[XeTeX] Differences between XeTeX on Mac and Windows
Fr. Michael Gilmary
FrMichaelGilmary at MaroniteMonks.org
Fri May 15 01:04:36 CEST 2009
Yannis Haralambous wrote:
> Then one of the students downloaded XeTeX contained in latest MikTeX,
> tried exactly the same code, and it didn't worked. He hat to add
> "script=arab" to the font name (he used a Windows font called
> "Traditional Arabic"), and \beginR...\endR commands to obtain the same
> result as I did.
>
> Is that normal?
Hi Yannis!
Jonathan Kew wrote to me about a similar question a while back on this list:
> The fontspec [Script=....] option presupposes that OpenType "shaping"
> is to be applied. Al Bayan (and the other Arabic, Indic, etc., fonts
> that Apple ships) relies on AAT, not OpenType, for shaping behavior.
> Left to itself, xetex will pick the appropriate rendering technology
> based on what it finds in the font, but by specifying [Script] in
> through fontspec you are overriding that, and insisting it use the
> OpenType route. But Al Bayan doesn't include OpenType tables, so you
> lose.
>
> When using AAT fonts, xetex also tries to apply whatever justification
> behavior the font provides, which may include kashidas in Arabic
> fonts. There's no such support in the OpenType engine at the moment.
>
> So... two different font technologies. (Note that AAT support is only
> available on Mac OS X, so users on other platforms should disregard
> this completely.)
>
So, I hope that helps.
--
United in adoration of Jesus,
fr. michael gilmary, mma
Most Holy Trinity Monastery
67 Dugway Road
Petersham, MA 01366-9725
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