Number 39, Spring 2001 cartographic perspectives 43

support for TrueType fonts at or external files, but distributing cartographic techniques around that same time. The main the document file that references reason for this migration was to these other files can be a frus- afford mapmakers a higher quality trating experience. option that was considerably more 3. TrueType fonts can be embed- efficient to work with. ded in digitally published Creating TrueType Fonts For Use Today ESRI has a large library of documents. As mentioned As Symbols in ArcGIS™ standard symbols that are based on above, typically GIS and map- TrueType fonts. However, despite ping software packages merely Jaynya W. Richards this plentitude of symbols, cartog- reference which characters Cartography and Symbology Product raphers always seem to want more to use. While efficient, this is Specialist or slightly different symbols. This not always an effective way to Environmental Systems Research article will introduce many of the distribute a document because Institute, Inc. concepts that pertain to TrueType others may not have the same 380 New York St fonts and the necessary knowledge TrueType font available on their Redlands CA, 92373 to create or edit TrueType fonts so computer. Rather than having Phone: (909) 793-2853 they will work with ESRI’s ArcGIS the software on somebody else’s Fax: (909) 307-3067 products. While that is obviously computer substituting another E-mail: [email protected] a product specific direction, the font, a font can be embedded in concepts and many of the specific the document with only a small Introduction settings will apply to any software file size penalty (usually about that uses TrueType fonts. 100Kb). Embedding can take Most organizations need to use several forms. ESRI’s ArcMap™ iconic symbols of some sort in Advantages of Symbols that use application supports embedding their documents and maps. These TrueType Fonts in the form of the creation of a icons may be a widely used stan- PostScript Type 3 font within its dard like the Visa or MasterCard TrueType fonts as the basis for EPS (Encapsulated PostScript) symbols or something custom like symbols on a map offer some dis- and PDF (Portable Document an organization’s logo. Using these tinct advantages to cartographers. Format) export formats. Only symbols in documents and presen- However, it would be good to the characters that are actually tations has often been a problem note that these advantages really used get embedded. because the only way to do so was apply to all vector based fonts, for 4. The graphical quality of a glyph to scan the symbol and use it as example, OpenType and PostScript in a TrueType font can be of very a bitmap. Bitmap images offer a fonts. The following are the main high quality. TrueType fonts trade-off, quality at the expense advantages to using TrueType typically store vector outlines, of performance. For presentations fonts as symbols on maps: including parametric definitions bitmap images are particularly bad for curves that can be scaled to because they are often displayed 1. TrueType fonts are easy to use. any size with no loss of quality. at large sizes and are usually Once installed, a TrueType font TrueType fonts also afford the perceived to be of low quality. It is is accessible to all software ap- ability to be displayed at any also difficult to publish documents plications. device resolution, i.e., a com- that contain bitmaps due to large 2. Using TrueType fonts generally puter screen or a high-resolution file sizes or incompatibilities in the results in smaller document printer with optimal quality. bitmap formats. sizes. Using a TrueType sym- Symbols based on bitmap im- In late 1995 ESRI began support- bol will increase the file size of ages cannot scale or adapt to ing TrueType fonts as an option for your document by just a small multiple resolutions. the source for artwork in symbols. number of bytes. This is because 5. Using TrueType fonts often re- By 1997 ESRI had replaced all its nothing that is already in the sults in work getting done faster. bitmap images with TrueType font is redundantly stored in the TrueType fonts are handled font based symbols in its ArcView document. Conversely symbols more efficiently by the operating product line and had added full that are based on bitmap im- system for display and output support for TrueType fonts in the ages often require at least one purposes. ArcInfo product line. This was a copy of the bitmap to be stored popular idea as MapInfo Corpo- in the document. Some GIS or A Brief Anatomy of a Font ration, Caliper Corporation, and map making software packages Intergraph Corporation also added permit symbols to reference The definitions of terms and 44 cartographic perspectives Number 39, Spring 2001 properties that follow apply to all on computers are designed to with the letter “A”. formats of fonts, not just TrueType. be spaced proportionally. With b. Family Name must match the proportional spacing, each let- Menu name. • Font Family: A font family is a ter is given just the amount of c. Family Name cannot conflict group of fonts that resemble one space it needs to look right and with existing installed font another, and are visually compat- be most legible. Using a pro- names. ible. One member of the fam- portional font, you can fit much d. Font UPM setting is 1000 ily may be italic, another other more text on a page than using e. Alignment is set to local zones bold, another bold and italic, etc. a fixed-pitch font and improve f. Set PANOSE Family Kind to Examples of font family names readability. Latin Text include Helvetica, New Century • Leading: Leading is the dis- g. IBM identification is set to Schoolbook, and Times New tance between lines of type and “No Classification” Roman. Font family names are is measured in points. During h. Supported Code pages is set not restricted to Latin characters. the days of metal type, print- to 1252 Latin 1, Character Set to Font families may be grouped ers inserted extra strips of lead ANSI into different categories: those between long lines of text to i. All Embedding allowed (for with or without serifs, those make them easier to read. That exportability) whose characters are or are not procedure gave rise to the term 2. It is important to use the follow- proportionally spaced, those that “leading.” ing ASCII ranges with ESRI’s resemble handwriting, those that • Resolution: Characters in ArcGIS software products: are fantasy fonts, etc. TrueType fonts are defined as ASCII 33-125, 161-172, 174, 176- • Typeface or Font: A visually resolution independent outlines. 180, 182, 184-255. consistent set of characters or However, resolution becomes 3. Most TrueType fonts created glyphs. A font or typeface relevant when the image is for use as marker symbols in includes characteristics of style. output to either the screen or a ESRI’s ArcGIS products follow Typically a font’s name includes printer at which time the operat- a “symbol” font design. This the family name and the style, ing system will create the image means the individual characters for example, Helvetica Bold. at the resolution level of the are not intended to be used in a • Font Style: The font style speci- output device. Therefore if you text document as text, dingbats, fies whether the font is normal, are using a 600 dpi printer the or bullets. bold, italic, etc. resolution of your character will • Font Variant: The font variant be 600 dpi. Creating glyphs that are intended indicates whether the font con- to overlay in specific ways tains normal upper and lower Creating TrueType Fonts for use case characters or whether it with ESRI’s ArcGIS Software The following example will be contains small-caps characters. specific to ESRI’s ArcMap soft- • Font Weight: The font weight TrueType fonts are primarily ware. Unfortunately this example refers to the boldness or light- created using special software ness of a font’s glyphs. packages specifically created for • Font Size: The font size refers building typefaces. There are to the size of the font in point several good font editing software units. 72 points equals one stan- packages commercially avail- dard inch. able. Of these, ESRI uses FontLab • Font Menu Name: This is the by Pyrus North America Ltd. to name used to access a font in a create its TrueType fonts. Font- software application. In the case Lab has a relatively easy learning of Souvenir ™, the Menu Name curve while remaining a powerful is the same for all weights of the typography tool. Font. To create TrueType fonts for use • Glyph: A glyph is an individual with ESRI’s ArcGIS software use character within a font. these recommended internal font • Type Spacing: Type is defined settings: by the space around it, whether between letters, words, or lines. 1. Internal font settings when sav- Commercially printed text and ing a TrueType font: all the modern digital type used a. Family Name does not begin Figure 1 Number 39, Spring 2001 cartographic perspectives 45

