Character set generator code

Forum 2005-2010 (read only) Software Syntax & Programs
1

I've come up with a method for generating ASCII character sets for bit-mapped displays using a combination of Excel and a perl script.

The character set is edited "graphically" in Excel allowing you to see what the characters will look like and the perl script converts the Excel data to C source code which can be included in an Arduino sketch.

The characters are nominally 5x7 pixels in size and the C source code implements the character set as a continuous array in program memory with each consecutive character at a 5-byte offset.

The Excel spreadsheet and perl scripts have been tested on both OS X and Windows. The perl script but should work with Linux too but I'm not sure if the spreadsheet will work with OpenOffice.

More information and a link to download the perl script and Excel file can be found here: http://expat.dyndns.org/arduino/character-set-generator/

Enjoy!

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Thanks for sharing.

You may be interested in a free java application that converts existing fonts into a header file that stores data in arduino progmem. The software is called FontCreator2. The Graphic LCD library here is an example of how it can be used.