MORE INFORMATION
Beginning with Microsoft Windows version 3.1, a number of new characters
were added to the standard Windows character set. These new characters do
not have graphic representations in all Windows fonts, and they may not
display correctly when these fonts are used. Two of the fonts in this
category are the default Microsoft Mail display fonts.
Some of the most frequently used characters that produce the problem are
as follows:
- smart quotes: typographic opening and closing quotation
marks (147 and 148 decimal)
- typographic apostrophe (146 decimal)
- uppercase and lowercase "OE" ligatures (140 and 156 decimal)
- trademark symbol (153 decimal)
NOTE: All of the Windows characters that produce the problem have decimal
values between 128 and 159 inclusive.
These new characters are displayed as slender, vertical black rectangles in
the default Microsoft Mail character fonts, and in most other fonts that do
not provide graphic representations for them.
NOTE: Microsoft Mail handles and preserves these characters correctly
internally; only the display of the characters is incorrect.
If you use or encounter these special characters in your messages and wish
to display them correctly, you must change the display fonts used by the
Windows client to fonts that include graphic representations of these
characters. You can accomplish this by making a slight modification to
either the MSMAIL.INI file (if you are using Windows 3.1 or Windows for
Workgroups) or the Microsoft Mail key structure in the Registry (if you are
using Windows NT).
Selecting a Font
Before you modify the MSMAIL.INI file or the Registry, you should decide
which fonts you wish to use for display of messages. The fonts you select
should include representations of the special characters you wish to
display. All TrueType fonts sold by Microsoft (as part of Windows or as
optional font packs) include representations of the complete Windows
character set. As a result, a Microsoft TrueType font is always a good
choice.
Fonts other than TrueType fonts, shareware or freeware TrueType fonts, and
TrueType fonts provided by other vendors may or may not provide the
complete character set. If you prefer not to use Microsoft TrueType fonts,
examine the fonts you are considering with the Character Map application,
and verify that the characters you want to be able to display are
represented correctly.
NOTE: If you are running Windows NT, be sure to select the "Windows
characters" subset when you examine the font in the Character Map window.
Changing the Microsoft Mail Fonts
Changing the Display Fonts in Windows 3.1x:
Under Windows 3.1 and Windows for Workgroups, you can specify the fonts to
be used by Mail for displaying messages using the NormalFont and FixedFont
entries in the [Microsoft Mail] section of the MSMAIL.INI file. Both
entries have the same format. Examples of both are shown below:
[Microsoft Mail]
NormalFont=Arial,10,0,0
FixedFont=Courier New,10,0,0
The first field of each entry is the name of the font to be used by Mail.
The second field is the font size. The third field is a boldface indicator.
If it is set to 0, boldface is disabled; if it is set to 1, boldface is
enabled. The fourth field is an italic indicator, and functions in the same
way as the boldface indicator.
Changing the Display Fonts in Windows NT:
WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious, system-wide
problems that may require you to reinstall Windows NT to correct them.
Microsoft cannot guarantee that any problems resulting from the use of
Registry Editor can be solved. Use this tool at your own risk.
Under Windows NT, you can specify the fonts to be used by Mail for
displaying messages by adding the NormalFont and FixedFont values to the
Microsoft Mail key structure of the Registry, using the Registry Editor.
Both values have the same data format. Examples of both are shown below:
Key: <hive>/Software/Microsoft/Mail/Microsoft Mail
Value Type Data
NormalFont REG_SZ Arial,10,0,0
FixedFont REG_SZ Courier New,10,0,0
The first field of each value is the name of the font to be used by Mail.
The second field is the font size. The third field is a boldface indicator.
If it is set to 0, boldface is disabled; if it is set to 1, boldface is
enabled. The fourth field is an italic indicator, and functions in the same
way as the boldface indicator.
Information Common to Both Windows and Windows NT
For both the Windows entries and the Windows NT values, NormalFont
specifies the font to be used to display message text normally, and
FixedFont specifies the font to be used to display message text when from
the View menu, you choose the Change Font option. The Change Font option is
used to change to an alternate font.
Typically, NormalFont specifies a proportional font, and FixedFont
specifies a fixed-pitch font; however, this is not required, and you can
specify a fixed font as your normal font, or a proportional font as your
alternate font, or both, if you wish.
The values shown in the examples above will provide roughly the same
appearance in displayed messages as that provided by the default Microsoft
Mail fonts, except that the entire Windows character set will be displayed
correctly. Of course, you need not follow these examples exactly; you can
specify the font, font size, and boldface/italic indicators of your choice.
The display font settings you select have no effect on the fonts used for
printing messages, nor do they have any effect on the way other people will
see your messages displayed in their mailboxes.