Tag Archives: GLCD font edition

Create Segmented Charsets for GLCD with Bitmap2LCD

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Bitmap2LCD is a tool for programming small Graphic LCDs in embedded systems.

Create Segmented Charsets for GLCD with Bitmap2LCD

Obsolete, not available on current SW versions

Since V2.2, in the GLCD Font Editor Component of Bitmap2LCD , a feature makes it possible to create segmented fonts, a set of characters that are similar to the 4 numbers displayed on the LCD module in the picture below.

A segmented character is made of an assembly of smaller graphic segments (in this example 6 segments for the O) . These segments being present more than only one time in the different characters of the font.

Now let’s see how this feature is implemented in bitmap2LCD  :

  • View of the char group #1 in the Work canvas (red arrow) The word “group” means an assembly of segments or small graphic elements.
  • The 8 segments needed for the whole charset in the Font Editor Window (blue arrow)
  • The Segment Font Script for this font. This file contains for each character (group) the X and Y positions of all graphic elements and their associated segment bitmap.

 

Description of the GLCD Font Editor in Bitmap2LCD

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Bitmap2LCD is a tool for programming small Graphic LCDs in embedded systems.

Description of the GLCD font editor in Bitmap2LCD (since V2.2)

Standard Edition

The example below shows the begin of the creating of an Editable font from scratch

On the font panel window at the left :

  • There is one single new Char is in the font grid (red arrow), all pixels are white
  • The font editor toolbar (brown arrow) Buttons: insert new char or paste a char, delete a char, copy a char,export to work canvas,import from work canvas, save font…
  • Above the Font Editor toolbar, the segmented font viewer buttons to hide/show the different Char segments (up to 12 segments)
  • The character displayer and pixels editor. (green arrow) For complicated Char edits, the Char can be exported into the work canvas, and re-imported after modification.

On the Outputs panel window at the right :

  • The Editable Font Script in the editor (blue arrow) , in the GLCD Font Editor mode, the editor gutter becomes yellow.
  • The Editable Font Script editor toolbar  (orange arrow), the values in the Font Script can only be modified in the edits there. It depends where the cursor is located in the script. The Normal Font / Segment Font switch is located on this toolbar too.