Previewing files using Type 1 fonts

Until recently, free TeX previewers have only been capable of displaying bitmap PK fonts. (Y&Y's commercial previewer DVIWindo has long used Adobe Type Manager to display Type 1 fonts directly, and the most recent releases of xdvi sport a Type 1 font renderer.) Other previewers of the current generation offer automatic generation of the requisite PK files (using gsftopk, or similar, behind the scenes). If your previewer isn't capable of this, you have three options:

  1. Convert the DVI file to PostScript and use a PostScript previewer. Some systems offer this capability as standard, but most people will need to use a separate previewer such as ghostscript or ghostscript-based viewers such as ghostview or shareware offering gsview.
  2. Under Windows on a PC, or on a Macintosh, let Adobe Type Manager display the fonts. Textures (Macintosh) works like this, and under Windows you can use Y&Y's dviwindo for bitmap-free previewing. (See commercial suppliers for details.)
  3. If you have the PostScript fonts in Type 1 format, use ps2pk or gsftopk (designed for use with the ghostscript fonts) to make PK bitmap fonts which your previewer will understand. This can produce excellent results, also suitable for printing with non-PostScript devices. Check the legalities of this if you have purchased the fonts. The very commonest PostScript fonts such as Times and Courier come in Type 1 format on disk with Adobe Type Manager (often bundled with Windows, and part of OS/2).
ghostscript
Browse nonfree/support/ghostscript/
ghostview
Browse support/ghostscript/gnu/ghostview/
gsftopk
fonts/utilities/gsftopk.tar.gz
gsview
Browse nonfree/support/ghostscript/gsview/
ps2pk
fonts/utilities/ps2pk.tar.gz
xdvi
dviware/xdvi.tar.gz