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[Groff] The quest for a high-end typesetting system: A few questions


From: Mats Broberg
Subject: [Groff] The quest for a high-end typesetting system: A few questions
Date: Wed, 9 Mar 2005 19:02:53 +0100

Dear listmembers,

In my quest for a high-end typesetting system for my publication
projects, I have now come to groff. Seeing that my publications may
include alot of footnotes, margin notes, crossreferences, running
headers & footers etc, I have more or less ruled out software like
QuarkXPress, InDesign, and Framemaker. Either they don't deliver
typesetting of that great a quality, or they don't support complex
footnotes, running headers, cross references etc. Never the Twain Shall
Meet...!

So far, I have been looking at LaTeX, ConTeXt and Lout.

Anyway, I have browsed the groff archives, but have a few additional
questions. Forgive if the answers to some of them are in the manuals,
which I indeed have browsed too but not read every word of.

================================================================

1: Regarding color, is it possible to specify color for, say, drop caps,
paragraphs, lines etc, in the CMYK color system? I suppose the answer is
yes, since searching for "CMYK" gives many hits, but wanted to be sure.

2: Being a non-programmer, font installation in TeX & Children deterred
me ALOT. To install a complete font with small caps, old style figures,
alternate characters etc one needs to write a fontinst file, comprising
a couple of hundred lines of code. Not good for us mere mortals! I get
the impression that this is considerably more easy in groff? Correct?

3: Is hanging punctuation (= commas, periods, colons, semicolons,
quotation marks and hyphens protruding slightly into the margin)
possible to achieve in groff? From reading posts in the archive I get
the impression it would be - or is - possible.

4: Is it possible to have multiple series of footnotes and margin notes?

5: If it turns out the last line of a paragraph has only one or two
words, is it possible to slightly, slightly tighten the paragraph a few
thousandparts of an em so that the short line moves back to the
preceding line? I.e. "short line elimination". If so, can this be
automated (for long documents)?

6: Is it possible to typeset on a "grid" in groff? E.g. if there is a
figure at the top of the page, to make sure that the following main text
starts at a multiple of the line spacing used, so that lines on both
sides of the paper line up when you hold up the sheet against the light?

7: I see few if any references in the archive to include external
graphics, like TIF, BMP, EPS files etc. Does including alot of graphics
pose a problem?

8: I found a discussion about making the linebreaking algorithm
paragraph-based (as in TeX)? Can this be done or has it been done
already?

9: Regarding drop caps, is it possible control the drop cap by creating
a more advanced macro than the examples shown in the archive? Something
like lettrine.sty in LaTeX - i.e. tweaking vertical size and/or position
of the drop cap, defining protruding of the serifs into the margin,
defining space between the drop cap and the indented lines, sloping the
intended lines when the drop cap is a V or an A, etc.?

10: Parallel typesetting on a spread with vertically synchronized
paragraphs, line numbering and separate series of footnotes and margin
notes - possible, not possible? Ted Harding mentioned something about
that a few years ago.

11: Can one define spot colors, i.e. 100 % solid Pantone PMS colors?
When a PS file is color separated at the service bureau, a spot color
goes on its own printing plate, having its own PMS ink (rather than
being separated to four different plates (C-M-Y-K).

12: If the last line on a page has a footnote reference, what happens in
groff? Does the footnote get printed on the next page, or does the last
line move over to the next page, so that the footnote reference and the
footnote get printed at the same page? This is something many programs
have severe problems with.

================================================================

I think that's all for now. Many thanks in advance for your answers and
comments.

Best regards,
Mats Broberg





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