Raster fonts are bitmaps supplied in different sizes for specific video display resolutions. The Windows NT fonts MS Serif, MS Sans Serif, Courier, System, and Terminal are raster fonts.
A raster font file contains data that describes the style and all the characters of a typeface for a specific display device. Windows NT provides several raster font sizes for various display devices. For example, MS Serif comes in point sizes 8, 10, 12, and 14 for video graphics array (VGA) and 8514 display devices.
Windows NT can scale raster fonts, but if you try to scale them too far from their original size or style, they become jagged. Bold, italic, underline, and strikeout styles can also be generated from a standard raster font.
The following table lists the raster fonts included with Windows NT. Additional raster font sets can be installed by choosing the Fonts icon in Control Panel.
Table 7.1 Windows NT Raster Fonts
Font | Filename | Character set |
Courier | COURx.FON | ANSI |
MS Sans Serif | SSERIFx.FON | ANSI |
MS Serif | SERIFx.FON | ANSI |
Small | SMALLx.FON | ANSI |
Symbol | SYMBOLx.FON | Symbol |
The raster font sets for different display resolutions are distinguished by a letter suffix on the font name (represented as x in the previous table). To see the files that Windows NT installs for a given display or printer, add the appropriate letter (displayed in the following table) that identifies the resolution to the raster font filename. For example, the resource file for MS Serif fonts for VGA is named SERIFE.FON.
Table 7.2 Raster Font Sizes
Font set and output device | Horizontal resolution | Vertical resolution | Aspect ratio H:V |
E = VGA display | 96 dpi | 96 dpi | 1:1 |
F = 8514 display | 120 dpi | 120 dpi | 1:1 |
Raster fonts can be printed if their resolution and aspect ratio are close to what your printer requires. If you do not see raster fonts for your printer in a Fonts dialog box, check your printer's horizontal and vertical resolution, and compare it with the preceding table. If there is a close match, choose the Fonts icon in Control Panel, and make sure the appropriate font set is installed. If there is no close match, you cannot print the Windows NT raster fonts on your printer.
Some applications, such as Microsoft Excel for Windows and Microsoft Paintbrush, work around this problem by sending documents to the printer in the form of bitmaps. By using bitmaps, the application can ensure that what prints closely matches what you see on the screen. Other applications, such as desktop publishing packages, allow you to choose only printable fonts.
In general, applications are written so that you can choose either displayable fonts or printable fonts. It is up to the developer of the application to decide which type of font you can choose.
You might be able to print raster fonts in a different resolution, if the other resolution has an aspect ratio that matches your printer. Some printer drivers cannot print raster fonts, regardless of the aspect ratio.
In Windows NT, MS Serif and MS Sans Serif replace the identical raster fonts Tms Rmn and Helv that were installed by Windows 3.0 or earlier versions. Windows NT matches MS Serif to Tms Rmn and MS Sans Serif to Helv using the information stored in the FontSubstitutes key in the Registry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT
\CurrentVersion\FontSubstitutesYou will still see the Tms Rmn and Helv typeface names in a Fonts dialog box if, for example, your Hewlett-Packard Printer Control Language (HPPCL) printer uses the Microsoft 1Z font cartridge.
The raster font named Small Font was designed for readable screen display of small fonts. For sizes under 6 points, Small Font is a better choice than any TrueType font for screen display, because it's easier to read.