PostScript specials could not be rendered

[Mark Fisher]

I have been using MikTeX 2.4 for some time with no problems, but
recently I get the error message in YAP (2.4.1803)

"PostScript specials could not be rendered".

The transcript says (among other things):

"Last OS error: No such file or directory"

and

"MiKTeX GPL Ghostscript 8.54: Unrecoverable error, exit code 1"

My installation at work has no problems. I think I recently ran the
update wizard on my home installation where the problem is.

Does anyone have any ideas as to where the problem is or what I should
investigate?

(I am using WinEdt 5.4 if that makes any difference.)

Thanks,

Mark

[Alan Ristow]

Mark Fisher wrote:
> I have been using MikTeX 2.4 for some time with no problems, but
> recently I get the error message in YAP (2.4.1803)
>
> "PostScript specials could not be rendered".
>
> The transcript says (among other things):
>
> "Last OS error: No such file or directory"

That's not much information to go on so this is just a guess, but does
your document have any \includegraphics commands? I think maybe Yap
can't find one or more of your EPS files. Did you move them since you
last compiled your document, or open the DVI on a computer that doesn't
have them?

Alan

[Mark Fisher]

Yes, I use \includegraphics.

I have made no change in the document(s). When YAP can't find the file,
it simply says "can't find file".

But it does find the file (I believe). Now that I look more closely, at
the beginning of the "PostScript Interpreter Transcript" it says

"Error: /invalidfont in findfont"

In addtion it says:

Operand stack:
--nostringval-- PermitFileReading --nostringval--
PermitFileWriting --nostringval-- Plain Courier Font Courier
794194 Courier --nostringval-- Courier NimbusMonL-Regu

Any ideas?

--Mark.

[Ulrike Fischer]

Mark Fisher <ma...@markfisher.net> schrieb:

> Yes, I use \includegraphics.
>
> I have made no change in the document(s). When YAP can't find the file,
> it simply says "can't find file".
>
> But it does find the file (I believe). Now that I look more closely, at
> the beginning of the "PostScript Interpreter Transcript" it says
>
> "Error: /invalidfont in findfont"

The location of standard fonts is probably out of synch with the pathes
mentioned in fontmap.miktex. Update/reinstall miktex-ghostscript and/or
all standard font packages like times, courier etc. If this doesn't
help search the group for fontmap.miktex.

--
Ulrike Fischer
e-mail: zusätzlich meinen Vornamen vor dem @ einfügen.
e-mail: add my first name between the news and the @.

[Mark Fisher]

Ulrike Fischer wrote:
> Mark Fisher <ma...@markfisher.net> schrieb:
>
>> Yes, I use \includegraphics.
>>
>> I have made no change in the document(s). When YAP can't find the file,
>> it simply says "can't find file".
>>
>> But it does find the file (I believe). Now that I look more closely, at
>> the beginning of the "PostScript Interpreter Transcript" it says
>>
>> "Error: /invalidfont in findfont"
>
> The location of standard fonts is probably out of synch with the pathes
> mentioned in fontmap.miktex. Update/reinstall miktex-ghostscript and/or
> all standard font packages like times, courier etc. If this doesn't
> help search the group for fontmap.miktex.
>
>

I have reinstalled both miktex and ghostscript but the problem remains.
(During the installation of ghostscript I said yes to installing the
fonts.) I'm not sure what to do now.

--Mark.

[flower....@gmail.com]

I have the same problem. After reading around aparently the problem is
with the new yap 2.5. Mine tries to swich to dvips and crashes.

Check and see if you indeed have the old 2.4 yap.
I am trying to find that version.

