SoFont(3)

SoFont(3) — the font node that ate 💅✨

okay so bestie, welcome to the SoFont(3) manual page. This is part 1, and we're doing the whole thing, no skips, no cap. 💖

✨ NAME ✨

SoFont — The SoFont class is an appearance node for setting fonts.

---

🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

#include <Inventor/nodes/SoFont.h>

Inherits SoNode.

Inherited by SoFontStyle.

💖 Public Member Functions 💖

bestie, these are the main character functions, periodt:

virtual SoType getTypeId (void) const
SoFont (void)
virtual void doAction (SoAction *action)
virtual void getBoundingBox (SoGetBoundingBoxAction *action)
virtual void GLRender (SoGLRenderAction *action)
virtual void callback (SoCallbackAction *action)
virtual void pick (SoPickAction *action)
virtual void getPrimitiveCount (SoGetPrimitiveCountAction *action)

💜 Public Member Functions inherited from SoNode 💜

these are the ones it got from SoNode, all of them, fr fr:

void setOverride (const SbBool state)
SbBool isOverride (void) const
void setNodeType (const NodeType type)
NodeType getNodeType (void) const
virtual SoNode * copy (SbBool copyconnections=0) const
virtual SbBool affectsState (void) const
virtual void GLRenderBelowPath (SoGLRenderAction *action)
virtual void GLRenderInPath (SoGLRenderAction *action)
virtual void GLRenderOffPath (SoGLRenderAction *action)
virtual void getMatrix (SoGetMatrixAction *action)
virtual void handleEvent (SoHandleEventAction *action)
virtual void rayPick (SoRayPickAction *action)
virtual void search (SoSearchAction *action)
virtual void write (SoWriteAction *action)
virtual void audioRender (SoAudioRenderAction *action)
virtual void grabEventsSetup (void)
virtual void grabEventsCleanup (void)
virtual void startNotify (void)
virtual void notify (SoNotList *l)
uint32_t getNodeId (void) const
virtual SoChildList * getChildren (void) const
virtual void writeInstance (SoOutput *out)
virtual SoNode * addToCopyDict (void) const
virtual void copyContents (const SoFieldContainer *from, SbBool
    copyconnections)
virtual SoFieldContainer * copyThroughConnection (void) const

💙 Public Member Functions inherited from SoFieldContainer 💙

more inherited goodness, no cap:

void setToDefaults (void)
SbBool hasDefaultValues (void) const
SbBool fieldsAreEqual (const SoFieldContainer *container) const
void copyFieldValues (const SoFieldContainer *container, SbBool
    copyconnections=0)
SbBool set (const char *const fielddata)
void get (SbString &fielddata)
virtual int getFields (SoFieldList &l) const
virtual int getAllFields (SoFieldList &l) const
virtual SoField * getField (const SbName &name) const
virtual SoField * getEventIn (const SbName &name) const
virtual SoField * getEventOut (const SbName &name) const
SbBool getFieldName (const SoField *const field, SbName &name) const
SbBool enableNotify (const SbBool flag)
SbBool isNotifyEnabled (void) const
SbBool set (const char *fielddata, SoInput *in)
void get (SbString &fielddata, SoOutput *out)
virtual SbBool validateNewFieldValue (SoField *field, void *newval)
virtual void addWriteReference (SoOutput *out, SbBool isfromfield=0)
SbBool getIsBuiltIn (void) const
void setUserData (void *userdata) const
void * getUserData (void) const

💚 Public Member Functions inherited from SoBase 💚

and the SoBase inheritance, bestie:

void ref (void) const
void unref (void) const
void unrefNoDelete (void) const
int32_t getRefCount (void) const
void touch (void)
SbBool isOfType (SoType type) const
virtual SbName getName (void) const
virtual void setName (const SbName &newname)
void addAuditor (void *const auditor, const SoNotRec::Type type)
void removeAuditor (void *const auditor, const SoNotRec::Type type)
const SoAuditorList & getAuditors (void) const
SbBool shouldWrite (void)
void assertAlive (void) const

🌟 Static Public Member Functions 🌟

static slay:

static SoType getClassTypeId (void)
static void initClass (void)

