LyX should recommend cm-super for vector fonts

[Dara Adib]

Binary package hint: lyx

The LyX package should recommend cm-super, so that it will be automatically installed. Without cm-super, the PDF files that LyX produces (pdflatex, ps2pdf and dvipdfm) with default fonts have type 3 (bitmap) fonts embedded in them. They should have type 1 (vector) fonts instead. By recommending cm-super, Bug 145445 will be fixed.

[Adrian Johnson (ajohnson-redneon)]

Any update on this. The problem still occurs with 9.10.

[Jan Schlüter (f0k)]

The problem still occurs in 10.04 LTS. I get Type 3 fonts with \usepackage[T1]{fontenc} and Type 1 without. The latter is typeset slightly differently (font seems to be slightly larger horizontally, at least some lines are word-wrapped earlier).

I would like to raise the priority of this, as people have been complaining about my bitmapped fonts since I switched to Ubuntu, and only now I learned that removing the fontenc line (which I always put in my files) solves the problem.
Apart from that, it is not a LyX problem, but a general problem of Ubuntu's standard LaTeX setup. I'm not an expert on how the system is set up, but maybe somebody with a little more insight could open a new bug?

For anybody stumbling upon this by googling just as I did: The Latin Modern fonts are included in Ubuntu by default, giving another possibility to get proper T1 fonts. Specifically, I tried the following combinations in a TeX file processed with pdflatex:

F = \usepackage[T1]{fontenc}, L = \usepackage{lmodern}, C = installed cm-super package
{F}: bitmap font, smaller typesetting, filesize 412 kB
{}: vector font, larger typesetting, filesize 420 kB
{F,L}: vector font, larger typesetting, filesize 543 kB
{F,C}: vector font, smaller typesetting, filesize 579 kB

As I cannot visually distinguish Latin Modern from Computer Modern, I don't know which font has actually been used for {} and why it is so much smaller than the other vector font files. Anyway, I think that {F} should produce a vector font file with a standard Ubuntu installation.

[Jean-Marc Lasgouttes (jmarc)]

This happens because by default LyX follows LaTeX default. In this sense, what you complain about is a LaTeX bug. The choice has bee made to stay with whatever LaTeX does for defaults. While people used to workprocessors complain, people who exchange documents with other LaTeX users are happier.

Another solution besides what you proposed is to use "Almost European" fonts. This is a virtual fonts that uses the postscript OT1 fonts that ship with LaTeX to emulate postscript T1 fonts. This avoids the overhead of either cm-super of lmodern.

Finally, you can also use the "Save as Document Defaults" button of the Document Settings dialog to select your current settings (font, paper...) as default for new document.

[Jean-Marc Lasgouttes (jmarc)]

I think the situation is better now. What do you think?