[Xy-pic] Re: Xy-Pic with PCTeX (fwd)

[Ross Moore]

> Dear Professor Moore:
> 
> I just recently bought PCTeX (using Windows 98) and joined the TeX User's Group; I'm having a lot of fun learning LaTeX and looking at the programs available on the cd's that came with the TUG membership.  Your program is exactly what I'm looking for.

Hello Dave.

Your description of the problem is consistent with Xy-pic working fine,
but the special fonts are not installed on your system.
Since I do not use PCTeX, I cannot tell you what is the easiest fix;
though I'm sure that there must be an easy way to get it working properly.

I'm copying this to the new Xy-pic discussion list at tug.org.
Perhaps that will lead to someone offering more specific advice.
 
> I installed Xy-Pic and have been learning to use it.  I seem to have a bug though. When I ask LaTeX to run a file, it runs it without giving any error messages, but on my display screen and the printed material, arrows do not appear as they should.  Horizontal and vertical arrows do not have heads (usually they have a "/" or a letter at the end).  Diagonal arrows are not lines, but rather a string of letters following the path where the arrow should be. I must admit I am fairly ignorant about the more technical aspects of computers, but my guess is I did not install the fonts correctly.  I wasn't sure what the paragraph at the end on information for specific systems meant about storing fonts in files 'C:\PIXEL\DPI<dpi>\<font>.pk' 

Xy-pic can use either bitmapped (.pk) fonts, or PostScript Type 1 outline fonts.

I don't know how PCTeX associates the .tfm names with the .pk or .pfb files that
contain the actual character descriptions.
On TeX systems that use dvips, this association is made using a .map file.


>     1)    Do I need to create a folder for each dpi type of font?
>             For example C:\PIXEL\DPI300\ for 300dpi fonts, C:\PIXEL\DPI600 for 600dpi fonts, etc.
> 
>     2)    How do I determine the dpi values for fonts other than the pk fonts?

The dpi is not relevant when you use the Type 1 outlines.


>     3)    Do all the fonts, i.e. TeX Font Metric, METAFONT Sources (files 'mfinputs.*mf' ), Bitmap Fonts, PostScript Type1 Fonts, Adobe Font Metric Files, PostScript Font Metric Files, and PostScript Header Files, go into 'C:\PIXEL\DPI<dpi>\<font>.pk'   ?

These file names are only relevant to bitmapped fonts, so the answer is `no'.


>     4)    If the answer to 3) is no; for example if the METAFONT Sources, Bitmap Fonts, Adobe and PostScript Font Metric Files go in the places mentioned in Steps 5) through 10), I'm not sure where they go because the PCTeX manual doesn't tell me where the METAFONT program looks for files or where DVI previewers look for Bitmat fonts. 

Do you have any documentation about how to use Type 1 fonts ?
Is your PCTeX installation a recent one ?
Hmm; it should be, as you said you just bought it.
Still, check that there is a recent date on it anyway.


> 
> If you can help me, or refer me so someone who can help get Xy-pic running properly on my machine, I will be eternally grateful.  I live in rural Virginia (USA) and there are no nearby universities where I can seek help. Xy-pic really looks like an amazing program and I look forward to using it.

Thanks for the compliments.
Xy-pic is indeed an amazing set of macros, thanks mainly to Kris Rose's
object-oriented design. I hope you can get the display working with PCTeX.



> Thanks so much for your help.

All the best,

	Ross Moore


> 
> Sincerely,
> Dave Easley  deasley@cfw.com
>