Is it possible to install Word fonts into system fonts?

Tony Girgenti · External Since: Dec 29, 2006 Posts: 2

Hello.

I apologize in advance if this post does not seem to apply to this forum,
but i cannot get an answer elsewhere.

I'm developing a Windows Form program in VS.NET VB, .NET Framework 1.1.4322
on a windows XP Pro, SP2.

Before printing a document, i want to set the font to a font that is only
available with the printer that i am printing to(Zebra TLP2844).

When i open Word and look at the fonts available for the default printer, it
does not show the fonts i want. If i cahnge the printer to the printer that
has the font that i want, the font i want shows up in the font selections.
This seems to be true for any program that allows me to select a font for
printing (Excel, Notepad, etc.)

Is there a way to take the fonts that i see while in Word and install them
into the system fonts?

Any help would be gratefully appreciated.

Thanks,
Tony

Suzanne S. Barnhill · External Since: Sep 26, 2003 Posts: 23321

Unless the printer manufacturer has supplied screen fonts (often TrueType
versions) for the printer-resident fonts, then no, there is no way to do
this.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

"Tony Girgenti" <tony(nospam)@lakesideos.com> wrote in message
news:O6soOU3KHHA.1252@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
> Hello.
>
> I apologize in advance if this post does not seem to apply to this forum,
> but i cannot get an answer elsewhere.
>
> I'm developing a Windows Form program in VS.NET VB, .NET Framework
1.1.4322
> on a windows XP Pro, SP2.
>
> Before printing a document, i want to set the font to a font that is only
> available with the printer that i am printing to(Zebra TLP2844).
>
> When i open Word and look at the fonts available for the default printer,
it
> does not show the fonts i want. If i cahnge the printer to the printer
that
> has the font that i want, the font i want shows up in the font selections.
> This seems to be true for any program that allows me to select a font for
> printing (Excel, Notepad, etc.)
>
> Is there a way to take the fonts that i see while in Word and install them
> into the system fonts?
>
> Any help would be gratefully appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
> Tony
>
>

Tony Girgenti · External Since: Dec 29, 2006 Posts: 2

Hello Suzanne.

Would you mind explaining what a "screen font" is as opposed to any other
font?

Happy New Year.

Thanks,
Tony

"Suzanne S. Barnhill" <sbarnhill DeleteThis @mvps.org> wrote in message
news:ez%23hOe5KHHA.3268@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
> Unless the printer manufacturer has supplied screen fonts (often TrueType
> versions) for the printer-resident fonts, then no, there is no way to do
> this.
>
> --
> Suzanne S. Barnhill
> Microsoft MVP (Word)
> Words into Type
> Fairhope, Alabama USA
> Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org
> Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup
> so
> all may benefit.
>
> "Tony Girgenti" <tony(nospam)@lakesideos.com> wrote in message
> news:O6soOU3KHHA.1252@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
>> Hello.
>>
>> I apologize in advance if this post does not seem to apply to this forum,
>> but i cannot get an answer elsewhere.
>>
>> I'm developing a Windows Form program in VS.NET VB, .NET Framework
> 1.1.4322
>> on a windows XP Pro, SP2.
>>
>> Before printing a document, i want to set the font to a font that is only
>> available with the printer that i am printing to(Zebra TLP2844).
>>
>> When i open Word and look at the fonts available for the default printer,
> it
>> does not show the fonts i want. If i cahnge the printer to the printer
> that
>> has the font that i want, the font i want shows up in the font
>> selections.
>> This seems to be true for any program that allows me to select a font for
>> printing (Excel, Notepad, etc.)
>>
>> Is there a way to take the fonts that i see while in Word and install
>> them
>> into the system fonts?
>>
>> Any help would be gratefully appreciated.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Tony
>>
>>
>

Suzanne S. Barnhill · External Since: Sep 26, 2003 Posts: 23321

A "screen font" is a font that allows Word to display on the screen the font
that your printer will print. This would actually have to be a TrueType font
for any current Word version, as Word will not display "screen fonts" (those
marked with a capital Roman A in the Fonts folder) in documents.

