GNU bug report logs - #41613
26.1; ps-paper-type does not change page size

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Message #5 received at submit <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Marvin Gülker <post+ebugs <at> guelker.eu>
To: bug-gnu-emacs <at> gnu.org
Subject: 26.1; ps-paper-type does not change page size
Date: Sat, 30 May 2020 12:59:20 +0200

Dear Maintainers,

setting the `ps-paper-type' variable and then calling 
`ps-print-buffer-with-faces' does not have an effect on the paper size 
of the page at all. It only affects the region in which the text drawn 
onto a standard-sized paper. For instance, if `ps-paper-size' is set to 
`diskette' (which is very small) the drawing area is confined to a very 
little region on the bottom-left of a full-size A4 paper sheet. I would 
have expected that setting `ps-paper-size' changes the actual paper 
size, not the drawing region, so that the resulting PS file has the 
dimensions of (in this example) `diskette'.

To reproduce, create a file with several paragraphs of arbitrary text so 
it does not fit on one page of the chosen size. Then, start Emacs with 
emacs -Q and do the following:

1. Visit said file.
2. M-x set-variable ps-paper-type diskette
3. M-x set-variable ps-print-header nil ;; without this an error occurs
4. C-u M-x ps-print-buffer-with-faces result.ps

Open the resulting PS file with ghostscript or convert it to PDF with 
ps2pdf. The text is drawn onto a very small region on the bottom-left of 
an A4 paper sheet. Instead, it should have been a very small page entirely.


In GNU Emacs 26.1 (build 2, x86_64-pc-linux-gnu, GTK+ Version 3.24.5)
of 2019-09-23, modified by Debian built on x86-grnet-01
Windowing system distributor 'The X.Org Foundation', version 11.0.12004000
System Description:	Debian GNU/Linux 10 (buster)

Recent messages:
For information about GNU Emacs and the GNU system, type C-h C-a.
Loading ps-print...done
Formatting...  0%
Collecting face information...
Formatting...done
Saving...
Wrote /tmp/lorem.txt.ps [2 times]
You can run the command ‘ps-print-buffer-with-faces’ with M-x -p-b-w RET
Wrote /tmp/lorem.txt.ps

Configured using:
'configure --build x86_64-linux-gnu --prefix=/usr
--sharedstatedir=/var/lib --libexecdir=/usr/lib
--localstatedir=/var/lib --infodir=/usr/share/info
--mandir=/usr/share/man --enable-libsystemd --with-pop=yes
--enable-locallisppath=/etc/emacs:/usr/local/share/emacs/26.1/site-lisp:/usr/local/share/emacs/site-lisp:/usr/share/emacs/26.1/site-lisp:/usr/share/emacs/site-lisp
--with-sound=alsa --without-gconf --with-mailutils --build
x86_64-linux-gnu --prefix=/usr --sharedstatedir=/var/lib
--libexecdir=/usr/lib --localstatedir=/var/lib
--infodir=/usr/share/info --mandir=/usr/share/man --enable-libsystemd
--with-pop=yes
--enable-locallisppath=/etc/emacs:/usr/local/share/emacs/26.1/site-lisp:/usr/local/share/emacs/site-lisp:/usr/share/emacs/26.1/site-lisp:/usr/share/emacs/site-lisp
--with-sound=alsa --without-gconf --with-mailutils --with-x=yes
--with-x-toolkit=gtk3 --with-toolkit-scroll-bars 'CFLAGS=-g -O2
-fdebug-prefix-map=/build/emacs-StqULU/emacs-26.1+1=. -fstack-protector-strong
-Wformat -Werror=format-security -Wall' 'CPPFLAGS=-Wdate-time
-D_FORTIFY_SOURCE=2' LDFLAGS=-Wl,-z,relro'

Configured features:
XPM JPEG TIFF GIF PNG RSVG IMAGEMAGICK SOUND GPM DBUS GSETTINGS NOTIFY
ACL LIBSELINUX GNUTLS LIBXML2 FREETYPE M17N_FLT LIBOTF XFT ZLIB
TOOLKIT_SCROLL_BARS GTK3 X11 THREADS LIBSYSTEMD LCMS2

Important settings:
 value of $LANG: de_DE.UTF-8
 locale-coding-system: utf-8-unix

Major mode: Text

Minor modes in effect:
 tooltip-mode: t
 global-eldoc-mode: t
 electric-indent-mode: t
 mouse-wheel-mode: t
 tool-bar-mode: t
 menu-bar-mode: t
 file-name-shadow-mode: t
 global-font-lock-mode: t
 font-lock-mode: t
 blink-cursor-mode: t
 auto-composition-mode: t
 auto-encryption-mode: t
 auto-compression-mode: t
 line-number-mode: t
 transient-mark-mode: t

Load-path shadows:
None found.

