[XeTeX] An example of the use of \x="[filename]"

[Jonathan Kew]

On 17 Aug 2006, at 8:35 pm, Stephen Moye wrote:

> I've installed xetex 0.995. Out of sheer curiosity I wanted to try  
> using xdvipdfmx with an uninstalled font.

Naturally! ;-)


> I tried a simple file:
>
> --------
>
> \font\x="[~/Desktop/Atlas/AtlasIta]" at 12pt \x
>
> This is fun
>
> \bye
>
> --------
>
> and I get this in the console:
>
> --------
>
> This is XeTeX, Version 3.141592-2.2-0.995 (Web2C 7.5.5)
> entering extended mode
> (./xpdmftest.tex
> ! Font \x="[" not loadable: installed font not found.

The ~ is unlikely to work here; expanding ~ to your home directory is  
normally a function of the shell, and the name you give here is not  
handled by a shell, it's used directly as a file path. So try:

\font\x="[/Users/stephenmoye/Desktop/Atlas/AtlasIta]" at 12pt \x

(substituting your correct user name, of course).

The second possible issue: what type of font file is this? The  
filename looks like a Classic-style LWFN PostScript font. I don't  
know if those work--don't seem to have any handy. (So please let me  
know if it does work!)

So far, I've tried .ttf, .otf, and .pfb files successfully; for other  
formats, it will depend whether both xetex and xdvipdfmx can access  
them successfully. On reflection, I'm pretty sure LWFN files will  
currently fail in xdvipdfmx; this is an unfinished area.

Incidentally, if the font file is in the same folder as the document,  
or in a place that kpathsearch knows (the OPENTYPEFONTS,  
TRUETYPEFONTS, or TYPE1FONTS subtrees of texmf), then you should be  
able to give the filename alone, rather than a full path.

HTH,

JK