How to install
and use your handwriting font
How to install your font
PC - WINDOWS
Windows XP
Save the font file into your windows\fonts directory. The directory
path is normally c:\windows\fonts or c:\WINNT\fonts. (Save using
the same filename that the font has been given, including the
.ttf extension).
If you have received the font as an e-mail attachment, how
you save the attachment will depend on the email program you
are using. If you are using Microsoft Outlook, right-clicking
on the file will allow you to 'save as...' to the fonts directory.
Saving the font into your fonts folder will normally install
the font without any further action. If you cannot find the font
listed when you open a word processor, the easiest thing is to
re-start you computer and the font will be installed. Alternatively,
you can open Control Panel (Windows) and then open the Fonts
folder. Opening the Fonts folder is usually enough to ensure
that the font is installed.
Windows Vista
Save the font file anywhere in your 'Documents' folder. (Save
using the same filename that the font has been given, including
the .ttf extension).
If you have received the font as an e-mail attachment, how
you save the attachment will depend on the email program you
are using. If you are using Microsoft Outlook, right-clicking
on the file will allow you to 'save as...' to your Documents
folder.
Locate the font file where is has been saved and right-click
on it. In the menu that appears after right-clicking, select
'Install' and confirm that this is OK to do. The font will now
be installed.
Problems?
If you have any problems with installing the font, please refer
to your Windows help files for more information.
MACINTOSH
MacOS X users can use the True Type Font file (fontname.ttf)
as supplied. Open the folder into which you saved your Logo Font
file. Copy the Logo Font file and paste into your Home / Fonts
folder. This will install it and allow you to use it within most
programs that use True Type fonts.
If you are using MacOS 9 or before, drop the font file (fontname.mtt.bin)
onto the Stuffit Expander icon. The font will be reconstituted
and can then be installed on your Mac.
If this is not successful, you can convert the ttf file into
a Mac format font file using a free conversion utility that can
be downloaded from here.
Please follow the instructions in the relevant help files.
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How to improve the appearance
of your font
On screen
You may find that your handwriting font does not look as
good on-screen as other 'printed type' fonts. This is because
there are less perfect horizontal and vertical lines. If you
increase the point size of your font (usually it is a number
in a box after the font name in the application you are using)
it should improve the appearance.
You can also improve the appearance on screen in Windows XP
by switching on 'Clear Type' if you haven't done so already.
An easy way to do this, and test the clear type settings, is
to go to Microsoft's Clear Type page at http://www.microsoft.com/typography/cleartype/tuner/1.htm
Alternatively, go to Start > Control Panel > Appearance
& themes > Display > Appearance Effects > Use the
following method to smooth screen fonts - Select 'Clear Type'.
This anti-aliases (smooths the jagged edges) on fonts and can
improve the appearance significantly.
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On paper
Your handwriting font will look great when printed on paper.
PRINTING AND COLOUR
Use your best printer settings and change the colour of the text
to blue. This gives more of a handwritten look.
FONT SIZE
Change the point size of your font so that the printed letters
are about the same size as your actual handwriting. You may need
to experiment a few times by changing the size and printing out
a test page to get this just right. (Premium Service users will
be told the best size to use).
LINE SPACING
Another way to improve the realistic effect of your handwriting
font is to overlap the lines, as many writers do when writing
naturally. In Microsoft Word for example, you have good control
over the level of line overlap. Click 'Format' on the menu and
then 'Paragraph' and you will get a window similar to that below.
In the 'Spacing' section change the Line Spacing to 'Exactly'
using the drop down box and experiment with different point sizes
until it recreates the amount of line overlap that your handwriting
normally exhibits..
IMPORTANT NOTE: When you view the text on screen whilst adjusting
the line spacing, many versions of Microsoft Word show that the
top and bottom parts of the characters have been 'chopped off'
- even in 'Print Preview'. Don't worry - try a print-out of your
document and you will see that this effect disappears, and you
will be amazed at how much more realistic the handwriting font
looks.
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How to add your signature (Signature
& Premium Font Services)
You can add your signature by typing the ~ key (or the character
you specified when you purchased your font). It's as easy as
that!
For the best effect, once you've added your signature, highlight
it using your mouse and increase the point size to make it look
larger. You may need to experiment with a few test prints to
get it to be just the right size.
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How to use the SPACEanchor system (Premium Font Service)
 If you have chosen
to use the SPACEanchor system, you can add additional strokes
at the beginning of words using the circumflex (^) character
(or the character you specified when you purchased your font).
Add the SPACEanchor strokes as often as you do when you actually
write, and put the strokes at the start of the same letters you
usually do. Don't overdo them unless you really use them that
often!
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How to install and use the Scriptalizer
Software (Premium 'Ultra' Font Service)
Instructions on the installation and use of the Scriptalizer Software, which works in
conjunction with the Premium 'Ultra'
Font Service to introduce random naturalness into your handwriting
font, can be found by clicking here.
