Hello, all--
After purchasing the FontSite 500 CD, I wanted to make good use of some of the nice text fonts it contains--in particular I wanted to create TeX virtual fonts that would add ff, ffi, and ffl ligatures and replace the ugly ( ;-) ) lining numerals with old-style figures.
After considerable effort I figured out how to edit the VPL files for the desired effect. I also wrote a Python script to automate the process, though it may well not work for anyone else. Anyway, since I have found very little documentation on virtual fonts, I thought others might benefit from my experience, so I wrote up the procedure and posted in the (new) TeX Tips section of my Web site.
So, if anyone is interested in this subject, have a look at
http://havenrock.com/textips/bookfonts.html
Please let me know if you find any errors or points that need to be clarified.
Hello,
On Tue, 6 Jul 2004, Matt Gushee wrote:
Hello, all--
After purchasing the FontSite 500 CD, I wanted to make good use of some of the nice text fonts it contains--in particular I wanted to create TeX virtual fonts that would add ff, ffi, and ffl ligatures and replace the ugly ( ;-) ) lining numerals with old-style figures.
I do not know, whether this is exactly what you looked for. But I found a page by Christopher League, who created those virtual fonts (I think) for use in LaTeX. I had good success in using the stuff he put on his webpage as well for ConTeXt, and have set up a page in the Wiki, at
http://members.ping.de:8062/context/show/FontSite
with a description and some sample typescripts.
Yours,
On Thu, Jul 08, 2004 at 01:03:55PM +0200, Holger Schöner wrote:
After purchasing the FontSite 500 CD, I wanted to make good use of some of the nice text fonts it contains--in particular I wanted to create TeX virtual fonts that would add ff, ffi, and ffl ligatures and replace the ugly ( ;-) ) lining numerals with old-style figures.
I do not know, whether this is exactly what you looked for. But I found a page by Christopher League, who created those virtual fonts (I think) for use in LaTeX. I had good success in using the stuff he put on his webpage as well for ConTeXt, and have set up a page in the Wiki, at
Oh, I love when people provide solutions for my problems after I've already solved them for myself! Of course, I never asked. Maybe I should have.
Thanks anyway.
Don't be discouraged, Matt.
I think your tool is really nifty--it's precisely one of those "if I have time, I'll learn about VPLs" projects that I wanted to have realised at some point. Your solution goes far beyond the FontSite500 support, as far as I can see.
cheers, adam
Matt Gushee said this at Thu, 8 Jul 2004 07:50:35 -0600:
On Thu, Jul 08, 2004 at 01:03:55PM +0200, Holger Schöner wrote:
After purchasing the FontSite 500 CD, I wanted to make good use of some of the nice text fonts it contains--in particular I wanted to create TeX virtual fonts that would add ff, ffi, and ffl ligatures and replace the ugly ( ;-) ) lining numerals with old-style figures.
I do not know, whether this is exactly what you looked for. But I found a page by Christopher League, who created those virtual fonts (I think) for use in LaTeX. I had good success in using the stuff he put on his
webpage as
well for ConTeXt, and have set up a page in the Wiki, at
Oh, I love when people provide solutions for my problems after I've already solved them for myself! Of course, I never asked. Maybe I should have.
Thanks anyway.
-- Matt Gushee When a nation follows the Way, Englewood, Colorado, USA Horses bear manure through mgushee@havenrock.com its fields; http://www.havenrock.com/ When a nation ignores the Way, Horses bear soldiers through its streets.
--Lao Tzu (Peter Merel, trans.)
ntg-context mailing list ntg-context@ntg.nl http://www.ntg.nl/mailman/listinfo/ntg-context
On Thu, Jul 08, 2004 at 03:25:03PM +0100, Adam Lindsay wrote:
Don't be discouraged, Matt.
Oh, I wasn't really discouraged, just mildly sarcastic (as much as I dare to be toward someone who was just trying to help ;-)
I think your tool is really nifty--it's precisely one of those "if I have time, I'll learn about VPLs" projects that I wanted to have realised at some point. Your solution goes far beyond the FontSite500 support, as far as I can see.
Yes and no. Probably the technique is generally applicable, but the specific script I used relies on:
* The way FontSite organizes their font families (including the specific code points assigned to the ligatures, which may be common but are probably not universal);
* The file names generated by texfont; and
* The organization and formatting of the VPL files that I had to work with. I expect these will vary depending on a number of circumstances, but I don't know exactly how.
I would welcome suggestions (or patches) that will help make the script more generally useful.
Thanks for the encouragement.
-
Adam Lindsay -
Holger Schöner -
Matt Gushee