XeTeX is a Unicode-capable variant of the TeX engine. Use this tag if your question is about Xe(La)TeX specific problems and is not related to standard (La)TeX.
152
votes
5answers
23k views
Differences between LuaTeX, ConTeXt and XeTeX
I’m interested in the differences and commonalities between the “new” (La)TeX processors:
LuaTeX,
XeTeX, and
ConTeXt.
Personally, I’ve only used XeTeX so far and without having the time to try out ...
75
votes
3answers
9k views
Frequently loaded packages: Differences between pdfLaTeX and XeLaTeX
Until now, I have been compiling my LaTeX documents with pdfLaTeX. My standard document preamble includes the "usual suspects" for non-English speakers (inputenc, fontenc, babel) and a bunch of other ...
65
votes
8answers
6k views
Drawbacks of XeTeX/LuaTeX
Currently I use pdflatex to process my documents, but I want to be with the cool kids and switch to XeTeX or LuaTeX. My documents are moderately multilingual (main text in portuguese or english, ...
56
votes
6answers
4k views
I am new to TeX. Should I use LaTeX, XeLaTeX, …?
I am starting to learn LaTeX and I really like what I am seeing. However, I get the feeling I should actually start with another 'TeX' version. I've been reading about different options. Some ...
48
votes
3answers
7k views
What is XeTeX exactly and why should I use it?
I have been using LaTeX for five years now and have been using PDFLaTeX ever since. I find it hard to monitor the progress of LaTeX development.
Recently there is a lot of talk about XeTeX. What is ...
45
votes
1answer
2k views
Small-caps, old-style numbers, and some ligatures produce odd symbols in PDF copy text?
This is a problem I've had consistently with XeLaTeX. Here's a small example:
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{fontspec}
\setmainfont[Ligatures=TeX,Numbers={OldStyle,Proportional}]{Minion Pro}
...
40
votes
9answers
7k views
What best combination of fonts for Serif, Sans, and Mono do you recommend?
Now that Xe(La)TeX is being increasingly used to deliver nifty documents, I am wondering if any recommendations have been published or discussed about the best combination of font families for mixing ...
39
votes
1answer
454 views
The ^^ notation in various engines
Basically, how does the ^^^... notation work in LuaTeX and XeTeX, exactly?
In 8-bit TeX engines (recent TeX, eTeX, pdfTeX, at least), two consecutive identical catcode 7 characters (typically ^), ...
38
votes
1answer
1k views
Is it possible to provide alternative text to use when copying text from the PDF?
I’m using XeLaTeX within MiKTeX and have the following problem.
Let there be some acronym, e.g. USA. I would like to write it in real small caps using \textsc{usa} but these are, of course, ...
36
votes
4answers
617 views
Are XeTeX and LuaTeX platform dependent?
One of the main goals that Don Knuth had when developing TeX (other than the obvious one of creating high-quality documents) was a 100% platform independence. A document produced on one system should ...
33
votes
1answer
916 views
Frequently loaded packages: Differences between XeLaTeX and LuaLaTeX
Adding the missing member to pdfLaTeX vs. XeLaTeX and pdfLaTeX vs. LuaLaTeX, here's the last of the big three: XeLaTeX vs. LuaLaTeX.
Where would a typical template for XeLaTeX differ from one for ...
27
votes
3answers
1k views
Is XeTeX a complete rewrite of LaTeX/TeX?
I have been looking into XeTeX for type-setting Unicode Text. I looked into the source code of it. XeTeX source distribution comes with Web2C. Is XeTeX a complete rewrite of TeX? If not, how did it ...
21
votes
1answer
589 views
Can I write a document that is compilable with both latex and xetex?
I have just started to have a look at XeTeX and I am wondering whether to make the switch, however I am a bit scared... ...and I am basically wondering if I have to take the step fully or if I can ...
20
votes
7answers
5k views
How to get straight quotation marks?
How do I get straight quotation marks, i.e., " and ' in TeX? (No, \verb changes the font and this is unacceptable.)
[Edit] I forgot to mention that I’m using XeLaTeX, and fontspec is a necessity. ...
20
votes
2answers
172 views
What are lccode and uccode used for?
In TeX, each of the 256 bytes has an associated \lccode and an \uccode, integers in the range [0,255] which indicate among other things how \lowercase and \uppercase act. There are of course a bunch ...
