What is the difference between NIDialog and NIDialogMetaFont?

[Wolfgang]

Hello,

when changing the label attribute in the UI editor from regular to bold/italics/... or vice versa I realized that the corresponding font is changed. Hence I got curious how this change between NIDialog ('Bold' selected) and NIDialogMetaFont (regular font) will affect the font actually used for display - or why not NIDialog is used in all cases?

Thanks,

Wolfgang

[LuisG · Accepted solution]

Metafonts contain not just typeface information, but also point size, bold, strikeout, angle, character set, etc... You can use a metafont name anywhere you'd normally use a regular font name. You can also create your own metafonts programmatically.

"NIDialogMetaFont: is a metafont based on the "NIDialog" typeface (which is itself an alias for a system-dependent typeface, but that's besides the point). Therefore, if you select "NIDialogMetaFont" you're implicitly also selecting all the other attributes of that particular metafont as well. If, later on, you explicitly change one of those attributes, CVI assumes that you're no longer interested in using that metafont and changes the setting automatically to "NIDialog" (keeping the same typeface).

Conversely, if you had first selected "NIDialog" and you then set all other attributes to match those specified by "NIDialogMetaFont", it automatically changes the font name setting to "NIDialogMetaFont".

Luis

[Wolfgang]

Thanks for this extra information, Luis!

[TurboMetrologist]

Also, Roberto pointed out that you can use this for Ω's, omegas, and such.