[XeTeX] XeTeX, fontspec, OTF, and fontdimens

[mskala at ansuz.sooke.bc.ca]

On Sun, 20 Feb 2011, Khaled Hosny wrote:
> The question is how to know if the font is monospaced or not, what if
> one wants a monospaced font but with stretchable space?

Well, first of all, "a monospaced font but with stretchable space" is a
very unusual thing to want.  That is not how monospace fonts are usually
used; someone who wanted stretchable space would usually prefer a
proportional font.  Thus I'm not sure that that scenario should be a top
priority for support.

If the WordSpace feature of the fontspec package worked - that is, if its
settings scaled with the font size as the documentation says they do -
then it could be used to cleanly choose the amount of stretchability for
the spaces, including both zero and non-zero choices.  Ulrike Fischer says
that WordSpace should not be used as a "default" feature; but since it
fails whenever the standard font-size commands are used, the practical
effect is that WordSpace cannot be used at all.
-- 
Matthew Skala
mskala at ansuz.sooke.bc.ca                 People before principles.
http://ansuz.sooke.bc.ca/