[tex-live] Some (minor) users' problems with TeXLIve 2005

[John Murdie]

I switched to TeXLive 2005 on Linux here today after offering it for
'local beta testing' for a few weeks. Here's what the users have found
so far:

* The 'picins' package has been dropped since TeXLive 2004; which is
fair enough, since CTAN classifies it as a LaTeX 2.09 offering (though
the 2nd edition of the LaTeX Companion does not make that clear), and
picinpar is a better replacement;

* Trying to use Blackboard Bold at 11pt:

> \documentclass[11pt]{article}
> \usepackage{bbold}
> \begin{document}
> % Using Alan Jeffrey's (1994) Blackboard bold.
> This is typeset in $\mathbb{[BLACKBOARD BOLD], I said, 0123456789 times!}$.
> 
> This is typeset in \textbb{textbb}.
> \end{document}

fails with:

> kpathsea: Running mktexmf bbold11
> ! I can't find file `bbold11'.
> <*> ...=ljfour; mag:=1; nonstopmode; input bbold11
> 
> Please type another input file name
> ! Emergency stop.
> <*> ...=ljfour; mag:=1; nonstopmode; input bbold11
> 
> Transcript written on mfput.log.
> grep: bbold11.log: No such file or directory
> mktextfm: `mf-nowin -progname=mf \mode:=ljfour; mag:=1; nonstopmode;
> input bbold11' failed to make bbold11.tfm.
> kpathsea: Appending font creation commands to missfont.log.
> 
> ! Font U/bbold/m/n/10.95=bbold11 at 10.95pt not loadable: Metric (TFM)
> file not
> found.
> <to be read again>
>                    relax
> l.5 ...LACKBOARD BOLD], I said, 0123456789 times!}
>                                                   $.
> ? X

In previous years, the problem seemed to be that the file b-bold.mf was
missing from the collection of Sauter Metafonts in
texmf-dist/fonts/source/public/sauter, though it was obtainable. I used
to add it and change texmf-dist fonts/source/jknappen/sauter/bbold11.mf
to input b-bold instead of bbold.

Things seem to have changed this year, so I've not done the above. For
the minute, I've made a temporary fix by copying
texmf-dist/fonts/source/public/bbold/bbold10.mf to bbold11.mf, unaltered
- it's perhaps close enough, but what is the clean fix, please?

* It's amazing how much of the users' own material uses \ifx\pdfoutput
\undefined, but those who haven't already moved to package ifpdf some
time ago are finally doing it - now, when they are forced to do so! -
with only a few grumbles.

John A. Murdie
Department of Computer Science
University of York
UK