Using The Amulet Font Converter

Fonts in HTML and the Amulet Font Converter

To use a windows based font in an HTML page, use the tag with the FACE attribute. Prior to version 2.2 the Amulet HTMLCompiler disregarded the FACE attribute. Any font that you use in your HTML pages will need to be converted into an Amulet Font File (.amf) using the Amulet Font Converter and the subsequent .amf file needs to be placed in the Amulet/Configuration/Fonts folder.

For example, to use the Arial font, size 4 (14 pt) on a string that says "Welcome to Amulet Fonts", use the following in an HTML page:

Welcome to Amulet Fonts

You will then need to place Arial_4.amf, which is generated by the Amulet Font Converter, into the Amulet/Configuration/Fonts folder. Once Arial_4.amf is loaded in your Fonts folder you can use Arial size 4 in any other project without doing anything special.

Starting the Amulet Font Converter

The Amulet Font Converter runs on Windows 95, 98, ME or later. The Converter may be invoked by any standard Windows method:

From the START menu
Double clicking on the Amulet Font Converter icon and/or any shortcuts

Using the Converter

To convert a Windows font (TrueType or bitmap) into an Amulet Font (*.amf), load and save the font with the Amulet Font Converter. Instructions follow detailing this process:

To load the font, click on "Load Font..." from the File menu and then choose the Font, Font style, and size that you used on the already created HTML page.

Once you load the font, you'll notice the display of the program now contains the character set of the font you are about to save.

To save the font, click on "Save AmuletFont..." from the File menu. You'll notice that you can either save the file as an Amulet Font file(.amf), a bitmap (.bmp), or a BDF(.bdf). In order for the Amulet HTMLCompiler to compile correctly, the font name, size, and style must match what was used in the HTML page. The Amulet Font Converter saves the .amf file in the Configuration/Fonts folder in the Amulet sub-directory. If the HTML font does not exactly match the converted AmuletFont, or if the .amf file is not located in the Configuration/Fonts folder, the compiler will throw a compilation error, stating the required font file cannot be found.

NOTE: The font size that you load must match the HTML font size used in the HTML page you created earlier. HTML font sizes 1 through 7 correspond to Windows font point sizes 8, 10, 12, 14, 18, 24, and 36 respectively. If one of these font sizes is loaded, the default save file name is the font name with _x appended to the end, where _x is the corresponding HTML size. This is the format that must be used for the compiler to compile correctly. If a non HTML font size is chosen, the save file name will initially be "***nonValid HTML fontsize."

NOTE: If the font is saved as a bitmap (.bmp), the bitmap that is saved is the character set seen in the program window.

Selecting Range of Characters to Convert

The Amulet Font Converter has the ability to convert all characters from 0x21-0xFF. By default, the Amulet Font Converter only converts and saves the lower-ASCII characters, 0x21-0x7F. To convert and save either more or less than the default, select File > Options. A pop-up menu will appear similar to this:

The First Character range is 0x21-0xFE. The Last Character range is 0x22-0xFF. The First Character value must be less than the Last Character value.

This allows for displaying font characters that are not part of the lower ASCII range. The characters that can be found in the upper ASCII section are not always going to be the same from font to font, so ensure that the character you are interested in displaying is available in the font you are using.

This option also allows for saving a smaller subset of a font if you are sure that you will only be using a portion of a specific font. For instance, you may want a large number font to be used as part of a numeric field widget. Being it is a large font, if you saved all lower ASCII characters it would result in a very large .amf file which would eat up a large portion of your project's flash space. By setting the First Character to 0x30 and the Last Character to 0x39, you could save just the numbers 0-9, which would obviously result in a much smaller .amf file, thus using much less flash space.

These values are not persistant after closing down the Amulet Font Converter. Each time you start the Amulet Font Converter, the First Character defaults to 0x21 and the Last Character defaults to 0x7F.

More Examples

Below are examples of using different fonts in your UI with the help of the Amulet Font Converter:

Example 1:

You want to use Lucida Handwriting size 3 (12 pt) on a string that says "Using the Amulet Font Converter", use the following in an HTML page:

Using the Amulet Font Converter

You will need to place Lucida Handwriting_3.amf, which is generated by the Amulet Font Converter, into the Amulet/Configuration/Fonts folder. You'll notice when you load the Lucida Handwriting font in the Converter, "Italic," "Bold," and "Bold Italic" are the only font styles available. This brings up a good point, if there is no "Regular" font style, the top font style in the style list box is the default style, so "Italic" in this case. Using the rule, you'll want to load and save Lucida Handwriting, Italic, size 12 with the Converter, in order to match the HTML page created earlier. Once Lucida Handwriting_3.amf is loaded in your Fonts folder you can use Lucida Handwriting size 3 in any other project without doing anything special.

Example 2:

You want to use Garamond Bold Italic size 7 (36 pt) on a string that says "Amulet Font Converter", use the following in an HTML page:

Amulet Font Converter

You will need to place Garamond_7.amf, which is generated by the Amulet Font Converter, into the Amulet/Configuration/Fonts folder. It is HIGHLY recommended in this situation and situations like this one in which "non-regular" font styles are used, to use the Amulet Font Converter to convert the font in the "Regular" style and let the Amulet software modify the style of the font. If you were to use the Amulet Font Converter to save the .amf with a bold and italicized font style, in addition to including the bold and italic tags in the HTML page, what you would see on the Amulet GUI would actually be a bolded bold and italicized italic representation of the font. Following this important rule, for this situation, you would use the Amulet Font Converter to load and save Garamond, Regular, size 36. Once Garamond_7.amf is loaded in your Fonts folder you can use Garamond size 7 (with any style you wish, as long as you handle the style in the HTML page) in any other project.

File Menu

Load Font...	Loads font for viewing. Brings up a font dialog box for choosing the font.
Save AmuletFont...	Saves font in AmuletFont (*.amf) format. Brings up a save file dialog for choosing the name and save location of the .amf (or .bmp) file
Options	Opens a separate pop-up window which allows for specifying the first and last characters to convert.
Exit	Exits the program.

Disclaimer

Converting copyrighted TrueType and bitmap fonts for the purposes of resale, copyright infringement or licensing avoidance is strictly prohibited. Refer to the original font's licensing agreement for additional restrictions that may apply. Amulet Technologies will not be held liable for infringements made to a font's licensing agreement, nor will it take responsibility for the user's actions involving the use of the Amulet Font Converter.

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