[texhax] bug report documentation: Fonts for LATEX on OS X (2nd version)

Wed Jan 30 09:24:54 CET 2008

The original author was me, and yes I could correct the two misprints,  
but that wouldn't make much sense: the tutorial was written in  
end-2003 and has not been updated much since; accordingly, most of it  
has either become obsolete or requires significant adaptation.  
Updating some parts and not others would be a bit pointless.

The tutorial was originally just a post to the OS X TeX list. Bob  
Kerstetter decided to transform it into a document, first in LaTeX  
then converted to HTML format. I hand-edited the HTML output and Bob  
together with Wendy McKay put it online.

I had said from the beginning that I wouldn't be able to keep the  
tutorial current (owing to lack of time), that I expected it would  
become a community effort. Bob Kerstetter volunteered to maintain it.

In my view the document is provided as is, with the understanding that  
it's not current and some adaptation by the reader is required. If  
that's indeed a problem, then I would recommend to just put the  
tutorial offline.

Personally I'm not much in this font stuff anymore. When serious font  
issues are involved I'm using XeTeX, and most of the time I'm  
perfectly happy using Textures which allows me to concentrate on  
content and forget about this high-profile but so time-consuming TeX  
hacking.

Below is a post I made to the OS X TeX list yesterday, followed by the  
two requests from Steve and Karl.

Bruno

Le 29 janv. 08 à 09:09, Bruno Voisin a écrit :

> Le 29 janv. 08 à 08:37, Axel E. Retif a écrit :
>
>> As requested, I'm forwarding your message to the TeX on Mac OS X  
>> mailing list:
>>
>> http://email.esm.psu.edu/mailman/listinfo/macosx-tex
>>
>>> From: Jeffrey Bolden
>>> Date: 28 January, 2008 13:46:43
>>> To: support at tug.org
>>> Subject: [texhax] bug report documentation: Fonts for LATEX on OS  
>>> X (2nd version)
>>>
>>> For the MacTeX distribution from you all there is a file on font  
>>> installation: called Installing Fonts for LATEX on OS X
>>> located in TeX/TeXtras/Documentation/Fonts/fonttutorial-current.html
>>>
>>> Inside this document there is a short script given:
>>>
>>> input fontint.sty
>>> \latinfamily{fxm}{}
>>> \bye
>>>
>>> This program doesn't work the first line needs to be:
>>> \input fontinst.sty %% bold is lost; changes are backslash and  
>>> ``s''. Axel
>>> \latinfamily{fxm}{}
>>> \bye
>>> (2 changes in bold)
>>>
>>> It's a minor thing but since this is a key step its probably worth  
>>> correcting.
>
> Yes these are indeed two typos. My fault. I've also met situations  
> (for dingbats fonts) where the fontinst instructions need to be  
> amended, but that was ages ago and I don't remember (having not used  
> fontinst since).
>
> However the "current" in the URL is misleading: I haven't updated  
> the tutorial since writing it in end-2003, and won't: keeping it  
> current would mean too much work, and require time I don't have.
>
> I'm cc'ing your remark to Bob Kerstetter, who took maintenance over,  
> and Wendy McKay, who takes care of the Mac section of the TUG web  
> site.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Bruno Voisin
>
> =================================================
> Bruno Voisin
> Laboratory of Geophysical and Industrial Flows
> LEGI, BP 53, 38041 Grenoble Cedex 9, France
> Phone: +33 4 76 82 50 45
> Fax: +33 4 76 82 52 71
> Email: Bruno.Voisin at hmg.inpg.fr / bvoisin at mac.com
> Web: www.legi.hmg.inpg.fr/~voisin/english.html
> =================================================

Le 30 janv. 08 à 03:53, Steve Peter a écrit :

> Begin forwarded message:
>
>> From: Philip TAYLOR <Philip-and-LeKhanh at Royal-Tunbridge-Wells.Org>
>> Date: January 29, 2008 3:34:41 AM EST
>> To: Jeffrey Bolden <jbolden at pica9.com>
>> Cc: webmaster at tug.org, support at tug.org
>> Subject: Re: [texhax] bug report documentation: Fonts for LATEX on  
>> OS X (2nd version)
>>
>> Jeffrey Bolden wrote:
>>
>>> For the MacTeX distribution from you all there is a file on font
>>> installation: called�Installing Fonts for LATEX on OS�X
>>> located in�TeX/TeXtras/Documentation/Fonts/fonttutorial- 
>>> current.html
>>>
>>> Inside this document there is a short script given:
>>>
>>> input fontint.sty
>>> \latinfamily{fxm}{}
>>> \bye
>>
>> Sadly true : this is true even for the Tug.Org copy, at
>>
>> 	http://www.tug.org/mactex/fonts/fonttutorial-current.html
>>
>> which reads (copy-and-paste)
>>
>>> Creating the TFM, VF and FD files
>>>
>>> Consider now that you have to create the support files yourself.  
>>> Two tools allow this: fontinst, described in the fontinst manual,  
>>> and afm2tfm, described in the dvips manual. Both tools are  
>>> included in gwTEX.
>>>
>>> The standard procedure for creating OT1, T1 and TS1 metrics,  
>>> described in the Font Installation Guide, is based on fontinst.  
>>> Going back to the Example font, create, in the same folder as the  
>>> AFM files, a new file called fxm-drv.tex say, and containing the  
>>> lines:
>>>
>>> input fontint.sty
>>> \latinfamily{fxm}{}
>>> \bye
>>
>> Webmaster at Tug.Org notified, but no idea who is responsible
>> for providing the original document.
>>
>> Philip TAYLOR
>> _______________________________________________
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>>
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>> Human mailing list managers: postmaster at tug.org

Le 29 janv. 08 à 23:23, Karl Berry a écrit :

> Typo report in fonttutorial-current ... Bruno, Bob, anyone?
>
> Date: Mon, 28 Jan 2008 14:46:43 -0500
> From: Jeffrey Bolden <jbolden at pica9.com>
>
> ____
>
> For the MacTeX distribution from you all there is a file on font
> installation: called Installing Fonts for LATEX on OS X
> located in TeX/TeXtras/Documentation/Fonts/fonttutorial-current.html
>
> Inside this document there is a short script given:
>
> input fontint.sty
> \latinfamily{fxm}{}
> \bye
>
> This program doesn't work the first line needs to be:
> \input fontinst.sty
> \latinfamily{fxm}{}
> \bye
>  (2 changes in bold)
>
> It's a minor thing but since this is a key step its probably worth
> correcting.
>
> Thanks for your time,
>
> Jeffrey Bolden
> Director of Research and Development
> Pica9, Inc.
> (914) 908-4540, x126
> jbolden at pica9.com
> --
> http://tug.org/mailman/listinfo/mactex