Re: Using arbitrary fonts

[Blake McBride]

Thanks a lot, Kurt!!  That worked perfectly.  Here is what I did:

# sudo ./install-font.sh -s -c -d 'Qalisha Signature Script.ttf'

I accepted all of the defaults and remembered the

Then in my doc, I did:

\f[QalishaSignatureScript]Blake McBride\f[]

It came out just as I hoped.

Thanks!

Blake McBride


On Mon, Jan 30, 2023 at 10:56 AM T. Kurt Bond <tkurtbond@gmail.com> wrote:

> Blake, you may find it easier to use the install-font.sh script that is
> distributed on the website of the mom macros:
> https://www.schaffter.ca/mom/mom-05.html#install-font
>
> (Brandon, I still intend to posixify that script, but I fell off the edge
> of the world and it's a long climb back up.)
>
> On Mon, Jan 30, 2023 at 11:51 AM Blake McBride <blake@mcbride.name> wrote:
>
>> Hi Branden,
>>
>> Thanks a lot for the help!!!  However, I am having trouble interpreting
>> your docs.
>>
>> Please forgive me.  Although I am a software engineer and have been using
>> nroff/troff/groff for nearly 40 years, I never really got into the details
>> behind fonts and their various formats.  I basically know very little
>> about
>> them.  The basic fonts that come with nroff/troff/groff have generally met
>> my needs.
>>
>> 1. I am using PDF (not PS).
>>
>> 2.  As I mentioned, I have .otf, .ttf, .woff, and .woff2 files.  So my
>> question is, can I use any of those, or do I need to convert them to
>> another format?
>>
>> 2.a.  If I need to convert them, which do I start with, and what am I
>> converting them to?
>>
>> 2.b.  How do I convert them?
>>
>> 3.  What do I install, and where do I install them?  Is there a special
>> procedure besides just copying them?
>>
>> 4. Do I need to do something special to give them a name within an mm
>> context?
>>
>> After all of that, doing
>>
>> \f[YOURNEWFONT]Blake McBride\f[]
>>
>> seems easy enough.
>>
>> If I can understand this and get it working, I would be happy to produce
>> formal documentation for inclusion with GROFF (if desired).
>>
>> Thanks!
>>
>> Blake McBride
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Mon, Jan 30, 2023 at 10:20 AM G. Branden Robinson <
>> g.branden.robinson@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> > Hi Blake,
>> >
>> > At 2023-01-30T09:28:50-0600, Blake McBride wrote:
>> > > I have been using the default groff fonts for many happy years.
>> > > However, I need to produce a document with a machine-generated
>> > > signature.  There are plenty of adequate signature fonts out there.
>> > > However, I do not know how to make groff use them.
>> > >
>> > > I downloaded a font.  It came with files with the .otf, .ttf, .woff,
>> > > and .woff2 extensions.  What are the exact steps I need to use to use
>> > > them in a groff/mm document?  (I only want one line to use the special
>> > > font.  The rest of the document can use the regular groff fonts.)
>> >
>> > The first thing to do is to make the font visible to the output driver,
>> > which will probably be "ps" or "pdf".
>> >
>> > Here are some instructions from the grops(1) page in groff Git.
>> >
>> >   TrueType and other font formats
>> >     TrueType fonts can be used with grops if converted first to Type 42
>> >     format, a PostScript wrapper equivalent to the PFA format described
>> >     in pfbtops(1).  Several methods exist to generate a Type 42 wrapper;
>> >     some of them involve the use of a PostScript interpreter such as
>> >     Ghostscript—see gs(1).
>> >
>> >     One approach is to use FontForge, a font editor that can convert
>> >     most outline font formats.  Here’s an example of using the Roboto
>> >     Slab Serif font with groff.  Several variables are used so that you
>> >     can more easily adapt it into your own script.
>> >
>> >         MAP=/usr/local/share/groff/1.23.0/font/devps/generate/text.map
>> >         TTF=/usr/share/fonts/truetype/roboto/slab/RobotoSlab-Regular.ttf
>> >         BASE=$(basename "$TTF")
>> >         INT=${BASE%.ttf}
>> >         PFA=$INT.pfa
>> >         AFM=$INT.afm
>> >         GFN=RSR
>> >         DIR=$HOME/.local/groff/font
>> >         mkdir -p "$DIR"/devps
>> >         fontforge -lang=ff -c "Open(\"$TTF\");\
>> >         Generate(\"$DIR/devps/$PFA\");"
>> >         afmtodit "$DIR/devps/$AFM" "$MAP" "$DIR/devps/$GFN"
>> >         printf "$BASE\t$PFA\n" >> "$DIR/devps/download"
>> >
>> >     fontforge and afmtodit may generate warnings depending on the
>> >     attributes of the font.  The test procedure is simple.
>> >
>> >         printf ".ft RSR\nHello, world!\n" | groff -F "$DIR" > hello.ps
>> >
>> >     Once you’re satisfied that the font works, you may want to generate
>> >     any available related styles (for instance, Roboto Slab also has
>> >     “Bold”, “Light”, and “Thin” styles) and set up GROFF_FONT_PATH in
>> >     your environment to include the directory you keep the generated
>> >     fonts in so that you don’t have to use the -F option.
>> >
>> > Ensure that you do the test procedure shown, before worrying about macro
>> > package integration.
>> >
>> > Once this works (please reply to the list if it doesn't), the mm usage
>> > issue can be tackled.
>> >
>> > > I need to produce a document with a machine-generated signature.
>> >
>> > In mm this requires some context.  Are you using one of the memorandum
>> > types ("MT") or one of the letter formats ("LT")?  If so I'll have do
>> > some digging, because the signature line is automatically printed and
>> > I'll need to work up a recommendation for how to override that cleanly
>> > (or someone who's more of an mm expert than I am may have ideas).
>> >
>> > If not, and you're outputting the signature line like any other
>> > formatted text, it should be straightforward.
>> >
>> > Put in a line like this.
>> >
>> > \f[YOURNEWFONT]Blake McBride\f[]
>> >
>> > ...where YOURNEWFONT is the groff name you have given to the font you
>> > installed using the procedure above.
>> >
>> > Let us know if this helps, or doesn't.
>> >
>> > Regards,
>> > Branden
>> >
>>
>
>
> --
> T. Kurt Bond, tkurtbond@gmail.com, https://tkurtbond.github.io
>