Re: [Groff] pdfmom warning: can't find special character `u0065_0304'

[Bertrand Garrigues]

Hi Dominic,

On Fri, Aug 18 2017 at 04:54:12 PM, Dominic Jones <address@hidden> wrote:
> Dale Snell wrote:
[...]
>> This sounds like a font problem.  Vowels with a macron accent are
>> not part of the stock fonts in groff.  Try using the URW fonts
>> instead.  E.g., 
[...]
>
> Yes, that solved the issue -- thank you!
>
> I had tried using the U-P font, but I set it at the command line via
> ''-f''.  I presume the fact that the document had ''.FAMILY P'' in it
> then proceeded to override the command line setting...

ghostscript 9.21 caused lots of troubles to groff/gropdf (see bugs
#50786 #50989).  I'm a bit surprised that you can use Palatino fonts
with -Tpdf, currently (with up to date groff from git and ghostscript
9.21) it is broken, unless you apply patch 'file #41568:
bug-50989-v2.patch' from bug #50989.

On which system are you running groff? And which version of groff are
you using (1.22.3 from your distribution or did you rebuild it from
sources?)?

Previously ghostscript would install Palatino fonts as URWPalladioL-Roma
and this would not include 'emacron'.  Now (9.21) they install this font
in 'P052-Roman' (on my system in
/usr/share/ghostscript/9.21/Resource/Font), which has much more glyphs
and includes 'emacron'.  However as basic fonts files for 'devpdf' are copied
from 'devps' 'emacron' is not available with font 'PR'

The only way I could make this work (with 'groff -Tpdf'):

  .ft PR
  E macron: \[u0113]
  .br
  E accute: \[u00E9]
  .br
  Latin Small Letter Y with diaeresis: \[u00FF]
  .br

was to:

- Use latest groff version with bug-50989-v2.patch' from bug #50989.

- re-generate the 'PR' font file with 'fontforge' and 'afmtodit'.

Presumably on your system you still have URW fonts available in .pfb
format (on my system they are now installed as .otf fonts).

Regards,

Bertrand Garrigues