Amiga fonts to PC ?

[abelthorne]

Is there an easy way to convert Amiga (bitmap) fonts to PC truetype ? The only way that leaps to my mind is to export each letter of a font as a file and import them individually into Fontographer or such prog. Maybe there are tools that would make the process more easy ?

[Amiga1992]

Hmm I would love to do thsi as well...

Remember there are Windows bitmap fonts too, perhaps conversion to that is easier.

[Marcuz]

Some years later, but same question:
is there a way to convert bitmap fonts or specific sizes of bitma fonts to TTF?

- Fontforge (PC) don't seems to recognize them;
- Typeface (Amiga) opens them and resaves them as bitmap only;
- Typesmith (Amiga) doesn't open them.

Other suggestions?

[emufan]

since i only have cygwin installed, someone can try on a linux box, or a dedicated windows python installation:
bitmap2ttf - python tool.
it does need the Pillow package, but version must be 2.x - since version 3.x removed a function used by bitmap2ttf.

if you need to install pillow, use this (python 2.7): easy_install-2.7 pillow==2.8.0
this will install pillow 2.8.0 instaed of the latest version (3.2.0).
if pillow failes with "cannot find jpeg" , install the libjpeg-dev package too.

the script does a bit, but i cannot find the ttf font at the end - maybe a non-cygwin installation will do better.
too lazy to debug atm

once on the commandline , for example: usage: ./amigatottf.py topaz/11

$ ./amigatottf.py Topaz2N/8
...
char: l addr: 76 offs 456, width 6
 **
  *
  *   **
  *   *
  *   *
  *   *
  *   *

char: o addr: 79 offs 474, width 6
   ***
* *   *
* *   *
* *   *
*  ***

/tmp/tmpBxmT10
6 8
Topaz2N.ttf

if you succeed, attach an example.

Originally Posted by Marcuz

- Typesmith (Amiga) doesn't open them.

once you have created a new project in Typesmith, you can open a Bitmap Font using the Template menu.
can do Autotrace and Generate Char functions - but the result is most useless, i think.

[Marcuz]

Originally Posted by emufan

since i only have cygwin installed, someone can try on a linux box, or a dedicated windows python installation:
bitmap2ttf - python tool.

Thanks emufan, I had noticed that python script earlier this evening, and apparently it should work with Fontforge, but I discarded the notion after reading the instructions, as I don't understand the first thing of it, I don't know how to use it, neither as a script nor as part of Fontforge or Pillow.

I was hoping in some more straightforward solution.

[emufan]

python you can compare with arexx on the amiga. it is a bit troublsome to cope with it, if you have never done such kind of thing.

maybe I have another way:
1) Fony 1.4.7
this can load Amiga Bitmap Fonts
--> copy the whole Font to your windows machine, incl. the .font file, eg:
--> Topaz
--> Topaz/8
--> Topaz.font

Import the font choosing the .font file -> export as BDF
If you import a font with different sizes, choose the font size in "Fonts" menu.

2) Fontforge

this can import the BDF and export to Trutype or PS fonts.
Still I have no result, but you can test yourself

[Marcuz]

Originally Posted by emufan

python you can compare with arexx on the amiga. it is a bit troublsome to cope with it, if you have never done such kind of thing.

maybe I have another way:
1) Fony 1.4.7
--> this can load Amiga Bitmap Fonts
----> copy the whole Font to your windows machine, incl. the .font file, eg:
----> Topaz
----> Topaz/8
----> Topaz.font

--> Import the font choosing the .font file -> export as BDF

2) Fontforge

this can import the BDF and export to Trutype or PS fonts.
Still I have no result, but you can test yourself

YES! Thank you very much the Fony > Fontforge way works for me! Many many thanks!

[emufan]

Originally Posted by Marcuz

YES! Thank you very much the Fony > Fontforge way works for me! Many many thanks!

np. I still struggle with some usefull output from fontforge.
if you manage to produce something - please share your findings and an example

[Marcuz]

Originally Posted by emufan

np. I still struggle with some usefull output from fontforge.
if you manage to produce something - please share your findings and an example

I talked too fast; me too I have the same problem, even tried some online bdf > ttf converter with no success. I can see the font in Fontforge, I just cannot get a readable output.
I'll let you know!

[emufan]

I can import the bdf font into Fontforge, and it is visble there.
when i export (Generate Font) -> [TrueType] [in TTF/OFT]
it first told me to change something in:
Elements -> Font Info -> General -> Em Size 4096 ( default was 1000 )
-> export gave a 10 kb ttf font, but on windows preview of the font, it seems empty.

the problem maybe is this: Elements -> Validation -> Validate: Bad Glyph Name
still no idea about fonts that much, but I think we must solve this problem.

