The following header lines retained to affect attribution: |Date: Sat, 19 Dec 1998 09:00:02 -0500 |Reply-To: Mailing list for the LaTeX3 project |From: "Y&Y Inc." <[log in to unmask]> |Subject: Re: portable LaTeX |To: Multiple recipients of list LATEX-L |At 12:08 PM 12/16/98 -0600, Randolph J. Herber wrote: |>|Randolph J. Herber writes: ... I accept your other `corrections' even though my experience contradicts those statements. |> If the figures are not Adobe PostScript level 1 or self |> capable of reducing themselves to that level, then the |> only practical choice is to bitmap the images, which then |> can be converted to Adobe EPSF at Adobe PostScript level 1. |> Adobe PostScript level 1 is a requirement from considerations |> of portability. |Not at all. Distiller understands PS level II. No need to dumb down |your PS. It is up to the printer driver on the Reader side to use |PS level I or PS level II whichever is appropriate. Certainly there |is no conversion to bitmaps when meeting level II code. I repeat and stand by my original statement ``Adobe PostScript level 1 is a requirement _from considerations of portability_.'' I work daily with scientists scattered around the planet with problems generating, displaying and printing Abode Postscript language files and Adobe PDF. In the interest of portability, Adobe PostScript level 1 language files using internal supplied fonts or the ``original'' 13 fonts (4 each Times-Roman, Helvetica and Courier and Symbol) with proper DSC is the _only_ in-practical-fact portable format. The only reliable ``fix'' for Adobe PDF is to convert it to an Adobe PostScript language file and, if necessary (which it frequently is), forcefully by manual editting dumb it down to language level 1. Nothing else works reliably. PDF fails more frequently than anything else---most printers fail if given a PDF directly. As far as I can tell the _only_ reason for PDF is to protect Adobe's fonts for Adobe. Ghostview does not handle PDF files as input in any version that I am aware of. PDF files are frequently encrypted which causes problems by cryptography being illegal to export from several countries as military munitions and illegal to import into others without special permissions (e.g. France, Russia and the Peoples' Reuplic of China). As for Adobe PostScript language level 2, many applications do not generate proper ``dumbing down'' code---it has to be hand repaired to be portable and the easiest fix is to do a conversion to language level 1 at the same time. And, there are quite a few printers still in active use which are only Adobe PostScript language level 1. These printers are not going to be withdrawn from service just to make it convenient for you, Adobe or any one else. As for Adobe PostScript language level 3, there are very few level 3 printers or viewers available and they are hard to find. I _am quite willing to accept_ a stage of conversion from TeX DVI to Adobe PostScript language files. Until there are converters as competent as dvips and dvipsk are for converting DVI to Adobe PostScript language files for converting Adobe PDF to Adobe PostScript level 1 language files, I have no interest in a LaTeX that produces Adobe PDF instead of DVI. |Maybe tune in to comp.text.pdf? There does not seem to be much there: No articles under restriction. Restriction comp.text.pdf removed. |Maybe read http://www.YandY.com/download/pdf_from.pdf If you want this to be read, then put it up as an Adobe PostScript level 1 language file so that it generally can be read. Furthermore, to demonstrate the quality of that file: # xpdf pdf_from.pdf xpdf version 0.7a Copyright © 1996-1998 Derek B. Noonburg Error (0): PDF file is damaged - attempting to reconstruct xref table... Error: Top-level pages object is wrong type (null) Error: Couldn't read page catalog # pdf2ps pdf_from.pdf pdf_from.ps Error: /invalidaccess in --fileposition-- Operand stack: 49150 49139 (dup 99 /floor) (dup 99 /floorleft putt put<< \015/Linearized 1 \015/O 114 \015/H [ 964 520 ] \015/L 177710 \015/E 61162 \015/N 10 \015/T 175351 \015>> \015endobj\015 xref\015112 27 \0150000000016 00000 n\015\0120000000891 00000 n\015\0120000001484 00000 n\015\012000000167) 49139 --nostringval-- Execution stack: %interp_exit () --nostringval-- --nostringval-- --nostringval-- false --nostringval-- --nostringval-- --nostringval-- --nostringval-- --nostringval-- %loop_continue --nostringval-- --nostringval-- --nostringval-- Dictionary stack: --dict:677/701-- --dict:0/20-- --dict:47/200-- --dict:47/200-- --dict:112/119-- --dict:158/160-- --dict:4/10-- Current allocation mode is local |Maybe check out Donald Story's `AcroTeX' web page: |http://www.math.uakron.edu/~dpstory/ I tried it. I fail to see how it helps. I did see that it also has the same problems with respect to Adobe PDF that many WWW sites have with respect to html---you have to have ``bleeding'' edge software in order to use the material. Which is without consideration of the users' needs, wants, wishes or capacities. For example, general use WWW pages should be written to be usable by Lynx and Mosaic web browsers. If nothing else, then provide a text only button and a separate set of pages. If not, then, for example, provide alt= tags for images. |Regards, Berthold. |Y&Y, Inc. phone: (508) 371-3286 fax: (508) 371-2004 (USA) |mailto:[log in to unmask] mailto:[log in to unmask] |http://www.YandY.com http://www.YandY.com/unique.htm Randolph J. Herber, [log in to unmask], +1 630 840 2966, CD/CDFTF PK-149F, Mail Stop 318, Fermilab, Kirk & Pine Rds., PO Box 500, Batavia, IL 60510-0500, USA. (Speaking for myself and not for US, US DOE, FNAL nor URA.) 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