> Linguist's Software is a ten-year-old company in Edmonds, Washington, that
> found its niche by developing fonts to allow Macintosh users to compose in
> the character sets of any of 260 languages, including 15 American Indian
> languages, 28 African languages, and languages spoken throughout Asia.
Dave Kayoshk asks:
I'm wondering if these fonts are just .FOT files. If so, they MIGHT be
convertable to IBM machines. If they are full executable progams, then is
there anything out there for IBM stuff?
John Koontz response:
It's my understanding that LS also sells these fonts in MS Windows 3.1
(and later) (recent PC windows) TrueType format. The files are in *.TTF
format for PC users. I believe *.FOT is a bitmapped format used in earlier
versions of MS Windows. LS provides Macintosh keyboard support with the
Macintosh versions, but no keyboard support with the Windows versions,
i.e., you have to locate a keyboard definition tool and set something up
yourself.
These comments are based on reports I've seen posted, e.g., on Linguist, not
personal exposure to the product.
Those interested in Windows TT fonts might want to consider the SIL Encore
Fonts product. I don't know the current price, but it's not too expensive.
This is an expansion of the freeware SIL IPA product.
The commercial extension includes many additional characters. In fact, it
provides a symbol set large enough that it has to be divided into about four
font files (of c. 256 glyphs each). Each symbol set is provided in the
Doulos, Sophia, and Manuscript type faces, and each type face is available
in regular, italic, bold, and bold italic variants. There is also a tool
for cutting and pasting characters from the several fonts provided to make a
specialized 256 character font, and for mixing and matching diacritics and
base characters. The newest version accepts definition files prepared for
the earlier SIL Premier Fonts product. PF was a pricey tool comparable to
the above, but based on Bitstream bitmapped fonts. (The Bitstream license
accounts for the price.)
If you don't use Windows, it is possible to use TT fonts for printing only
(not screen display) under DOS using current DOS versions of MS Word and
WordPerfect. Earlier versions of these word processors can use TT fonts for
printing only with the aid of a tool like TT for DOS. I haven't seen that
advertised recently. The upgrades to Word and WP have destroyed its niche
market.
You can make DOS screen fonts for EGA/VGA graphics cards with tools like the
Duke Language Toolkit.
To make printer fonts for printers that can't use TT fonts (i.e., for
printers used in non Windows environments) requires a special font editor for
the printer in question.
The ingredients for setting up a fairly inexpensive font environment under
DOS have always been there, but it took some research to locate the parts
and learn to use them.