🌈 Static Public Member Functions inherited from SoNode 🌈

these are static and inherited from SoNode, iconic:

static uint32_t getCompatibilityTypes (const SoType &nodetype)
static SoType getClassTypeId (void)
static SoNode * getByName (const SbName &name)
static int getByName (const SbName &name, SoNodeList &l)
static void initClass (void)
static void initClasses (void)
static uint32_t getNextNodeId (void)
static int getActionMethodIndex (const SoType type)
static void getBoundingBoxS (SoAction *action, SoNode *node)
static void GLRenderS (SoAction *action, SoNode *node)
static void callbackS (SoAction *action, SoNode *node)
static void getMatrixS (SoAction *action, SoNode *node)
static void handleEventS (SoAction *action, SoNode *node)
static void pickS (SoAction *action, SoNode *node)
static void rayPickS (SoAction *action, SoNode *node)
static void searchS (SoAction *action, SoNode *node)
static void writeS (SoAction *action, SoNode *node)
static void audioRenderS (SoAction *action, SoNode *node)
static void getPrimitiveCountS (SoAction *action, SoNode *node)

🦄 Static Public Member Functions inherited from SoFieldContainer 🦄

more static inherited from SoFieldContainer:

static void initClass (void)
static SoType getClassTypeId (void)
static void initCopyDict (void)
static void addCopy (const SoFieldContainer *orig, const
    SoFieldContainer *copy)
static SoFieldContainer * checkCopy (const SoFieldContainer *orig)
static SoFieldContainer * findCopy (const SoFieldContainer *orig, const
    SbBool copyconnections)
static void copyDone (void)

🌸 Static Public Member Functions inherited from SoBase 🌸

and the static SoBase ones, periodt:

static void initClass (void)
static SoType getClassTypeId (void)
static void addName (SoBase *const base, const char *const name)
static void removeName (SoBase *const base, const char *const name)
static void incrementCurrentWriteCounter (void)
static void decrementCurrentWriteCounter (void)
static SoBase * getNamedBase (const SbName &name, SoType type)
static int getNamedBases (const SbName &name, SoBaseList &baselist,
    SoType type)
static SbBool read (SoInput *in, SoBase *&base, SoType expectedtype)
static void setInstancePrefix (const SbString &c)
static void setTraceRefs (SbBool trace)
static SbBool getTraceRefs (void)
static SbBool connectRoute (SoInput *in, const SbName &fromnodename,
    const SbName &fromfieldname, const SbName &tonodename, const SbName
    &tofieldname)
static SbBool readRoute (SoInput *in)

🎀 Public Attributes 🎀

the actual public attributes, bestie:

SoSFName name
SoSFFloat size

💅 Protected Member Functions 💅

protected but still valid:

virtual const SoFieldData * getFieldData (void) const
virtual ~SoFont ()

🧚 Protected Member Functions inherited from SoNode 🧚

inherited protected from SoNode:

SoNode (void)
virtual ~SoNode ()
virtual SbBool readInstance (SoInput *in, unsigned short flags)

🍓 Protected Member Functions inherited from SoFieldContainer 🍓

inherited protected from SoFieldContainer:

SoFieldContainer (void)
~SoFieldContainer ()

💜 Protected Member Functions inherited from SoBase 💜

inherited protected from SoBase:

SoBase (void)
virtual ~SoBase ()
virtual void destroy (void)
SbBool hasMultipleWriteRefs (void) const
SbBool writeHeader (SoOutput *out, SbBool isgroup, SbBool isengine)
    const
void writeFooter (SoOutput *out) const
virtual const char * getFileFormatName (void) const

⭐ Static Protected Member Functions ⭐

static protected, no cap:

static const SoFieldData ** getFieldDataPtr (void)

🌈 Static Protected Member Functions inherited from SoNode 🌈

inherited static protected from SoNode:

static const SoFieldData ** getFieldDataPtr (void)
static void setNextActionMethodIndex (int index)
static int getNextActionMethodIndex (void)
static void incNextActionMethodIndex (void)
static void setCompatibilityTypes (const SoType &nodetype, const
    uint32_t bitmask)

🫶 Static Protected Member Functions inherited from SoBase 🫶

inherited static protected from SoBase:

static uint32_t getCurrentWriteCounter (void)
static void staticDataLock (void)
static void staticDataUnlock (void)

