I'm fairly technically minded myself, but I can't work out what's causing this niggling font problem - does anyone have any ideas?
First, (after the break if you're looking at the preview!) an image to illustrate:
The problem is with the rendering of text written in Edwardian Script ITC. Firefox 3.5.5 (Linux version) completely and utterly mangles the text, whereas Midori (a lightweight Webkit based browser) renders it fine - as does Openoffice.org Writer if I copy/paste it from FF into there, and even the Windoze version of FF 3.5.5 (running under Wine) has no problems with it. So evidently the font is installed correctly, but something is causing Linux FF to mangle it. Oh, and changing the character encoding from UTF-8 to ISO-8859-1 or even Windows-1252 has no effect (oh well, worth a try...)
Comments
Wow!
Sorry, no idea. Doesn't look like it is trying to force it into another font, even a symbol or very funky one. In fact, it looks like the same exact font, but with little correlation to the original text, as if passed through some cipher/encoder program. It's a little bit like when a printer receives the wrong command information and then proceeds to render your output as pure garbage. Yet it isn't exactly like that, either. The font is still there and the line length, as well as the word length, is the same. (Yep, I just checked it. It is a letter for letter [or symbol] substitution.) So, I guess what I am saying is that this particular script is being mapped onto the font database incorrectly. I have no idea why or how to correct it.
Once again, sorry!
SuZie
SuZie
Corrupt font
Your Edwardian Script font file appears to be corrupted. My best guess.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
In New Jersey...
...most of the fonts are corrupt, and are under investigation by the State's Attorney General...That's how it works in the Garden State...Fonts taking bribes and kickbacks...no bid contracts for certain consonants...nepotism among vowels...and don't get me started on dipthongs and umlauts....
She was born for all the wrong reasons but grew up for all the right ones.
Possa Dio riccamente vi benedica, tutto il mio amore, Andrea
Love, Andrea Lena
I knew a participle
that was visiting there and was mistaken for one of the locals that had fallen out of favor. He was later found dangling near the harbor. So sad.
//Carla Ann
I heard that there were even trans-fonts nowadays
and that the neo-conservatives are trying to outlaw the poor things. And heaven forbid you suggest that two fonts not to their liking reside in the same document!
SuZie
SuZie
The intolerance is acute!
In fact, unicode is a plot by the religious right. "UNI" is code talk for uniformity. So those poor fonts that are all Times Roman or Gothic on the outside but have an inner cursive or other embellishments would have no chance of expression if the zealots get control. They must be stopped. By scrambling letters like they have here they are trying to promote the idea that all expressive trans and cross fonts are in fact crazy or corrupt. New Jersey notwithstanding.
//Carla Ann
I am happy if cautious to report...
...in a wonderful demonstration of their love for each other, Georgia Calibri and Kristen ITC Palantino (Bradley Hand ITC before her transition) were united in phrase today. Oddly, both parties wore black italics. The service was performed by the Rev. Estrangelo Edessa, and both brides were given away by their mothers; Costantia Calibri and Candara Palantino...simply a beautiful occasion.
She was born for all the wrong reasons but grew up for all the right ones.
Possa Dio riccamente vi benedica, tutto il mio amore, Andrea
Love, Andrea Lena
LOL
Font demi-maven here and this is just too funny! Thanks.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Different fonts?
Hmmm... It's hard to be sure from the screenshots, but I don't think those are actually the SAME font. Two very similar-looking fonts, yes, but there are some details that look different to my eye.
So, my guess would be... there IS some font substitution going on in your system. Either Firefox is doing the substitution and the other programs aren't (and therefore are using Edwardian), or Firefox is using Edwardian and the other programs are using some surrogate.
Either way, the font that Firefox is using is either corrupted or in the wrong format for Linux -- I'm guessing it might be an issue of Unicode font support.
Alternatively, I think that Cairo, which Firefox uses, includes its own font renderer, instead of relying on the system-provided one. It could be that one of Firefox's libraries is damaged, causing the mess. Try uninstalling and reinstalling Firefox, it might fix the problem.
Font messiness
It's rendering fine on my system - using what looks like Times. At least, it's a perfectly normal serif font, not that curly thing you're showing. That means that I don't have Edwardian on my system, and Firefox is doing a substitution.
Firefox 3.5.5 Mac. Leopard, not Snow Leopard.
