Ben M. schrieb:
Simply accepting LaTeX's default is a terrible solution because it
leaves the n00b wondering why their pdfs look jagged.
What is a n00b?
PDFs don't look "jagged" with the default font. All PDF viewers I know are able to smooth pixel
fonts (Acrobat, Foxit Reader, Okular, GSview (gv), Sumatra PDF).
As said, when the user don't like the font, then he can use another one.
Personally, I'd
like to see these two dialog box notifications.
Upon view/export:
Warning: You have not yet selected a font for this document.
That's confusing because there is a font selected for this document - the default one. Note that the
default is not necessarily CM. I wouldn't wonder when TeXLive or MiKTeX one day implement to set the
default font in the distribution settings. This is for example already the case for the page format.
(MiKTeX's default is A4).
The default font may not be optimized for viewing.
What means optimized for viewing? CM is a very well designed font used in
thousands of publications.
Warning: The font you have selected (Computer Modern) is a bitmap
font, which is not optimized for viewing.
This is much too complicated for new users. When I'm new to a program I want to use it and not be
forced to learn how fonts are defined and what a bitmap font is and why it might have disadvantages.
When I don't like the result, I simply use another font. This is intuitive and doesn't require to
read the UserGuide. This behavior is the same with all word processors.
regards Uwe
