"Use New Metrics" checkbox in text window
So I've been putting together drawtools (using macros) for the text labels on my city streets map. When I tried one out, the size was WAY off. I explored and found that previously created labels (which had been created by hand with the regular "text" command, not with a macro or drawtool) had the "Use New Metrics" checkbox checked. While my new labels (created with the macro in the drawtool) has this box not checked.
Some experimentation led me to find that the size was off by 5 points, e.g. if I placed down a word with the font height set to 30, with "Use New Metrics" checked, and then placed the same word down on the map but this time with the font height set to 25 and the box NOT checked, the two words would look to be exactly the same size on the map.
So what exactly does this setting do? Is it important? The CC3+ manual says only that it "enables enhanced text handling", and that text heights for TrueType fonts will be "more closely matched over a variety of typefaces." I'm gathering that basically means that if you're using multiple TrueType fonts with wildly different size characteristics outside CC3+, that having the New Metrics box checked will mean their sizes will be normalized somewhat within CC3+?
In my other main map (a large-scale country-wide map created in the Modern Political style), none of my text was created with the box checked. Nothing SEEMS amiss with any of that text, but I also don't use that many different fonts in that map (only 3 or 4).
Is it generally recommended to have this box checked or does it not matter much? I'm extremely curious about this!
Some experimentation led me to find that the size was off by 5 points, e.g. if I placed down a word with the font height set to 30, with "Use New Metrics" checked, and then placed the same word down on the map but this time with the font height set to 25 and the box NOT checked, the two words would look to be exactly the same size on the map.
So what exactly does this setting do? Is it important? The CC3+ manual says only that it "enables enhanced text handling", and that text heights for TrueType fonts will be "more closely matched over a variety of typefaces." I'm gathering that basically means that if you're using multiple TrueType fonts with wildly different size characteristics outside CC3+, that having the New Metrics box checked will mean their sizes will be normalized somewhat within CC3+?
In my other main map (a large-scale country-wide map created in the Modern Political style), none of my text was created with the box checked. Nothing SEEMS amiss with any of that text, but I also don't use that many different fonts in that map (only 3 or 4).
Is it generally recommended to have this box checked or does it not matter much? I'm extremely curious about this!
Comments
As far as I understand it, the option is to give you a bit more accurate control over the actual text size in your map, ensuring that if you have two different fonts in the map, the text size is still the about the same for both assuming the same text height, but the option isn't important in any way, leaving it off doesn't do any harm, but it may save you some experimenting to get the sizes as you want them.
(This option also misbehaves when you run CC3+ through wine under Linux, so having it off is preferable if you will be using a given map under both Windows and Linux)