[tex-k] dvips: BeginPaperSize in postscript DSC

[pierre.mackay]

Jean-François Mertens wrote:

>On 09 Nov 2006, at 22:57, Karl Berry wrote:
>
>  
>
>>I would be
>>worried that other software might still want %%PaperSize, however  
>>old it
>>is.  (Even if Adobe likes to be incompatible, we don't have to.)
>>    
>>
>I would be more worried even if ghostscript itself no longer can read  
>correctly
>old software..
>
>JF
>_______________________________________________
>tex-k at tug.org
>http://tug.org/mailman/listinfo/tex-k
>
>  
>

There is probably no need to worry.  I rewrote a config.ps file to read:

@ a4Size 210mm 297mm
@+ ! %%DocumentPaperSizes: a4
@+ %%PageMedia: a4
                                                                               

@ letter 8.5in 11in
@+ ! %%DocumentPaperSizes: Letter
@+ %%PageMedia letter
@+ %%BeginFeature: Letter
@+ letter
@+ %%EndFeature
                                                                               

@ legal 8.5in 14in
@+ ! %%DocumentPaperSizes: Legal
@+ %%PageMedia legal
@+ %%BeginFeature: Legal
@+ legal
@+ %%EndFeature
                                                                               

@ ledger 17in 11in
@+ ! %%DocumentPaperSizes: Ledger
@+ %%PageMedia ledger
@+ %%BeginFeature: Ledger
@+ ledger
@+ %%EndFeature
                                                                               

@ tabloid 11in 17in
@+ ! %%DocumentPaperSizes: Tabloid
@+ %%PageMedia tabloid
@+ %%BeginFeature: Tabloid
@+ 11x17
@+ %%EndFeature
                                                                               

@ a4 210mm 297mm
@+ ! %%DocumentPaperSizes: a4
@+ %%PageMedia a4
@+ %%BeginFeature: a4
@+ a4
@+ %%EndFeature

All that is needed is to add an explicit PageMedia comment after each of 
the specific  @+ ! %%DocumentPaperSizes: lines.

In this instance the default is a4, and that is what would show up in 
the absence of the explicit PageMedia comment

No tinkering with the support software is needed, and PaperSize will 
still work, but it probably ought to be deprecated.

I tried this with the default, with dvips -t tabloid  with dvips -t a4 
and with dvips -t letter

Then I ran ps2pdf14 (which is my default) and tried each file out with 
Adobe Acrobat.  In each case Acrobat reported
the dimensions I had asked for.   and in cases like -t tabloid, it was 
pretty obvious anyway.
Sorry for my carelessness about Page/Paper earlier, but maybe this will 
redeem that.

Pierre MacKay