Re: [groff] Macron characters in pdf files

[Peter Schaffter]

Hi, Deri.

On Tue, Jun 05, 2018, Deri James wrote:
> On Mon 04 Jun 2018 23:21:15 Peter Schaffter wrote:
>
> > I've verfied that the problem discussed in the following forwarded
> > email exists.  -Tps has no trouble finding macron characters
> > composed in vim; -Tpdf does.  Deri, I think this is your bailiwick.
> 
> I'm having trouble recreating the problem here. So I need a little help, 
> since 
> you can create the issue.
> 
> I have created a little test file in vimwith some macron(ned) characters. 
> Since this is a utf-8 file I added -k to the groff command, but none of the 
> resulting unicode glyphs are available in my fonts, so they are all rejected 
> with the warning "can't find special character". Without the -k flag I do see 
> the capital A’s described below, but this is just groff cheewing up the 
> "wide" 
> chars in utf-8.
> 
> The results, i.e. failure, are identical for both gropdf and grops.

Hmm...  Processing your file, macron.trf, with -Tps and -Tpdf
produces results different from yours, namely

With .ft TR:

  groff -Tps -k macron.trf > macron.ps
    -> output correct, macrons appearing as expected

  groff -Tpd -k macron.trf > macron.pdf
    -> "can't find special character"

So on my end, the failure only affects gropdf, not grops, as the
original poster stated.  Attached are the results of

  groff -Tps -k -Z macron.trf 2>&1 > macron.ps

and
  
  groff -Tpdf -k -Z macron.trf 2>&1 > macron.pdf
 
when processed with .ft TR.

> If I now insert the line ".ft U-TR" at the top of the file, using
> the URW fonts which do contain the required glyphs, all seems fine
> and dandy for the gropdf output.

Ditto on this end.  U-TR produces the correct output with -Tpdf.

> As an aside it would be lovely if groff had the same concept
> of "foundry" as gropdf, i.e. you could put ".ft TR" in your
> troff file and select the foundry in the groff command line with
> something like "-y U".  Groff would then identify the font to use
> as U-TR and that would be passed to the postprocessors.

I agree, it would be useful.  I'm wondering how much of a heacache
it would be to implement.

> But it may be all he needs is .FAMILY U-T or similar, to make it
> work, depends on whether his gropdf includes the U foundry.

I'm passing the advice along.  Thanks.

Cheers.

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

macron.ps
Description: PostScript document

macron.pdf
Description: Adobe PDF document