Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!utstat!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!samsung!cg-atla!hjortsho
From: hjortsho@cg-atla.UUCP (Erik Hjortshoj)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.postscript
Subject: Re: AFM files: of any use?
Message-ID: <8054@cg-atla.UUCP>
Date: 16 Nov 89 15:09:59 GMT
References: <134400010@cdp> <8049@cg-atla.UUCP> <12830@polya.Stanford.EDU>
Reply-To: hjortsho@cg-atla.UUCP (Erik Hjortshoj)
Organization: Agfa Compugraphic Division
Lines: 29

In article <12830@polya.Stanford.EDU> rokicki@polya.Stanford.EDU (Tomas G. Rokicki) writes:
|In article <8049@cg-atla.UUCP>, hjortsho@cg-atla.UUCP (Erik Hjortshoj) writes:
|| In article <134400010@cdp> jwhiting@cdp.UUCP writes:
|| |Do _any_ applications make use of AFM files?
|
|| Yup, they are used.
|
|So, then, why aren't they made available?  When I buy a PostScript laser
|printer, I don't get AFM files for the fonts.  I can get them from the
|Adobe file server, but that doesn't help Joe Consumer.  And Adobe has
|never responded to any requests for permission to distribute the things
|with any software packages I am aware of.  What good are they if you can't
|get them?  (This is one of my major gripes with Adobe . . .)
|
|-tom

Attribute data (font metrics) is used by applications and is 
not used by the PostScript printers.  The attribute data is 
traditionaly associated with the display (or screen) fonts, not
the printer fonts.  With the introduction of the Adobe Type Manager (ATM),
which alows Type 1 printer fonts to be used for display,  I think you
will see more vendors include AFM files with their fonts.  Also, as the font
capabilities of applications become more sophisticated, their need and
demand (and hence their availability) will become greater.

-- 
Erik Hjortshoj                          
Agfa Corp, Agfa Compugraphic Division            (508) 658-5600 x7415  
Wilmington MA.                                   ulowell!cg-atla!hjortsho