u545731798ea@deneb.ucdavis.edu (Greg DeMichillie) (01/25/89)
I've been using several Adobe fonts for a while and I still am not sure what the heck the Adobe Font Metric (AFM) files are for. Are they used to better display the fonts on the screen or just when printing? Basically, I work on 2 systems, only 1 of which is connected to a LaserWriter. Should I install the AFM files on both machines or just the printing one? Thanks for the help... ----- Greg DeMichillie Apple Student Rep - UC Davis lgdemichillie@ucdavis.edu AppleLink: ST0178 Disclaimer: If you've seen one disclaimer, you've seen them all.
phil@mit-amt (Phil Sohn) (01/25/89)
In article <3536@ucdavis.ucdavis.edu> u545731798ea@deneb.ucdavis.edu (Greg DeMichillie) writes: >I've been using several Adobe fonts for a while and I still am not sure >what the heck the Adobe Font Metric (AFM) files are for. Are they used >to better display the fonts on the screen or just when printing? Neither, they contain information about character bounderies and widths and things. You only need them if you are in some very special cases. The only program that uses them (to my knowledge) is a afm<->tfm converter. (AFM = Adobe Font Metric, TFM = TeX Font Metric.) MacTeX then uses the tfm files. >Basically, I work on 2 systems, only 1 of which is connected to a >LaserWriter. Should I install the AFM files on both machines or just >the printing one? There really is no way to install the afm files in the system or such. No reason to have them taking up room. Throw them away. (Keep a copy on back-up floppy, of course.) phil sohn phil@ems.media.mit.edu
kevin@kosman.UUCP (Kevin O'Gorman) (01/26/89)
In article <3536@ucdavis.ucdavis.edu> u545731798ea@deneb.ucdavis.edu (Greg DeMichillie) writes: >I've been using several Adobe fonts for a while and I still am not sure >what the heck the Adobe Font Metric (AFM) files are for. Are they used >to better display the fonts on the screen or just when printing? > >Basically, I work on 2 systems, only 1 of which is connected to a >LaserWriter. Should I install the AFM files on both machines or just >the printing one? > >Thanks for the help... If you don't know what they're for, just throw them away. No kidding! They are text files (open them in your favorite word processor and browse). I have written applications that use them all the time. They contain information about character size, kerning (placement adjustments), and character formation that are useful if you're writing an application that will output to a LaserWriter or similar printer without going through the standard Macintosh printer driver. Your standard applications don't need them, since they get this information from QuickDraw.