On Sun, 23 Oct 2016, at 21:28, [email protected] wrote: > On 23-Oct-2016 18:52:41 Gerard Lally wrote: > > Is it possible to lay out a page, as in the attached sample file, > > using *roff? I'm about to commit myself to learning troff and friends > > more thoroughly. Before I start I'd like to have a broad idea of its > > limitations. > > > > I don't need a how-to, detailed or otherwise, showing the steps you'd > > take to produce this page in *roff. Just an idea whether or not the > > wizards among you on this list would consider tackling such a project > > with your favourite document formatter. > > Since you seek a short answer, it is "Yes"! This includes fancy > things like the circular layout of the starts of lines below > "Personal Characteristics". Basically, in troff, you can define > what objects you want to put on the page, and tell troff exactly > where to put them. As for the graphic elements, so long as each > is available in EPS (Encapsulated PostScript) format, it is easy > to place them where desired and with the desired size.[**]
Remarkable! I came across a post of yours in the list archives which hinted at *roff's capabilities in this regard. I was quite excited to see it suggested. > However, some of the details of achieving the layout in your example > could be intricate in troff, and also it looks as though the fonts > you have used are not those available by default in troff, and would > need to be installed (which itself is a somewhat finicky process). Oh that image is just something I selected at random to convey the layout and complexity I had in mind. Ignore the fonts please! As it happens I have been slowly working my way through some troff books I bought (my namesake Lally co-authored one of them!), using heirloom troff, where font installation is straightforward. I'd like to master raw troff first, and then look at the macros. > Hoping this helps! It certainly does Ted. Thank you! I'm happy to know I won't hit a wall somewhere down the line. I really don't mind spending time mastering *roff, once I know what can be done with or without effort. > Ted. > [**] In illustration of the latter point, I attach a frivolous little > piece of scientific writing I composed a while ago ... > Attached PDF: gravity_levityC.pdf