IF

On Nov 16, 8:44 am, Mark Fisher <m...@markfisher.net> wrote:
> Ulrike Fischer wrote:

> > Mark Fisher <m...@markfisher.net> schrieb:

>
> >> Yes, I use \includegraphics.
>
> >> I have made no change in the document(s). When YAP can't find the file,
> >> it simply says "can't find file".
>
> >> But it does find the file (I believe). Now that I look more closely, at
> >> the beginning of the "PostScript Interpreter Transcript" it says
>
> >> "Error: /invalidfont in findfont"
>
> > The location of standard fonts is probably out of synch with the pathes
> > mentioned in fontmap.miktex. Update/reinstall miktex-ghostscript and/or
> > all standard font packages like times, courier etc. If this doesn't

> > help search the group for fontmap.miktex.I have reinstalled both miktex and ghostscript but the problem remains.

[Ulrike Fischer]

Mark Fisher <ma...@markfisher.net> schrieb:

>>> "Error: /invalidfont in findfont"
>>
>> The location of standard fonts is probably out of synch with the pathes
>> mentioned in fontmap.miktex. Update/reinstall miktex-ghostscript and/or
>> all standard font packages like times, courier etc. If this doesn't
>> help search the group for fontmap.miktex.
>>
>>
>
> I have reinstalled both miktex and ghostscript but the problem remains.

I didn't say you should reinstall ghostscript, but miktex-ghostscript.
This is a miktex package (miktex has its own ghostscript mgs).

> (During the installation of ghostscript I said yes to installing the
> fonts.) I'm not sure what to do now.

Do what I said: search this group for "fontmap.miktex". Or search for
fontmap.miktex in your system, open it in an editor. Search for the
entries of the urw-fonts and control if the pathes match the real
location of the fonts.

[Mark Fisher]

Ulrike Fischer wrote:
> Mark Fisher <ma...@markfisher.net> schrieb:
>
>>>> "Error: /invalidfont in findfont"
>>> The location of standard fonts is probably out of synch with the pathes
>>> mentioned in fontmap.miktex. Update/reinstall miktex-ghostscript and/or
>>> all standard font packages like times, courier etc. If this doesn't
>>> help search the group for fontmap.miktex.
>>>
>>>
>> I have reinstalled both miktex and ghostscript but the problem remains.
>
> I didn't say you should reinstall ghostscript, but miktex-ghostscript.
> This is a miktex package (miktex has its own ghostscript mgs).
>
>> (During the installation of ghostscript I said yes to installing the
>> fonts.) I'm not sure what to do now.
>
> Do what I said: search this group for "fontmap.miktex". Or search for
> fontmap.miktex in your system, open it in an editor. Search for the
> entries of the urw-fonts and control if the pathes match the real
> location of the fonts.
>

Thanks for your help. I have used the miktex package manager to
uninstall and reinstall both miktex-ghostscript-base and
miktex-ghostscript-bin. (Any ideas as to why reinstalling both miktex
and ghostscript did not fix the problem?)

I have located the file

C:\MiKTeX\Main\ghostscript\base\Fontmap.MiKTeX

and opened it my text editor. (It has 2217 lines.) The first 10 lines are

/Courier-Bold (type1/adobe/courier/pcrb8a.pfb) ;
/Courier-BoldItalic (type1/adobe/courier/pcrbi8a.pfb) ;
/Courier-BoldItalic (type1/adobe/courier/pcrbo8a.pfb) ;
/Courier-Italic (type1/adobe/courier/pcri8a.pfb) ;
/Courier (type1/adobe/courier/pcrr8a.pfb) ;
/Courier-Italic (type1/adobe/courier/pcrro8a.pfb) ;
/Utopia-Bold (type1/adobe/utopia/putb8a.pfb) ;
/Utopia-BoldItalic (type1/adobe/utopia/putbi8a.pfb) ;
/Utopia-Regular (type1/adobe/utopia/putr8a.pfb) ;
/Utopia-Italic (type1/adobe/utopia/putri8a.pfb) ;

I found the directory

C:\MiKTeX\Main\fonts\type1\adobe

It has only one sub-directory \utopia. It contains the 4 "put" files.
There is no "\courier" subdirectory. Is the problem related to this?

