[comp.text.tex] vffonts - what are they?

melvin@cgdisis.cgd.ucar.edu (07/18/90)

The subject about sums it up.  I am installing dvips 5.0 and it is 
choking because there isn't a vffonts directory.  What is a vf font?
It wasn't a part of 4.2, and METAFONT doesn't seem to create anything
like cmr10.vf...

	- Lee 


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eln272v@monu1.cc.monash.oz ( r lang) (07/19/90)

In article <8007@ncar.ucar.edu>, melvin@cgdisis.cgd.ucar.edu writes:
> The subject about sums it up.  I am installing dvips 5.0 and it is 
> choking because there isn't a vffonts directory.  What is a vf font?
It is a virtual font.
To get dvips 5.02 running without virtual fonts, create
the vf directory, but leave it empty.
First get dvips running without virtual fonts, then think about
adding the virtual fonts - they take much longer to get running.

The virtual fonts are needed if you want to use the PostScript fonts
within TeX.  Adobe fonts in PostScript have different character encodings, 
ligatures and font metric information.  Some form of mapping is required
between the Adobe font and TeX, and this is what the virtual fonts are
all about.

The following describes how to create the virtual fonts
(please excuse any small errors - this is all from memory).

1. Obtain the Adobe Font Metric (.afm) files for the fonts you
   wish to use.  Use anonymous ftp to labrea.stanford.edu,
   file pub/afm.tar.Z, or from the Adobe mailserver.
2. Using the afm2tfm supplied with dvips 5.02, create Virtual Property
   List (.vpl)  and Tex Font Metric (.tfm) files for the Adobe fonts.  
   Note that these .tfm files are for the Adobe font, not the virtual 
   font that will be used by TeX.
   Another set of .tfm files are created later.
3. Obtain vptovf (Virtual Property List to Virtual Font). 
   Try anonymous ftp to labrea.stanford.edu, files pub/tex/etc/vptovf.web
   and pub/tex/local/etc/vptovf.ch.  You will probably need to modify
   vptovf.ch to suit your pascal compiler.  Then use tangle and your
   pascal compiler.  (I have a vptovf.ch for Pyramid pascal).
4. Use vptovf on all the .vpl files to create the virtual font
   (.vf) and TeX font metric (.tfm) files.  These .tfm files are
   the ones used by TeX, and the .vf file is used by dvips.

Some consistent abbreviation of the long Adobe font names is needed.
I am using dvips on MS-DOS with an 8 character file name limit.
For the Helvetica-Bold font, I have three files. 
These are hb.tfm, helvb.vf, helvb.tfm.
To use this font in LaTeX, I say
 \newfont{\myfont}{helvb at 10pt}
 \myfont This is being set in Helvetica--Bold.

See the documentation for afm2tfm and dvips supplied with dvips 5.02.


-- 
Russell Lang   Email: rjl@monu1.cc.monash.edu.au   Phone: (03) 565 3460
Department of Electrical and Computer Systems Engineering
Monash University, Australia