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Re: Top 10 IDL Requests
Andrew wrote:
> I use direct graphics, and for reasons that seem obvious to me, I use
> PostScript fonts in my output. This makes life a lot easier in many
> ways, and I can even embed LaTeX commands in my output (parsed via
> psfrag).
>
> Now, as you know, IDL barfs on PS fonts in 3D. IDL's vector fonts can
> be fed through the XYZ coordinare transformation, and, bada-bing, you've
> got your 3D axes labeled. Not so with PS fonts.
>
> My understanding from the PS red book and elsewhere is that life does
> not have to be this way. I may be mistaken, but I think with a little
> brainwork (not my strong suit) PostScript fonts can also be rotated and
> transformed in 3D-space-mapped-to-2D. I mean you know where the heck
> the axes are drawn, right? You know this once they are drawn, maybe not
> before. And PS fonts can be rotated 360-degreess, and of course
> translated horizonatally and vertically wherever you want. So why can't
> IDL label the axes of a 3D graph with PS fonts? Draw the axes and then
> label them, rather than draw them and label them at the same time.
>
> Using vector fonts for 3D and PS fonts for 2D is annoying. Using vector
> fonts for everything is more annoying.
>
> My humble request: FULL SUPPORT for PS fonts in IDL direct graphics,
> including 3D.
Andrew,
TrueType fonts scale and rotate correctly in 3D, e.g.
set_plot, 'PS'
device, set_font='Times Italic', /tt_font, file='surface.ps'
surface, dist(256), xtitle='X Axis', ytitle='Y Axis', font=1
device, /close
Cheers,
Liam.
http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/~gumley