WD97: How to Import Font Substitution Functions in Word (197007)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Word 97 for Windows
This article was previously published under Q197007

SUMMARY

This article describes which font is displayed in Microsoft Word when you open a document from a nontextual foreign file format. Special exceptions to the general functionality are noted in the "More Information" section later in this article.

MORE INFORMATION

How Fonts Are Mapped During Initial Import

  1. If Word uses an external converter dynamic-link library (DLL) to interpret a foreign document and that converter supports font mapping, the converter first analyzes font metrics and determines whether any of the fonts in the foreign file match the list of fonts in its font- mapping (substitution) table.
    • If a source font from the document matches an entry in the table, the converter supplies the coinciding target Windows font from the table to Word.

    • If there is no match for the font, the converter supplies Word with the nearest equivalent font family and font name, based on its analysis of the font's metrics.

      NOTE: Prior to supplying a font name to Word, the WordPerfect 5.x converter also queries the system to identify the current printer driver and availability of target printer font possibilities. This doesn't necessarily occur when you open documents from other foreign formats.


  2. Word's internal Rich Text Format (RTF) reader then interprets the RTF code provided by the converter. While interpreting the RTF, Word's internal RTF reader may remap the font again if the font information supplied by the converter does not match those fonts actually available under Windows.

    Once you open a document in Word, in most cases, the font name from the original application is displayed on the formatting toolbar, and the substituted Windows font is applied for actual display and printing.

    The original font is retained and displayed on the formatting toolbar to enable round-trip conversion back to the original format.

Selecting to Modify Substitutions Following Conversion

If a foreign document contains one or more fonts that do not exist under Windows, you can view the current substitutions for these fonts by selecting the Font Substitution button on the Compatibility tab (on the Tools menu, click Options).

If all fonts used in the foreign document are available under Windows, you cannot open the Font Substitution dialog box, and you will receive the following message if you click Font Substitution:
No font substitution is necessary. All fonts used in this document are available.
If you are not allowed to open the font substitution dialog box, you can still substitute fonts by using Word's Replace command to replace the font name that appears on the formatting ruler with an available font of your choice.

Modifying Substitutions in the Font Substitution Dialog Box

A font from a foreign document that is not available under is displayed as a "Missing Document Font." The "Substituted Font" is the font the converter and Word have chosen to replace the "missing" font for actual display and printing.

If the substituted default is displayed as "Default," look at the bottom of the dialog box for a description of the actual Windows font to which "Default" refers.

You can change the current font substitution if that font doesn't meet your needs. If you click OK, your change is reflected in the current document. If you select the Convert Permanently option, your change is written to the Msfntmap.ini file in your Windows folder, and the change remains in affect during all future document conversions.

NOTE: If you don't want Word to display (on the formatting toolbar and in the Format Character dialog box) the original font name from the source program under which a document was created, use the Convert Permanently option to permanently change the source font name to the substituted name on the formatting toolbar.

Additional Information

  • Not all import converters available for use with Word support font conversion. Those that do support font-mapping include the WordPerfect, Word for MS-DOS, Windows Write, and RFT-DCA converters.

    Other import converters, such as the WordStar, MultiMate, Microsoft Excel, and Lotus 1-2-3 converters map all fonts to Courier or Courier New.
  • If a PostScript printer driver is active, the WordPerfect 5.x converter always maps a fixed-width font (such as Courier 10 cpi or Letter Gothic) to the Courier printer font because this font is scaleable on a PostScript printer. If a non-PostScript printer is active, the converter instead maps fixed-width fonts to Courier New. You cannot access the font substitution Word makes in either case.
  • When a converter passes RTF to Word, the original source font name is defined in the RTF font table following the \fN control word (where N is the RTF font number). The font that the converter believes should be substituted for the original font for display and printing is defined following the \falt (alternative font name) control. The \fN and \falt control and coinciding font names appear contiguously in RTF.
  • Due to the large and ever-increasing number of fonts available for use with Word and other applications, there is no way that a converter can anticipate and know how to map all fonts. Word's converters that do support font-mapping strive to intelligently map the most common PCL and PostScript fonts.
  • Some WordPerfect font names may also include font sizes. To retain overall document layout, the WordPerfect converter may in some instances slightly change the font size during conversion. Therefore, because Word displays the font name from WordPerfect on the formatting toolbar, you may experience a situation where the font size in the font name doesn't match the actual font size applied in Word. For example, "Fontname 12cpi" may appear in the Font box, whereas 9.5 might appear in the size box.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:3/5/2002
Keywords:kbhowto KB197007
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