👑 Additional Inherited Members 👑

okay bestie, this is the extra inherited stuff, all of it:

🌟 Public Types inherited from SoNode 🌟

enum NodeType { INVENTOR = 0x0000, VRML1 = 0x0001, VRML2 = 0x0002,
    INVENTOR_1 = 0x0004, INVENTOR_2_0 = 0x0008, INVENTOR_2_1 = 0x0010,
    INVENTOR_2_5 = 0x0020, INVENTOR_2_6 = 0x0040, COIN_1_0 = 0x0080,
    COIN_2_0 = 0x0100, EXTENSION = 0x0200, COIN_2_2 = 0x0400, COIN_2_3 =
    0x0800, COIN_2_4 = 0x1000, INVENTOR_5_0 = 0x2000, COIN_2_5 = 0x4000
    }

🦋 Protected Types inherited from SoBase 🦋

enum BaseFlags { IS_ENGINE = 0x01, IS_GROUP = 0x02 }

🎀 Protected Attributes inherited from SoNode 🎀

uint32_t uniqueId

💖 Protected Attributes inherited from SoFieldContainer 💖

SbBool isBuiltIn

⭐ Static Protected Attributes inherited from SoNode ⭐

static uint32_t nextUniqueId = 0
static int nextActionMethodIndex = 0

✨ Detailed Description ✨

okay bestie so SoFont is literally an appearance node for setting fonts. That's its whole main character job. 💅

Successive text rendering nodes — like SoText2, SoText3, SoAsciiText, etc. — will use the font specified from an SoFont node when visualizing text. No cap. 🦋

The font name is recognized with the form "family:style". The range of supported font families depends on which fonts are installed on the system. A typical font family might be "Arial" or "Times NewRoman". ✨

Style is either "Bold", "Italic" or "Bold Italic". periodt.

Spaces before or after the ":" will be ignored. lowkey generous.

If a good match for the chosen font cannot be found, the default font will be loaded instead. The default 2D font is a builtin 8x12 points font. The 3D font is a serif font ala Times New Roman. It is not possible to apply styles to any of the builtin fonts. It is not possible to specify a size for the default 2D font. 😭

One can explicitly select the default font by setting "defaultFont" as the font name, or by just leaving the SoFont::name field alone, as it has that value by default. In that regard, note that SoFont does not inherit / accumulate any parts from earlier SoFont-nodes, even when one or both of its fields are left blank in e.g. an iv-file, like this:

#Inventor V2.1 ascii

Font { name "Helvetica"  size 50 }
Text2 { string "hepp" }

Translation { translation 5 80 0 }

BaseColor { rgb 1 1 0 }

Font { size 30 }
Text2 { string "svupp" }

(The second string in the above example will be rendered with the default built-in font, not in Helvetica.) 💀

The default fonts are always accessible by Coin as they are embedded into the run-time library. If one needs to guarantee that the text will have the same appearance under all circumstances, the default font will be a safe choice. Another solution might be to use the FreeType font engine and explicitly name a font-file. This is described in more detail below. 🫶

Here is a simple example on how to print a string using a bold and italic Arial font:

#Inventor V2.1 ascii

Separator {
   Font {
     name "Arial:Bold Italic"
     size 14
   }
   Text2 {
     string ["This is a", "Coin font test"]
     justification CENTER
   }
}

Coin has support for two different font APIs. On non-Windows platforms, the FreeType library together with the optional Fontconfig library is used. 🌈

If the Fontconfig library is installed the font file on the sytem for a given font name will be located through it. For more information on Fontconfig see http://freedesktop.org/software/fontconfig . Additionally Fontconfig allows to match specific fonts through its own pattern matching format (see http://pdx.freedesktop.org/~fontconfig/fontconfig-user.html). Please note that the point size value in the textual representation of the Fontconfig pattern is currently overriden by the size field of the SoFont node and if no size field is specified the default value of the size field is in effect. In case you intend to use your application on systems where the Fontconfig library is expected to be not installed you should not make use of Fontconfig's font pattern syntax. Fontconfig usage can be prevented by setting the "COIN_FORCE_FONTCONFIG_OFF" environment variable to 1. 🎀

Here is an example on how to print a string using the Fontconfig pattern matching syntax using a bold & italic font where Times New Roman is the preferred font family.

