Re: Top 10 IDL Requests

["Liam E.Gumley" <Liam.Gumley(at)ssec.wisc.edu>]

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