Advanced Fonts with XeLaTeX

If you and your group have any questions, or get stuck as you work through this in-class exercise, please ask the instructor for assistance. Have fun!

XeLaTeX is an alternative compiler to regular LaTeX that supports Unicode text and other modern font formats.

Let’s create a new project for this activity in Overleaf.

1. Create a new project in Overleaf and choose the first one (Blank paper)

   

2. Change compiler. Click the top left Menu button, scroll down to Settings, click the drop down next to Compiler, then select XeLaTeX.

   

3. Replace the original text with the following to set up your title page:

   \documentclass[pdf]{article}
   \usepackage{fontspec}       
   \setmainfont{Times New Roman}
   \setsansfont{Arial}
   \setmonofont[Color={4CA6A6}] {Courier New} %4CA6A6 is the hex code for teal.
   \title{Fun with Fonts}
   \author{Your name here}
   \date{\today}
      
   \begin{document}
   \maketitle
   
   \end{document}
   

   

4. Change the font
   • Add text in a different font by typing it inside curly brackets. Copy and paste the below line between your \maketitle and \end{document}statements.

      This is the default font, Times New Roman.
      \sffamily Here is some text in Arial, a sans serif family font.
      \ttfamily Here is some teal text in Courier New, a mono font. 
      \rmfamily Set back to times new roman
     

     

5. Add a font package for Japanese, Chinese, or Korean
   • Add \usepackage{xeCJK} to the top of the file with the other \usepackage statements.
   • Add \setCJKmainfont{IPAMincho} below the other font statements
   • Go to Google Translate and translate a phrase from English to Japanese
   • Copy the Japanese translation into your overleaf document.
   • Re-compile - you should now see the Japanese text in the pdf.

   

6. Add a font from outside Overleaf
   
   • Go to Google Fonts and download the Asap font family files by clicking the Download Family button on the top right.
   • Click the top left folder icon to make a new folder in Overleaf. Name the folder AsapFontFiles. Note: the folder name is case sensitive!
   • Upload the font files into your new folder using the Upload button on the top left.
   • Copy and paste into your document:

   
    \setsansfont{Asap}[
        Path=./AsapFontFiles/,
        Scale=0.9,
        Extension = .ttf,
        UprightFont=*-Regular,
        BoldFont=*-Bold,
        ItalicFont=*-Italic,
        BoldItalicFont=*-BoldItalic
    ]
   

   • Try writing some text in the Asap font: \sffamily Now we can type in asap! The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Over the Lazy Dog

   

7. Add a Unicode font
   • In the top of the document, replace \setmainfont{Times New Roman} with \setmainfont{Doulos SIL}
   • Doulos SIL is a Unicode font family. Now you can use unicode characters in your LaTeX document!
   • Type some IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) characters using this browser IPA keyboard and this reference guide, then copy and paste them into your Overleaf document.
     • If you have a unicode keyboard installed on your computer, you can type directly in your Overleaf document.
   • Type out these SENĆOŦEN words using the SENĆOŦEN Keyboard, then copy-paste them into a table like the image below.
     • Hint: use ‘ to add top accent, - for dash accent and = for low line accent.

     

   Show/Hide Solution

   In the keyboard: ```SENC'OT-EN, MA'LEXEL-, SXIMEL-EL-, W=JOL-EL-P```. In Overleaf:
8. OPTIONAL: Using Tipa, a phonetic alphabet font
   • Tipa is an older way to use IPA symbols in LaTeX before unicode was supported - you can skip this part of the activity if you like.
   • Make a new folder called TipaFontFiles
   • Download the tipa font files
   • Tipa has a lot of different font options, but to keep things simple upload roman (tipa8), bold (tipab10), italic (tipasl8), and bold italic (tipasb10) to your new folder.
   • Copy and paste:

      \setsansfont{tipa}[
      Path=./TipaFontFiles/,
      Scale=0.9,
      Extension = .pfb,
      UprightFont=*8,
      BoldFont=*b10,
      ItalicFont=*sl8,
      BoldItalicFont=*sb10
      ]
     

   • Use pages 14 and 36-56 of the Tipa manual to type up some phonetic symbols.
   • Try to write out the IPA pronunciation for Lekwungen:
     
   • Solution: \sffamily l@\textvbaraccent{k}\textsuperscript{w}@N@n
9. If you want more resources, here are some helpful links:
   • More help on XeLaTeX
   • More help on font commands

Congratulations - now you can use fonts with XeLaTeX!

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