Knowledge Base

Drawings commonly contain text STYLE definitions based on AutoCAD font/shape files which carry a .shx extension. Examples include TXT.SHX, ROMANS.SHX, and ITALIC.SHX. IntelliCAD does not redistribute these files, and by default is not configured to have any access to them. Instead, the distribution includes IntelliCAD versions of many of the most common font/shape files in subfolder Support/Fonts, the names of which are prefixed with the characters ic-. In addition, a FONTMAP file entitled icad.fmp is configured by default. This automatically maps the names of the most common AutoCAD font/shape files to the ic- equivalents at run time, without disturbing the STYLE definitions which may already reside in the drawing.
Upon opening a drawing, all STYLE definitions are subjected to the entries in the configured icad.fmp to ascertain an alternative font definition. If found and the font/shape file is available, it will be used as the basis for displaying text having that style. If not, the default font indicated by the FONTALT system variable will be used if the font/shape file indicated by a STYLE entry is unavailable. In either case, IntelliCAD will issue a Substituting font [.shx it can find] for font [.shx it cannot find] for each substitution.
To redirect IntelliCAD to use the original AutoCAD .shx font definition files, they must be accessible and the path(s) to them must be included in the Location entry for Fonts on the Paths/Files tab of the IntelliCAD Preferences dialog. You must also remove the entries in icad.fmp which will cause STYLES which use them to be substituted, and/or redirect IntelliCAD to an alternative font map file without such entries using either the FONTMAP command or by changing the "Font mapping" entry in the bottom window of the Paths/Files tab of the Preferences dialog. For further information on FONTMAP, FONTALT, and font mapping files, please consult the IntelliCAD documentation.