BitmapFont

Introduction

BitmapFont is the runtime representation of a .fnt file and its accompanying textures (usually loaded from .png). A BitmapFont includes an array of BitmapCharacterInfo, where each represents one character in the font. A BitmapFont also includes an array of Texture2Ds, each of which represents one page from the exported .pngs.

Code Example: Loading a BitmapFont From File

Before loading the files, make sure that you have added them to your project:

1. Create a .fnt and associated .png using Gum, Bitmap Font Generator, or Hiero

2. Save the files to a folder in your game's Content folder. For example, save the files to /Content/Fonts

3. Add the files to Visual Studio and mark both files as Copy if Newer

Your files should be part of your Visual Studio project.

Font in Visual Studio project marked as Copy if newer

Once the file has been added to the project, create a BitmapFont instance using the following code:

var bitmapFont = new BitmapFont("Fonts/Font32Batang.fnt");

var text = new TextRuntime();
text.AddToRoot();
text.BitmapFont = bitmapFont;
text.Text = "Hello I am a Text instance";

Measuring Text

The BitmapFont class is ultimately responsible for measuring text. Although the TextRuntime instance does provide many functions for measurement and positioning, the BitmapFont class can give more detailed information if necessary.

The following properties provide information about the font:

Property	Details
BaselineY	Returns the number of pixels from the top of a line to the baseline.
Characters	Provides information about each individual character in the font.
DescenderHeight	The number of pixels from the baseline to the bottom of the line.
LineHeightInPixels	Returns the number of pixels from the top of a line to the bottom, including ascenders and descenders.