Features:
(shadow sort mail-extr emacsbug message rmc puny seq byte-opt gv
bytecomp byte-compile cconv dired dired-loaddefs format-spec rfc822 mml
mml-sec password-cache epa derived epg epg-config gnus-util rmail
rmail-loaddefs mm-decode mm-bodies mm-encode mail-parse rfc2231
mailabbrev gmm-utils mailheader sendmail rfc2047 rfc2045 ietf-drums
mm-util mail-prsvr mail-utils ps-mule cus-edit wid-edit ps-print
ps-print-loaddefs ps-def lpr cus-start cus-load thingatpt help-fns
radix-tree help-mode easymenu cl-loaddefs cl-lib elec-pair time-date
mule-util tooltip eldoc electric uniquify ediff-hook vc-hooks
lisp-float-type mwheel term/x-win x-win term/common-win x-dnd tool-bar
dnd fontset image regexp-opt fringe tabulated-list replace newcomment
text-mode elisp-mode lisp-mode prog-mode register page menu-bar
rfn-eshadow isearch timer select scroll-bar mouse jit-lock font-lock
syntax facemenu font-core term/tty-colors frame cl-generic cham georgian
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japanese eucjp-ms cp51932 hebrew greek romanian slovak czech european
ethiopic indian cyrillic chinese composite charscript charprop
case-table epa-hook jka-cmpr-hook help simple abbrev obarray minibuffer
cl-preloaded nadvice loaddefs button faces cus-face macroexp files
text-properties overlay sha1 md5 base64 format env code-pages mule
custom widget hashtable-print-readable backquote dbusbind inotify lcms2
dynamic-setting system-font-setting font-render-setting move-toolbar gtk
x-toolkit x multi-tty make-network-process emacs)

Memory information:
((conses 16 123627 9597)
(symbols 48 22523 1)
(miscs 40 48 140)
(strings 32 34975 1605)
(string-bytes 1 947501)
(vectors 16 16544)
(vector-slots 8 513820 7646)
(floats 8 303 200)
(intervals 56 268 0)
(buffers 992 13))

Message #8 received at 41613 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Lars Ingebrigtsen <larsi <at> gnus.org>
To: Marvin Gülker <post+ebugs <at> guelker.eu>
Cc: 41613 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#41613: 26.1; ps-paper-type does not change page size
Date: Thu, 22 Oct 2020 15:48:08 +0200

Marvin Gülker <post+ebugs <at> guelker.eu> writes:

> setting the `ps-paper-type' variable and then calling
> `ps-print-buffer-with-faces' does not have an effect on the paper size
> of the page at all. It only affects the region in which the text drawn
> onto a standard-sized paper.

Yes, that's what it's documented to do:

"Specify the size of paper to format for."

It doesn't say anything about changing the paper size of the page.  So I
think Emacs behaves as advertised here, and I'm closing this bug report.

-- 
(domestic pets only, the antidote for overdose, milk.)
   bloggy blog: http://lars.ingebrigtsen.no

Message #15 received at 41613 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Nick Helm <nick <at> tenpoint.co.nz>
To: Lars Ingebrigtsen <larsi <at> gnus.org>
Cc: 41613 <at> debbugs.gnu.org,
 Marvin Gülker <post+ebugs <at> guelker.eu>
Subject: Re: bug#41613: 26.1; ps-paper-type does not change page size
Date: Fri, 23 Oct 2020 14:58:12 +1300

Lars Ingebrigtsen <larsi <at> gnus.org> writes:

> Marvin Gülker <post+ebugs <at> guelker.eu> writes:
>
>> setting the `ps-paper-type' variable and then calling
>> `ps-print-buffer-with-faces' does not have an effect on the paper size
>> of the page at all. It only affects the region in which the text drawn
>> onto a standard-sized paper.
>
> Yes, that's what it's documented to do:
>
> "Specify the size of paper to format for."
>
> It doesn't say anything about changing the paper size of the page.  So I
> think Emacs behaves as advertised here, and I'm closing this bug report.

I've had a problem with this for years.

Confusingly, ps-paper-type does seem to behave as you describe. But if 
that's the case, how to actually set the page size of postscript output? 
(and for clarity, by page size, I'm referring to the dimensions of the 
white rectangle that sits behind the printed text, the digital analogue 
of the bleached tree carcass that runs through the machine in the corner 
of the office).

Message #18 received at 41613 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Richard Stallman <rms <at> gnu.org>
To: Lars Ingebrigtsen <larsi <at> gnus.org>
Cc: 41613 <at> debbugs.gnu.org, post+ebugs <at> guelker.eu
Subject: Re: bug#41613: 26.1; ps-paper-type does not change page size
Date: Thu, 22 Oct 2020 23:49:44 -0400

[[[ To any NSA and FBI agents reading my email: please consider    ]]]
[[[ whether defending the US Constitution against all enemies,     ]]]
[[[ foreign or domestic, requires you to follow Snowden's example. ]]]

  > "Specify the size of paper to format for."