I don't think Edwardian is one of the standard fonts distributed with the system? It looks like it's trying to do a font substitution, and getting royally confused. I'd take Sir Lee's advice and either reinstall Firefox or remove and reinstall the Edwardian font.
Xaltatun
It's a bad font
I just did a google on "Edwardian font problems" and got a boatload of complaints about the Edwardian font on a number of different software packages and operating systems.
Xaltatun
Incompatability
Since the font appears OK in Midori, the Wine version of FF (which I think grabs fonts from the same system folders as native apps) and OOo, it's probably an incompatability between the font and one of the underlying libraries that support FF. I've downloaded FF 3.6b4 and the same issue occurs. So I can either put up with it or get rid of the font (since there's a high chance whatever it downgrades to will appear OK).
--Ben
As the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, then only left-handers are in their right mind!
Inspection tools for installed fonts
I use a little tool called PopChar from Ergonis Software.
http://www.ergonis.com/products/popcharx/
There are others.
It not only allows one to see the structure of every font installed on your system, but lets one search for particular characters and quickly scroll through all your fonts to see which ones support it. If you're looking for a font containing the ligature "fi," for example, you can just type in "ligature fi" and see whether it exists. Here's one: fi which you may or may not be able to see, depending on what fonts are available on your system. In use, it allows the "f" and the "i" to tuck into each other a bit, which improves the typographical colour of the page, and prevents the dot on the "i" from turning the hook on the "f" to mush.
I like fish.
I like fish.
This is more important in printed material than it is on the Web, because one can't control what things look like "out there," and depend on your viewers to arrange some sort of environment conducive to reading the sorts of things they like to read.
Cheers,
Puddin'
-
Cheers,
Puddin'
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style
Font Problems
Fonts are notoriously shifty on the Web, because there are essentially *zero* fonts which are available on all platforms and operating systems. The situation is especially grave for "Copperplate" and "Handwriting" decorative fonts like the one you prefer. The most reliable way to do this (although this fails the Web Accessibility test) is to create a graphic containing the exact font you want, spaced and coloured in the exact manner in which you wish it to be displayed, and stuff that into your splash section. Nancy Cole uses this technique extensively, and several other authors on this site, and it's extremely reliable. Just be sure to include "alt" and "title" text to help ensure that it's relatively accessible to text-to-speech screen readers.
Here's one very good resource that can help build a reasonable font stack designed to degrade as gracefully as possible, and they *all* degrade on some machines:
http://www.codestyle.org/css/font-family/BuildBetterCSSFontS...
Here's a lovely discussion of Gorgia, one of my favourite fonts:
http://www.inspirationbit.com/georgia-on-my-mind/
I especially like it for text, because it's one of a very few commonly available fonts with lowercase numerals available, which are very attractive in running text, and it's fairly common on the Web across multiple platforms.
Since you know that the one you like doesn't work in certain situations, you should avoid it like the plague, because it will surely wreak havoc elsewhere in the world. Don't be like these people who keep wolves and then say, when the wolves chew the leg off of a guest, "well, he hardly ever goes right through the bone..."
The main thing to understand is that what works for you is beside the point, since the only real question is "What works for almost everyone else?"
This means that *every* font stack has to end with a generic "fallback" font that will be available everywhere, usually either "serif" or "sans-serif" but which may also include "monospace" "cursive" or "fantasy" (which last is almost guaranteed to yield chaos)
Cheers,
Puddin'
-
Cheers,
Puddin'
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style
Arg! You have induced an acute pun attack!
I wish somebody starts a letterpress company that made different typefaces, and called the company Little Lord. Then call one of their fonts Leroy :)
It's a problem when fonts go corrupt, indeed. I blame the Mob; the whole typeface racket is just a Font for their nefarious deeds!
However badly Edwardian Script mistreats you, though, don't just delete it entirely. Fontracide is against the law.
Just pretend their are frills on all the letters, to imagine just what Little Lords' font Leroy actually looks like :p
Ok, ok, ok... I'll stop.
Wheeee....
Update...
Hopped into /usr/share/fonts/drakfont/ttf and /usr/share/fonts/drakfont/Type1 and removed most Windoze fonts (apart from Calibri and the Segoe family), then reinstalled the MS Corefonts from ~/.wine/drive_c/windows/fonts
Theoretically, Edwardian Script ITC should no longer be present - but oddly enough text formatted as it on this site is now appearing as intended by the authors (Drakfont still thinks its installed...somewhere!)...
--Ben
As the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, then only left-handers are in their right mind!