I got my first laser printer (HP LaserJet 4) just about the time that
Windows 3.1 introduced support for TrueType fonts. Before that, you were
limited to the fonts that were resident in your printer (either natively or
through ROM additions) or fonts generated by an application (WordPerfect for
DOS had a number of bitmap fonts whose legacy is still hanging around).
Laser printers were unique in that they had scalable fonts (as opposed to
bitmap fonts in a limited number of sizes). Another source of scalable fonts
was Adobe PostScript, which created the fonts in your computer and
downloaded them to the printer as bitmaps.

TrueType changed all that. If you had a TrueType font installed in the
Windows Fonts folder, you could use the font in any application, on any
printer that could print graphics. The LJ 4 came with an impressive number
of resident fonts, but these were needed only for DOS applications. For
Windows apps, HP provided TrueType versions of the fonts to be installed in
Windows (these didn't actually come with the printer but could be ordered
from HP at no cost--as I say, I got the printer just on the cusp of the
TrueType revolution, and they weren't quite up to speed yet). If you let the
printer use its resident fonts, it prints faster, but you can also choose to
force it to use the TrueType versions (which was important in the case of
Garamond Antiqua, whose TrueType version was slightly different from the
resident one). And of course all other TT fonts are downloaded as "soft
fonts."

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

"Tony Girgenti" <tony(nospam)@lakesideos.com> wrote in message
news:ukAhSWCLHHA.2140@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
> Hello Suzanne.
>
> Would you mind explaining what a "screen font" is as opposed to any other
> font?
>
> Happy New Year.
>
> Thanks,
> Tony
>
> "Suzanne S. Barnhill" <sbarnhill RemoveThis @mvps.org> wrote in message
> news:ez%23hOe5KHHA.3268@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
> > Unless the printer manufacturer has supplied screen fonts (often
TrueType
> > versions) for the printer-resident fonts, then no, there is no way to do
> > this.
> >
> > --
> > Suzanne S. Barnhill
> > Microsoft MVP (Word)
> > Words into Type
> > Fairhope, Alabama USA
> > Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org
> > Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the
newsgroup
> > so
> > all may benefit.
> >
> > "Tony Girgenti" <tony(nospam)@lakesideos.com> wrote in message
> > news:O6soOU3KHHA.1252@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
> >> Hello.
> >>
> >> I apologize in advance if this post does not seem to apply to this
forum,
> >> but i cannot get an answer elsewhere.
> >>
> >> I'm developing a Windows Form program in VS.NET VB, .NET Framework
> > 1.1.4322
> >> on a windows XP Pro, SP2.
> >>
> >> Before printing a document, i want to set the font to a font that is
only
> >> available with the printer that i am printing to(Zebra TLP2844).
> >>
> >> When i open Word and look at the fonts available for the default
printer,
> > it
> >> does not show the fonts i want. If i cahnge the printer to the printer
> > that
> >> has the font that i want, the font i want shows up in the font
> >> selections.
> >> This seems to be true for any program that allows me to select a font
for
> >> printing (Excel, Notepad, etc.)
> >>
> >> Is there a way to take the fonts that i see while in Word and install
> >> them
> >> into the system fonts?
> >>
> >> Any help would be gratefully appreciated.
> >>
> >> Thanks,
> >> Tony
> >>
> >>
> >
>
>

Jay Freedman · External Since: Mar 17, 2004 Posts: 2852

Hi Tony,

Some fonts are supplied as bitmaps in specific sizes -- usually with a
..fon extension -- and are usable only by the printer itself. Sometimes
a matching TrueType or PostScript (scalable) font is supplied for use
on the screen, and this is necessary for Word to be able to display
it.

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP FAQ: http://word.mvps.org

On Sat, 30 Dec 2006 10:17:06 -0500, "Tony Girgenti"
<tony(nospam)@lakesideos.com> wrote:

