Use resource font directly in VB.net/C#

Question

How to use resource font directly without saving font in local file system for standalone application[desktop application] in VB.net/C#?

Answer 1

Are you talking about Packaging fonts with application. if Yes. check out this: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms753303.aspx

Answer 2

That's possible, you'll need to use the PrivateFontCollection.AddMemoryFont() method. For example, I added a font file named "test.ttf" as a resource and used it like this:

using System.Drawing.Text;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
...
public partial class Form1 : Form {
    private static PrivateFontCollection myFonts;
    private static IntPtr fontBuffer;
    public Form1() {
        InitializeComponent();
        if (myFonts == null) {
            myFonts = new PrivateFontCollection();
            byte[] font = Properties.Resources.test;
            fontBuffer = Marshal.AllocCoTaskMem(font.Length);
            Marshal.Copy(font, 0, fontBuffer, font.Length);
            myFonts.AddMemoryFont(fontBuffer, font.Length);
        }
    }
    protected override void OnPaint(PaintEventArgs e) {
        FontFamily fam = myFonts.Families[0];
        using (Font fnt = new Font(fam, 16)) {
            TextRenderer.DrawText(e.Graphics, "Private font", fnt, Point.Empty, Color.Black);
            //e.Graphics.DrawString("Private font", fnt, Brushes.Black, 0, 0);
        }
    }
}

The memory management is a tricky btw, the MSDN docs say nothing about how long the IntPtr should remain valid. I just assumed the font pointer needed to be valid for the life of the app.