notes on TeXLive and Truetype fonts

notes on TeXLive and Truetype fonts

[Bill McClain]

I've added new material to my help page:

    http://home.salamander.com/~wmcclain/context-help.html

(1) I've switched to TeXLive and adjusted the installation section
accordingly.

(2) I've added a section on installing Truetype fonts using ttf2tfm. 
-Bill
-- 
Sattre Press                            Curiosities of the Sky
http://sattre-press.com/                    by Garrett Serviss
info@sattre-press.com            http://csky.sattre-press.com/ 

Re: notes on TeXLive and Truetype fonts

[Bruce D'Arcus]

On Wednesday, April 9, 2003, at 03:57  PM, Bill McClain wrote:

> (2) I've added a section on installing Truetype fonts using ttf2tfm.

I'd recommend ttf2tex for installing ttf fonts.   It's a Bash script 
that uses ttf2tfm, but does everything for you but create the ConTeXt 
typescript(s).

Bruce

Re: notes on TeXLive and Truetype fonts

[Bill McClain]

On Wed, 9 Apr 2003 16:09:53 -0400
"Bruce D'Arcus" <bdarcus@fastmail.fm> wrote:

> I'd recommend ttf2tex for installing ttf fonts.   It's a Bash script 
> that uses ttf2tfm, but does everything for you but create the ConTeXt 
> typescript(s).

I wasn't aware of that! It looks pretty good, except that the font files
have to reworked into the Berry naming scheme. I've been ignoring
8-character name requirements and am still alive. I don't know why this
convention is still used in the TeX world. Even MS has supprted long
file names for years now.

-Bill
-- 
Sattre Press                            Curiosities of the Sky
http://sattre-press.com/                    by Garrett Serviss
info@sattre-press.com            http://csky.sattre-press.com/ 

Re: notes on TeXLive and Truetype fonts

[Bruce D'Arcus]

On Wednesday, April 9, 2003, at 04:36  PM, Bill McClain wrote:

> I wasn't aware of that! It looks pretty good, except that the font 
> files
> have to reworked into the Berry naming scheme. I've been ignoring
> 8-character name requirements and am still alive. I don't know why this
> convention is still used in the TeX world. Even MS has supprted long
> file names for years now.

Yeah, the author of the script (Philipp Lehman) was involved in a 
discussion on the TeX fonts list about creating a next-generation font 
naming/installation scheme that would fix these issues.  The tricky 
thing is how you tell the installer to map the font names to TeX 
constructs, which isn't so easy (texfont certainly doesn't do that).

In the case of ttf2tex, you rename the files so that it can create the 
LaTeX .fd files.  In theory, then, it could be extended to auto-create 
ConTeXt typescripts too.

Bruce

Re: notes on TeXLive and Truetype fonts

[Jens-Uwe Morawski]

On Wed, 9 Apr 2003 17:04:48 -0400
"Bruce D'Arcus" <bdarcus@fastmail.fm> wrote:

> 
> On Wednesday, April 9, 2003, at 04:36  PM, Bill McClain wrote:
> 
> > I wasn't aware of that! It looks pretty good, except that the font 
> > files
> > have to reworked into the Berry naming scheme. I've been ignoring
> > 8-character name requirements and am still alive. I don't know why this
> > convention is still used in the TeX world. Even MS has supprted long
> > file names for years now.
> 
> Yeah, the author of the script (Philipp Lehman) was involved in a 
> discussion on the TeX fonts list about creating a next-generation font 
> naming/installation scheme that would fix these issues.

The main problems of the Karl-Berry-scheme are the keys for the
supplier and the font-name. All other keys of the scheme are IMO
ok and useful. Therefore i use for fonts that have no keys in
the fontname files (TeXLive/texmf/doc/fontname/fontname.pdf)
long names for supplier and font-name.

