Mac font display in Director

October 2, 1997
by Alex Zavatone

Often, it has been annoying to me that there is no obvious way of changing the default font for the script and message window in Director.

As it happens, I prefer Geneva 9 for everything in the script window on the mac and I'd like to get that as the default font for the script window and for the message window output as well. With a little exploring and the minimal proficiency with ResEdit, I found out that you can change the default font for all windows in Director.

The only (and important) caveat is that you must change those resources back if you ever plan on installing an upgrade on that copy of Director.

To proceed, open Director with ResEdit and open the "finf" resource.

Within that resource, you will see the settings for all the Director windows and windoids. $FFFB or Monaco is the default font for the message window and the script window. Changing that value and saving the changes will let you use a different font when you open up or use those windows. $FFFC is the code that I used to set the default font to Geneva for both windows.

If you are interested in changing the default font for printing your
scripts, then open the "styl" resource and set the font in that resource as you did for the "finf" resource.Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find a method to make the same change on the PC. If anyone knows of a method, let us know and I'll post the solution.

NOTE: When working with ResEdit, it's always a good idea to make a copy of the application you're going to alter as a backup.

For further info on customizing with ResEdit, check out:

Zen and the Art of Resource Editing : The BMUG Guide to ResEdit
by Derrick Schneider, Hans Hansen.
Published by Hayden Books, ISBN: 1568302444.

A Director user since 1987, Alex (Zav) Zavatone has worked on the engineering teams for both Director and Shockwave, 4, 5, 6 and 7. Recent investigations find him developing foundation classes for Director with asynchronous process management and other life threatening activities. In its early days, he had something to do with this Internet thing known as "DOUG". A noted ne'erdowell, slacker and laggard, Mr. Zavatone is nonetheless is trusted by children, small animals and the elderly. In his spare time, Mr. Zavatone rehabilitates lame desert trout.