the glyphs to have different centers of rotation. In order to compare the actual glyph alignment, it is often helpful to select, copy and paste one glyph into another glyph’s pattern cell and align the glyphs to check their relative size and fit.

Summary

Hopefully this article has shown that TrueType fonts are a good means for storing artwork for symbols, while affording excellent document publishing and man- Figure 2 agement options. Also, creating cannot be guaranteed to apply to and editing TrueType fonts is a other software packages, includ- task that any cartographer with a ing ArcView GIS and workstation modest background in graphics ArcInfo because the settings or software can readily learn to do. metrics that control the positioning Finally, for more in-depth infor- of font glyphs can be interpreted mation, www.truetype.demon. and used in several ways. co.uk provides an excellent set of This example will show how to resources for TrueType fonts. create two glyphs that will overlay to form a symbol is that used to Bibliography represent a typhoon or tropical storm (Figure 1). In this case the Phillip B. Meggs, A History of glyphs are already included in the Graphic Design, Van Nostrand Re- ESRI font called ESRI Climate & inhold, New York, 1983. Precipitation (esri_155.ttf). Figure 2 shows what the FontLab applica- Hal Hinderliter, Seybold Seminars tion looks like with the ESRI Cli- 2000, Fighting Over Fonts, www. Figure 3 mate & Precipitation font loaded. Impresse.com The entire contents, all the glyphs, are shown here. The two glyphs www.macromedia.com/support/ that will be used in this example fontographer/ Choose Support are numbers 206 and 208 (Figures and Training, then Fontographer 3 and 4). Support Center, Top Tech Notes, Each glyph can be shown in and finally in the Tutorial section a window that shows the size of number 12319. the glyph in font units. Notice the baseline extent (distance from www.pyrus.com/html/fontlab. lower-left to lower-right) for both html glyphs is 414. This is an impor- tant dimension for glyphs that are intended to align when overlaid because by keeping each glyph’s extent the same you can create artwork in the font creation soft- ware that is relative to the centroid (denoted by the “x”) allowing it Figure 4 to align when used in ArcMap. If the baseline extent is different, the centroids will not overlap, causing