[comp.text.tex] Need help: MF on gray.mf

deby@cs.utwente.nl (Rolf de By) (01/07/91)

Being the sort of MF-user who only runs well-defined MF sources (by others)
through MF, I've run into a small problem that I cannot easily solve. I'd
appreciate a few pointers to get me going. What I basically want is to add
a character to a font, and run it through some proof-making set-up to check
whether it comes out the way I want.

I actually have two questions:

1. When I first used MF some two years ago (version 1.7 at that time from a
   SUN3 under SunTools) I used the wrong initialization and wound up with huge
   characters scrolling over my screen during an MF-run. I'd like that again
   but can't find the way.

2. One could also use gftodvi to obtain a dvi-version of the font, and preview
   or print this. For this the gray font is needed, but I have been unable to
   build it. This is what I get when trying to obtain a mag=1 version:

	This is METAFONT, C Version 2.7
	(gray.mf (grdov.mf (grayf.mf
	! Sorry, mag must be a positive integer.
	<to be read again>
       	            ;
	<for(mag)> ...FIX0)&" must be a positive integer";
                                                  (SUFFIX0):=1;fi ENDFOR
	l.8   m := 1; fi endfor

   Since my knowledge of MF is practically nil, I would like to know what I'm
   doing wrong. I use a simple extension of the plain.base file (local output
   devices added) and the additional parameters:

	"\mode:=sunThree;" "mag:=magstep1;"

   The above error results from the following lines in grayf.mf:

	forsuffixes m = mag,rep:
	 if unknown m: m := 1;
	 elseif (m<1) or (m<>floor m):
	  errmessage "Sorry, " & str m & " must be a positive integer";
	  m := 1; fi endfor


Any help would be greatly appreciated. I am running the latest TeX3.1 version
tape from Washington on Sun sparc.


--
Rolf A. de By
Vakgroep Informatiesystemen			Tel   : (0)53--893753
Faculteit der Informatica			b.g.g.: (0)53--893690
Universiteit Twente				Fax   : (0)53--339605
Postbus 217, 7500 AE Enschede			Email : deby@cs.utwente.nl
The Netherlands						deby@henut5.bitnet

jg@prg.ox.ac.uk (Jeremy Gibbons) (01/08/91)

deby@cs.utwente.nl (Rolf de By) writes

> I used the wrong initialization and wound up with huge
>    characters scrolling over my screen during an MF-run. I'd like that again
>    but can't find the way.

You want `mode:=proof' or (I guess) `mode:=smoke'.


> This is what I get when trying to obtain a mag=1 version:
>
> 	This is METAFONT, C Version 2.7
> 	(gray.mf (grdov.mf (grayf.mf
> 	! Sorry, mag must be a positive integer.
>
> I use a simple extension of the plain.base file (local output
>    devices added) and the additional parameters:
> 	"\mode:=sunThree;" "mag:=magstep1;"

`magstep 1' is, of course, not what you want. `magstep' is a macro; `magstep
n' evaluates to 1.2^n. (The characters in the gray fonts have to be a whole
number of device pixels wide, and so the tfms are not device- or
magnification-independent. Therefore, there is a check in gray.mf to ensure
that mag=1. You should just leave out any reference to `mag' when running
Metafont on a gray font like this.) 


Jeremy

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|  Jeremy Gibbons (jg@uk.ac.oxford.prg)   Funky Monkey Multimedia Corp  |
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