Today’s tool(s) are all about making our lives easier when working with text Fonts.
In short, text fonts are like snowflakes. There are tons of them each with their own subtle differences that make them unique. Additionally, some are pretty “heavy” and should be used sparingly as too many of them can cause performance issues. (TrueType Fonts)
As a result, whether we are exchanging files, collaborating on a project or looking for ways to improve performance, text fonts are something we should be keeping track of.
For example, text fonts are not embedded in .DWG files. Because of this, if someone we are collaborating with does not send us their custom font files, the text will likely not look the same when the model is opened on our end. In the old days, we would know right away because Civil 3D would display ugly dialog boxes notifying us that the model contained missing fonts. Fortunately for us, today, it handles the situation more gracefully by using FONTALT.
In short, when opening a model, for any text font files that cannot be found, FONTALT contains a replacement font name that will automatically be substituted. Essentially, instead of asking us to provide a replacement for every font not found, FONTALT silently performs all of the replacements automatically. The default value is SIMPLEX.SHX which is vector based and mimics an old LEROY lettering machine text. However, you can easily change this value to any available font (even TrueTypes) using the FONTALT command.
While this is a powerful tool, it gets even better!!
FONTALT is essentially a one size fits all solution to the problem. In short, ALL fonts that can’t be found are replaced with the same font. Wouldn’t it be great if we could define font overrides for different fonts? For example, when Civil 3D sees Simplex, replace it with Arial. When Civil 3D sees RomanS, replace it with TimesNewRoman… Also, don’t restrict the replacement to only when fonts are missing. Process the override whether I have the font or not.
Fortunately, this can be done today!! It is accomplished using a font mapping file. (ACAD.FMP)
Check out the video below to see how to setup FONTALT & ACAD.FMP.
-Jerry
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