RE: latex units

[Arjen Bax]

Aloha,

On Thursday, September 21, 2000 10:39 PM, Tom Cato Amundsen
[mailto:address@hidden writes:

> Does anyone know how to find out how big 1em and 1ex are in 10, 11
> and 12pt fonts in latex?
>   em = approximately the width of an "M" in the current font
>   ex = approximately the height of an "x" in the current font

The size of the units em and ex is dependent of the font in use and
defined by the font designer. They are in principle arbitrary, but
usually in a X pt font, 1em is X pt.

TeX the following (note: tex not latex, but the principle is the same)
and read the dvi-output:

%%%% start here

\newdimen\testem
\newdimen\testex

{\font\testfont=cmr10\relax \testfont
\global\testem = 1em \relax
\global\testex = 1ex \relax}%
cmr10: 1em = \the\testem, 1ex = \the\testex

{\font\testfont=cmr12\relax \testfont
\global\testem = 1em \relax
\global\testex = 1ex \relax}%
cmr12: 1em = \the\testem, 1ex = \the\testex

{\font\testfont=feta20\relax \testfont
\global\testem = 1em \relax
\global\testex = 1ex \relax}%
feta20: 1em = \the\testem, 1ex = \the\testex

\bye
%%%% end here

Prepare for some roundoff errors.

Arjen Bax

P.S. Why do I get most (not all) e-mails twice from
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