[XeTeX] XeTeX Linux and TTF fonts [was: Re: Problem with tremas]

[Jonathan Kew]

On 6 Jun 2006, at 12:38 pm, Marc Pautrel wrote:

> Bruno Voisin a écrit :
>> An alternative (not requiring XeTeX) is the gtamacfonts package,
>> available in gwTeX. The doc is at /Library/teTeX/share/texmf.gwtex/
>> doc/fonts/gtamacfonts/gtamacfonts.pdf. Be warned though: there has
>> been controversy on the OS X TeX list, regarding whether or not the
>> extraction (used by gtamacfonts) of the original .ttf font files from
>> their OS X packaging as .dfont files is compatible with the Apple OS
>> X license. Personally I think it is, but others think it isn't.
>
> And another question about the Mac OS X fonts is : can XeTeX Linux
> (which I never tested) import and use TTF fonts ? for example : export
> Mac OS X font in TTF format (with Fondu, which convert dfont in ttf),
> re-import it in Linux, then use this font in TeX with XeTeX Linux ?

Note that converting the Mac OS X .dfont fonts to .ttf and copying  
them to a Linux computer would probably breach your license, however.  
That's very different from converting them to a different "packaging"  
in order to use them with particular programs on the Mac system where  
they're licensed. I haven't read the fine print, but I'd be very  
surprised if you're permitted to copy them (in any form) to use on  
other computers.

> Importing new fonts in LaTeX is complicated, and the cool feature of
> XeTeX for Mac is to use directly in TeX the Mac fonts.
>
> Installing a TTF font in Linux is really easy (KDE has a GUI for
> importing TTF fonts in the X server) and it would be a cool Linux  
> XeTeX
> feature to be able to use directly Linux fonts...

Yes, it can use whatever truetype or opentype fonts are available to  
X GUI applications (strictly speaking, whatever fonts are known to  
fontconfig, which is the usual way for modern GUI apps on Linux to  
locate fonts).

JK