gbranden pushed a commit to branch master
in repository groff.
commit 8d55aa44df700b933dcb2be95605d4cbe60393c9
Author: G. Branden Robinson <[email protected]>
AuthorDate: Sat Dec 6 03:16:30 2025 -0600
doc/groff.texi.in: Revise "Special Fonts" intro.
* Motivate the existence of the `special` and `fspecial` requests.
* Recast.
---
doc/groff.texi.in | 43 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-----------
1 file changed, 32 insertions(+), 11 deletions(-)
diff --git a/doc/groff.texi.in b/doc/groff.texi.in
index 467a3929c..73d446a12 100644
--- a/doc/groff.texi.in
+++ b/doc/groff.texi.in
@@ -12762,17 +12762,38 @@ as a range expression.
@cindex special fonts
@cindex fonts, special
-Special fonts are those that GNU @command{troff} searches, in mounting
-position order, when it cannot find a requested glyph in the selected
-font. Typically, special fonts contain unstyled glyphs and are declared
-as such in their description files; see @ref{Font Description File
-Format}. The ``Symbol'' and ``Zapf Dingbats'' fonts of the PostScript
-and PDF standards are examples. Ordinarily, only typesetters have
-special fonts.
-
-GNU @command{troff}'s @code{special} and @code{fspecial} requests permit
-a document to supplement the set of fonts searched for glyphs.
-@xref{Using Symbols}.
+Special fonts are those that the formatter searches,
+in mounting position order,
+when it cannot find a requested glyph in the selected font.
+Typically,
+they are declared as such in their description files,@footnote{@xref{Font
+Description File Format}.}
+and
+contain unstyled glyphs.
+The ``Symbol'' and ``Zapf Dingbats'' fonts
+of the PostScript and PDF standards are examples.
+Ordinarily,
+only typesetters have special fonts.
+
+GNU
+@command{troff}'s @c GNU
+@code{special}
+and
+@code{fspecial}
+requests permit a document
+to supplement the set of fonts the device configures
+for glyph search
+without having to use
+the
+@code{fp}
+request to manipulate the list of mounting positions,
+which can be tedious---by default,
+GNU
+@command{troff} @c GNU
+mounts 40 fonts at startup
+when using the
+@code{ps}
+device.
@DefreqList {special, [@Var{s1} @Var{s2} @dots{}]}
@DefreqListEndx {fspecial, f [@Var{s1} @Var{s2} @dots{}]}
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