NewDeal Hot Tip 1408

[Hot Tips for...] Fonts

Maximum Number Of Fonts

There is a limit of 255 files that Newdeal can have open at one time. If you use DR DOS, the number is further limited by the line FILES= in your CONFIG.SYS file.

Just launching Newdeal opens somewhere between 20 and 50 files, depending on how it's configured and what applications are running. When you launch Newdeal, it opens up as many as 50 files automatically (the kernel, the screen display fonts, printer drivers, keyboard driver, file system driver, etc.). When you launch applications or open documents, then more files are opened.

Newdeal can open a maximum of 255 files if using MS DOS or a maximum of the FILES= setting from CONFIG.SYS if you are using DR DOS. The difference between that maximum and the 20-50 files used by the system and applications is what is available for font files.

Version 1.0 and 1.2

In version 1.0 and 1.2, Newdeal opened all the font files in \FONT as soon as you launched NewWrite or NewDraw.

Version 1.2.8

Starting with version 1.2.8, this is no longer the case. The newer versions of the software only open the font files as they are needed--that is, when you open a document that contains them or when you click on them in the Font menu. Single clicks or selecting (highlighting) count, since Newdeal has to open the file to display the little sample text, even if you don't use the font in a document.

So, in version 1.2.8 you can put more than 200 files in \FONT (you couldn't do so in version 1.0 or 1.2)--but you will crash at some point if you try to use or look at all the fonts in the Font menu.

There is no limit to how many font files can be in the \FONT directory (there WAS a limit in 1.0 and 1.2, since all the font files were opened when you launched NewWrite or NewDraw).

There IS a limit to how many fonts you can use in a document or how many you click on while working in the applications in version 1.2.8. Each time you click on a font or use it in a document, the corresponding font file is opened on the hard drive.

A safe number of fonts is around 180 if using MS DOS, fewer if using DR DOS. You can raise FILES= in DR DOS to increase the number of fonts that can be used.

Version 2.0 or newer

Starting in version 2.0, NewDeal automatically closes unused fonts to make room for opening more fonts. So there is still a limit to the number of fonts you can use in your open documents, but there is no longer a limit to the number of fonts you can click on in the Font Viewer.
Return to Index

Last Modified 2 Mar 1999