> Is it possible to format labels with an anti-aliased font effect so that they
> are easier on the eyes to read? How do 3rd party products like PowerPoint
> implement anti-aliased fonts? Do they programmatically draw these fonts
> and/or use special Windows API calls to accomplish their effects?

Hi Malcolm,

AFAIK it isn't possible to format labels with an anti-aliased font effect. The question is, whether anti-aliasing of fonts would improve the GUI of your application. It is commonly agreed by (most) designers that it is more difficult to read an anti-aliased text below a certain font size. Therefore the font designer (meaning the person who designs a font) decides when the OS will switch on or off anti-aliasing. That information is stored in the GASP table of the TrueType or OpenType font. Depending on a lot of parameters one can say that about 12 points is the smallest size where anti-aliasing should be applied. If you did it with smaller sizes, you rather would be shifting from ergonomics to art.

Design freaks who want anti-aliasing in all sizes might use tools like TTFGasp to convert fonts by manipulating the GASP table. There are applications that provide technologies for anti-aliasing at small font sizes (like Flash) or different forms of anti-aliasing (like Fireworks).

I am lacking of knowledge how VFP is doing it, but it seems that it doesn't care about the anti-aliasing metrics inherent to a TT font. It looks like VFP is using its own, somewhat C64 style smoothing of fonts. If you needed large anti-aliased fonts on your forms for static text, you could embed bitmaps generated by tools capable of proper font smoothing.

Some basic information about anti-aliasing can be found in http://www.wpdfd.com/wpdtypo3.htm and http://www.truetype.demon.co.uk/ttalias.htm.

HTH Robert