qgis - What are valid values for "data defined" labeling settings?

I'm using QGIS 1.8. I'd like to customize label features on an existing shapefile using the new label engine and it's "data defined settings" option. I'd like to know what the attribute table field types should be for each of the settings: All 7 font options, all 2 buffer options, and all 6 position options. Should they all be numeric fields, or some text, or both? I want to create these fields in the attribute table correctly so that I can map them to the label field settings. I can't find information on the proper field types anywhere. Thanks for your thoughts.