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Backup Your Font!
Remember to make a copy of your font. If you make regular
backups (which you should do if you have any data on your hard
disk that you cannot afford to lose) you should ensure that you
place a copy of your font in a directory that will be included
in your backup.
We recommend that you employ a backup strategy to protect
your data in the event of hard disk failure.
 We will only retain
your font for a guaranteed 30 days from the date we produce it.
After that, we will not be able to provide you with a copy of
your font should you lose it (unless you've given permission
for it to be used in the 'Font Vault').
If you wish, you can purchase a copy of your font, plus
all of the fonts from the 'Font Vault', on a CD-Rom. More
Information.
Alternatively, you can purchase a special web page where
we will host your font for anyone you choose to easily download
and install it. This will ensure that there is always a backed
up copy of your font on-line, ready to be downloaded should you
lose your own copy. More Information.
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Purchase your font on CD-Rom
To ensure that you always have a backup of your font, you
can purchase your personal handwriting font on recordable CD-Rom,
supplied in a standard CD jewel case.
Your CD will also include all of the fonts that are
currently available in the 'Font Vault'.
IMPORTANT: You must
first purchase a handwriting font before you can purchase a CD-Rom.
The CD-Rom must be purchased within 30 days of your font being
produced.
Click here to purchase
your handwriting font on CD-Rom
Click here to find out how to turn your
own handwriting into a True Type Font
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Using your font in e-mail messages
Unfortunately, at this moment in time there is no easy way
to 'embed' fonts in e-mail messages.
The easiest way to ensure that the recipient sees your handwriting
font is to attach your message to the e-mail message as a PDF
document or in a Microsoft Word document (ensuring that the 'embed
font' option is selected).
If you are certain that the recipient already has your font
installed, or has easy access and the technical ability to install
it, you can also use later versions Microsoft Outlook or Outlook
Express to send a message in your handwriting font. Some web
based e-mail services also support custom fonts, but also rely
on the font to be installed.
NOTE: If you are extremely technically minded, please go
to the Morovia
Fontware web site which contains some interesting articles
and links about embedding fonts in web pages and e-mail messages.
We will explain how to use each of the three options below,
with an example letter in PDF and Microsoft Word Formats. The
examples also help to compare file sizes of the available options.
NOTE: The example letter was created using a font produced
by our Premium 'Ultra' Handwriting
Font Service, and 'Scriptalized' (i.e. had additional randomisations
added for realism) using our unique Scriptalizer Software.
Sending your message in Public Document Format (PDF) (Example Letter.pdf - 17 KB)
This is one of the best methods, as it produces a very small
file size and ensures that the recipient sees your message, in
your handwriting font, exactly as you sent it.
NOTE: Although sending the message as an attached Microsoft
Word document (see below) may seem to require less steps, the
resulting file size is larger and there may be incompatibilities
between versions of Word that affect the embedding of the font,
or layout of the document.
If you wish to send your e-mail message as a PDF document,
your recipient will require a PDF viewer to be able to read it.
However, the PDF format is now so common that almost all PC users
have a PDF viewer already installed on their PC. You can test
to see if you have a PDF viewer installed on your PC by clicking
on the Example Letter link.
If you (or your recipient) do not have a PDF viewer installed,
you can download a free one from Adobe at www.adobe.com.
If you are sending your message as a PDF file, you are recommended
to provide this link in the main body of your message. An example
of such as link is given below:
This e-mail message is written in my own handwriting using
a custom handwriting font, and attached as a PDF document.
To see the message, you will need to have a PDF document viewer
installed on your computer.
If you cannot open the file, please go to www.adobe.com
to download and install a free PDF viewer.
To find out how to get your own custom handwriting font, please
point your web browser to www.quantumenterprises.co.uk/fonts
To create your message as a PDF document, you will need a
PDF document creator. A free Windows PDF document creator (which
acts like a printer driver) can be obtained from pdf995.com.
Once you have your PDF document creator installed, you can
simply create your message in your favourite word processor,
then use the PDF software to produce your message as a PDF file.
Using pdf995, all you have to do is write your message in
your font, then select 'Print' from the file menu and select
pdf995 as the printer. You are then able to save your message
in PDF format.
You can then attach the PDF file to an e-mail in the same
way you would attached any other file to an e-mail message.
Example Letter.pdf - 17
KB
Sending your message as a Microsoft Word Document (Example Letter.doc - 46 KB)
Sending the message as an attached Microsoft Word document may
seem to require less steps than required to create a PDF document,
but as you can see from the example, the resulting file size
is larger and there may be incompatibilities between versions
of Word that affect the embedding of the font, or layout of the
document.
If you decide to send your message as an attached Word document,
the important thing to remember is to embed your font in the
document.
Note: The method we describe below is for Word 97, but is similar
for later versions of Word.
