The use of fonts within a Word Processing package on a PC is well known and often used.

Fonts when used in a Server environment are not used so often, both because printing of Spooled Files and the choice of font is handled automatically by the IBM i, and also because it requires specialist knowledge to know how to use a different font than the default offered by IBM.

Note: that Cobwebb Fax will only print faxes on an AFP capable printer.

IBM i comes complete with a font library QFNTCPL. Use GO LICPGM with Option 10 'Display Installed Licensed Programs' to see if 5763SS1  OS/400  AFP Compatibility Fonts is installed.  If not you will need to install this program from your IBM supplied software installation tapes. See GO LICPGM option 11.

To display a list of available fonts use the command WRKFNTRSC with library name QFNTCPL. Most of the fonts in QFNTCPL are included in the Cobwebb Fax Fonts groups FONT1  FONT13.  To print a sample of each font change the Font group of your Userid to one of the above and create a test fax using text e.g. the Standard Text 'FONTS'.

Additional Fonts are available in Licensed Program ID 5648113 AFP Font Collection for OS/400. This program can be ordered from IBM Direct.

Fonts are an important consideration when using Cobwebb Fax. This is because:

a)Some fonts look much better on the received fax than others, e.g. it is advisable to use a BOLD font.

b)A choice of font sizes can make a fax look more professional.

c)If you want to make the printed document look as similar as possible to the faxed document then careful choice of fonts is essential.

Cobwebb Fax has been designed to make it possible to choose whether you use the fonts held in your AFP printer, which gives faster printing, or whether you use downloaded fonts which can give a more exact copy of the fax as received by a fax machine.

Cobwebb Fax allows you to specify up to 10 fonts in any document. These fonts are held together as a Cobwebb Fax 'Font Group'.  Within a document you can specify which of the 10 you want to use by using the Cobwebb Fax 'Text Enhancement' characters #F0 to #F9.

A Cobwebb Fax System Font Group can be specified, this is used unless a Font Group is specified on the Cobwebb User Profile.

A Font Group can be specified on the Cobwebb Fax 'Send Fax from Spooled File' command thus allowing a different font group to be specified for each document.

The standard IBM i font library QFNTCPL contains many similar fonts; the standard sizes are 5, 10, 12 and 15 characters per inch.  If a document is currently being printed on A4, Letter, American Quarto, or larger size paper some thought is required to get a suitable font so that the maximum fax size of 8 inches is not exceeded.

Cobwebb Fax Font Groups also provide a choice of Portrait/Landscape for the text (Font rotation), lines spacing, lines per page, default margin, fax page size, transmission mode, a default font for spooled files, and the font library name.    

See System Maintenance 'Work with font groups' for details of how to set up a new font group.