>Hello Suzanne.
>
>Would you mind explaining what a "screen font" is as opposed to any other
>font?
>
>Happy New Year.
>
>Thanks,
>Tony
>
>"Suzanne S. Barnhill" <sbarnhill.TakeThisOut@mvps.org> wrote in message
>news:ez%23hOe5KHHA.3268@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
>> Unless the printer manufacturer has supplied screen fonts (often TrueType
>> versions) for the printer-resident fonts, then no, there is no way to do
>> this.
>>
>> --
>> Suzanne S. Barnhill
>> Microsoft MVP (Word)
>> Words into Type
>> Fairhope, Alabama USA
>> Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org
>> Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup
>> so
>> all may benefit.
>>
>> "Tony Girgenti" <tony(nospam)@lakesideos.com> wrote in message
>> news:O6soOU3KHHA.1252@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
>>> Hello.
>>>
>>> I apologize in advance if this post does not seem to apply to this forum,
>>> but i cannot get an answer elsewhere.
>>>
>>> I'm developing a Windows Form program in VS.NET VB, .NET Framework
>> 1.1.4322
>>> on a windows XP Pro, SP2.
>>>
>>> Before printing a document, i want to set the font to a font that is only
>>> available with the printer that i am printing to(Zebra TLP2844).
>>>
>>> When i open Word and look at the fonts available for the default printer,
>> it
>>> does not show the fonts i want. If i cahnge the printer to the printer
>> that
>>> has the font that i want, the font i want shows up in the font
>>> selections.
>>> This seems to be true for any program that allows me to select a font for
>>> printing (Excel, Notepad, etc.)
>>>
>>> Is there a way to take the fonts that i see while in Word and install
>>> them
>>> into the system fonts?
>>>
>>> Any help would be gratefully appreciated.
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>> Tony
>>>
>>>
>>
>

Tom Ferguson · External Since: Feb 01, 2006 Posts: 89

In best-use, "Screen fonts" are fonts intended to allow the operating
system to draw the display accurately and quickly. (*see below) To this
end, the fonts are bit-mapped. This simply means that the font file
contains information that allows the display driver to light the
appropriate dots on the screen to make the glyphs that are seen as the
letters of the text.

Other font files such as PostScript and TrueType/OpenType contain data
that draws font in terms of mathematically described lines. To use, the
printer employs a "rasterizer" that performs the calculations/transforms
necessary to cause the printer to make the appropriate characters on the
paper. To display on the screen, the appropriate dots on the screen
must be lit. With Windows 3.x and earlier, the Windows screen drivers
could not display Postscript fonts directly. It required a "screen font"
for each installed PostScript font. Adobe supplied a utility with its
Postscript fonts to generate the needed screen fonts for its fonts. This
was done when installing the fonts. if one did not do this, the display
did not match the printed output because the system would use the "best
match" for the display rendering. Later, Adobe Type Manager and other
competing systems (Speedo and Intellifont) was developed. ATM allowed
PostScript fonts to be used by providing a rasterizer that hooked into
the display system. ATM provided the screen display on the fly.

Windows included in its rasterizer the ability to draw TrueType fonts
directly to the screen. However, it was faster to draw the screen with
bit-mapped fonts rather that incurring the time penalty font rasterizing
requires. So, Windows included bit-mapped "screen fonts" for certain
system uses such as dialogue boxes.

At a certain point, in the interest of assuring good print quality,
Microsoft removed from Word the ability to print using screen fonts.

Now, as you probably know, Windows XP and Vista include screen
rasterizers that can use TrueType, PostScript and Open Type fonts
without installing ATM

A side note on printer-resident fonts.

*Some printers, notably PostScript Lasers and PCL Lasers, contain a
certain number of fonts in the printer's ROM. Since Word checks the
printer driver when generating its font list, it will list these fonts
on its menu when the correct printer driver is used. In order to get an
accurate display of text, a "Screen font" must be installed on the
system to match every font that is printer-resident. To this end, many
printer makers distribute a disk of font files. If these fonts are not
installed, the display might not match the print out in appearance or
layout. Somewhat confusingly (at least to me), these fonts are sometimes
called screen fonts even although they are well-formed, well-defined
Postscript or TrueType font files.

Hope this helps. I hope there is enough detail to give some of the
flavor without getting too enmeshed in the complexities of the topic.

