[OS X TeX] PostScript-flavored and TrueType-flavored opentype fonts

[Michael Sharpe]

On Aug 15, 2012, at 7:13 AM, André Bellaïche wrote:

> I would like to use the tutorial INSTALLING OPENTYPE FONTS IN LATEX WITH THE LCDF TYPETOOLS by JOHN OWENS.
> 
> But before beginning to try, I have run into the following sentence (in the 3rd paragraph) : At this time the tools only work with PostScript-flavored OpenType fonts; TrueType-flavored fonts are partially but not wholly supported for lengthy, complex, and detailed reasons regarding TeX font handling (not otfinst or otftotfm) that I won't get into here.
> 
> How can I know if some particular font is PostScript-flavored or TrueType-flavored? Say for example /HelveticaNeueLTStd-ThCn.otf (Helvetica Neue LT Std 37 Thin Condensed) forom Linotype ?
> 

Mostly, fonts with extension .otf are PostScript flavored, but to be sure, type in a terminal window, eg.

otfinfo -qt HelveticaNeueLTStd-ThCn.otf

If there is a line returned containing CFF, then the flavor is PostScript.

Be aware of some traps with otfinst---it installs the font to ~/Library/texlive/2012/texmf-var, uses the vendor name for the map file, and runs updmap, which may cause mild havoc for your setup.

Michael