Changing fonts (was Re: multiple gettys, why use them?)

[Jim Rosenberg]

In article <62 at gnosys.UUCP> gst at gnosys.UUCP (Gary S. Trujillo) writes:
>What I finally came up with was a few ksh aliases which allow one to change
>fonts from the current window - rather than having to do so from a different
>window or to fire up UA just for this one purpose:
>
>	alias sffi='setf 0;setf /usr/lib/wfont/FANCY.I.E.12.A 0'
>	alias sffr='setf 0;setf /usr/lib/wfont/FANCY.R.E.12.A 0'
>	alias sfpi='setf 0;setf /usr/lib/wfont/PLAIN.I.E.12.A 0'
>	alias sfpr='setf 0;setf /usr/lib/wfont/PLAIN.R.E.12.A 0'
>	alias sfs='setf 0;setf /usr/lib/wfont/system.8.ft 0'
>	alias sfsr='setf 0;setf /usr/lib/wfont/system.r.8.ft 0'
>
>Now if someone could only explain to me how I can get to a font loaded into
>slots 1-7 once they're loaded and/or the reason for the cautionary note on
>p. 4-60 of the Owner's Manual about using only slot zero, after just telling
>us that we have eight slots which may be used for new windows...

That final number is the slot number.  To load FANCY.R.E.12.A into slot 1 just
use:

setf /usr/lib/wfont/FANCY.R.E.12.A 1

The setf 0 commands are not needed.  That clears the slot; you'd only need to
do this if you were *unloading* a slot and not loading something else back in
there.

I haven't the foggiest why they tell you not to put certain fonts into slot 0.
I've booted for months with an 8x9 font in slot 0.  It works just fine!  Here
is what I have in /etc/.fontload:

sfont -s /usr/lib/wfont/8x9 0
# sfont -s /usr/lib/wfont/PLAIN.R.E.12.A 0
# sfont -s /usr/lib/wfont/FANCY.R.E.12.A 2

This loads the 8x9 font into slot 0.  You want to be somewhat careful about
slot 1, actually, rather than slot 0.  As mentioned, SI and SO switch you
between these two slots.  It's amazing how easy it is to have this happen from
modem garbage.  Put a font into slot 1 that you wouldn't mind suddenly staring
at if you use a communications program.
-- 
 Jim Rosenberg
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