Tom
MSMVP
Windows Shell/User

"Tony Girgenti" <tony(nospam)@lakesideos.com> wrote in message
news:ukAhSWCLHHA.2140@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
> Hello Suzanne.
>
> Would you mind explaining what a "screen font" is as opposed to any
> other font?
>
> Happy New Year.
>
> Thanks,
> Tony
>
> "Suzanne S. Barnhill" <sbarnhill.TakeThisOut@mvps.org> wrote in message
> news:ez%23hOe5KHHA.3268@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
>> Unless the printer manufacturer has supplied screen fonts (often
>> TrueType
>> versions) for the printer-resident fonts, then no, there is no way to
>> do
>> this.
>>
>> --
>> Suzanne S. Barnhill
>> Microsoft MVP (Word)
>> Words into Type
>> Fairhope, Alabama USA
>> Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org
>> Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the
>> newsgroup so
>> all may benefit.
>>
>> "Tony Girgenti" <tony(nospam)@lakesideos.com> wrote in message
>> news:O6soOU3KHHA.1252@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
>>> Hello.
>>>
>>> I apologize in advance if this post does not seem to apply to this
>>> forum,
>>> but i cannot get an answer elsewhere.
>>>
>>> I'm developing a Windows Form program in VS.NET VB, .NET Framework
>> 1.1.4322
>>> on a windows XP Pro, SP2.
>>>
>>> Before printing a document, i want to set the font to a font that is
>>> only
>>> available with the printer that i am printing to(Zebra TLP2844).
>>>
>>> When i open Word and look at the fonts available for the default
>>> printer,
>> it
>>> does not show the fonts i want. If i cahnge the printer to the
>>> printer
>> that
>>> has the font that i want, the font i want shows up in the font
>>> selections.
>>> This seems to be true for any program that allows me to select a
>>> font for
>>> printing (Excel, Notepad, etc.)
>>>
>>> Is there a way to take the fonts that i see while in Word and
>>> install them
>>> into the system fonts?
>>>
>>> Any help would be gratefully appreciated.
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>> Tony
>>>
>>>
>>
>
>

Suzanne S. Barnhill · External Since: Sep 26, 2003 Posts: 23321

Thanks for the more informed detail, Tom.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