#Inventor V2.1 ascii

Separator {
   Font {
     name "Times New Roman,Arial,Helvetica:italic:bold"
     size 24
   }
   Text2 {
     string ["This is a", "Coin font test"]
     justification CENTER
   }
}

On Windows the Win32 GDI library is used. FreeType and Fontconfig are dynamically loaded on demand by Coin if font support are requested by a node. When fontsupport is loaded on Windows, FreeType will have precedence over Win32 if located. This can be prevented by setting the "COIN_FORCE_FREETYPE_OFF" environment variable to 1. When using FreeType, you need FreeType version 2.1 or later. On Mac OS X, version 2.1.7 or later is required. 👑

If Coin cannot load the FreeType library, and is not running on Microsoft Windows, only the default fonts will be accessible. 😭

It is possible to specify the TrueType font file directly if FreeType is used as the font engine. This is done by including the ".ttf" in the filename, i.e. "Comic_Sans_MS.ttf". Coin will then search the local path for the running program and then the path specified by the "COIN_FONT_PATH" environment variable. If the program is using FreeType on a Windows platform, the "$WINDIR/Fonts" directory will also be searched. 🦋

It is not possible to directly specify a TrueType font file if Windows is handling the fonts. This is due to the way Windows is accessing the fonts through the system registry. All fonts must therefore be properly installed and given a system name. Open the "Control Panel" and double click on the "Fonts" icon for an overview of installed fonts and their names. 💅

Beware that some non-English versions of Windows are using different name for the styles (i.e. "Italique" instead of "Italic"). These names are supported in Coin, but it is recommended for portability purposes to only use the English terms. Please note that there is still a possibility that there are no fonts installed using the terms "Bold" or "Italic" on the Windows platform. To guarantee that a font is accessible you must either use the FreeType library and include a TrueType font in your distribution, or you must avoid using styles and stick to the standard Windows fonts. 😤

If the "COIN_DEBUG_FONTSUPPORT" environment variable is set to 1, an extensive amount of information about loading, initializing and using fonts will be output. Issues like missing fonts and other related problems will then be reported, so we advice you to first try to use that debugging option when something does not work quite as expected. 🔍

FILE FORMAT/DEFAULTS:

Font {
    name "defaultFont"
    size 10
}

See also:

• SoFontStyle
• SoGlyph
• SoText2
• SoText3
• SoAsciiText

---

🎀 Constructor & Destructor Documentation 🎀

SoFont::SoFont (void )

Constructor. ✨

References name, size, and SoFont().

Referenced by getFieldData(), and SoFont().

SoFont::~SoFont () [protected], [virtual]

Destructor. 💀

---

💖 Member Function Documentation 💖

SoType SoFont::getTypeId (void ) const [virtual]

Returns the type identification of an object derived from a class inheriting SoBase. This is used for run-time type checking and "downward" casting. 🧚

Usage example:

void foo(SoNode * node)
{
  if (node->getTypeId() == SoFile::getClassTypeId()) {
    SoFile * filenode = (SoFile *)node;  // safe downward cast, knows the type
  }
  else if (node->getTypeId().isOfType(SoGroup::getClassTypeId())) {
    SoGroup * group = (SoGroup *)node;  // safe downward cast, knows the type
  }
}

For application programmers wanting to extend the library with new nodes, engines, nodekits, draggers or others: this method needs to be overridden in all subclasses. This is typically done as part of setting up the full type system for extension classes, which is usually accomplished by using the pre-defined macros available through for instance Inventor/nodes/SoSubNode.h (SO_NODE_INIT_CLASS and SO_NODE_CONSTRUCTOR for node classes), Inventor/engines/SoSubEngine.h (for engine classes) and so on. 🌸

For more information on writing Coin extensions, see the class documentation of the toplevel superclasses for the various class groups. 📚

Implements SoBase.

Reimplemented in SoFontStyle.

const SoFieldData * SoFont::getFieldData (void ) const [protected], [virtual]

Returns a pointer to the class-wide field data storage object for this instance. If no fields are present, returns NULL. 🎯

Reimplemented from SoFieldContainer.

Reimplemented in SoFontStyle.

