BytaFont 2.4 is now available on ModMyi repository.
In addition to the current way of changing fonts, let’s call it “swap” mode, you can now use the “tweak” mode.
While the swap mode replaces the system font files, the tweak mode extends parts of the system by using Substrate.
Pros and cons:- The swap mode is as simple as it seems, because it just replaces the system font files with properly ported fonts.
This of course means that you need properly ported fonts, which requires a big effort, but after that your device can be fully skinned, including all the apps running as root, like Cydia or iFile.
The swap mode also grants that there is no battery consumption at all, because after applying the font, BytaFont does not need to work in background: its simple task is done.
The swap mode is tied with fonts structure, so if that the structure change, the fonts need to be updated to properly work.
- The tweak mode does not need the same porting process of the swap mode, nonetheless only well done fonts will look really good: fonts with missing glyphs will be ugly to see, mixing the chosen font with the default.
Since this mode is based on a tweak, it needs to run all the time you use your device to hijack the native code to the custom implementation.
This mode is tied with native code implementation, so if the native code changes the tweak may not be compatible with a new iOS and it would be necessary to update the tweak to implement new hooks and it could be necessary to wait for a Substrate update; in the meanwhile you’ll be stuck with stock fonts.
Both modes can be considered safe:
- the swap mode checks the font names before applying a font, so the worst thing that can happen is that you see question marks on your device, and to fix this you just need to press a button to restore the original font or choose a properly ported font.
We can improve the swap mode to make a strict compatibility check, but since the fix is so easy we prefer spending our time in porting fonts. - the tweak mode can put your device in safe mode and you can disable it until an update is available
As you can see, both modes have pros and cons, so we would like you to be able to choose what you like most, because everyone has his own preferences and opinions: who dislikes changing system files and who doesn’t want to have anything to do with Substrate, who is happy to use a single clean font system wide and who wants to choose fancy fonts to use only here and there…
Please notice that the tweak mode is at the very beginning, a lot of improvements are planned. Any feedback is appreciated ;)
