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Using fonts in DirectX from resource files

Started by 23yrold3yrold Oct 30, 2009 at 4:26 AM 3 replies 5k views

Original Post

Oct 30, 2009 at 4:26 AM

Hey all. I've been trying to improve my DirectX game with a few fancy freeware fonts I've found scattered around the Interwebs. I can embed them in an .rc file and get a valid handle to them at runtime no prob. But with DirectX, I'm used to using D3DXCreateFont() and D3DXCreateFontIndirect(), both of which take a font name and load the font from c:\windows\font. Is there some way I can get a valid DirectX font from the TrueType I'm embedding in the resource file, or do I have to use an installer program to install the font, then load it like any other? I'm kind of hoping there's an option for the former; I could figure out how to do it with NSIS or something like it I imagine, but I'd like to know if it's possible to just keep the fonts in the binary.

mattd

Oct 30, 2009 at 5:37 AM

Perhaps try using AddFontMemResourceEx before you use D3DXCreateFont(Indirect).

23yrold3yrold

Oct 31, 2009 at 9:29 PM

Wow, I forgot I made this thread. Been a busy couple of days. ^_^

I've heard of AddFontMemResourceEx(); maybe I just didn't pay enough attention to it. So it will register the font in some way that D3DXCreateFontIndirect() will be able to pick up on it? I can't try it right now, but if that's so, that's pretty much what I'm looking for, thanks. [cool]

mattd

Nov 1, 2009 at 1:04 AM

From what I can see, it loads the font from the specified memory for the application privately (and for that currently running instance only). You'd then be able to get a HFONT to it using CreateFont or similar, assuming you knew the typeface name of the font you just loaded (doesn't seem like you can get this info out of the HANDLE AddFontMemResourceEx returns).

So, assuming D3DXCreateFont calls something like CreateFont internally, then it should work out - just AddFontMemResourceEx in the font data, and use the typeface name in your call to D3DXCreateFont.

23yrold3yrold

Nov 2, 2009 at 10:53 PM

Yup, it worked. I'm going to detail this real quick in case someone else ever needs it; took longer than it really should have for me to clue in. [embarrass]

So basically my resource file is this:

     1 FONT "WME.ttf"

I load it like this ...

     HRSRC res = FindResource(instance, MAKEINTRESOURCE(1), RT_FONT);     HANDLE m_fonthandle;     if (res)      {          HGLOBAL mem = LoadResource(instance, res);          void *data = LockResource(mem);          size_t len = SizeofResource(instance, res);          DWORD nFonts;          m_fonthandle = AddFontMemResourceEx(data, len, NULL, &nFonts);          if(m_fonthandle == 0)               MessageBox(NULL, "Font add fails", "Error", MB_OK);     }

Then I create a font for DirectX in the usual manner ...

     LPD3DXFONT myfont = NULL;     D3DXFONT_DESC FontDesc = {15, 0, 400, 0, false, DEFAULT_CHARSET, OUT_TT_PRECIS, CLIP_DEFAULT_PRECIS, DEFAULT_PITCH, "My Font"};     D3DXCreateFontIndirect(pDevice, &FontDesc, &myfont);

And now I can use it like any other ...

     myfont->DrawText(NULL, "I win at embedded fonts",  -1, &(MakeRect(600, 2, 200, 100)), DT_LEFT, 0xffffffff);

Clean up my crap when I'm done:

     RemoveFontMemResourceEx(m_fonthandle);

Works perfectly. [cool] Thanks for the help.

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