August '04 Tech Tip: Solar Fire Font and ACS PC Atlas Issues
by Ray White
Fonts: Fonts are one of the most problematic componests of Windows astrology programs. Astrology programs use their own special fonts which contain the astro glyphs and other symbols that astrologers need. These special fonts have to be installed on any computer that is running the astrology software. The version of the font file has to match your version of the program as well as your version of Windows. When the proper font isn't installed, you can get strange characters instead of astro glyphs such as alpha letters, squares or miscellaneous characters on the screen and/or printer.
Windows 98 and earlier versions have many bugs in their font system and problems when too many fonts are installed (more than 130 or so). We recommend that people who are using Windows 98 or earlier upgrade to Windows XP which is now very stable and solid.
When sending a chart or report electronically, you need to send it in certain formats to make sure the astro glyph fonts are reproduced properly. For charts, send them as pictures in .jpg picture format. If you choose to send a report, use either Microsoft Word format (with 'Encapsulate Fonts' selected) or PDF format which requires additional software.
Problems with Fonts - Solar Fire 5.1: If you have problems with fonts after your installation of v. 5.1, reinstall your software from the CD and then reboot/restart your computer after reinstalling. Don't try out the Solar Fire program without first restarting Windows. Restarting your computer gives Windows the opportunity to actually update the fonts on your system. Next, visit our web site and make sure you have the latest updates for your software. You can locate our downloads here: http://alabe.com/dlpage.htm
For more info on diagnosing font problems, see our tech support pages here http://alabe.com/support/#glyphs
ACS PC Atlas Issues: You might think that time zones in the world have all been standardized and set in stone by now, but think again! Things are always changing. Daylight savings time rules were not standardized in the US until the 1960's. In the rest of the world time zone rules have a tendency to change as governments change. This happened recently with Iraq now observing daylight time. If your atlas is not up to date with the latest time zones and daylight savings time info you run the risk of casting charts with incorrect houses.
If you have v. 5.1.2 or better of Solar Fire and use the embedded atlas, you will have the most up to date timezone info available. If you own earlier versions of Solar Fire, if you are using v. 5.1 with the stand-alone atlas or if you use the stand-alone atlas with other programs such as JigSaw or the Astrolabe Report System, you should make sure that you are using the most current version of the atlas by downloading the free atlas update at our website, http://alabe.com/dlpage.htm. You can also find a link to update your Solar Fire 5.1 program to the most recent version there as well.
If your stand alone ACS PC Atlas comes on floppy disks, you can use one of our Astrolabe CD's to install a newer version of the stand alone atlas. It is the first Item on our CD install menu. When the atlas install program asks you for a serial number, just use the Serial Number that is found on Floppy Disk #1 of your original ACS PC-Atlas install disks. (If you don't have an Astrolabe CD, CD replacements for floppy disc versions of software are available for $25 plus shipping. Call us at 1/800/843-6682 to order).
The best way to avoid Font and Atlas problems is to stay up to date on your astrology software. Getting Solar Fire 5.1 on CD will make sure that you have the latest and greatest versions of the Solar Fire font and ACS PC-Atlas. Solar Fire 5.1 now contains a complete, up to date version of the ACS atlas embedded within it. For more details or to purchase Solar Fire 5.1, click here.
Copyright 2004, Astrolabe, Inc.