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From: Kai-Martin Knaak <kmk AT familieknaak DOT de>
Subject: Re: [geda-user] [pcb] Font Characters Stored in pcb File?
Date: Wed, 27 Jul 2016 03:45:48 +0200
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Chad Parker wrote:

> I noticed that when I save a brand new pcb file (File->New,
> File->Save As...) with nothing in it, just a completely empty file,
> that the file was actually 30k. When I looked at it, I saw that
> there appears to be the definition for the default font stored in
> the file.
>
> I was just curious about why this is? What were the considerations
> that factored into this design decision? I apologize if I missed
> this somewhere in the docs.
> 
IMHO, the intention is to make sure layouts  stay exactly the same if 
the pcb it is opened with a different version of pcb. This different 
(future) version may be equipped with a different default font. 

A change of fonts is potentially disruptive as text can be placed in 
copper. E.g. a wider font may cause shorts with traces. However, 
because the font actually used is embedded in the file, all copper 
will come out as intended.

That said, when I edit pcb files manually, I find the 30 kB font 
section slightly awkward, too. A solution to achieve a more "clean" 
layout file while still maintaining reliability would be to declare 
the current default font in pcb source to be "static". Developers 
would vow to never change it in future versions of pcb. This is less 
ludicrous than it sounds. There are many more aspects that are never 
to be changed if we want to make sure that old designs still render 
the same with future versions of pcb.

---<)kaimartin(>---