Is there a LaTeX-like font for my other documents?

16
2014-01
  • rascher

    Every time I open a document written in LaTeX, I can tell just based on the font. I want to know if there is a Latex-like font out there I can use for my other documents.

    I realize that latex's way of doing fonts is pretty complicated (and takes into account stuff like kerning and... other font-related vocabulary that I don't understand.) But I would like to be able to download a nice little font file and install it on my computer and type text in Office or set my system fonts to look like they were typeset in latex.

    Is this possible? Where can I find something like this? (google searching "latex fonts" and variants simply gives me Latex's different font options or descriptions on how latex handles fonts.)

    I am using Ubuntu (and OpenOffice), but I also use Windows boxes. That is to say, Windows-only or Linux-only solutions are fine with me!

    • Answers
  • dmckee

    Have you considered LyX or some other word processor-like front end to LaTeX (Scientific Workplace, maybe).

    I mean, not what you asked for, but you didn't say why you wanted this. Is it the interface? Or something else?

    BTW-- That default TeX font is called Computer Modern, which might help you in your search. And in the wikipedia link I find

    and others which are probably just what you need.

  • Barry Brown

    The Wikipedia article about the Computer Modern typeface has a bunch of links to Type 1 and OpenType formats.

    You probably don't need to install all the variations. Just the 12-point size should work for most applications. The smaller sizes are hinted to make them more legible, but you probably won't need those.

    Most of the links on the Wikipedia page point to the CTAN archives, so you may have to dig around through some directories to get to the TTF and OTF font files.

    Edit: A friend of mine once pointed out that New Century Schoolbook set at about 110% of its normal width bears a resemblance to Computer Modern.


    • Related Question

    formatting - Typesetting documents programmatically - Options besides LaTeX and Apache FOP
  • Chintan

    Are there any other markup languages which do not have a tough learning curve (I managed to get speed in Latex after about 2 mnths and still make mistakes) and can be easy to program. I am looking at Apache FOP, but it seems a bit daunting right now. And Latex is just out of question.

    What I want is to provide plain text input and/or images to predefined sections of my document and have a program (Java or C#) go ahead and format that text as per templates I have defined and then compile the document, into PostScript or PDF. I am not writing another version of the Mahabharata or Odyssey and do not require complex formatting options. The documents are intended to be pretty simple and 15-20 pages at max.

    An application of this idea, for example would be a resume builder. I define my output format in the program. Then whenever I want a copy of my resume, I just select which of my skills, projects etc. should appear and voila, the program will give me a PDF exactly as I want, customised to my needs.


    • Related Answers
  • las3rjock

    I personally use LaTeX for these sorts of tasks, but if LaTeX really is not an option, you might want to consider a lightweight markup language like reStructuredText (which has converters to HTML, LaTeX, and PDF), Markdown, or Textile.

  • DarenW

    Lout is often described as easier to learn the Latex, though YMMV.

    Latex, being based on the original TEX, has some quirks. Lout was a fresh start on designing a system like that. Easier user-defined stuff, makes more sense, possibly faster, etc. OTOH, Latex users over the years have built up a huge collection of typefaces, graphics and plotting packages, specialty packages for law, history, chemistry, music, etc... and some say Latex/TEX's math typesetting is slightly better than Lout's, although it takes a refined taste in typesetting to notice.

    Python or Ruby scripts (or your favorite language) can edit or create lout files.

    http://lout.wiki.sourceforge.net/

    http://snark.ptc.spbu.ru/~uwe/lout/essays/essays.html

    source and other files: ftp://ftp.cs.usyd.edu.au/jeff/lout/

  • DaveParillo

    You might consider doxygen. It has very simple markup, uses any combination of latex, javadoc or HTML markup in your documents and can generate PDF, HTML, RTF, latex and others. It was designed for documenting source code, but you can instruct it to pull documentation from any properly formatted text file. You can embed latex mathematics, but you need a latex compiler installed to process them.

    You can use graphviz to add diagrams using text markup as well.

  • liori

    LaTeX and TeX have some quirks in syntax, so making a TeX/LaTeX code generator is not very easy. But you can overcome this by using TeXML, which is an XML syntax for TeX/LaTeX. You still need to use LaTeX verbs and know the commands, however.