
                        * * *   FreeType/2   * * *

                          (Beta 2, 8. May 1998)

 Copyright (C) 1997,1998 Michal Necasek <mike@mendelu.cz>
 Copyright (C) 1997,1998 The FreeType Development Team


 Motto: "OS/2 is dead? Again? Thanks for telling me, I'd never notice!"

- First a short Q&A:

Q1: What's this?
A1: This is what OS/2 users have been waiting for only too long - a free,
   high-quality TrueType renderer a.k.a. Font Driver conforming to the
   OS/2 Intelligent Font Interface specification. It is based on FreeType -
   a free portable library for using TrueType fonts.
    Please note that although this code is free the FreeType team and
   I will cheerfully accept any donations by happy users ;-) (not that I
   expect to get any)

Q2: How do I use this?
A2: Go to OS/2 command line and run INSTALL.CMD from the directory containing
   FREETYPE.DLL. This will replace the original IBM TrueType driver if it is
   installed.

Q3: Where's the disclaimer?
A3: No, don't worry, I didn't forget that. I of course provide NO WARRANTY
   that this code will work as you expect. Use only at your OWN RISK!

Q4: What should I do RIGHT NOW?
A4: Before attempting to install this driver, you are STRONGLY advised
   to archive your current configuration (Set Desktop Properties/Archive/
   Create archive at each startup, then reboot. Then of course switch archiving
   off). It is always possible your system won't boot with the font driver
   installed. You can risk it, but I warned you! You know how nasty the
   computers can be ;-)

Q5: What about the license?
A5: This code is distributed under the FreeType license.
    It is free and the source code is available as part of the FreeType
    distribution.

Q6: How do I get rid of this?
A6: Ah, right question. Just run UNINSTALL.CMD. That removes the font driver
    (not physically, it just isn't used on next startup) and restores the
    original TRUETYPE.DLL if it exists.
     If the REXX script doesn't work (e.g. when you boot to the command line),
    use UNINST.EXE instead.

Q7: What versions of OS/2 are supported?
A7: The Font Driver has been successfully tested on OS/2 Warp 3 and Warp 4.
     It should run on lower versions too but you will need a different DLL
    version. The Font Driver DLL uses a compression scheme supported on OS/2
    Warp 3 and above only.
     Note: I briefly tested on OS/2 2.1 and it seemed to work fine.

Q8: How do I limit memory use?
A9: Use LIMIT.CMD. It is pretty self explanatory.

Q9: Is there something else?
A9: Yes, be prepared that the fonts just kick ass! You will no longer have
    to envy those poor souls still using the so-called 95% OS from THAT
    unspeakable company starting with the letter M ;-)


- Current features/bugs/limitations:

 Features   : - outlines
              - scaled/rotated text
              - supports printed output
              - works on older versions of OS/2
              - national characters (if provided in the font, of course);
                should work with all Latin codepages, Cyrillic and Greek.
                Support for DBCS countries is being worked on.

 Bugs       : - unharmonious glyph spacing in some applications. This seems
                to come from OS/2's WYSIWYG glyph placement policy. This
                is more or less visible depending on the application. We
                can't do a lot about this...


 Limitations: - no support for kerning - it will be added, but there are
                many features needed more urgently.

              - no grayscaling (a.k.a. antialiasing) - this is a limitation
                of OS/2, not my code. If OS/2 starts supporting it, I'll
                implement it the moment I lay my hands on the specs :)
                (and you won't need any PlusPak :))
                Unfortunately it most probably won't happen any too soon.
                Anyway, you have to bug IBM about this one, not me!

                Note: I'm considering ways of adding antialiasing myself.
                 I think a display driver hook DLL might solve this (and
                 a few nasty hacks). If you have experiences with that,
                 and would like to help, please write to mike@mendelu.cz.

              - no TTC (TrueType collection) support. This will very probably
                be in the next Beta release (whenever that will be).

- Planned features and features under consideration:
   - removing at least some limitations mentioned above
   - possibly adding even support for Type 1 fonts, but that depends on
     further FreeType engine development. Looks quite probable now.

And finally, thanks go to:
 - the FreeType team, the makers of FreeType. Without them, my work would be
   impossible.
 - especially David Turner of FreeType for his help, advice and support
 - Robert Muchsel, I used one or two ideas from his code
 - Marc L Cohen, Ken Borgendale and Tetsuro Nishimura from IBM. They provided
   me with lots of extremely valuable 'inside' information.
 - and last but not least - IBM, for providing us with the wonderful OS/2.
   And for giving out the necessary docs for free. If all companies did
   that, the world would be a better place.
   And the imperfect TrueType driver, which enabled me to waste my spare
   time in this silly way ! :-)))


Information on FreeType is available at
 http://www.physiol.med.tu-muenchen.de/~robert/freetype.html

Please send bug reports/suggestions and comments to :

   freetype-os2@physiol.med.tu-muenchen.de


Greetings can also be sent directly to the author at : mike@mendelu.cz


And if you didn't know, IBM and OS/2 are registered trademarks of the
International Business Machines Corporation.
