How to Make a Neoboard Font

Do you enjoy using shiny premade Neoboard fonts, but want to add a touch of originality all of your own? Then it's time to learn all about making FONTS!

Your Neoboard font and signature (along with your avatar and NeoTitle) can be edited from the Neoboard Preferences page.

The Basics of a Font

A "font" is a special type of coding you can enter that will allow you to have a customized look to your posts on the Neoboards. Before starting to make your own font, you should know about the two different parts of the code.

The pen is mighter than... oh, you know.

Formatting Code

Formatting code alters the layout of your text. Two examples of formatting code include [center] and [br] tags. The [center] tag will center all of your text while the [br] tag will put the text before and after it on separate lines.

Unfortunately, there are no codes to right align text to the right. (Text is aligned left by default.) You can get around this by adding in a bunch of characters before the word or phrase you want on the right, and making those characters white or another very light colour to look "invisible."

Appearance Code

Appearance code alters how your text looks. It can make parts bold, italicized, underlined, a different typeface, or even a different colour. To change these attributes, there are some parts of code that you will need to know first. The [b] tag will make text bolded, the [i] will make text italicized, the [u] tag will make text underlined.

The [font] Tag

Now, technically the [font] tag should fall under the "appearance" code category, but it is a little confusing, so this section gets a paragraph all to itself. In short, the [font] tag will edit your text's typeface, colour, and size. However, all of these bits of code are listed inside of the [font] tag, and don't even need to be separated. The f, c, and s codes do not need to be separated. This is a good thing, because it will save you space later on when you want to add text. But now take a look at how the bits of code in the [font] tag really work. The f code will change your text's typeface, the c code will change your text's colour, and the s code will change your text's size. So, an example of a font could look something like this:

An example of a Neoboard font.

To create this font, the NeoHTML code you would need is:

[center]»[fonts=3f=eurostile]neoHTML[/font]«[br][br][fontf=georgias=3c=#3165CE][b]Crυεl ხy Natυrε?[/b][/font][

The NeoSignature code you would need is:

][fontc=#4F7F4Cs=1f=georgia][br][i]Come now, that is quite the accusation.[/i][/font][/center]

Fonts are fun!
As you can see, the code may look jumbled when it isn't separated, but it still functions the same way. It's easy!

Finding Special Characters

Finding those spiff-tastic special characters to use in your font can be a bit of a hassle if you don't know where to find them on your computer. But, using a few simple steps, you can easily locate the treasure trove of fancy letters.

For Windows Users:

Start by clicking "Start" in the bottom left-hand corner of your desktop
Hover over "All Programs" or "Programs"
Hover over "Accessories"
Hover over "System Tools"
Click "Character Map"
Feel free to roll around in the treasure trove of fancy letters

For Mac Users:

Click on "Edit" in your menu bar (regardless of program)
Click on "Special Characters"
Alternatively, press Command-Option-T
Feel free to relish in the glory of the treasure trove of fancy letters

Using BBCode

Some of you might be familiar with BBCode, or Bulletin Board Code. (For those of you who aren't, this is the type of code the Neoboards use to make fonts). Unfortunately, you can't use all BBCode tags on the Neoboards. However, the tags that you can use are as follows:

Code	Result
[b][/b]	This makes all text within the tags bolded.
[i][/i]	This makes all text within the tags italicized.
[u][/u]	This makes all text within the tags underlined.
[font][/font]	This will enable you to edit the colour, size, and face of the font within the tags.
[quote][/quote]	This makes the text inside of the tags appear in box. This is used when you wish to quote someone on the Neoboards.
[sup][/sup]	This makes all text inside of the tags change into superscript text. (Superscript text is like the 'st' in 1^st, it's above the normal text).
[sub][/sub]	This makes all text inside of the tags change into subscript text. (Subscript text is like the '2' in H₂O, it's below the normal text).
[br]	This tag does not have an end tag, and simply places a space in your code.
[p]	This tag also lacks an end tag, and creates a new paragraph of text in your post on the Neoboards.

Some Parting Information

Hold it! We're not done quite yet. There are some things you'll need to know before you start creating your own fonts.

Coding Tips

First, you will always need to put an equals sign after the f, c, and s codes.
Also, you can use both words and codes to dictate colour - words for the very basic colours (red, orange, blue), and codes for more specific shades. If you decide to go for those specific colours, you will need to find the hexadecimal code for your colour (e.g., #FF0000).
The two sections of the font code max out at 120 characters each. If you buy a Neoboard Pen, that goes up to 150 each.
When selecting a typeface for your text, keep in mind that only one-word fonts will work. As cool as Lucida Console is, it won't show up correctly on the Neoboards.
Remember to include "neoHTML" in your code where you want your posts to go.
ALWAYS save your code in a file on your computer. If something ever happens to your code, you might need a backup.

Fashion Advice

To remove that awful signature line, all you need to do is put an opening bracket ([) at the end of your neoHTML line, and a closing bracket (]) at the beginning of your signature line.
As amazing as some fonts are, you should stick to the more common fonts listed below. This ensures you don't use a font another user might not be able to see or blind anyone with a glaring font.
- Arial
- Georgia
- Tahoma/Geneva
- Verdana
Font size ranges from size 1 all the way up to size 4
Adding some special characters is a good way to spice up your font, but having too many can crowd up your font.
Finally, try to match your colours with your preferred avatar. You might really love green and silver, but those may not go well with the "I Taunt the Pant Devil" avatar.