Hi Gerben, Changing the macro header to this will work: vardef SampleText (expr t)(text c) = or you can use the answer from stackexchange, same approach. BTW Hans would like people to use “withtransparency” instead as that is a newer, more flexible approach (but that would also need the above change, or a split into multiple parameters). Taco

On 9 Apr 2020, at 09:04, Gerben Wierda wrote:

Nobody?

...

On 8 Apr 2020, at 12:20, Gerben Wierda wrote:

I would like to use the result of transparent() straight in my macros, so I can pass the colors with transparency using a single parameter. That should be possible if I understand the MetaFun manual (where I’ve copy-pasted this example from):

\starttext \startMPpage[instance=doublefun]

vardef SampleText (expr t, c) = save p ; picture p ; p := image (draw t infont "\truefontname{Regular}") ; draw (p shifted (- xpart center p,0)) scaled 5 withcolor c; enddef ; SampleText ("Much Of This" , transparent(1, .5, red )) ; SampleText ("Functionality" , transparent(1, .5, green)) ; SampleText ("Was Written" , transparent(1, .5, blue )) ; SampleText ("While Listening", transparent(1, .5, cmyk(1,0,0,0))) ; SampleText ("To the CD's Of" , transparent(1, .5, cmyk(0,1,0,0))) ; SampleText ("Tori Amos" , transparent(1, .5, cmyk(0,0,1,0))) ;

\stopMPpage \stoptext

But it results in:

system > files > jobname 'testcolor', input './testcolor', result 'testcolor' fonts > latin modern fonts are not preloaded languages > language 'en' is active open source > level 2, order 3, name './testcolor.tex' fonts > preloading latin modern fonts (second stage) fonts > 'fallback modern-designsize rm 12pt' is loaded metapost > initializing instance 'doublefun:1' using format 'metafun' and method 'double' metapost > loading 'metafun' as '/usr/local/context-osx-64/tex/texmf-context/metapost/context/base/mpiv/metafun.mpxl' using method 'double' metapost > initializing number mode 'double' metapost log > metapost log > loading metafun, including plain.mp version 1.004 for metafun iv and xl metapost log > metapost log > ! Missing ')' has been inserted. metapost log > <to be read again> metapost log > withprescript metapost log > transparent->(1)withprescript metapost log > "tr_alternative="&decimal.transparency_alternat... metapost log > <*> ... ("Much Of This" , transparent(1, .5, red ) metapost log > ) ; SampleText ("Functiona... metapost log > backend > xmp > using file '/usr/local/context-osx-64/tex/texmf-context/tex/context/base/mkiv/lpdf-pdx.xml' pages > flushing realpage 1, userpage 1, subpage 1 close source > level 2, order 3, name './testcolor.tex' close source > level 1, order 3, name 'cont-yes.mkiv'

For me, it is not about passing colour on to ConTeXt to typeset text, these are colors that normally would be drawn with “withcolor ca withtransparency (method,factor)” but that requires the passing of many more parameters and a lot more work in coding.

Does transparent() maybe produce a string that looks like “ca withtransparency (method,factor)” so something only usable in draw/fill/etc statements? But in that case how does that work without scantokens to parse the string?

Is there a way I can do this without having twice the parameters (and I have to pass multiple colours) in my macros everywhere?

Thanks,

G ___________________________________________________________________________________ If your question is of interest to others as well, please add an entry to the Wiki!

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___________________________________________________________________________________ If your question is of interest to others as well, please add an entry to the Wiki!

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Taco Hoekwater Elvenkind BV

Hi, Using multiple (text <x>) arguments in macros doesn’t work, you would need to convert all but the last argument into (expr <x>) somehow. That means that you probably cannot do a call like the one below at all. (I, at least, do not see how you could convert one of those transparent colours into an expr <x> argument)

SampleText ("Much Of This", transparent(1, .5, red ) , transparent(1, .5, green )) ;

The situation may get even trickier because withtransparency() and transparent() both use a (text <x>) argument internally as well, and I am not quite sure why. At this point, I think you may need Hans for advice, sorry. Taco

It would be really great if you'd stop wasting people's time by not crossposting. Cheers, Henri On 09/04/20, 09:04, Gerben Wierda wrote:

Nobody?