You say to search for "urw-fonts". There are about 80 fonts with "URW"
somewhere in the font name or the path name. For example

/URWAntiquaT-RegularCondensed (type1/urw/antiqua/uaqr8ac.pfb) ;

and

/VnTeXPalladioL-SC (type1/vntex/urwvn/fplrc8v.pfb) ;

Are these the ones I should be checking?

You refer to the "real locations of the fonts". Where should I look for
them? In the Windows fonts directory? In the miktex directory structure?
Somewhere else?

Any additional guidance would be appreciated.

--Mark.

[Ulrike Fischer]

Mark Fisher <ma...@markfisher.net> schrieb:

>> Do what I said: search this group for "fontmap.miktex". Or search for
>> fontmap.miktex in your system, open it in an editor. Search for the
>> entries of the urw-fonts and control if the pathes match the real
>> location of the fonts.
>>
>
> Thanks for your help. I have used the miktex package manager to
> uninstall and reinstall both miktex-ghostscript-base and
> miktex-ghostscript-bin. (Any ideas as to why reinstalling both miktex
> and ghostscript did not fix the problem?)

Because the miktex-installer doesn't get updated any time a
miktex-package gets updated. Running the update manager would have been
a much better idea than reinstalling everything.

Because ghostscript has nothing to do with miktex.

>
> I have located the file
>
> C:\MiKTeX\Main\ghostscript\base\Fontmap.MiKTeX
>
> and opened it my text editor. (It has 2217 lines.) The first 10 lines
> are
>
> /Courier-Bold (type1/adobe/courier/pcrb8a.pfb) ;
> /Courier-BoldItalic (type1/adobe/courier/pcrbi8a.pfb) ;
> /Courier-BoldItalic (type1/adobe/courier/pcrbo8a.pfb) ;
> /Courier-Italic (type1/adobe/courier/pcri8a.pfb) ;
> /Courier (type1/adobe/courier/pcrr8a.pfb) ;
> /Courier-Italic (type1/adobe/courier/pcrro8a.pfb) ;
> /Utopia-Bold (type1/adobe/utopia/putb8a.pfb) ;
> /Utopia-BoldItalic (type1/adobe/utopia/putbi8a.pfb) ;
> /Utopia-Regular (type1/adobe/utopia/putr8a.pfb) ;
> /Utopia-Italic (type1/adobe/utopia/putri8a.pfb) ;
>
> I found the directory
>
> C:\MiKTeX\Main\fonts\type1\adobe
>
> It has only one sub-directory \utopia. It contains the 4 "put" files.
> There is no "\courier" subdirectory. Is the problem related to this?

Yes.

>
> You say to search for "urw-fonts". There are about 80 fonts with "URW"
> somewhere in the font name or the path name. For example
>
> /URWAntiquaT-RegularCondensed (type1/urw/antiqua/uaqr8ac.pfb) ;

This is also a standard font that you need.

>
> and
>
> /VnTeXPalladioL-SC (type1/vntex/urwvn/fplrc8v.pfb) ;

I guess you can ignore this one.

> You refer to the "real locations of the fonts". Where should I look
> for them? In the Windows fonts directory? In the miktex directory
> structure? Somewhere else?

In the miktex directory structure.

If you have somewhere e.g. pcrb8a.pfb then deinstall first the urwstd-
package with the package manager and then install the font packages
courier, times, antiqua ... (to find the name of the other standard
fonts is left as an exercise, look in fontmap.miktex).

If you haven't somewhere the font (which I guess is the case), then you
only need to install the font packages.

[mirce...@gmail.com]

I had the same problem. Indeed, it is something to do with the fonts.
To solve it, i have installed all the font packages that miktex offers
(they were not all installed by default).

Now it's working. Curios, indeed...

[Mark Fisher]

Thanks for your help. The viewer works again.

--Mark.