[Marcuz]

Same here.
If that's unpassable, to see actually the typefaces can guide in recreating them, but that would be tiresome to do :/

[emufan]

this is sooo strange. I can see the letters of the font in fontforge, but when exporting, fontforge seem to ignore it.

when i import a bdf font, in the file requester you can force a glyph name type.
choosing "AMS Names" gives a lot less errors when doing a "Validate".

The whole glyph name thing, is some sort of name convention - i think a program using unicode with a selected font, is able to find the correct letter when the name fits the encoding.

I exported to "PS Type 1 (binary) - No Bitmap Font" : producing pfb/afm combination, which Typesmith can import. But within typesmith the Letter Canvas is empty.
same goes for the exported ttf example.

Also the afm file ( ascii text ) has all Zero values on each line, which has some changing values ( i think size of the bitmap raster/canvas ) on other original pfb/afm fonts.

this is all a bit weird

[emufan]

*heureka* I found out how to do it - a website gave the correct way how to do it:

first change settings in Fontforge:
File -> Preferences -> Apps
I set: PreferPoTrace (on) AutoTraceAsk (on)

1) create the BDF font with Fony
2) create a new font in Fontforge ( in the starting file requester just click on "New" )
3) import the BDF font - and activate "As Background" in file requester
4) select all glyphs/letters in the overview window (ctrl a) - even the font is not yet visible
5) Elements -> Autotrace ( click ok when prompted for options )
6) when tracing is done, the overview fills with letters
7) export as "Truetype/No Bitmap" ttf ( ignore the warnings when saving the ttf file )

*done*

[losso]

If it is of any help, I remembered seeing a lot of interesting tools and technical infos here: http://int10h.org/oldschool-pc-fonts/fontlist/ and here: http://8088mph.blogspot.de/2016/01/w...ype-fonts.html

(maybe Fony, Bits'n'Picas and SIL ViewGlyph might be interesting tools to look at…)

[Marcuz]

That's great! I'll test it this evening. Big thanks emufan!

[emufan]

Originally Posted by losso

(maybe Fony, Bits'n'Picas and SIL ViewGlyph might be interesting tools to look at…)

thank you for the links. Fony indeed is the tool we depend on.
as far as i can see the only one which can convert amiga bitmap fonts into a more useable format.

Originally Posted by Marcuz

That's great! I'll test it this evening. Big thanks emufan!

your welcome. I was reading the website with the instructions yesterday allready,
but maybe it was too late to really understand

1) my tests i did with Futura Bitmap Font, the .font file only listed 3 out of 6 sizes, missing the bigger ones.
fixfonts on amiga side made it even worse, since Fony crashs with the new .font file ( which includes all 6 sizes).

2) solution is using Typesmith:
- create a new outline font
- import the big size amiga bitmap font with Templates -> Open -> Amiga Bitmap Font
- next save as bitmap font with Templates -> Save -> Amiga Bitmap Font
- the new font is called Untitled ( drawer with font and . font file )

this new font Fony can read without to crash. this way i have now a hires version of my desired bitmap font in fony
and can export to BDF, followed by the FontForge steps above.
this must not happen at all, when you are converting with Fony. maybe my font installation is faulty and I have mixed some fonts in my amiga sys:fonts drawer.

3) just discovered: if you just have some lores/tiny fonts, Fony can resize the font.
Fony -> Edit -> Resize
this should give better results when autotracing with Fontforge.

[Locutus]

If you want Topaz fonts, why dont you just take these? https://www.trueschool.se/html/fonts.html

Pretty much in every format and all the hard work has been done.

[Marcuz]

Oh I did, but I wanted to do a research on readability at fixed sizes, I was intrigued by seeing how a pixel font made for readibility, in a range between 10 to 15 pixels of size (so not the customary 8px nor 16px) was looking.
It turns out, Topaz is not great for what I need, but Worbench font directory has a lot of other possibilities I'd like to check

[puppypc]

Bah, I've struggled the past day or two trying to make get Xen/11 into a pixel-perfect TTF, I did things like setting the em to 700 (since the bitmaps are 7 pixels wide), rounding to the nearest integers, etc.

I'm trying to get an authentic-yet-readable font to use on my amiga-themed website, but my font has anti-aliasing unless I set it to 10.98pt instead of 11pt (and even then, it's still a few hundreths of a point off, but Chrome can't get any more accurate with its decimals).

I'm giving up for now, but here's my progress for those interested.

[hceline]

I just found another Topaz for Mac-OS and Windows that looks very good here: http://www.geekometry.com/2013/11/am...ws-and-mac-os/