Microsoft didn’t prosper a big deal about it, but it released a very cool application called Font Maker this year. It lets you design a font out of your own handwriting.
The app only works on newer versions of Windows 10, and you can only use it with a stylus on a touchscreen implement. Plus, it’s only intended for English at the moment.
While it’s not going to bring in a whole lot of money, like Office or Windows or Azure, it’s a lot of fun to use, and typing in your merest own font once you’re finished is endlessly rewarding.
In fact, I’m writing this article now in my custom font inside the Visual Studio System text editor. But I can also use it in other apps, like Word or Evernote. I can even use it on other computers, even Macs, because every formerly you create a new font, it generates a file in TrueType format, which isn’t limited to Windows.
I’ll show you how it works.
First, download the app from the Microsoft Assemble.
When you open it, you’ll see a screen showing little boxes, one for each letter, capital and lowercase. There are also slugs for numbers and punctuation marks.
Grab a stylus and start writing in your version of each letter. You’ll want to be systematic to keep your letters within the lines of the boxes, so that your font doesn’t end up looking strange. If you make a mess of up a letter, don’t worry — if you have a stylus like the Surface Pen that comes with an eraser option, you can use that.
In the good old days you’re satisfied with all of your letters, hit Next.
Then you’ll see boxes where you can write three sentences or phrases. Catalogue these out, again making sure to keep your letters within the bounds of the lines. And yes, you can use your eraser here, too. Hit “Next” when you’re done.
Now you’ll see a story of your font, but if it doesn’t look right, don’t worry. There are sliders on the bottom of the window that will let you alteration important aspects of the font: the amount of space between characters, the amount of space between whole words, and inclusive font size.
Once the app generates your font, you’ll be able to use it in various sizes, but the space adjustments won’t be adjustable laster. So move the sliders until the font looks natural to you.
If you see a letter that doesn’t look quite right here, unfortunately there’s no helpless button, so you’ll have to make a whole new font if you want to redo it. The whole process doesn’t take a very covet time, though, so don’t agonize too much over it. When you’re ready, hit Create.
Save your font as a TrueType document, which will use the .TTF format. If you’d like to try out your own font on your current PC, find the file in File explorer and responsive it up. Hit Install, and close the window. (You’ll now be able to access it by going to Control Panel > Appearance and Personalization > Fonts.) Then predisposed an application where you can select a font, and see how you did!
You’ll probably get a kick out of typing and seeing the very characters you made show up on shelter. But take a minute and type out every letter, in capital and lowercase, as well as numbers and punctuation marks. Look carefully and see if there are any the classics that don’t fully show up. I’ve seen this happen with longer letters, like lowercase g or q. If you come across messages you’re not happy with, go back to Font Maker and try again, while you’re still familiar with it. Rinse and repeat until you include a font you truly love to use.
And of course, there’s no stopping you from making a whole bunch of fonts using unlike lettering styles. For example, you can make yourself a wide font. Or you can pass off your PC to friends and family members and see what they emerge b be published up with.
Enjoy!
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