Font Directory - Question & Answers

If you have a query, please feel free to add it here - don't forget to check out the on-line documentation and the Frequently Asked Questions pages first! You may not get an answer immediately, so please be patient - AdrianLook

If you think you have found a bug, please submit a bug report.

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Q. I don't like Paypal!
My browser doesn't like Paypal and I don't want to pay on-line.

A. You can send us a good old fashioned cheque. See our Mail Order page for more details.

Q. I have not received my activation key
I've paid my money and got a reciept from Paypal... but still no activation key!

A. If you haven't received an email with your activation key within 10 minutes of making a payment, there may be a problem. It appears that, for some, our emails are getting caught in "spam traps". Please contact AdrianLook for further advice.

This problem has now been resolved.

Q. My activation key does not work
Dropping the data file on the "Software Installer" does nothing.

A. This is because the key is invalid. Some email clients are not happy with the MIME attachements sent out by our server and the keys are not being correctly decoded. You can try to download your activation key from this website. Otherwise, contact AdrianLook for further advice.

As a quick check, look at the size of the activation key file. It should be exactly 2048 bytes. Any size different from this indicates some sort of corruption.

This problem has now been resolved.

Q. Why won't Font Directory work on my Iyonix?
A. You must have Font Directory v3.10 or later and you must make sure that Aemulor is not interfering with either Font Directory or the Software Installer.

Before starting the !Install application, either completely quit Aemulor (Quit->Emulator_too) or ensure that it doesn't treat FontFS as a 26-bit application.

In order to do this, open the iconbar menu and then the "Config...", "Applications..." and "Modules..." windows. In the "Config..." window, select "Run only if dragged onto Aemulor" and not "Run all 26-bit code automatically". In the "Applications..." window, select any reference to "!FontFS" and click on remove. In the "Modules..." window, select any reference to "FontFS" and click on kill.

Q. I use SpecialFX v1.01 on a RISC PC, why does the WYSIWYG display crash?
When I compile the font tables, each font name scroll by in the system font and no WYSIWYG data is displayed. Later, when I try to switch on the WYSIWYG display, Font Directory crashes.

A. It seems Font Directory is unable to compile WYSIWYG display correctly when SpecialFX is enabled. To get the WYSIWYG display working again, you must disable SpecialFX and use the Reset application to "Recompile the entire WYSIWYG display". Once you have done this, everything should work just fine. Thereafter, make sure SpecialFX is disabled whenever you change the font partition and recompile the font tables.

Please note: SpecialFX v1.03 running on a Iyonix does not intefere with Font Directory.

Q. I've upgraded to v3.10 and my font sets have disappeared.
On upgrading to the new version of Font Directory, I have found that all my set definitions seem to have disappeared. The fonts window still opens at the same size but all the set names are blank. Have I missed something obvious or is this to be expected?

A. We have a fix for this, which can be downloaded from our development page.

Q. Why doesn't FontFS support long filenames?
I've just installed Font Directory on my Iyonix and found that filenames are limited to 10 characters and that directories can only contain 77 entries. Why?

A. The font partition uses the old RISC OS D-format and this is the cause of these limitations. We would like to use a "new" disc format which supports long filenames and unlimited directory entries, but these cannot be resized. This wastes space because you have to allocate spare capacity, so your font partition can grow, and/or you have to reinstall you entire font collection once the partition becomes full. In the end it was a trade-off and we chose resizable partitions vs long filenames.

Q. If FontFS directories can only contain 77 entries, how do I organise my fonts?
For example, the iSV Typography CD contains over a 1,000 font families, I can't put them into one directory, so what do I do?

A. We suggest that you create several directories - for example, iSV1, iSV2, etc (or store your fonts alphabetically). Then use the font sets editor facility to classify, group and access your fonts in as many different ways as you choose. See the user docs for more information.

Q. I can't read the documentation
The PDF documentation is difficult to read without setting the scale to 150%.

The documentation has been produced by printing the original manual to a PostScript file on RISC OS and convert that file to PDF format. Since a non-standard font (Monotype Rockwell) was used for the body text, this has been embedded in the document as a Type 3 PostScript font. The Type 3 font is not hinted and not anti-aliased. This makes reading the documents at "small" sizes very difficult.

Does anyone knows of a PDF viewer for RISC OS that supports anti-aliasing? as this should solve the problem - AdrianLook.

Q. Will it run on any of the RISC OS emulators?
Can I use FontDir with my Alpha, VirtualA5000, VirtualRPC, et al?

A. Try it and see... let us know how you get on. But, please note, we do not actively support these platforms.

Update:
Apparently, you can create a hard disc image and make it appear as a local hard disc. From this image, FontFS should work. See FontDirectoryInstall for more details.

Q. How do I submit a bug report?
I think I have found a bug, how do I submit a bug report?

A. Visit the Bug Report page, enter your problem into the fields "Summary" and "Comment" and click on "Submit" afterwards.

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