RuneTorch - Font Manager

RuneTorch is a global font manager for World of Warcraft. It lets you change many of WoW's standard UI fonts from one place, including chat, tooltips, quest text, menus, nameplates, and other common interface text.

RuneTorch started as a Japanese readability addon. It now works as a broader font tool for players who want a cleaner, more readable, or more personal UI style.

What It Does

• Changes many standard WoW UI fonts with one selected font.
• Includes Japanese-capable fonts for hiragana, katakana, and kanji.
• Selects a Japanese-capable font by default on first launch.
• Includes Western font options for players who want a different visual style.
• Provides font scale and outline options.
• Registers bundled fonts through LibSharedMedia / SharedMedia for compatible addons.
• Supports custom font additions.

Included Font Direction

RuneTorch includes fonts for two main use cases:

• Japanese readability: fonts that can display Japanese text reliably.
• UI styling: Western display fonts for players who want a different look.

Japanese-capable fonts are important because many Western fonts do not include Japanese characters. Without a suitable fallback, Japanese text can appear as missing glyph boxes.

SharedMedia Support

RuneTorch registers its bundled fonts with LibSharedMedia-3.0. Compatible addons can then show RuneTorch fonts in their own font selection lists.

This is useful for addons such as nameplate, combat text, meter, and UI customization addons that support SharedMedia. RuneTorch does not force every addon to use its font; it makes the fonts available so you can choose them where supported.

Stability Notes for v1.7.8

Version 1.7.8 focuses on stability and addon compatibility.

Earlier builds experimented with applying fonts more aggressively to specific addon frames, including note and objective tracker displays. Based on user reports, RuneTorch now avoids that kind of deep per-addon runtime rewriting and focuses on broader, safer global font management.

This update also improves safety around:

• unavailable or invalid saved font entries
• font scale validation
• outline setting validation
• fallback behavior when a font cannot be applied

The goal is to keep RuneTorch reliable while still improving the overall UI font experience.

Custom Fonts

To add your own font:

1. Copy a .ttf or .otf file into the RuneTorch\Font\ folder.
2. Open CustomFonts.lua.
3. Add a line like this:

{ name = "Display Name", file = "filename.ttf" },

1. Type /reload in-game.

The font should then appear in RuneTorch's list.

Combat Number Limitation

WoW renders floating combat numbers in a separate world-space layer. This layer cannot be fully controlled by normal Lua addon font replacement.

If you need combat numbers to match your selected font, use one of these methods:

• Place a renamed copy of the font as DAMAGE.ttf in a Fonts folder at your WoW client root.
• If you use MSBT, Plater, or a similar addon, select the font directly inside that addon's settings when available.

Slash Command

Use either command to open RuneTorch:

/rt
/runetorch

Compatibility

• Retail / The War Within / Midnight
• Mists of Pandaria Classic
• Burning Crusade Anniversary
• Classic Era / Season of Discovery

Notes for Japanese Users / 日本語でのご利用について

RuneTorch は、もともと日本語環境での文字化けや読みにくさを改善するために作成したアドオンです。

初回起動時には日本語を表示できるフォントが自動で選ばれるため、追加のフォント導入なしで日本語テキストを読みやすくできます。

v1.7.8 では安定性を重視し、MRT や一部 Objective Tracker など、特定アドオンの内部表示に深く介入する処理を控える方針に変更しました。RuneTorch は、WoW 全体の標準的な UI フォント管理と、SharedMedia 対応アドオンで利用できるフォント提供を中心に動作します。

詳しい日本語説明は RuneTorch_Japanese_User_Guide.txt を参照してください。