Technical Notes

Optimizing Fonts for Display and Printing with Reflection for the Web
Technical Note 1505
Last Reviewed 30-May-2008
Applies To
Reflection for the Web 2008 (All Editions)
Reflection for the Web version 8.0 through 9.x
Summary

This technical note recommends several techniques, including font adjustments and session window sizing, to optimize the appearance of host screens and printouts using Reflection for the Web.

In this note:

Java Fonts and Reflection for the Web

Java applets access fonts differently than native applications. In a Windows environment, this means that a limited number of font choices are available to the user, both for display and for printing. Attachmate has included several settings to achieve an optimal display using this reduced set of fonts.

Optimizing the Display: Font Settings

To adjust the appearance of fonts for display, open a session window. On the Setup menu or on the shortcut menu of your session window, click Terminal, and select the Fonts tab. This section details the version-specific options available on the Fonts tab.

For information on adjusting the size of fonts, see the Optimizing the Display: Host Screen Size Adjustments section. For information on adjusting fonts for printing, see the Optimizing Fonts for Printing section.

Font Settings in Reflection for the Web 2008

The following options are available on the Fonts tab.

Font Selection

Select different fonts from the scrolling menu to see how they affect the display. The default font, RWeb, works well with most session windows close to 600 by 400 pixels.

The Font list contains all fonts made available by the Java Runtime Environment. In most Java 1.1 environments, only a short list of aliases to some of the fonts installed in your operating system will be available. In newer environments, most or all of the fonts installed in your operating system will be available. To add other fonts to this list, see the documentation for your web browser, Java Runtime Environment, or operating system.

Font Size

Choose whether you want to have a font that scales automatically according to the size of the window, or a fixed point size.

• Scale font to fit terminal display

• Used fixed point size

Text anti-aliasing

This setting determines whether the display text will be anti-aliased (smoothed). The options are On, Off, and Default. When the Default setting is selected, the default anti-aliasing behavior of the Java Runtime Environment is used. Note that this default varies between JRE versions and operating environments.

If you have problems with the text display of the selected font using the Default option, On or Off may provide a better text display. See the help topic, Use bitmap font for small sizes, for another display text option.

Preserve character proportions

When disabled (the default), characters are scaled vertically and horizontally to fill as much of the character cell as possible. When this setting is selected, characters will be of the largest size and proportions naturally supported by the selected font, but will not be scaled.

Preserve character spacing

When disabled (the default), the display allocates as much space as possible to character cells regardless of the natural proportions of the selected font, and allocates the remainder to the margins. When this setting is selected, character cells are sized to fit the natural proportions of the selected font, with the remainder being allocated to the margins.

Note: For the highest quality display, disable both the Preserve character proportions setting and the Preserve character spacing setting. Enabling these settings may increase the performance of the display, but may also result in smaller characters, more white space between characters. wide margins, or spacing between rows.

Draw slash through zeros

When selected, a slashed zero is substituted for whatever zero is present in the selected font. If the font already uses a slashed zero, leave this option unselected for the best display. This option affects only the terminal window and has no effect on printing.

Use bitmap font for small sizes

In some environments, fonts may become unreadable at smaller sizes. When this option is selected, a bitmap font is used when the text on the screen becomes smaller than a predetermined minimum size. This setting may improve legibility, particularly in environments without effective text antialiasing.

Font Settings in Reflection for the Web versions 8.0 – 9.x

The following settings are available in earlier versions.

Font Selection (versions 8.0 - 9.x)

The default font, Monospaced, works well with most session windows close to 600 by 400 pixels. For window sizes that are significantly larger or smaller than 600 by 400 pixels, Attachmate recommends trying the RWeb font. The RWeb font is a bitmapped font developed especially for Reflection for the Web. The RWeb font expands and contracts to fit odd-sized session windows better than normal fonts.

Note: The Font list contains all fonts made available by the Java Runtime Environment. In most Java 1.1 environments, only a short list of aliases to some of the fonts installed in your operating system will be available. In newer environments, most or all of the fonts installed in your operating system will be available. To add other fonts to this list, see the documentation for your web browser, Java Runtime Environment, or operating system.

Maximize character cell size (versions 9.5 – 9.6)

When selected, the display allocates as much space as possible to character cells regardless of the natural proportions of the selected font, and allocates the remainder to the margins.

When cleared, character cells are sized to fit the natural proportions of the selected font, with the remainder being allocated to the margins.

Maximize character scaling (versions 9.5 – 9.6)

When selected, characters are scaled vertically and horizontally to fill as much of the character cell as possible. For all fonts but the RWeb font, this feature requires version 1.2 or newer of the Java Runtime Environment.

When cleared, characters will be of the largest size and proportions naturally supported by the selected font, but will not be scaled.

Expanded Character Spacing (versions prior to 9.5)

Expanded character spacing changes how characters are spaced in the terminal window. When this checkbox is selected, additional space is added between each character, which produces a more proportional display at large sizes but also slows the display. When this checkbox is cleared (the default), no additional spacing is added between the characters. As a result, the display draws faster, but you may see borders on either side of the terminal window at larger window sizes.

Use Heavy Font

When the Use heavy font checkbox is selected, the current font is displayed in bold. Reflection for the Web overrides this option if the text on the screen reaches or exceeds a predetermined minimum size.

