ABL reads its font settings from an initialization (.ini) file or from the registry, depending on the values of the Registry Base Key (-basekey) and Initialization File (-ininame) startup parameters. The ABL default font is 8-point MS Sans Serif. The default font for a form (as created in Visual Studio) is 8.25-point Microsoft Sans Serif. In practice, these fonts are visually indistinguishable from each other. The main difference is in the font implementation—Microsoft Sans Serif is a Unicode-based TrueType font and MS Sans Serif is a raster (bitmapped) font and is limited to the Western character set.

If you want to use a font other than Sans Serif in an application that displays both forms and windows, you must set that font in your application initialization file or in the appropriate registry entry for OpenEdge windows, and you must also design your application forms with this font.