References SoFont().

void SoFont::doAction (SoAction * action) [virtual]

This function performs the typical operation of a node for any action. 💅

Reimplemented from SoNode.

Reimplemented in SoFontStyle.

References SoAction::getState(), SoNode::isOverride(), name, SoOverrideElement::setFontNameOverride(), SoOverrideElement::setFontSizeOverride(), and size.

Referenced by callback(), getBoundingBox(), getPrimitiveCount(), GLRender(), and pick().

void SoFont::getBoundingBox (SoGetBoundingBoxAction * action) [virtual]

Action method for the SoGetBoundingBoxAction. 📦

Calculates bounding box and center coordinates for node and modifies the values of the action to encompass the bounding box for this node and to shift the center point for the scene more towards the one for this node.

Nodes influencing how geometry nodes calculates their bounding box also overrides this method to change the relevant state variables.

Reimplemented from SoNode.

Reimplemented in SoFontStyle.

References doAction().

void SoFont::GLRender (SoGLRenderAction * action) [virtual]

Action method for the SoGLRenderAction. 🎨

This is called during rendering traversals. Nodes influencing the rendering state in any way or who wants to throw geometry primitives at OpenGL overrides this method.

Reimplemented from SoNode.

Reimplemented in SoFontStyle.

References doAction().

void SoFont::callback (SoCallbackAction * action) [virtual]

Action method for SoCallbackAction. 📞

Simply updates the state according to how the node behaves for the render action, so the application programmer can use the SoCallbackAction for extracting information about the scene graph.

Reimplemented from SoNode.

Reimplemented in SoFontStyle.

References doAction().

void SoFont::pick (SoPickAction * action) [virtual]

Action method for SoPickAction. 🎯

Does common processing for SoPickAction action instances.

Reimplemented from SoNode.

Reimplemented in SoFontStyle.

References doAction().

void SoFont::getPrimitiveCount (SoGetPrimitiveCountAction * action) [virtual]

Action method for the SoGetPrimitiveCountAction. 🔢

Calculates the number of triangle, line segment and point primitives for the node and adds these to the counters of the action.

Nodes influencing how geometry nodes calculates their primitive count also overrides this method to change the relevant state variables.

Reimplemented from SoNode.

Reimplemented in SoFontStyle.

References doAction().

💖 Member Data Documentation 💖

Okay bestie, last stretch, we're in the data members now and honestly this is the good stuff. Two fields. Two. And they run the whole vibe of your text. Let's go. ✨

---

🌸 SoSFName SoFont::name 🌸

This one is literally just the name of the font, fr fr.

But — and here's where it gets spicy — which font names are even available is super system dependent. Not just like "are you on a UNIX/Linux system or Microsoft Windows or whatever", no no. It also depends on which fonts and which font types (like TrueType, iykyk) are actually installed on that particular user's system. Every user's machine is its own little ecosystem. 🦋

Now breathe, bestie, because there's a safety net: all font rendering nodes have a built-in fallback font to use. So even if Coin can't find a font of the specified type on the system, the text should still be rendered somehow. She always shows up. 💅

In summation (yes we're being fancy now): consider this node type and this particular field as a hint to the font rendering engines of Coin. Do not base your models on a particular font being available. Do not. Put it down. It's giving unreliable narrator. 🙈

Referenced by doAction(), SoFontStyle::doAction(), SoFontStyle::getFontName(), and SoFont().

---

⭐ SoSFFloat SoFont::size ⭐

Size of the font. Defaults to 10.0.

And the meaning of that number is not one-size-fits-all, so listen up:

• For 2D rendered bitmap fonts (like for SoText2), this value is the height of a character in screen pixels.
• For 3D text, this value is the world-space coordinates height of a character in the current units setting — go peek at the documentation for the SoUnits node for that one. 👑

Referenced by doAction(), SoFontStyle::doAction(), and SoFont().

---

👑 Author 👑

Generated automatically by Doxygen for Coin from the source code. Not a human, just a robot doing its little job. Slay, Doxygen. 🎀

---

And that's the whole page, bestie!! You made it to the end, which is genuinely iconic of you. This was Coin, Version 2.5.0, serving the SoFont(3) manual page energy. Go render something gorgeous with it. Periodt. 💜🌈✨