On Saturday, 31 January 2026 09:30:07 GMT Morten Bo Johansen wrote:
> I now tried with a freshly fetched git tree and that solves this problem,
> but the other problem persists:
>
> ./configure --prefix=$HOME/.local/stow/$(basename $PWD)
> --with-urw-fonts-dir=/home/mojo/.fonts/
>
> [...]
>
> GNU roff version 1.24.0.rc2.27-a0857 configuration summary
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> installation directory prefix : /home/mojo/.local/stow/groff
> C++ compiler and options : g++ -g -O2
> use libgroff's memory allocator : no
> C compiler and options : gcc -g -O2
> Perl interpreter version : 5.42.0
> X11 support : enabled
> X11 app defaults directory :
> /home/mojo/.local/stow/groff/lib/X11/app-defaults default paper format
> : A4
> 'groff -l' uses print spooler : no
> use URW fonts for PDF output : yes
> URW fonts directory : /usr/share/ghostscript/Resource/Font
> preconv can use uchardet library : yes
> can build groff.{info,html,txt} : yes
> can build groff.{dvi,pdf} : yes
>
>
> Regards,
> Morten
This illustrates setting --with-urw-fonts-dir=/home/mojo/.local/stow/groff and
having ghostscript installed, the option has been ignored and it is using the
ghostscript fonts (which lack the corresponding .afms so the U foundry is not
built).
Current configure currently completely ignores the option. This can clearly be
seen if you setup to test "basic" configuration (see https://lists.gnu.org/
archive/html/groff/2026-01/msg00169.html).
make clean
sudo mv /usr/bin/gs /usr/bin/gs.sv
sudo mv /usr/share/fonts/type1/urw-base35 /usr/share/fonts/type1/urw-base35.sv
../configure --with-urw-fonts-dir=/usr/share/fonts/type1/urw-base35.sv
Results:-
----------------------------------------------------------------------
installation directory prefix : /usr/local
C++ compiler and options : g++ -g -O2
use libgroff's memory allocator : no
C compiler and options : gcc -g -O2
Perl interpreter version : 5.36.0
X11 support : enabled
X11 app defaults directory : /usr/local/lib/X11/app-defaults
default paper format : a4
'groff -l' uses print spooler : lpr
use URW fonts for PDF output : no
preconv can use uchardet library : yes
can build groff.{info,html,txt} : yes
can build groff.{dvi,pdf} : yes
----------------------------------------------------------------------
[snip]
configure: No Ghostscript program was found in $PATH.
It was sought under the name(s) "gs gswin32c gsos2".
groff documentation will not be available in HTML.
'grohtml' will have reduced function, being unable to produce
documents using the 'tbl' preprocessor.
configure: The program 'gs' was not found in $PATH.
Consequently, groff's HTML output driver, 'grohtml', will not work
properly. It will not be possible to prepare or install
groff-generated documentation in HTML format.
configure: 'gropdf' will have reduced function.
Neither Ghostscript nor URW fonts are available; groff documentation
thus will not be available in PDF.
'gropdf' will be able to handle only documents using the standard PDF
base 14 fonts, plus the 'EURO' font groff supplies, and font embedding
with its '-e' option (accessed via the 'groff' command with the option
'-P -e') will not be possible.
The --with-urw-fonts-dir=/usr/share/fonts/type1/urw-base35.sv has been
completely ignored and I'm told ghostscript is missing TWICE.
This is a regression from rc1 and git bisect suggests:-
4201c8d10650c64823fdc423db4ff66174f9b0d6 is the first bad commit
commit 4201c8d10650c64823fdc423db4ff66174f9b0d6
Author: G. Branden Robinson <[email protected]>
Date: Sun Jan 25 17:12:09 2026 -0600
[build]: Add "--without-urw-fonts" option (1/2).
* m4/groff.m4 (GROFF_URW_FONTS_SUPPORT): New Autoconf macro creates a
"with" configuration option, permitting the host environment to easily
switch off the search for URW fonts and defeat all of the consequent
features without the "configure" script issuing a lengthy warning
about failure to find the aforementioned fonts. New shell variable
`urwfontsupport` indicates the configuration's desired status (which
still defaults on).
(GROFF_URW_FONTS_CHECK): Add dependency on the foregoing macro.
Initialize `urwfontsdir` shell variable to empty unconditionally,
permitting it to be updated later if the URW font feature isn't
disabled. Nest most of the work of this macro inside a conditional on
`urwfontsupprt`. Continue to unconditionally populate and
`AC_SUBST`-itute `groff_have_urw_fonts` and `urwfontsdir`, because
"configure.ac", "test-mom.sh.in", "mom.am", "font/devpdf/Foundry.in",
"devpdf.am", and "check-urw-foundry.sh.in" variously rely on them to
behave appropriately for the configuration.
NEWS: Add item.
This commit omits an indentation update to clarify the change in flow of
control.
ChangeLog | 22 ++++++++++++++++++++++
NEWS | 8 ++++++++
configure.ac | 3 ++-
m4/groff.m4 | 20 +++++++++++++++++---
4 files changed, 49 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)
Cheers
Deri
