From: de19@umail.umd.edu (Dana S Emery)
Newsgroups: comp.fonts
Subject: Re: Transferring PostScript Type 3 fonts from UNIX to Mac?
Date: 1 Oct 92 23:00:27 GMT
Followup-To: comp.fonts,comp.lang.postscript,comp.sys.mac.programmer
Organization: Personal

In article <DAMIAN.CUGLEY.92Oct1155657@pierrot.comlab>,
Damian.Cugley@comlab.ox.ac.uk (Damian Cugley) wrote:
> 
> I have written a PostScript Type 3 font on my UNIX system.  I can use
> this in PS docs of my own (and in TeX/dvips) without trouble.
> 
> I have a friend who uses a Macintosh computer and would like to be able
> to use this font as well.  Since I don't really have a Mac available to
> experiment on, I have to find a way to convert my fonts blind.

you have my sympathy.

> There are two obvious ways to do this:
> 
> Method 1.  I could generate screen (bitmap) fonts to accompany the
> printer (PS) font.  This requires knowing the file format of the screen
> font, and how to link the two so that apps can use them.  I have a
> suspicion that this should involve using the Mac concept of "resource
> forks", which may be difficult to generate from my UNIX box.

Actually, this is not an alternative, bitmaps are necessary, even for ATM
equiped systems.  There are plaintext methods of specifying resources, the
MPW environment has the Rez/DeRez tool, and Think C and Pascal have
SaRez/SaDeRez, so you could prepare thebitmaps in a text editor, and send
them to a mac programmer for conversion.  Of course, ther 'NFNT' and
'FOND' resources are not simple ones, and I am not sure if stock templates
exist for them in their full glory.  The revised IM volume Text (due
31Dec92) will have the gory details, and the relevant chapter is available
on CD rom, so maybe someone at wsu will take pity on you and make hard copy
available.

> Method 2.  Create a Type 1 font from the Type 3 program.  Type 1 is now
> a published format, and presumably Macs have some version of ATM
> available.  (Do Macs all have ATM?)

no, at least not yet, it was introduced as a for-pay system extension, and
has been the subject of so many bundlings as to amount to freeware, but it
is not bundled by apple yet, and stores still sell it.  Rumour is that it
will become an integral part of the OS in the future.

>  My fonts render the characters as a
> single outline each, and I could write a program that converts the
> character programs into a program that will spit out Type 1 "assembly
> code" for that character and post-process that into a "%!FontType1-1.1".
> But would the resulting plain text file be suitable for use on Macs?

not directly, In the Mac environment, PS fonts are wraped in a 'LWFN' file
structure which contains 'POST' resources with conventionally assigned id
numbers which ascend from 501 to what-ever.  A variant form uses 'POST'
resources to defer the PS data to the data fork, which ordinarily would be
void.  Each 'POST' resource is flavored by a header word, and the gory
details are available from the adobe document server.  Try the
comp.lang.postscript faq for access details.

> 
> So, what do I want from you?  First, some information about Macintosh
> resources and filetypes, and what facilities there are for adding them
> to files imported from non-Mac systems.

Mac files are shiped all over the net, wrapped up in various forms of
protection---to spawn one on a foreign environment should be possible, but
there are more efficient ways, if you can form a symbiotic relationship
with a Mac programmer somewhat closer to home.

> Second, info on screen font formats, and also how they are installed and related 
> to printer fonts.

Mac PS fonts comprise 3 files.  A plaintext 'afm' file allows programs that
care to cheaply access the font metrics.  A 'LWFN' file suplies the printer
driver (and ATM) with the actual PS info.  And a 'FFIL' (suitcase) file 
will contain the 'FOND' / 'NFNT' cluster which define the bitmaps.  The
'FOND' establishes the font family, and lists the 'NFNT's which belong to
it.  The 'FOND' also contains a table which allows the printer driver to
predict the PS font name, and the 'LWFN' file names of all family
variations supported by that set of bitmaps.  Each 'NFNT' resource supplys
the actual bitmaps for a given point size/stylistic variation.

> Finally, if there are clever systems for using Type 3 fonts, or for
> converting them to Type 1 without any effort, then I could save myself
> some bother!


For 265 dollars US, you can buy a Mac hosted package called Fontographer
which advertises type 1, type 3 and truetype generation capability, for
Mac, Dos, and Next format fonts, with hinting.  Fontographer is a product
of Altsys, and it has a long history in the mac world.  Other PS font
creation software exists, but my mind is drawing a blank as to names. 
Features vary, as do prices, I only mention Fontographer as an example,
other packages definately exist which will do as well for you, maybe even
on your own platform.

Macs Place, MacWarehouse, MacConection all sell it, and all have 800
numbers (in the us, (800) 555-1212 is the information operator) and it may
be exportable.

Good luck, maybe your posting on c.l.p will turn up a unix based solution,
the above is certainly doable, but it is far from optimal.
--

Dana S Emery <de19@umail.umd.edu> | "Novo, de Novo,
                                  |     de novo, de no-o-o-o-o---, 
                                  | Novemba come an' dey gonna go home."
Newsgroups: comp.fonts