Re: Using arbitrary fonts

[Dale Snell]

Hi Blake,

You can convert the .otf or .ttf fonts, using the methods that Branden and
Kurt have already mentioned.  The .woff and .woff2 fonts can be safely ignored.
They are for web browser use.  They're specially compressed (for transfer over
the 'net) and have some XML bits (for licensing, I think).

Hope this helps (at least a little).

--Dale

On Mon, Jan 30, 2023 at 8:51 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
> >