Oblique - Italic Font Maker

by Matt Browne


Oblique is a RISC OS 3 (and later) compatible program that lets you create oblique (italic-like) fonts for those fonts without italics. All you have to do is specify a font for the program to use, and it will create an oblique version of it.

Oblique is written in 100% ARM Assembler for speed and efficiency. It uses DoggySofts excellent WimpExtension module.

It follows normal RISC OS conventions - so if you cant work out how to use
Obliques user interface, please consult your Welcome Guide.

If you click over the Oblique icon bar icon with Select, the Oblique main window will be opened. In the main window, you will see two main groups. One is entitled Font to use the other Changes.

Inside the Font to use group there are two icons. Clicking on either of them will bring up a font menu. You should select a font from this menu, and the name of it will be placed in the icon inside the Font to use group. This will be the font used to create the oblique version.

Inside the Changes group there are two radio icons - Auto and
Manual. Also, there are several other icons underneath these radio icons
that are greyed out if the Auto radio icon is set. Usually, the Auto
setting will be the best to use. You should select Manual to
fine-tune the settings. The Manual setting will be described later.

Usually, you will find that the Auto setting the easiest to use - if
this is selected (which is default) the computer will use its default values
for creating the oblique version of the selected font, and you dont need to
bother with anything else.

If you use the Manual setting, the other icons in the Changes group
will be un-greyed-out, allowing you to fine-tune the values that will be
used to create the oblique version of the selected font. This is not normally needed, but with a bit of patience you can create some nice effects. If you
click on the writable icons, you can enter the values that will be used. You
can enter the Width of the new font, the rotation, the shear (italic angle),
the height, the horizontal offset, and the vertical offset.

If you get into a mess with any of the settings, press the Defaults
button at the bottom of the window to bring back all the default values.

The Re-scan button at the bottom of the window scans the font directories
again, to detect any changes. This has the effect of updating the font
selection menu (in Oblique and in most other applications too). Everything
is rescanned automatically after a new font is created in Oblique.

Once you have finished, click on OK to create the new font. Note that the
new font may not be included into the font lists until the next reset or
similar, so reset your computer before you start complaining that the
program hasnt worked!

The quickest (and probably best) way to create a new oblique font is simply to
choose the font you want to use, check the Auto setting is on, and
click on OK.


 Copyright RISC User, 1995