For example my last installed font was Scriptina by HardcoverMedia.
I renamed the font file to
 hardcovermedia-scriptina-r8a.pfb|afm
and installed it with the following fontinst driver:
%%%%
\input fontinst.sty

\substitutesilent{bx}{b}
\substitutesilent{b}{m}

\substitutesilent{sc}{n}
\substitutesilent{sl}{n}
\substitutesilent{it}{n}


\transformfont%
  {hardcovermedia-scriptina-r8r}
  {\reencodefont{8r}{\fromafm{hardcovermedia-scriptina-r8a}}}

\installfonts
\installfamily{T1}{hardcovermedia-scriptina}{}

\installfont%
    {hardcovermedia-scriptina-r8t}
    {hardcovermedia-scriptina-r8r,latin}
    {t1}
    {T1}
    {hardcovermedia-scriptina}
    {m}
    {n}
    {}

\endinstallfonts
\bye
%%%

in LaTeX I now can say
\fontfamily{hardcovermedia-scriptina}\selectfont
in order to get this font; in ConTeXt i use an appropriate typescript
and \definetypeface.

You can even use fontinst for TTFs. You only need to extract an AFM
using ttf2afm. The above mentioned Philipp Lehman has written some
really nice tutorials about using fontinst
(CTAN:info/Type1fonts/fontinstallationguide.pdf) that demonstrate
the power of fontinst, esp for expert fonts.

> In the case of ttf2tex, you rename the files so that it can create the 
> LaTeX .fd files.  In theory, then, it could be extended to auto-create 
> ConTeXt typescripts too.

The problem is, for example, how can one declare a bold-italic small-caps
font in ConTeXT. AFAIK i can define
\definefontsynonym[SerifBoldItalicCaps][AFont-BoldItalicCaps]

but there seems no standard way to access it (\bfitsc or {\bf{\it{\sc...}}})
ConTeXt lacks a complete standard set of font attributes and how they
have to be used. LaTeX has them defined, thus it is easier to create
FDs than typescript. Even how to name typescript-files is nowhere defined.

Jens

Re: notes on TeXLive and Truetype fonts

[Adam Lindsay]

Jens-Uwe Morawski said this at Thu, 10 Apr 2003 00:10:09 +0200:

>The problem is, for example, how can one declare a bold-italic small-caps
>font in ConTeXT. AFAIK i can define
>\definefontsynonym[SerifBoldItalicCaps][AFont-BoldItalicCaps]
>
>but there seems no standard way to access it (\bfitsc or {\bf{\it{\sc...}}})
>ConTeXt lacks a complete standard set of font attributes and how they
>have to be used. LaTeX has them defined, thus it is easier to create
>FDs than typescript. Even how to name typescript-files is nowhere defined.

I was dealing with the problem of a bold italic smallcaps font this
weekend, and I was running into some sort of limits within ConTeXt in
terms of the number of \tfa \tfb \sc font strategies (is that the right
term?) that I could define without running out of room.

I suspect it's *possible* to have a complete set of font attributes, but
there are some architectural and practical limits at the moment.

Anyone who can comment further?

adam
-- 
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
 Adam T. Lindsay                      atl@comp.lancs.ac.uk
 Computing Dept, Lancaster University   +44(0)1524/594.537
 Lancaster, LA1 4YR, UK             Fax:+44(0)1524/593.608
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Re: notes on TeXLive and Truetype fonts

[Adam Lindsay]

Jens-Uwe Morawski said this at Thu, 10 Apr 2003 00:10:09 +0200:

>
>The problem is, for example, how can one declare a bold-italic small-caps
>font in ConTeXT. AFAIK i can define
>\definefontsynonym[SerifBoldItalicCaps][AFont-BoldItalicCaps]
>
>but there seems no standard way to access it (\bfitsc or {\bf{\it{\sc...}}})
>ConTeXt lacks a complete standard set of font attributes and how they
>have to be used. LaTeX has them defined, thus it is easier to create
>FDs than typescript. Even how to name typescript-files is nowhere defined.

Clearly you're asking for a standard way. I can't provide that--only Hans
can--but I can suggest a solution that I have been and still am working
on. I'm defining some new fontstyles for each of sans and serif, CapsSans
(cs) and RomanCaps (rc). The basic definitions look something like:

