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Information
FontFX is a utility for Acorn RISC OS computers which creates a drawing of a string of characters using outline font designs. A number of special effects are available to modify the result; these include colours, shadows, rotation and distortion. The finished product is a Draw file, which is ideal for use with desktop publishing software such as Ovation, Impression and Textease. The Acorn font system stores the definition of its characters as a sequence of coordinates linked by straight lines and curves, i.e. an outline. The Draw application uses the same method of storing a drawing, so it is a relatively simple process to convert the definition of a character from an outline font into a 'path' (a sequence of lines and curves) compatible with Draw. Once these 'paths' are packaged into a file, the file can be saved, or transferred directly into another application. During the conversion process, the 'paths' can be transformed, that is, rotated, scaled, duplicated (shadowed) or otherwise distorted, and the fill and outline colours selected. FontFX therefore provides a simple way of creating eye-catching and colourful textual graphics for use in magazines, newsletters, presentation slides, letter headings, posters and catalogues - in fact, almost any type of printed or computer-displayed material. The author's primary aim has been to make the program as easy as possible to use, with all the facilities visible at a glance, and the process of creating the final product can be a simple as one click on an icon.
Brief outline of facilities
- Choose from 16 million fill, outline or shadow colours - or choose none if you prefer
- Rainbow effect fills each character with a different colour - the sequence is up to you
- Border effect gives letters a separated outline
- Font size can be set separately for X and Y directions, giving expanded and condensed text
- Arcs can be clockwise or anti-clockwise, and stretch around any angle
- Circles can be clockwise, anti-clockwise or bi-directional, with an optional shape inside
- Replace spaces with dots in circles and arcs
- Rotate your string, or slope it, or make the characters lean. Use these facilities to give mirror images or different degrees of italicization
- Ripple or jiggle text up and down, or make your text into columns from top to bottom
- Create see-through stencils - use them to make pattern-filled letters
- Wall, floor and 3D shadows can lay in any direction and whatever length you choose
- Grow and shrink makes perspectives possible
- Combine many of the above effects to give almost infinite possibilities
Downloads
Download a drawfile showing some of the textual effects that can be created using FontFX6 (a zipped drawfile, 70k). Download FontFX Lite, a demonstration version of FontFX 6 (a zipped application, 129k).
