The FontRuler Tool

The FontRuler tool provides a text dump of text metrics as actually measured in real-life situations. This tool is useful for comparing different versions of the same font to make sure changes won't cause document reflow.

1. Double-click on the application. You're asked for an input and an output text file.

2. The input file is parsed.

Lines beginning with "%" are considered comment lines and are skipped.

Lines beginning with "#" are considered command lines and change something.

For example,

"# Font: Geneva" on a line switches the font to Geneva.

Commands must all be followed by a colon and are case-sensitive.

The commands recognized are:

• Font The font name to use for subsequent text
• Size The size to use for subsequent text
• Style The styles (as a decimal number) to use for subsequent text
• Width Where to break the line as a decimal number in points

Each of these has a default value:

• The default font is the system's application font
• The default point size is the system's application font size
• The default style is plain
• The default width is 8.5 inches (612 points)

3. Non-empty lines which aren't comments and aren't commands are rendered using the given data. They're wrapped to fit within the indicated line width.

The output file is filled with information about each (wrapped) line.

The goal is to run the same text input file on two different systems or with two different versions of the same font. A standard comparison tool can then be used to compare the output files.

A sample input file is enclosed.

Notes

If you encounter problems, please contact the Apple Fonts Group.

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