# Using Custom Font Metric Files

The AFP2PDF Plus Transform can be configured with custom font metric files to control the placement of individual characters and to aid in text alignment. The transform uses the default fonts available in the PDF display application (for example, Adobe Acrobat) and applies special character widths as specified in the font metric file.

Font metric files should be set up to use the default PDF WinANSI encoding (code page 1252). They cannot be used for double-byte text (Asian languages). The files are located in the `\font\Type1` subdirectory and are named `Custom-Metrics-xx.met`, where xx is 1 to 99.

To configure the transform, specify the name of the font metric file as the first parameter in the `alias.fnt` file. Set the second parameter, specifying the Adobe Font Metric (AFM) file name, to NULL.

Custom Font Metric files Defined in the `alias.fnt` File shows an example of the `alias.fnt` file with entries that define custom font metric files to the transform.

#### Custom Font Metric files Defined in the `alias.fnt` File

```;**** Requested font=font name,Font metric/AFM file name (or
'NULL' for not used) *****
Font1=Custom-Metrics-1,NULL
Font2=Custom-Metrics-2,NULL
;******* End User-defined/Custom names *******```

The format of custom font metric files follows the AFM specification, including these additional parameters that describe the font used for the display:

Flags
Specifies various characteristics of the font. Values for the Flags Parameter shows the allowable values.

#### Values for the Flags Parameter

Typeface Flag
Courier—Serif Fixed Pitch `35`
Courier Bold `262179`
Courier Italic `99`
Courier Bold Italic `262243`
Helvetica (Arial)—Sans Serif Proportional `32`
Helvetica Bold `262176`
Helvetica Italic `96`
Helvetica Bold Italic `262240`
Sans Serif Fixed Pitch `33`
Sans Serif Bold Fixed Pitch `262177`
Sans Serif Italic Fixed Pitch `97`
Sans Serif Bold Italic Fixed Pitch `262241`
Times New Roman—Serif Proportional `34`
Times New Roman Bold `262178`
Times New Roman Italic `98`
Times New Roman Bold Italic `262242`
StemV
Specifies the width, measured in the x direction, of the dominant vertical stems of characters in the font.

In practical terms, StemV represents the weight or boldness of the font. A typical medium weight font has a value of 80. For a light font, the value might be in the 65–70 range. A bold font might have a value of 120. In all cases, use these values as a starting point. Adjust the StemV value to get the output PDF file to look like the original printed output.

ItalicAngle
Specifies the angle, in degrees counterclockwise from the vertical, of the dominant vertical strokes of the font. Typically, this value is in the range of -10 to -15. Adjust as necessary to get the output PDF file to look like the original printed output.

Example of a Custom Font Metric File shows an example of a custom metric file called `Custom-Metrics-1.met`.

#### Example of a Custom Font Metric File

```FontName C0CUSTOM
; Description - 'Custom Font 1'
Ascender 924
CapHeight 720
Descender -216
Flags 32
FontBBox -47 -204 996 924
ItalicAngle 0
StemV 90
XHeight 720
StartCharMetrics
C 32 ; WX 240 ; N space ;
C 33 ; WX 252 ; N exclam ;
C 34 ; WX 408 ; N quotedbl ;
C 35 ; WX 480 ; N numbersign ;
C 36 ; WX 480 ; N dollar ;
C 37 ; WX 756 ; N percent ;
C 38 ; WX 552 ; N ampersand ;
C 39 ; WX 240 ; N quotesingle ;
.
.
.
EndCharMetrics  ```