The match value is a number that identifies a physical font. It is allocated to the font when the font is loaded. If the match value is less than 0, the font is a device font; and, if the match value is greater than 0, the font is a generic font.

A device font is exclusive to the device with which it is associated, and its match number is guaranteed to be unique only within the device driver. If an application prints on a different printer, the application cannot guarantee that the font will be identical just by specifying the match value. A generic font is available on more than one device. The PM-supplied fonts, for example, are generic fonts. Printer fonts always are device fonts, but you also can and should use generic fonts with printers.

You can choose whether or not to use the match value to specify the font when calling GpiCreateLogFont. Specifying the match value is easier but less flexible than the alternative, which is to specify the font name and outline characteristics. For an image font, the alternative is to specify the maximum baseline extent and average character width of the required font.