What fonts can be used commercially, and what does it mean
free for personal use
shareware
donationware....??

Fonts you asked for permission and got permission from the creator to use it commercially, you may use commercially.

Free for personnal use : free if you don't use in you profession or for business (but each author as hes hown definition)
Shareware mean : you can try it but if you use it, you must pay it.
Donationware : it is the same must the payement is to a caritative organisation.

tamara0kiss, when fonts have terms or conditions attached to how they're used, that information is almost always included in a 'read me' document contained in the archive with the font files, or sometimes in the header information of the font, where it can be seen when the font is opened in preview.

'Free for personal use' usually means that a specified dollar amount must be paid as a licensing fee to the font designer or foundry, if you want to use it for a purpose in which you will earn money as a direct result of the use of the font. For example, using the font to design business cards, CD covers, T-shirts, etc, would be commercial use. Using the font for a school assignment would be personal use.

In many cases, the 'FFPU' version of the font may contain fewer character glyphs than the version sold with a commercial use license. In these cases, the 'FFPU' version is a 'demo', (ie: demonstration version), used as an advertisement for the 'full' version for which the purchase of a commercial use license is required.

'Shareware' fonts generally have a lower licensing fee, and they are the ones most likely to contain the commercial use terms within the font header. In most, but not all cases, shareware fonts are free for personal use, for things like a 'lost cat' poster, or other circumstances where you are not intending to make money by using the specific font in question.

'Donationware' fonts are free to use for personal or commercial use, but the designer requests that a sum of money, in an amount chosen by the user, be voluntarily paid to the designer him/herself, or to an entity suggested by the font author, (usually a charitable or non profit organization that the font author endorses). For example, User A chooses to donate 2 Euros. User B, a large corporation, chooses to donate $100 Euros. User C is a student with very little money, and elects to make no donation.

ok,thanks guys....