueType fonts have many benefits over other kinds of Windows 95 fonts:

• What you see is really what you get, because Windows 95 uses the same font for both screen and printer. You don't have to think about whether you have a specific point size for a particular printer or for your display.
• You can scale and rotate TrueType fonts, and their resolution is clear in all sizes and on all output devices that Windows 95 supports.
• Your document will look the same when printed on different printers. And any printer that uses a Windows 95 universal driver can print TrueType fonts.
• Your document will look the same if you move it across platforms. For example, the text you format in Microsoft Word for Windows 95 will look the same if you open the same document in Word for the Macintosh®.
• Each TrueType typeface requires only a .TTF file to create fonts in all point sizes at all resolutions for all output devices. (Raster fonts need separate files for each point size, resolution, and display device.)
• TrueType fonts are integrated with the operating environment, so all applications created for Windows 95 can use TrueType fonts in the same ways as they do other Windows 95 raster fonts without changes or upgrades.

In many applications, TrueType fonts appear in the Fonts dialog box with a "TT" logo beside the typeface name. Typefaces that are device fonts have a printer icon beside their names in the list.

TrueType fonts are stored as a collection of points and "hints" that define the character outlines. When an application created for Windows 95 requests a font, TrueType uses the outline and the hints to render a bitmap in the size requested. Hints are the algorithms that distort the scaled font outlines to improve how the bitmaps appear at specific resolutions.

After system startup, the first time you select a TrueType font size, TrueType renders a bitmap of the selected characters for display or printing. Because of this, the initial font generation may be slower than with Windows 95 raster fonts. However, Windows 95 stores the rendered bitmaps in a font cache, so each subsequent time the font is used during that Windows 95 session, display or printing will be just as fast as for a Windows 95 raster font.

Windows 95 users can choose any of the following methods for printing TrueType fonts on PCL printers.

Download TrueType as outline soft fonts.

Windows 95 downloads the TrueType font as a scalable outline font. The printer performs all rasterization. This option is available only on PCL printers which can rasterize TrueType fonts; for example, HP LaserJet 4 printers.

Download TrueType as bitmap soft fonts.

Windows 95 downloads the TrueType font as a bitmap soft font. Each set of characters for each font size used is rasterized by Windows 95, then sent to the printer as a separate bitmap font. This is the default method used for PCL printers that cannot rasterize TrueType fonts; for example, HP LaserJet II and III series printers.

Print TrueType as graphics.

Windows 95 rasterizes a whole page of TrueType fonts as a graphic before sending it to the printer. This option is used for PCL printers which cannot accept the format used for downloading TrueType as bitmap soft fonts; for example, the original HP LaserJet and LaserJet Plus printers. This option is also sometimes used for troubleshooting printing problems.