[P1] type appearance

[George Slusher]

>I have a pet font that permits easy, comfortable typing 
>(currently comic sans 14pt is set as my AW default), 

That's a good one, though Comic Sans is relatively small as fonts go and 
it is sort of "handwritten"--it's supposed to be a font for the balloons 
in comic strips. I find that it's a bit harder to read than some other 
fonts. You might also try 

For example, try Trebuchet MS & Verdana, both of which were designed for 
on-screen reading (web browsers, email clients, etc.). The default in 
many instances is Geneva. (FWIW, Geneva is intended to be a screen font, 
like New York. The corresponding printer fonts are Helvetica and Times.) 

For email, a "monospaced" font, where each character takes the same 
width, can help with formatting in emails. Good monospaced fonts are 
Monaco, Mishawaka (looks more "open" than other fonts and can be used 
even at 9 pt), and "ProFont," though I can't remember where I got that 
one. 

Sometimes, what seems to be a small change in the font size can make a 
huge difference. If you check your font folder, you may find that there 
are some bitmapped fonts (they have the size as part of the name) as well 
as the TrueType font for a particular typeface. The bitmapped fonts are 
usually better for on-screen use, as they have been tweaked (individual 
characters optimized for displays).

George Slusher/Eugene, OR
gslusher at rio.com