Re: testing XeTeX with ConTeXt

["Adam Lindsay" <atl@comp.lancs.ac.uk>]

[cc'd to list, because it'll be a common problem.]

Charles Doherty said this at Mon, 29 Nov 2004 15:01:59 +0000:

>Dear Adam,
>
>Thank you for implementing XeTeX in ConTeXt. I have followed your 
>instructions following a fresh install from Gerben to ensure everything 
>was up-to-date but I can't seem to generate cont-en.xfmt
>I give the console read-out below. I hope it is of some use:
>
>TeXExec 5.2.3 - ConTeXt / PRAGMA ADE 1997-2004
>
>
>        TeX hash binary : mktexlsr
>                comment : hashing may take a while ...
>mktexlsr: Updating /usr/local/teTeX/share/texmf.local/ls-R...
>mktexlsr: Updating /usr/local/teTeX/share/texmf.gwtex/ls-R...
>mktexlsr: Updating /usr/local/teTeX/share/texmf.tetex/ls-R...
>mktexlsr: Updating /usr/local/teTeX/share/texmf/ls-R...
>mktexlsr: Updating /var/tmp/texfonts/ls-R...
>mktexlsr: Done.
>xetex: unrecognized option `-translate-file=natural.tcx'

hi Charles, good point. 

XeTeX currently doesn't accept or ignore the -translate-file option that
Hans has chosen as a default for normal ConTeXt operation. I haven't
figured out how to run different "profiles" or configurations within my
current installation, so I just edited the following line in /usr/local/
teTeX/share/texmf.local/context/config/texexec.ini [1] from:

for  tetex  set  TeXPassString  to -progname=context --default-translate-
file=cp8bit

 ...to...

for  tetex  set  TeXPassString  to -progname=context 

 ... I think that should be enough to set you on your way. I run ConTeXt
with both pdfetex and XeTeX under this configuration, and it seems to
work well enough (except for a minor warning).

I'll add this advice to the wiki, but Hans, Gerben, can you offer advice
on how to handle this configuration conflict longer term... we want
ConTeXt to work well out of the box, *and* to make it easy for mac users.
Yes, JK needs to update XeTeX to handle the -default-translate option
better, but there are other reasons for changing texexec.ini as well...

[1] or wherever your texexec is getting its configuration from. Look at
the output of `texexec --verbose` for a line like:
reading : /usr/local/teTeX/share/texmf.local/context/config/texexec.ini

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 Adam T. Lindsay, Computing Dept.     atl@comp.lancs.ac.uk
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