Use Rweb Bitmap Font for Small Sizes

The non-bitmapped fonts native to the Java VM tend to become unreadable at smaller sizes. When the "Use Rweb font at small sizes" check box is selected (the default), the Rweb font is used if the text on the screen reaches or exceeds a predetermined minimum size. (This feature was previously called "Use Rweb font at small sizes."

Note: For more information on fonts and font settings, click Help at the bottom of the Fonts tab in the Terminal Setup dialog box.

Draw Slash Through Zeros

Specifies whether zeros displayed in the terminal window contain slashes. Selecting this option may make it easier to work with numeric data. This check box affects only the terminal window and has no effect on printing.

Optimizing the Display: Host Screen Size Adjustments

Reflection for the Web (all versions listed in the Applies To section) scales the host output to fit the area in which it is displayed. When you adjust the size of the display area, Reflection automatically resizes the fonts in the display window.

Or, in Reflection for the Web 2008, you can choose to use a fixed point size instead. See the Font Size section under Font Settings in Reflection for the Web 2008.

To control the resizing behavior, follow the suggestions that apply to your session's configuration.

Session is Displayed in a Separate Window

You can resize the display temporarily or permanently.

To temporarily resize the display, simply adjust the size of the session window. An end user can drag the borders of a session window to resize it. This procedure must be repeated each time the session is launched unless the setting is saved to the local preference file.

Note: This setting can be saved only if the administrator configured the session to allow users to configure and save their own settings.

To permanently resize the display:

1. Open the Session Manager in the Administrative WebStation.
2. Create a new session or open an existing session.
3. In the Advanced Settings section, click More.
4. Select the "Use these windows dimensions" option and configure the Width and Height to your specifications.
5. Scroll to the end of the page and click Continue, and then click Save Settings.

Session is Embedded in a Browser Window

Reflection for the Web scales a browser-embedded session window to dimensions specified in the session applet.

To modify the session applet:

1. Open the Session Manager in the Administrative WebStation to edit or create an embedded session.
2. In the Advanced Settings section, click More.
3. In the Windows Size and Status Bar section, configure the Width and Height to your specifications.
4. Click Continue, and then click Save Settings.

Adjusting Screen Resolution

You can also modify the size or clarity of a Reflection session window by changing the resolution of your desktop. In general, lower resolution values enlarge the host screen but may decrease the clarity of the display. Higher resolution values reduce the size of the host screen but may make the display clearer.

Optimizing Fonts for Printing

The font used for printing is set differently from the font used for display. Font performance for printing can vary greatly depending on your system configuration. The following variables can affect the appearance of printed text:

The sections below discuss optimizing the appearance of fonts when printing from Reflection for the Web.

Font Selection

The font setting used for display has no effect on the font used for printing. Resolutions used in printing are usually much larger than those on the terminal display.

To select a font for printing:

1. In a Reflection session, click File > Page Setup, and click the Page Options button.
2. Select a font from the drop-down menu in the Text Format area.

Sizing Printing Jobs

The options for sizing a printing job in Reflection for the Web include scaling and row/column adjustments. Specific information about font sizing in IBM printer emulation sessions are addressed in the last section .

Scaling

Scaling is used to manually increase or decrease the size of your printout. To use scaling (in any aforementioned version), click File > Page Setup > Page Options.

Use the percentage fields to increase or decrease the size of your printout. To change the size of your printout proportionately, enter the same percent value in each field. After changing values,

To print a test page: Click File > Print Setup. Choose your printer destination, and click the Print Test Page button.

Note: If a line of text becomes too long to fit on the page, it will not wrap to the next line. Instead, it will simply be truncated. This occurs because scaling is a direct magnification or reduction of the printout. To increase the size of a printout in a manner that is similar to changing the point size in a text editor, use the row/column adjustments described next.

Row/Column Adjustments

To adjust the point size of a printout: Click File > Page Setup, and click the Page options button.

The default values of 60 rows per page and 80 columns per page produce approximately 10-point type on letter-size paper. To increase the point size, decrease the values. To decrease the point size, increase the values.

Note: To enlarge or reduce text proportionately using row and column adjustments, enter proportionate values in the Rows and Columns fields. For example, reducing Rows to 30 and Columns to 40 should produce well-proportioned, double-sized text compared to the defaults of 60 and 80.

Font Sizing in IBM Printer Emulation Sessions

In IBM printer emulation sessions (for example, session types "3270 printer" and "5250 printer"), font sizing can be more complex.

• The printer session Setup > Terminal dialog box has additional controls: "Fit host page width" and "Fit host page height." When these are selected (the default), the page size defined by the host is automatically scaled up or down to fit the printing page.
• Setup > Terminal provides the option to "Override host page format" control. By default, this is not selected, because the data streams used by IBM for printing usually, but not always, include formatting commands. Such commands are used instead of the row/column adjustments to size the font. So, for the row/column controls in File > Print Setup > Page Options to take effect, "Override host page format" must be selected. Try the default before using this option.
• In the IBM printer session window, click Test Page to perform a general printing integrity and default font appearance check.
• If the IBM host uses "transparent mode", it means that usually there are printer commands embedded in the printing data stream. For example, on AS/400 systems this feature is called Host Print Transform. When a feature like this is used, nothing in the Reflection for the Web user interface has any effect on the font appearance or scaling.

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9988	Reflection for the Web Technical Notes