[XeTeX] A couple of interesting problems

[Stephen Moye]

There are two problems here. I'm not sure if they are XeTeX-specific or if there is some TeX oddness going on that I don't know about. So I'll start here.

1. The example below concatenates paragraphs and places a pilcrow between them. Notice that for the third paragraph -- which just happens to start on a new line -- that the stuff in \everypar never makes it into the output. Why?

2. In the log there is this -- notice the huge overfull line:

This is XeTeX, Version 3.141592-2.2-0.94 (Web2C 7.5.3)
entering extended mode
(./concatpars.tex
Overfull \hbox (16046.26279pt too wide) in paragraph at lines 38--46
[]  []|
[1] )
(see the transcript file for additional information)
Output written on concatpars.pdf (1 page).
Transcript written on concatpars.log.

%#%#%#%

%!TEX TS-program = xetex

 \newcount\parnum %% Brute force... 

\font\rm="Hoefler Text" at 10pt \rm
\baselineskip=1.25em
\font\it="Hoefler Text Italic:Smart Swashes=!Line Final Swashes,!Line Initial Swashes" at 10pt
\font\bf="Hoefler Text Black" at 10pt

\hsize=4.5in

%%%%%%%

This text before

\vskip2\baselineskip

\bgroup 
\let\oldpar=\par
\abovedisplayskip0pt 
\belowdisplayskip0pt 
\abovedisplayshortskip0pt 
\belowdisplayshortskip0pt 
\parindent0pt \parskip-2\baselineskip 
\def\par{$$\phantom\ \global\dimen0=\predisplaysize$$% 
\advance\dimen0 -2em\oldpar}% 
\everypar={\advance\parnum1 % 
     \ifnum\parnum=1 \else\hskip\dimen0 \ \P\ \fi}% 
Some Text This is a lot of text that we are going to use to see if   
this works or not. Some Text This is a lot of text that we are going   
to use to see if this works or not. Some Text This is a lot of text   
that we are going to use to see if this works or not. Some Text This   
is a lot of text that we are going to use to see if this works or not. 

\bf Some more text. Some Text This is a lot of text that we are going   
to use to see if this works or not. Some Text This is a lot of text   
that we are going to use to see if this works or not. 

\it And yet some more Some Text This is a lot of text that we are   
going to use to see if this works or not. Some Text This is a lot of   
text that we are going to use to see if this works or not. Some Text   
This is a lot of text that we are going to use to see if this works   
or not. Some Text This is a lot of text that we are going to use to   
see if this works or not. Some Text This is a lot of text that we are   
going to use to see if this works or not. Some Text This is a lot of   
text that we are going to use to see if this works or not. 

\kern-\baselineskip\egroup 

Now all of the original values are restored to normal. 

\bye