Font Metrics

[Helge Blischke]

CharlieB wrote:
> 
> Helge Blischke wrote:
> > CharlieB wrote:
> > >
> > > CharlieB wrote:
> > > > Helge Blischke wrote:
> > > > > CharlieB wrote:
> > > > > >
> > > > > > In the ppd_file_t structure there is a list of availiable fonts. 35 in my case. How do I get the font metrics (or at least the char widths) for these fonts so I can generate the PostScript file?
> > > > > >
> > > > > > I am running Linux.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Thanks in advance,
> > > > > > Charlie
> > > > >
> > > > > As long as you don't use kerning, you don't need special font
> > > > > metrics information. Everything you need is accessible to the
> > > > > PostScript interpreter.
> > > > >
> > > > > What is your problem?
> > > > >
> > > > I want to know the widths of the chars so I can do line wrapping, etc. Is there a way to get the font metrics?
> > >
> > > Oh, I need underline positioning also.
> > > >
> > > > Thanks,
> > > > Charlie
> >
> > Ok, if you won't let the PostScript interpreter do all the fancy
> > calculations for you,
> > you'd get the .afm files for your 35 fonts (afm means "Adobe Font
> > Metrics"). They
> > contain the complete metric information (including kerning tables, if
> > applicable).
> > But your program composing the text to be rendered must keep track of
> > what is done
> > with the fonts in question (encoding changes, scaling etc.).
> >
> > And, if you are going to rely on the built-in fonts of a printer, you
> > *cannot* be sure
> > that am metrics file you get reflects the exact mitrics of the font.
> >
> > Helge
> Is there an easy way to get the correct afm file for the font loaded with say:
> 
> /Times findfont
> 
> when using cups?
> 
> Thanks again.
> Charlie

You must know the file name of the respective afm file. "Well behaved"
font
vendors follow (unwritten) conventions like this:
- let "Times-Roman" be the PostScript name of the font (i.e. the name
you 
  use in a findfont statement).
- Then the file containing the font program would be
  "Times-Roman.pfa" or "Times-Roman.pfb"
- The name of the corresponding afm file would be
  "Times-Roman.afm"

But, as you already might suspect, not all sources of fonts follow this
convention,
thus you simply must know ...

Helge