19
votes
1answer
743 views
Clipping support in XeTeX
In pdflatex I'm used to clip graphics using something like this:
\includegraphics[trim=14mm 0mm 14mm 0mm,clip,width=1.2cm]{image.jpg}
When I attempt this in XeLaTeX, no clipping occurs and I get a ...
19
votes
2answers
668 views
Placement of subscripts using unicode-math. Is it XeTeX bug?
I don't like placement of subsripts when using unicode math fonts under XeLaTeX. In contrast to CM fonts the subscripts are placed at different vertical positions obviously depending on the depth of ...
18
votes
3answers
739 views
Detect which TeX engine is used
How can I detect inside a TeX file which engine (pdftex/xetex/luatex) is used to compile the file? Is there a LaTeX package that provides this functionality?
18
votes
1answer
2k views
Load fonts that are in a ./fonts directory
I'm new to TeX. I have the following problem: How can I load a font from a file in a directory, which is located in the root of the project?
Say I have something like:
/project
/fonts
...
18
votes
2answers
287 views
How can I improve my Turkish Small Capitals (XeTeX)
Status update
In a private email, Bogusław Jackowski (to whom my sincere thanks) has recognised this as a bug in the TeX Gyre fonts. As the TeX Gyre team are all working hard on another piece of the ...
17
votes
5answers
1k views
Considerations when migrating from XeTeX to LuaTeX?
What are the things to know when moving from XeTeX to LuaTeX, particularly when it comes to TTF/OTF support and OpenType features?
17
votes
2answers
483 views
PDF Layers (OCG) using xelatex
I am switching from pdflatex to xelatex and have trouble finding an alternative on how to do layers in the pdf. So far I have been using ocg.sty to separate relevant content from eye-candy content ...
16
votes
3answers
920 views
Using unicode Roman numerals in XeTeX
As mentioned in How can I get Roman numerals in text?, there are several ways in which one can add Roman numerals to text in TeX. However, these solutions all seem to use three I's to make a roman ...
16
votes
2answers
2k views
How to install TeX on android phones?
I used VerbTeX app in my android phone. But this app do not support XeLaTeX. Also I need internet connection for using of that.
Is there any distribution of TeX for android?
How I can install TeX on ...
16
votes
1answer
470 views
Putting quotation marks in TeX document
Have to put double quotes mark for a sentence. I am using Xetex.
For the input string ``The work'', the output is also ``The work'' whereas it should be “The work”. Below is the list of packages and ...
15
votes
3answers
561 views
Starting with TeX (not LaTeX)
I've been using LaTeX for 3 years and I'm decided to switch to (plain) TeX. For the moment I'm reading The TeXbook for the third time (I quietly start to read the double-danger signed paragraphs) and ...
15
votes
3answers
417 views
Can I use an easy programming language with XeTeX?
TeX is frustrating me. It has only the basics - and even then, I have to search how to divide two numbers.
The question is this: can I write my macros in more convenient language like Ruby or Lisp?
...
15
votes
1answer
581 views
PDF file size with LuaLaTeX vs XeLaTeX
I have a set one one page documents written in LaTex.
The same file compiled in LuaLaTeX is about 23 times larger than when it is complied using XeLaTex (about 641 KB vs 28 kb). I tried with a couple ...
15
votes
3answers
2k views
PDF version issue when including PDF figures
I keep getting the following line in my log file
** WARNING ** Version of PDF file (1.5) is newer than version limit specification.
with reference to each image I'm trying to include in my ...
15
votes
1answer
711 views
fontspec with Helvetica breaks quotes
The usual quoting with `` and '' doesn't work anymore after including this (which also changes the engine to XeTeX):
\usepackage{fontspec}
\setmainfont{Helvetica}
They are just printed verbatim in ...
14
votes
2answers
585 views
How to insert Greek letters directly in math environment?
Why are non-Latin characters not displayed in formulas, even when using XeLaTeX?
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{xltxtra}
\begin{document}
$\omega$ %displyed
$ω$ %not displyed
...
14
votes
3answers
3k views
How to use Fraktur/Gothic fonts in text mode
Is there any way to use fraktur font styles in text mode? I cannot enter math and do \mathfrak because then spaces are eaten up by LaTeX.
Any pointers?
14
votes
3answers
434 views
How do I wrap text that doesn't use SPACE character to segment word
As you know, there are many languages out there that don't use a SPACE character for word segmentation. For such language, special non-printable characters are used, such ZERO WIDTH NON JOINER or ZERO ...
