Re: [Groff] adding non-native font directories [Was: fontconfig]

[Peter Schaffter]

On Tue, Mar 03, 2015, SGT. Garcia wrote:
> thanks for clarifying. my question however is aiming at something
> different. i think i should have asked: is it possible to use any font
> other than the ones that come with groff. following some other pointer i
> came across heirloom project and some hints here and there about TROFFONTS
> environment variable. has there been any implementation of that in groff?
> 
> for those who know what TROFFONTS does in heirloom troff, does it do what
> i'm asking for? i.e. does it allow to specify directories other than the
> one native to troff and use fonts in those directories?
 
Here's a quick overview

* Supported font types:
    - devps
      - .pfa, .t42
    - devpdf
      - .pfa

  Fonts not of these types can be converted, including .otf.

* Requirements for using a non-standard groff font:
    - the font itself in .pfa or .t42 format
    - a groff font file
    - a DESC file
    - a listing in the 'download' file
      Note:
        - devps uses *spaces* as the field delimiter in the 'download'
          file
        - devpdf uses *tabs* as the field delimiter in the 'download'
          file
      Making fonts available to both devps and devpdf requires
      separate 'download' files for both devices.

* Directories:
    - <anydir>/devps
    - <anydir>/devpdf

  Any directory may be used to hold groff fonts provided it has
  the subdirectories ../devps and ../devpdf, and ../devps and
  ../devpdf contain the .pfa/.t42 font, the groff font file, the
  DESC file, and a 'download' file

  Use the GROFF_FONT_PATH variable or the -F flag to groff to access
  fonts in <anydir>.

A simple solution to non-standard groff fonts is to place them
all in

  /usr/share/groff/site-font/devps
  /usr/share/groff/site-font/devpdf

or

  /usr/local/share/groff/site-font/devps
  /usr/local/share/groff/site-font/devpdf

If these directories do not exist, you may create them.  The
site-font directory is searched by groff so there's no need to set
GROFF_FONT_PATH or use the -F flag.  site-font is not overwritten by
any new groff install, so your fonts are safe.

Lastly, as Dale pointed out, the bash script 'install-font.sh' takes
care of all the details of groff font installation.

Hope this clarifies things.

-- 
Peter Schaffter
http://www.schaffter.ca