F

family name
One of two attributes used to organize TrueType fonts. Family names include Courier New, Arial, and Times New Roman. (The other attribute used to organize TrueType fonts is the style name.) See also TrueType font.
FAT
See file allocation table (FAT).
file
A named, ordered collection of information, such as a program, a set of data used by a program, or a user-created document. A file is the basic unit of storage that enables a computer to distinguish one set of information from another.
file allocation table (FAT)
A table that contains the status of various segments of disk space used for file storage. Also, the file system that maintains the table.
file element
A complete file contained in a Resource Interchange File Format (RIFF) compound file.
file handle
A unique identifier that Windows assigns to a file when the file is opened or created. A file handle is valid until the file is closed.
file-mapping object
An object whose handle can be used to create a view to a file or piece of memory. The CreateFileMapping function creates file-mapping objects. See also handle.
file pointer
A pointer to the next byte to be read or written in a file.
file system
A part of the operating system that enables you to store, access, and organize files on storage devices, such as hard or floppy disks or tape drives. File allocation table (FAT) and NTFS are examples of file systems.
file time
A 64-bit value representing the number of 100-nanosecond intervals that have elapsed since January 1, 1601.
file view
A copy of a file or piece of memory that appears in a process's virtual address space. The MapViewOfFile function creates a file view in the process's address space and returns a pointer to the file view.
filemark
A special recorded element that contains no user data and is used to provide a segmentation scheme. A normal filemark does not contain an erase gap.
filled path
A path that is filled by using the brush currently selected into an application's device context. See also device context, path.
filter expression
An expression that is part of a frame-based exception handler. When an exception occurs during the execution of the guarded body of code in a frame-based exception handler, the system evaluates the filter expression to determine whether the exception handler code is to be executed. See also frame-based exception handler, guarded body of code.
filter function
A function called by a filter expression in a frame-based exception handler. See also frame-based exception handler.
Find common dialog box
A common dialog box that displays an edit control in which the user can type a string that the application should search. See also common dialog box.
first-chance notification
The first time the kernel notifies the debugger of an exception. See also debugger.
flash time
The elapsed time, in milliseconds, required to display, invert, and restore the caret display. This value is twice as much as the blink time. See also blink time, caret.
flattened path
A path altered by converting each curve (in the path) into a series of line segments. See also path.
floating pop-up menu
A pop-up menu that is not attached to a menu bar. See also pop-up menu.
FM synthesizer
See frequency modulation (FM) synthesizer.
font
(1) A collection of characters and symbols that share a common design.

(2) A drawing object used to write text on a display surface.

Font common dialog box
A common dialog box that displays lists of fonts and point sizes that correspond to available fonts. See also common dialog box.
font mapper
An algorithm that Windows uses to determine which available font most closely matches a requested font. See also font.
font table
An array that identifies each of the fonts whose resources have been loaded. Only fonts whose resources have been loaded can be used for text output. See also font.
foreground window
The window with which the user is currently working. The system assigns a slightly higher priority to the thread that created the foreground window than it does to other threads.
form type
A four-character code (FOURCC) identifying the type of data contained in a Resource Interchange File Format (RIFF) chunk. For example, a RIFF chunk with a form type of WAVE contains waveform audio data.
FOURCC (Four-Character Code)
A code used to identify Resource Interchange File Format (RIFF) chunks. A FOURCC is a 32-bit quantity represented as a sequence of one to four ASCII alphanumeric characters, padded on the right with blank characters.
frame-based exception handler
A mechanism used by a developer to deal with the possibility that an exception may occur in a certain sequence of code. A frame-based exception handler consists of a guarded body of code, a filter expression, and an exception handler. See also filter expression, guarded body of code.
free page
A page of memory in a process's virtual address space that is available to be reserved or committed. A process cannot access a free page. See also committed page, reserved page.
frequency
With respect to the high-resolution performance counter, the number of counts per second. This value is processor dependent.
frequency modulation (FM) synthesizer
A synthesizer that creates sounds by combining the output of digital oscillators using a frequency modulation technique.