14
votes
2answers
613 views
Parentheses differ (XeLaTeX, fontspec, newtxmath, libertine)
After Internal error: bad native font flag I stumbled upon another weird problem with the combination XeLaTeX/fontspec/Libertine/newtxmath:
\documentclass{scrartcl}
\usepackage[no-math]{fontspec}
...
14
votes
1answer
224 views
Analog of \pdfelapsedtime for LuaTeX and XeTeX
In pdfTeX, the \pdfelapsedtime primitive gives access to the time since this pdfTeX run was started, in "scaled seconds" (1/65536 seconds). This is useful to benchmark code: repeat it many times, and ...
14
votes
1answer
292 views
Different compilation times with different Operating Systems
I have noticed that when compiling or rather typesetting with XeLaTeX, I experience very different compilation times on different Operating Systems.
When I typeset on Windows, the compilation process ...
14
votes
1answer
589 views
Create a fancy page layout
In the following picture (desired layout)
the grayed area is reserved for the header. It is supposed to be fancy looking with tikz pictures, chapter/section names with pretty fonts etc. The ...
13
votes
4answers
420 views
Combining \ifxetex and \ifluatex with the logical OR operation
I want to write in the preamble of a LaTeX document code that should be take into account by different compilers when the document is typeset. There are fragments that should be used:
only by ...
13
votes
4answers
2k views
What free math font could/should accompany Linux Libertine and Linux Biolinum?
Well, the title of the question pretty much says everything. To be more precise: I'd like to know (1) what font would be visually suitable to use with Linux Libertine and/or Linux Biolinum as the ...
13
votes
2answers
387 views
What is the XeTeX equivalent of \pdfcreationdate?
I need the time to 1-second resolution.
datetime uses \pdfcreationdate for this, but only under pdf(La)TeX.
As a result under XeLaTeX, this:
\usepackage{datetime}
...
...
13
votes
2answers
570 views
Is there any specific reason to use LaTeX over XeLaTeX?
Is there any situation in which it would be easier to do things in LaTeX rather than XeLaTeX?
13
votes
3answers
1k views
Ligatures in Hoefler with XeTeX?
Using XeLaTeX on OS X 10.6 (texlive installed with MacPorts) I'm not getting any ligatures with Hoefler.
Example code:
\documentclass[10pt]{article}
\usepackage{fontspec,xltxtra}
...
13
votes
1answer
584 views
TeX accents do not seem to work with fontspec and xe/lua/latex
I am using Minion Pro as mainfont and it does not have in its glyph table the character U+1E47 Latin small letter with dot below which I need only once in my document. Rather than change to another ...
13
votes
1answer
457 views
Is there a poisonous interaction between memoir, hyperref, and hyperxmp?
In another, now rather confused, question, I'm struggling to get copyright information into a PDF produced by memoir.
The investigations so far have led to this problematical MWE:
% !TEX TS-program ...
13
votes
2answers
2k views
Getting Started to Xetex for Devangari?
I have learn LaTeX for a while. Now, I want to type Indic scripts using Tex and I found that XeTeX is the best because it supports unicode and opentype fonts. But the problem is there are not any ...
13
votes
3answers
3k views
How do I use an OpenType font with my LaTeX document?
I want to use a really cool open-source OpenType font with my LaTeX document.
I was told that either I could go through a long process of converting the OpenType font to one useable by LaTeX, or I ...
13
votes
1answer
2k views
Margin kerning in Xe(La)TeX for TeXlive 2010: how to enable?
I'm using the pre-release testing version of TeXlive 2010. From what I understand from the TeXlive Guide, a new feature is that support for magin kerning has been added to XeTeX.
From what I can ...
13
votes
3answers
902 views
'Not element of' in Latin Modern
In the following example, the ∉ symbol does not look good.
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{unicode-math}
\setmainfont{Latin Modern Roman}
\setmathfont{Latin Modern Math}
\begin{document}
This ...
13
votes
1answer
1k views
XeTeX warning: Redefining document command \oldstylenums with arg. spec. 'm'
I updated my MiKTeX to the newest version a few days ago, and after this when I compile documents with the fontspec package included, there's a warning. For example:
\documentclass{article}
...
12
votes
4answers
593 views
Is there any site to get good and free font families?
Since I started to use XeTeX, I found out that having many font families installed is very useful when we want to change the look of the document?
Does anybody know a place to get good fonts (if ...