...

On 8 Apr 2020, at 12:20, Gerben Wierda wrote:

I would like to use the result of transparent() straight in my macros, so I can pass the colors with transparency using a single parameter. That should be possible if I understand the MetaFun manual (where I’ve copy-pasted this example from):

\starttext \startMPpage[instance=doublefun]

vardef SampleText (expr t, c) = save p ; picture p ; p := image (draw t infont "\truefontname{Regular}") ; draw (p shifted (- xpart center p,0)) scaled 5 withcolor c; enddef ; SampleText ("Much Of This" , transparent(1, .5, red )) ; SampleText ("Functionality" , transparent(1, .5, green)) ; SampleText ("Was Written" , transparent(1, .5, blue )) ; SampleText ("While Listening", transparent(1, .5, cmyk(1,0,0,0))) ; SampleText ("To the CD's Of" , transparent(1, .5, cmyk(0,1,0,0))) ; SampleText ("Tori Amos" , transparent(1, .5, cmyk(0,0,1,0))) ;

\stopMPpage \stoptext

But it results in:

system > files > jobname 'testcolor', input './testcolor', result 'testcolor' fonts > latin modern fonts are not preloaded languages > language 'en' is active open source > level 2, order 3, name './testcolor.tex' fonts > preloading latin modern fonts (second stage) fonts > 'fallback modern-designsize rm 12pt' is loaded metapost > initializing instance 'doublefun:1' using format 'metafun' and method 'double' metapost > loading 'metafun' as '/usr/local/context-osx-64/tex/texmf-context/metapost/context/base/mpiv/metafun.mpxl' using method 'double' metapost > initializing number mode 'double' metapost log > metapost log > loading metafun, including plain.mp version 1.004 for metafun iv and xl metapost log > metapost log > ! Missing ')' has been inserted. metapost log > <to be read again> metapost log > withprescript metapost log > transparent->(1)withprescript metapost log > "tr_alternative="&decimal.transparency_alternat... metapost log > <*> ... ("Much Of This" , transparent(1, .5, red ) metapost log > ) ; SampleText ("Functiona... metapost log > backend > xmp > using file '/usr/local/context-osx-64/tex/texmf-context/tex/context/base/mkiv/lpdf-pdx.xml' pages > flushing realpage 1, userpage 1, subpage 1 close source > level 2, order 3, name './testcolor.tex' close source > level 1, order 3, name 'cont-yes.mkiv'

For me, it is not about passing colour on to ConTeXt to typeset text, these are colors that normally would be drawn with “withcolor ca withtransparency (method,factor)” but that requires the passing of many more parameters and a lot more work in coding.

Does transparent() maybe produce a string that looks like “ca withtransparency (method,factor)” so something only usable in draw/fill/etc statements? But in that case how does that work without scantokens to parse the string?

Is there a way I can do this without having twice the parameters (and I have to pass multiple colours) in my macros everywhere?

Thanks,

G ___________________________________________________________________________________ If your question is of interest to others as well, please add an entry to the Wiki!

maillist : ntg-context@ntg.nl / http://www.ntg.nl/mailman/listinfo/ntg-context webpage : http://www.pragma-ade.nl / http://context.aanhet.net archive : https://bitbucket.org/phg/context-mirror/commits/ wiki : http://contextgarden.net ___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________ If your question is of interest to others as well, please add an entry to the Wiki!

maillist : ntg-context@ntg.nl / http://www.ntg.nl/mailman/listinfo/ntg-context webpage : http://www.pragma-ade.nl / http://context.aanhet.net archive : https://bitbucket.org/phg/context-mirror/commits/ wiki : http://contextgarden.net ___________________________________________________________________________________