In order to be translatable into different graphics languages, Fig code in TransFig documents should use only those features which are supported by all of them. In particular, some graphics languages support more sophisticated processing of text which is part of the figure than others. <#1034#>PiCTEX<#1034#>, for example, allows full use of LATEX commands in text strings, while PostScript does not.
The standard way to use text in TransFig figures is to use only straight text with no LATEX commands. However, if a text object is flagged as ``special,'' then it is understood to include formatting commands which are interpreted by the graphics language. A document with special text will not be portable to all output languages.
The standard font specifiers are a small set of generic font types. However, if a text object is flagged as ``PS Font,'' then its font field specifies a specific PostScript font. When translating such text into PostScript, the named font is used. However, translations into other graphics languages will use some approximation to the PS font This approximation may be quite different from the named font.