PreTeXtBook
Documentation on LaTeX fonts difficult to use
I struggled for a while getting fonts to work in LaTeX builds of a PreTeXt document, built using xelatex. (I'm not using the CLI; I'm not sure if that would have helped.)
The error message I found was:
! The font "Inconsolatazi4-Regular.otf" requested by PreTeXt output is not avai
lable. Either a file cannot be located in default locations via a filename, or
a font is not known by its name as part of your system..
Consult the PreTeXt Guide for help with LaTeX fonts.
Type H <return> for immediate help.
Google sent to me to Processing with xelatex, which fits what I'm doing. I followed the instructions there, found the missing font on CTAN, installed this, an fc-cache, but still got the same message. Playing with fc-list seemed to show that all was well, but the error still occurred.
On the drop-in, @mitchkeller pointed me to the solution: since I'm on Ubuntu, I can simply sudo apt install texlive-fonts-extra. This fixed the problem immediately. Further searching of the PreTeXt docs brought me to docs a few sections later -- LaTeX Font Configuration (Ubuntu/Debian Linux). The correct info is there, but I didn't see this until Mitch helped me out and was stuck otherwise.
I would suggest putting this info first, or having a "common errors" section, or something -- I read a lot of material that pointed me in the wrong direction, instead of the single line that fixed the problem.
I share your frustration, @bjones1!
Fonts depend on pdflatex/xelatex, system-install v. TeX-install, thus the OS, TeX format v. OTF, standard v. esoteric. Its a mess.
We can't control where Google sends folks. :-( We dan control the Table of Contents and the Index. We do have two FAQ chapters, one for authors, one for publishers. Most of the font documentation is for publishers adding new extra fonts. Whereas we think of Inconsolata as basic, built-in.
Some index entries would help, an FAQ entry (Author or Publisher?), a note in the LaTeX conversion section of the Publisher part, cross-references between the font discussions. Would you like to put together a quick PR that would have heped get you on track sooner?