\starttypescript [serif] [romancaps] [size]
 \definebodyfont
  [17.3pt,16pt,14.4pt,13pt,12pt,11pt,10pt,9pt,8pt,7pt,6pt,5pt,4pt][rc]
  [tf=SerifCaps sa 1,
  tfa=SerifCaps sa \magfactor1,
  tfb=SerifCaps sa \magfactor2,
  tfc=SerifCaps sa \magfactor3,
  tfd=SerifCaps sa \magfactor4,
   bf=SerifCapsBold sa 1,
  bfa=SerifCapsBold sa \magfactor1,
  bfb=SerifCapsBold sa \magfactor2,
  bfc=SerifCapsBold sa \magfactor3,
  bfd=SerifCapsBold sa \magfactor4,
   it=SerifCapsItalic sa 1,
  ita=SerifCapsItalic sa \magfactor1,
  itb=SerifCapsItalic sa \magfactor2,
  itc=SerifCapsItalic sa \magfactor3,
  itd=SerifCapsItalic sa \magfactor4,
   bi=SerifCapsBoldItalic sa 1,
  bia=SerifCapsBoldItalic sa \magfactor1,
  bib=SerifCapsBoldItalic sa \magfactor2,
  bic=SerifCapsBoldItalic sa \magfactor3,
  bid=SerifCapsBoldItalic sa \magfactor4]
\stoptypescript

\starttypescript [sans] [sanscaps] [size]
\definebodyfont
  [17.3pt,16pt,14.4pt,13pt,12pt,11pt,10pt,9pt,8pt,7pt,6pt,5pt,4pt][cs]
  [tf=SansCaps sa 1,
  tfa=SansCaps sa \magfactor1,
%%  ...
  bid=SansCapsBoldItalic sa \magfactor4]
\stoptypescript


If you create font synonyms for each of the three extra symbolic names
for each font, and use the above typescripts, then you can call the Small
Caps font directly with a style switch (\rc\bi), with a style switch, but
keeping the alternative (\switchstyleonly\cs), or with the following
\SmCap macro, which tries to be a little cleverer about the available
alternatives. I haven't worked the ungrouped \kap command into it,
because I'm not sure how.

\def\SSSmCap{ss}         \def\SSmCap{cs} % Don't know how else to compare.
\def\SmCap
 {\ifx\fontstyle\SSSmCap\doifdefinedelse{cs}
      {\switchstyleonly[cs]}{\sc}\else
  \ifx\fontstyle\SSmCap        \else%   Do nothing: we're already there
                        \doifdefinedelse{rc}
      {\switchstyleonly[rc]}{\sc}\fi\fi}
\let\OldStyle\SmCap


[be gentle... it's my first command with lower-level macros]

I'm hoping to write this up as a "My Way" before too long, but I wanted
to get this idea out there for some feedback. As my recent posts suggest,
it requires some extra font memory.

hope that's of some use,
adam

-- 
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
 Adam T. Lindsay                      atl@comp.lancs.ac.uk
 Computing Dept, Lancaster University   +44(0)1524/594.537
 Lancaster, LA1 4YR, UK             Fax:+44(0)1524/593.608
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Re: notes on TeXLive and Truetype fonts

[Jens-Uwe Morawski]

On Wed, 9 Apr 2003 15:36:04 -0500
Bill McClain <wmcclain@salamander.com> wrote:

> On Wed, 9 Apr 2003 16:09:53 -0400
> "Bruce D'Arcus" <bdarcus@fastmail.fm> wrote:
> 
> > I'd recommend ttf2tex for installing ttf fonts.   It's a Bash script 
> > that uses ttf2tfm, but does everything for you but create the ConTeXt 
> > typescript(s).
> 
> I wasn't aware of that! It looks pretty good, except that the font files
> have to reworked into the Berry naming scheme. I've been ignoring
> 8-character name requirements and am still alive. I don't know why this
> convention is still used in the TeX world. Even MS has supprted long
> file names for years now.

The CD-Rom file system ISO9660 is limited (without using system specific
extensions) to 8.3 file names.

Jens

Re: notes on TeXLive and Truetype fonts

[Bill McClain]

On Wed, 9 Apr 2003 23:27:38 +0200
Jens-Uwe Morawski <morawski@gmx.net> wrote:

> The CD-Rom file system ISO9660 is limited (without using system
> specific extensions) to 8.3 file names.

MS-DOS was the last system I knew of unable to read Rock Ridge
extentions. Are there any others in current use?

-Bill
-- 
Sattre Press                                The King in Yellow
http://sattre-press.com/                 by Robert W. Chambers
info@sattre-press.com             http://kiy.sattre-press.com/