  > It doesn't say anything about changing the paper size of the page.  So I
  > think Emacs behaves as advertised here, and I'm closing this bug report.

I agree that this isn't a bug in Emacs's code.  But is the
documentation perhaps prone to misunderstanding?  Would clarifying it
be useful?  Pointing at where to get info about changing the paper
size?

-- 
Dr Richard Stallman
Chief GNUisance of the GNU Project (https://gnu.org)
Founder, Free Software Foundation (https://fsf.org)
Internet Hall-of-Famer (https://internethalloffame.org)

Message #21 received at 41613 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Lars Ingebrigtsen <larsi <at> gnus.org>
To: Nick Helm <nick <at> tenpoint.co.nz>
Cc: 41613 <at> debbugs.gnu.org,
 Marvin Gülker <post+ebugs <at> guelker.eu>
Subject: Re: bug#41613: 26.1; ps-paper-type does not change page size
Date: Fri, 23 Oct 2020 12:54:52 +0200

Nick Helm <nick <at> tenpoint.co.nz> writes:

> Confusingly, ps-paper-type does seem to behave as you describe. But if 
> that's the case, how to actually set the page size of postscript output? 
> (and for clarity, by page size, I'm referring to the dimensions of the 
> white rectangle that sits behind the printed text, the digital analogue 
> of the bleached tree carcass that runs through the machine in the corner 
> of the office).

To the best of my knowledge (which isn't very good in this area), Emacs
doesn't have a way of actually controlling that.  (Please somebody
correct me if that's wrong).  The support for printing from Emacs is
unfortunately somewhat weak.

-- 
(domestic pets only, the antidote for overdose, milk.)
   bloggy blog: http://lars.ingebrigtsen.no

Message #24 received at 41613 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Marvin ‘quintus’ Gülker
 <post+ebugs <at> guelker.eu>
To: Richard Stallman <rms <at> gnu.org>
Cc: Lars Ingebrigtsen <larsi <at> gnus.org>, 41613 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#41613: 26.1; ps-paper-type does not change page size
Date: Fri, 23 Oct 2020 16:01:15 +0200

Personally, I have worked around this problem by now. I use org-mode to
export my document to LaTeX. org-mode can be used with the KOMA-Script
classes, which in turn support outputting nearly any imaginable paper
size. In my org document, I then simply set the `LATEX_CLASS_OPTIONS'
option to the paper size I want. org-mode picks it up on exporting and
LaTeX then creates a document of the size I wish it to have.

That being said, it's a workaround. It's good enough for me, but YMMV.

Am Donnerstag, dem 22. Oktober 2020 schrieb Richard Stallman:
> I agree that this isn't a bug in Emacs's code.  But is the
> documentation perhaps prone to misunderstanding?  Would clarifying it
> be useful?

I (being not an English native speaker) interpreted it to mean that it
changes the paper size, but appearently other people think it means
something different. I have had other bugs closed because I am
appearently quite talented in misreading documentation, so please don't
take my interpretation as authoritative.

  -quintus

-- 
Dipl.-Jur. M. Gülker | https://mg.guelker.eu |    For security:
Passau, Germany      | kontakt <at> guelker.eu    | () Avoid HTML e-mail
European Union       | PGP: see homepage     | /\ http://asciiribbon.org

Message #27 received at 41613 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Richard Stallman <rms <at> gnu.org>
To: Lars Ingebrigtsen <larsi <at> gnus.org>
Cc: 41613 <at> debbugs.gnu.org, nick <at> tenpoint.co.nz, post+ebugs <at> guelker.eu
Subject: Re: bug#41613: 26.1; ps-paper-type does not change page size
Date: Fri, 23 Oct 2020 23:50:15 -0400

[[[ To any NSA and FBI agents reading my email: please consider    ]]]
[[[ whether defending the US Constitution against all enemies,     ]]]
[[[ foreign or domestic, requires you to follow Snowden's example. ]]]

  > To the best of my knowledge (which isn't very good in this area), Emacs
  > doesn't have a way of actually controlling that.  (Please somebody
  > correct me if that's wrong).  The support for printing from Emacs is
  > unfortunately somewhat weak.

If someone would like to implement better printing support, that would
be nice.

-- 
Dr Richard Stallman
Chief GNUisance of the GNU Project (https://gnu.org)
Founder, Free Software Foundation (https://fsf.org)
Internet Hall-of-Famer (https://internethalloffame.org)

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