[tex-live] tex fails to use TFM made by mktextfm in current directory

[Dan Luecking]

When a metafont source file is in the current directory,
and the tfm file does not exist, and the font is requested
in a .tex file, tex will call mktextfm to make the TFM file.
In this set-up, the TFM file is created in the current
directory, but tex either doesn't find it or doesn't like it.
Subsequent runs of tex on the same file work just fine.

1. I am working in a command window in WinXP.

2. mbb10.mf (from the mbboard font package) is in the current directory

3. mbb10.tfm does not exist anywhere.

4. I run the command "tex test" on the file test.tex whose
contents are
    \font\mbb=mbb10
    \mbb R
    \bye
I see a message from mktextfm that it wis running mf-nowin and also
the obvious screen output of a metafont run, ending with
    Font metrics written on mbb10.tfm.
Followed soon by the tex error message:
   ! Font \mbb=mbb10 not loadable: Bad metric (TFM) file.
   <to be read again>
                      \mbb
   l.2 \mbb
            R
   ?

5. I press <return> at the "?" prompt and then run "dir mbb*.*"
seeing that the tfm file was indeed made:
11/13/2009  12:20           2,770  mbb10.log
10/24/2001  16:00             495  mbb10.mf
11/13/2009  12:20           1,832  mbb10.tfm

6. I run "tex test" again and it finishes without error (showing
that the TFM file is not "Bad" at all.

7. I run "dvips test" and mktexpk creates mbb10.600pk in the
current directory, and embeds it correctly in test.ps.

8. If I then delete all mbb10.* and run "tex test" again, then
mktextfm is again run, finds mbb10.mf in its usual TDS location
(under texmf-local) creates mbb10.tfm under texmf-var/fonts/tfm
and there are no errors from tex.

So it appears that only the output of mktextfm is ignored and
only when it is in the current directory. (Note: changing
openout_any and openin_any has no effect.)

Dan

P.S. Running "kpsewhich mbb10.600pk" triggers mktexpk (if the
file doesn't exist). I don't think it ought to do that. Obviously
I can use the option "--no-mktex=pk", but this is a not-so-obvious
way to query the existence of pk file. Also, no option is required
to prevent a call to mktextfm or any other mktex*.


Daniel H. Luecking
Department of Mathematical Sciences
1 University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701