[XeTeX] XeTeX and font specimens

[William Adams]

I've gotten started with producing a font specimen book here at work  
and am using Stephen Moye's nifty TypeSpec Plain TeX macros from CTAN.

It's working well (had to do a bit of bug-fixing on the files, copy- 
pasting some macros which seem to've been left out) but things are  
off to a good start. A couple of observations / queries:

  - Stephen, would it be okay if I create a LaTeX version (a package  
or documentclass) of these files w/ a front-end that lets one easily  
plug in font names to generate samples?

  - Should XeTeX be working with a font manager? I'm using Linotype's  
free FontExplorer X to activate fonts and it's mostly working  
(Bickham Script Pro Bold wouldn't work, but Regular and Semibold  
did). I thought there'd been discussion that this _wasn't_ supposed  
to work.

  - How should the performance be? It's taking minutes to generate a  
sample page for the Caslon sample --- could this be caused by the  
fonts not being loaded by the system? Or something strange in the way  
the typespec macros request the fonts? I'm getting lots of error  
messages about missing fonts....

 From the log file:

> ! I can't find file `ACaslonPro-BoldItalic'.
> <*> ...1; nonstopmode; input ACaslonPro-BoldItalic
>
> Please type another input file name
> ! Emergency stop.
> <*> ...1; nonstopmode; input ACaslonPro-BoldItalic
>
> Transcript written on mfput.log.
> grep: ACaslonPro-BoldItalic.log: No such file or directory
> mktextfm: `mf-nowin -progname=mf \mode:=ljfour; mag:=1;  
> nonstopmode; input ACaslonPro-BoldItalic' failed to make ACaslonPro- 
> BoldItalic.tfm.
> the leading=10.79753pt [1] )
> (see the transcript file for additional information)
> Output written on ACaslon.pdf (1 page).
> Transcript written on ACaslon.log.

But it still generates a .pdf w/ embedded subsets --- I'm working my  
way through the xetex_doc/samples directory and not seeing this sort  
of thing.

William


-- 
William Adams
senior graphic designer
Fry Communications



This email message and any files transmitted with it contain information
which is confidential and intended only for the addressee(s). If you are
not the intended recipient(s), any usage,  dissemination, disclosure, or
action taken in  reliance on it is prohibited.  The reliability of  this
method of communication cannot be guaranteed.  Email can be intercepted,
corrupted, delayed, incompletely transmitted, virus-laden,  or otherwise
affected during transmission. Reasonable steps have been taken to reduce
the risk of viruses, but we cannot accept liability for damage sustained
as a result of this message. If you have received this message in error,
please immediately delete it and all copies of it and notify the sender.