Re: BETTER FONTS

["Liam Gumley" <Liam.Gumley(at)ssec.wisc.edu>]

"Mark Chan" <chanm@cadvision.com> wrote in message
991fa6$4kk$1@news3.cadvision.com">news:991fa6$4kk$1@news3.cadvision.com...
> plot,x,y,title='Some Text Here'
>
> IDL will use a default font for plotting.
>
> The fonts on the plot looks ok (not the best) on the computer screen. But
> when the plot (e.g. saved in some format suitable for display) is
projected
> using a LCD on to a wall sized screen (e.g. 5' by 7'), the fonts doesn't
> look too satisfying. The display from programs like PowerPoint, Words or
> Excel looks much better with LCD projection.
>
> Any suggestion on how to make IDL fonts comparable to those from
PowerPoint
> when using a LCD? Which font will produce better result than the default?

If you are running IDL 5.4 on a Windows platform, you can use the METAFILE
device to create graphical output which looks great in Microsoft
applications (such as Word or Powerpoint). For example:

entry_device = !d.name
set_plot, 'METAFILE'
device, filename='test.emf'
device, set_font='Helvetica*32'
x = findgen(200) * 0.1
y = sin(x)
plot, x, y, title='Test Plot', xtitle='X-Axis', ytitle='Y-Axis', font=0
device, /close_file
set_plot, entry_device

To import the resulting Windows Enhanced Metafile (test.emf) into Word, use
'Insert/Picture/From File'.

Alas, the METAFILE device appears to be available in IDL 5.4 for Windows
only.

Cheers,
Liam.
http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/~gumley