"Tom Ferguson" <tom.msmvp.TakeThisOut@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:OPy8JqJLHHA.4384@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
> In best-use, "Screen fonts" are fonts intended to allow the operating
> system to draw the display accurately and quickly. (*see below) To this
> end, the fonts are bit-mapped. This simply means that the font file
> contains information that allows the display driver to light the
> appropriate dots on the screen to make the glyphs that are seen as the
> letters of the text.
>
> Other font files such as PostScript and TrueType/OpenType contain data
> that draws font in terms of mathematically described lines. To use, the
> printer employs a "rasterizer" that performs the calculations/transforms
> necessary to cause the printer to make the appropriate characters on the
> paper. To display on the screen, the appropriate dots on the screen
> must be lit. With Windows 3.x and earlier, the Windows screen drivers
> could not display Postscript fonts directly. It required a "screen font"
> for each installed PostScript font. Adobe supplied a utility with its
> Postscript fonts to generate the needed screen fonts for its fonts. This
> was done when installing the fonts. if one did not do this, the display
> did not match the printed output because the system would use the "best
> match" for the display rendering. Later, Adobe Type Manager and other
> competing systems (Speedo and Intellifont) was developed. ATM allowed
> PostScript fonts to be used by providing a rasterizer that hooked into
> the display system. ATM provided the screen display on the fly.
>
> Windows included in its rasterizer the ability to draw TrueType fonts
> directly to the screen. However, it was faster to draw the screen with
> bit-mapped fonts rather that incurring the time penalty font rasterizing
> requires. So, Windows included bit-mapped "screen fonts" for certain
> system uses such as dialogue boxes.
>
> At a certain point, in the interest of assuring good print quality,
> Microsoft removed from Word the ability to print using screen fonts.
>
> Now, as you probably know, Windows XP and Vista include screen
> rasterizers that can use TrueType, PostScript and Open Type fonts
> without installing ATM
>
> A side note on printer-resident fonts.
>
> *Some printers, notably PostScript Lasers and PCL Lasers, contain a
> certain number of fonts in the printer's ROM. Since Word checks the
> printer driver when generating its font list, it will list these fonts
> on its menu when the correct printer driver is used. In order to get an
> accurate display of text, a "Screen font" must be installed on the
> system to match every font that is printer-resident. To this end, many
> printer makers distribute a disk of font files. If these fonts are not
> installed, the display might not match the print out in appearance or
> layout. Somewhat confusingly (at least to me), these fonts are sometimes
> called screen fonts even although they are well-formed, well-defined
> Postscript or TrueType font files.
>
> Hope this helps. I hope there is enough detail to give some of the
> flavor without getting too enmeshed in the complexities of the topic.
>
> Tom
> MSMVP
> Windows Shell/User
>
>
>
> "Tony Girgenti" <tony(nospam)@lakesideos.com> wrote in message
> news:ukAhSWCLHHA.2140@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
> > Hello Suzanne.
> >
> > Would you mind explaining what a "screen font" is as opposed to any
> > other font?
> >
> > Happy New Year.
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Tony
> >
> > "Suzanne S. Barnhill" <sbarnhill.TakeThisOut@mvps.org> wrote in message
> > news:ez%23hOe5KHHA.3268@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
> >> Unless the printer manufacturer has supplied screen fonts (often
> >> TrueType
> >> versions) for the printer-resident fonts, then no, there is no way to
> >> do
> >> this.
> >>
> >> --
> >> Suzanne S. Barnhill
> >> Microsoft MVP (Word)
> >> Words into Type
> >> Fairhope, Alabama USA
> >> Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org
> >> Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the
> >> newsgroup so
> >> all may benefit.
> >>
> >> "Tony Girgenti" <tony(nospam)@lakesideos.com> wrote in message
> >> news:O6soOU3KHHA.1252@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
> >>> Hello.
> >>>
> >>> I apologize in advance if this post does not seem to apply to this
> >>> forum,
> >>> but i cannot get an answer elsewhere.
> >>>
> >>> I'm developing a Windows Form program in VS.NET VB, .NET Framework
> >> 1.1.4322
> >>> on a windows XP Pro, SP2.
> >>>
> >>> Before printing a document, i want to set the font to a font that is
> >>> only
> >>> available with the printer that i am printing to(Zebra TLP2844).
> >>>
> >>> When i open Word and look at the fonts available for the default
> >>> printer,
> >> it
> >>> does not show the fonts i want. If i cahnge the printer to the
> >>> printer
> >> that
> >>> has the font that i want, the font i want shows up in the font
> >>> selections.
> >>> This seems to be true for any program that allows me to select a
> >>> font for
> >>> printing (Excel, Notepad, etc.)
> >>>
> >>> Is there a way to take the fonts that i see while in Word and
> >>> install them
> >>> into the system fonts?
> >>>
> >>> Any help would be gratefully appreciated.
> >>>
> >>> Thanks,
> >>> Tony
> >>>
> >>>
> >>
> >
> >
>

Tim Murray · External Since: Dec 29, 2003 Posts: 62

On Dec 30, 2006, Tony Girgenti wrote:
> Hello Suzanne.
>
> Would you mind explaining what a "screen font" is as opposed to any other
> font?
>
> Happy New Year.
>
> Thanks,
> Tony

I have a small write-up on this at <http://www.techknowledgecorp.com/help>
then look along the left column for "Where do fonts come from?" Well, it's
not about screen vs any other font, it's about why fonts appear and disappear
as you change printers.

Tim Murray · External Since: Dec 29, 2003 Posts: 62

On Dec 30, 2006, Suzanne S. Barnhill wrote:
> Another source of scalable fonts
> was Adobe PostScript, which created the fonts in your computer and
> downloaded them to the printer as bitmaps.

It could download as bitmap, but on a PostScript printer it downloads as an
outline.

Suzanne S. Barnhill · External Since: Sep 26, 2003 Posts: 23321

You can probably tell that my "knowledge" of this is empirical and sketchy!

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

"Tim Murray" <no-spam.RemoveThis@thankyou.com> wrote in message
news:0001HW.C1BDB678000D9359F0203648@news.microsoft.com...
> On Dec 30, 2006, Suzanne S. Barnhill wrote:
> > Another source of scalable fonts
> > was Adobe PostScript, which created the fonts in your computer and
> > downloaded them to the printer as bitmaps.
>
> It could download as bitmap, but on a PostScript printer it downloads as
an
> outline.
>