Open up Microsoft Word, and start a new document.
Before you save your message, ensure that you have selected
the option to embed True Type fonts, as explained below.
Click 'Tools' on the menu, then select 'Options'. Click on
the the 'Save' tab - the screen-shot below shows the dialogue
box you should now see.
To embed your handwriting font in the Word document you wish
to send, check the 'Embed True Type Fonts' box (arrowed). To
reduce the file size, be sure to also check the 'Embed characters
in use only' box (arrowed). (In the example, this reduces the
file size from 1,159 KB to 46 KB).
Once you have completed writing your message in your own handwriting
font, save the file and your handwriting font will also be saved
within the file.
You can then attach the Word Document (.doc file) to an e-mail
in the same way you would attached any other file to an e-mail
message.
Example Letter.doc - 46
KB
Sending your message in Microsoft Outlook / Outlook Express,
or using web based E-Mail software (Comparable file size
5 KB)
IMPORTANT: Earlier versions of Outlook and Outlook
Express do not support custom fonts
IMPORTANT: If you want to use your font in an e-mail
message, you will need to ensure that the recipient of the message
has your font already installed on their computer. You could
attach a copy of your font to all of your e-mails, but people
are often suspicious of e-mail attachments, for fear of activating
a virus. The answer is to host your font on the web so that you
can point people to an on-line version of your font. We can also
do this for you with our Personal Font
Web Page service (see below).
To use a different font (such as your own handwriting font)
when writing an e-mail, you will need to ensure that you have
turned on the use of 'Rich Text' or 'HTML' text in your e-mail
composer. This applies to E-Mail applications such as Outlook,
Outlook Express and on-line web accounts such as Hotmail. (Refer
to the relevant help files in the software or service you are
using).
Write your e-mail message, ensuring that your handwriting
font is selected for the text.
IMPORTANT: If you have purchased a Premium 'Ultra'
Service handwriting font, we recommend you do not use Scriptalized
text in your e-mail message if using this option. This is because,
if the recipient does not have your font installed, or has a
problem receiving the message as you intended for it to be seen,
the text will be unreadable.
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Personal Font Web Page
 Your guaranteed font
backup, and link for anyone who wants to download your font
As explained in 'Using Your Font In
E-Mail Messages' above, you cannot easily use your font in
e-mail messages. You must ensure that the recipient of the message
has your font installed for them to be able to see it.
The answer to this problem is to have your own personal
font page on the web.
Then you can point people to a place where they can download
your font file using a simple text message at the bottom of your
e-mail.
With our font hosting service you can now keep a version of
your font online on a personal page on which you can add your
own message of up to 200 words, and links to up to 5 other web
sites.
This is also another way of guaranteeing a backup copy of
your font.
Click here for more information
and to purchase your own personal font page.
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Using your font on web pages
As with e-mail messages, there is currently no way to embed
fonts on the web as text, so that the viewer can see them without
installing them first.  If
you want to use your handwriting font on the web, you will need
to use a graphics program to make an image using your font, and
display it in this way. This is how we have demonstrated the
handwriting fonts on our web site.
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Mac Users - Having problems with
weird symbols appearing instead of the correct punctuation marks?
If you are using your font on a Mac with Microsoft Word, you
may find that, due a a mapping issue on the extended character
set, certain punctuation is replaced by accented characters or
other symbols. The solution to this is to turn off all Auto formatting.
Open Microsoft Word and select "Tools" > "AutoCorrect".
Click on BOTH "Autoformat" tabs, and UNCHECK all the
boxes, including "change straight quotes to smart quotes".
This should correct the problem.
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Problems with your font?
If you have any problems with your new handwriting font, please
contact us and we will see if we
can help you.
Remember - by using our handwriting font creation service,
you have accepted that certain limitations apply when trying
to reproduce handwriting as a font. These limitations are:
- Only one character can be assigned per letter on the keyboard.
Particularly distinctive characters will therefore be obvious
as they are repeated.
- We cannot guarantee the success of cursive (joined up) handwriting
fonts with our Standard & Signature Services. For this type
of font we recommend the Premium Service.
- The different ways that letters interact when they are joined
cannot be reproduced. (If you have used our Premium Service we
will have tried to produce the best results based on the most
common ways that letters join).
We can only reproduce the letters that you supply. If you
are unhappy with the results because you have failed to follow
the instructions, you will be requested to make another purchase
to rectify the problem.
On Premium Service fonts, we have spent considerable time
in adjusting the characters in your font so that they produce
a realistic (as possible) handwriting effect. However, if there
are any letters sizes, positions or choices that you are unhappy
with, please contact us and let us
know what you would like us to change. We will work with you
to produce a font that you are completely happy with, or at least
explain any limitations that prevent us from improving it further.
For all services we will do an unlimited number of small 'tweaks'
on created characters.
For the Standard and Signature Services we will replace up
to 5 characters free of charge.
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