Hi, I'm new to processing, and I'm running v1.1 on OSX10.5.  I've run into a snag trying to output text to a PDF file and I'm looking for some help.  Things seem to work if I use the size() method to write to PDF.  For example, both of these code sections work great:

Code:

import processing.pdf.*;
size(512, 512, PDF, "test.pdf");
background(255);
PFont arial = createFont("Arial", 48);
textFont(arial);
fill(0);
text("Hello!",100,50);
exit();
 

Code:

import processing.pdf.*;
PFont font;
void setup() {
  size(512,512,PDF,"test.pdf");
  background(255);
  font = createFont("Arial",48);
  textFont(font);
  fill(0);
  noLoop();
}
void draw() {
  text("Hello!",200,200);
  exit();
}
 

But if I move to using the beginRecord/endRecord solution to capture a single frame I get an export error message.  The code that's producing the error is:
Code:

import processing.pdf.*;
boolean bool;
PFont font;
void setup() {
  size(512,512,PDF,"test.pdf");
  background(255);
  bool = true; 
  font = createFont("Arial",48);
  textFont(font);
  fill(0);
}
void draw() {
  if (bool) {
    beginRecord(PDF, "test.pdf");
  }
  text("Hello!",200,200);
  if (bool) {
    endRecord();
    bool = false;
  }
}
 

The error trace that this produces for me is:
Code:

alias for Arial = Arial
alias for SansSerif = null
Use PGraphicsPDF.listFonts() to get a list of fonts that can be used with PDF.
processing.app.debug.RunnerException: RuntimeException: The font “SansSerif” cannot be used with PDF Export.
	at processing.app.Sketch.placeException(Sketch.java:1565)
	at processing.app.debug.Runner.findException(Runner.java:568)
	at processing.app.debug.Runner.reportException(Runner.java:543)
	at processing.app.debug.Runner.exception(Runner.java:498)
	at processing.app.debug.EventThread.exceptionEvent(EventThread.java:367)
	at processing.app.debug.EventThread.handleEvent(EventThread.java:255)
	at processing.app.debug.EventThread.run(EventThread.java:89)
Exception in thread "Animation Thread" java.lang.RuntimeException: The font “SansSerif” cannot be used with PDF Export.
	at processing.pdf.PGraphicsPDF.textLineImpl(PGraphicsPDF.java:414)
	at processing.core.PGraphics.textLineAlignImpl(PGraphics.java:3509)
	at processing.core.PGraphics.text(PGraphics.java:3208)
	at processing.core.PGraphics.text(PGraphics.java:3163)
	at processing.core.PApplet.text(PApplet.java:8632)
	at sketch_mar19a.draw(sketch_mar19a.java:37)
	at processing.core.PApplet.handleDraw(PApplet.java:1594)
	at processing.core.PApplet.run(PApplet.java:1496)
	at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:613)
 

So it looks like using begin/endRecord is expecting the SansSerif font, rather than Arial, and gets confused.  I'm probably doing something wrong or missing something.  Any help would be great!

Thanks!
--mah

Since 1.1, PGraphics creates a default font if none is specified.
It defaults to SansSerif, which is OK in most modes because Java always supplies it. But it is not usable in PDF mode, which doesn't know this font. Perhaps it should override the createDefaultFont method.

Solution on your side: mmm, I am not sure, perhaps call textFont after the beginRecord call.

[EDIT] Tested: it works!
I wish the authors hasn't forgotten to remove the println() (debug information) repeating alias for Arial = Arial (or similar) each time we use text() in PDF mode. Next version, probably...