Font Matching Table

When Windows 95 uses the font mapping table to match screen fonts to printer fonts, the characteristics used to find the closest match are, in descending order of importance: the character set, the pitch (variable versus fixed), family, typeface name, height, width, weight, slant, underline, and strikethrough. The Windows 95 search algorithm for finding fonts is the same as the one in Windows 3.1. If the necessary size and bitmap are available, the algorithm proceeds in the following sequence:

1. Use the font found in the printer's ROM.
2. Use the font found in the printer's cartridge slot.
3. Use the downloadable soft font.
4. Use the TrueType font.

Windows 95 also includes PANOSE (panose.bin), a font matching system created by ElseWare, Inc., that is based on a numeric classification of fonts according to visual characteristics. PANOSE classifies fonts by the following:

• Serif
• Proportion
• Contrast
• Stroke Variation and Arm Type
• Letterform
• Midline
• X-height

Applications use PANOSE to substitute the most appropriate available font in publications. The application searches the PANOSE database of the font numbers for the font that most closely matches the requested font.