Creating new TFM files

If the distribution doesn't provide a TFM file for a font you would like to use then there are a number of things you can do:
  1. If you have access to the Internet then look for the TFM file in the nearest CTAN site (see the ``Related Software'' item in the Help menu). If the font is called foo then look for foo.tfm. If it is a PostScript font then you might have to search a bit harder; using Karl Berry's scheme it might be called something like pfo.tfm. If you find it, remember that a TFM file must be transferred as a binary file.
  2. If you can't find foo.tfm then look for foo.mf. Such a file can be used by {\logo METAFONT\null} to create foo.tfm (and a corresponding set of PK files at any resolution you like). See section [*].
  3. If foo is a PostScript font then look for foo.afm. An AFM (Adobe Font Metric) file contains very similar information to a TFM file. Alan Jeffrey's fontinst package can convert an AFM file into a PL or VPL file which can then convert into a TFM file (see page [*]).
  4. As a last resort you could even create a PL file from scratch. A very tedious and error-prone job though.
Having found or created a new TFM file, you need to place it in a suitable folder so that can find it. If you put it in one of the sub-folders in TeX-fonts (or create a new sub-folder) then you won't need to change the TFM folder(s) in the Default config file. If the TFM file is for a PostScript font then you must add a suitable entry to the list of fonts at the bottom of the Default config file. The examples in the file will show you what to do.