How to create single line text using MillWrite V8

Attachment 389937
Hi all,
since I own a pen plotter I'm always searching fonts for it. Those fonts you have either to buy or or you have to buy pretty expensive CAM software to create them.
Except some Hershey fonts for Inkscape I figured out a solution to create real single line fonts from every ttf font you have installed in Windows.

Important thing first :

The demo version of MillWrite will do that, and it's free.

You don't have to purchase MillWrite if all you want to do is make CAD drawings, or read a DXF drawing, or make a DXF drawing. The MillWrite demo is limited in regards to its production of CNC programs, but it will work as a CAD program, and it will let you read and write DXF files, fonts, and images, and it will play audio and video files

Step #1 : Lets start MillWrite V8, click on the tab named 'Engraving list' and type your text. Set the desired height of the text on the right and choose the Windows font you'd like to use.

Step #2 : Now click on the tab named 'Drawing' you'll see your text in a dashed rectangle frame showing your text is one object.

Step #3 : Hover the mouse over the frame until the right side of the screen changes to two tabs offering some settings. Move the mouse quickly to the right side and left click on the 'Tool' tab.
In the line beside the word 'Usage' click into the drop-down menu and left click 'Drawing aid'.
This will prevent MillWrite from creating G-Code of your text.

Step #4 : With your text in the frame visible left click on the right side on the button ' Select from all commands '.
A list will pop up showing all commands you can use within MillWrite. Now just start typing ' create poly '. Since MillWrite knows only one command starting with that words you will see a command ' Create polyline along center ' in a dashed rectangle. Left click in that line.
The command list disappears and the screen will only show your text.
On the top of the screen you'll see a hint that you must click the shape you want to convert to a single line along the center of that shape.
Move the mouse pointer over the dashed rectangle around your text and left click on it.
MillWrite starts now calculating the center lines of each letter one by one. Depending on the length of your text this might take some minutes.

Step #5 : When calculation is finished you see the center lines in different colors within the letters. Different colors because MillWrite knows the ASCII code of each letter and puts the center lines on the appropriate layer of each letter. And coz each layer has its own color the single lines have different colors, too.

Step #6 : Now to see only the single lines and not the ttf outlines you can turn the layer 0 which holds the ttf font to invisible. Just click on the layer button above the drawing area, uncheck layer 0 and click OK.

Step7 : Final work -> select the Setup tab and there the NC Format if not already shown by default.
Choose a post processor according to your control software and then click the NV program tab.
You'll see the Gcode for your lines and now you can save the Gcode by clicking Copy to USB, floppy, network on the right.
You also can see a backplot of the Gcode by clicking Show tool path.

Attached you'll see some screenshots of the whole procedure.

Thanks for reading that long text.

Richard