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Title:	Unicode tip #1 - don't forget the font
Author:	Bob Swart
Posted:	11/22/2008 11:58:32 AM (GMT+1)
Content:	Delphi 2009 adds Unicode support to our developer toolbox, which enables us to express written languages but also Klingon or musical notes. However, not all fonts support the special Unicode characters (something to keep in mind when migrating legacy applications from ANSI to Unicode Strings). When a Unicode character is not supported by the font, you'll get a square. Note that this is different from a ? that you get when converting a Unicode character to an ANSI character (in which case information has been lost). A square does not indicate lost information, but merely a missing font glyph for the specified code point. Klingon (U+F8D0 - U+F8FF) is supported by the shareware Code2000 font, whereas musical notes like the G Clef (𝄞) are supported by the freeware Code2001 font for example. This tip is the first in a series of Unicode tips taken from my Delphi 2009 Development Essentials book available shortly on Lulu.com.
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4 Comments

Author Posted Comments
Olaf Monien 08/11/26 20:24:22 You might mention that code points beyond the 16-Bit barrier (which are represented by surrogate pairs in UTF-16 that is), won't display in "normal" VCL controls - on XP System. Only TRichEdit works here. On Vista all controls work fine.
Louis Kessler 08/12/23 01:01:16 Bob: What Unicode font would you recommend to be the default in the Delphi 2009 Unicode application I write that most people would have?
Fernando 09/12/08 15:28:55 Thanks for the Klingon sample, but I'd rather have samples for Romulan instead...
Spriditis 10/02/14 03:43:18 Correction for Olaf Monien: - testing on Delphi 2010 (Win XP) - TMemo and TEdit works fine (Code2001 font + $D834 $DD1E). But RichEdit still shows just squares.

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Author	Posted	Comments
Olaf Monien	08/11/26 20:24:22	You might mention that code points beyond the 16-Bit barrier (which are represented by surrogate pairs in UTF-16 that is), won't display in "normal" VCL controls - on XP System. Only TRichEdit works here. On Vista all controls work fine.
Louis Kessler	08/12/23 01:01:16	Bob: What Unicode font would you recommend to be the default in the Delphi 2009 Unicode application I write that most people would have?
Fernando	09/12/08 15:28:55	Thanks for the Klingon sample, but I'd rather have samples for Romulan instead...
Spriditis	10/02/14 03:43:18	Correction for Olaf Monien: - testing on Delphi 2010 (Win XP) - TMemo and TEdit works fine (Code2001 font + $D834 $DD1E). But RichEdit still shows just squares.