CreateFont function

Namespace: WinGDI

Header: wingdi.h

Synopsis

HFONT CreateFont(
    int nHeight,
    int nWidth,
    int nEscapement,
    int nOrientation,
    int fnWeight,
    DWORD fdwItalic,
    DWORD fdwUnderline,
    DWORD fdwStrikeOut,
    DWORD fdwCharSet,
    DWORD fdwOutputPrecision,
    DWORD fdwClipPrecision,
    DWORD fdwQuality,
    DWORD fdwPitchAndFamily,
    LPCTSTR lpszFace
);

Parameters

Parameter	Description
`nHeight`	Height of characters, in logical units.
`nWidth`	Average character width, in logical units.
`nEscapement`	Angle of escapement (in tenths of degrees).
`nOrientation`	Base-line orientation angle (in tenths of degrees).
`fnWeight`	Font weight (e.g., `FW_NORMAL`, `FW_BOLD`).
`fdwItalic`	Italic flag (TRUE/FALSE).
`fdwUnderline`	Underline flag (TRUE/FALSE).
`fdwStrikeOut`	Strikeout flag (TRUE/FALSE).
`fdwCharSet`	Character set identifier (e.g., `DEFAULT_CHARSET`).
`fdwOutputPrecision`	Output precision (e.g., `OUT_DEFAULT_PRECIS`).
`fdwClipPrecision`	Clipping precision (e.g., `CLIP_DEFAULT_PRECIS`).
`fdwQuality`	Output quality (e.g., `DEFAULT_QUALITY`).
`fdwPitchAndFamily`	Pitch and family (e.g., `DEFAULT_PITCH \| FF_DONTCARE`).
`lpszFace`	Typeface name (e.g., `"Arial"`).

Return Value

If the function succeeds, the return value is a handle to the created font (HFONT). If it fails, the return value is NULL. Use GetLastError for extended error information.

Remarks

The created font can be selected into a device context (DC) with SelectObject.
The nHeight parameter can be a negative value to specify the character height in logical units based on the character cell. A positive value specifies the height of the character's cell.
Consider using CreateFontIndirect for more complex font definitions.
All string parameters are Unicode if UNICODE is defined; otherwise they are ANSI.

Example

#include <windows.h>
#include <stdio.h>

int WINAPI WinMain(HINSTANCE hInst, HINSTANCE hPrev, LPSTR lpCmd, int nShow) {
    HWND hwnd = GetConsoleWindow();
    HDC hdc = GetDC(hwnd);

    HFONT hFont = CreateFont(
        -12,               // nHeight
        0,                 // nWidth
        0,                 // nEscapement
        0,                 // nOrientation
        FW_BOLD,           // fnWeight
        FALSE,             // fdwItalic
        FALSE,             // fdwUnderline
        FALSE,             // fdwStrikeOut
        DEFAULT_CHARSET,  // fdwCharSet
        OUT_DEFAULT_PRECIS,
        CLIP_DEFAULT_PRECIS,
        DEFAULT_QUALITY,
        DEFAULT_PITCH | FF_SWISS,
        TEXT("Arial")
    );

    if (!hFont) {
        MessageBox(hwnd, TEXT("Failed to create font."), TEXT("Error"), MB_ICONERROR);
        return 0;
    }

    HFONT hOld = (HFONT)SelectObject(hdc, hFont);
    TextOut(hdc, 10, 10, TEXT("Hello, GDI!"), 12);
    SelectObject(hdc, hOld);
    DeleteObject(hFont);
    ReleaseDC(hwnd, hdc);
    return 0;
}