TeXhax Digest Monday, March 27 1989 Volume 89 : Issue 27 Moderators: Tiina Modisett and Pierre MacKay %% The TeXhax digest is brought to you as a service of the TeX Users Group %%% %% in cooperation with the UnixTeX distribution service at the %%% %% University of Washington %%% Today's Topics: Where does one obtain public domain version of Tex and LaTex Integrating the VAX EDT or EVE editor with TeX and LaTeX? PSFIG -- Has it been updated and where is it available? Re: DECUS TeX Collection tape--a query Re: spell checker Suggestion: Submissions to TeXHax in TeX source code Needed: AmSTeX macro Query regarding nested ifs Figure placement in LaTeX Complex Double Column Macros Re: Conflicting settings for \strutbox in LaTeX What is the difference between \crcr versus \cr? Latex style file for filling text around figure Re: VM/CMS format for tapes BibTeX support for abstracts --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 27 Mar 89 15:39:23 CST From: Ken Wang Subject: Where does one obtain public domain version of Tex and LaTex Keywords: TeX, LaTeX Hi! Could anyone out there tell me how to get copies of Tex and LaTex with no charges? Thanks in advance. Ken Wang -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 20 Mar 89 12:58 EST From: VAX Academic Assistant Subject: Integrating the VAX EDT or EVE editor with TeX and LaTeX? Keywords: LaTeX, TeX, VAX EDT, VAX EVE I have two questions. For the record, we are running version 2.1 under VMS 4.6. QUESTION # 1 Is there a way to integrate the VAX EDT or EVE editor with TeX and LaTeX? For example, I ran the following program (the error is intentional): \documentstyle{article} \begin{document} \begin{itemie} %%% there is an error on this line \item one \end{itemize} \end{document} I received the following message indicating there's an error on line 3 (as I expected) and LaTeX displays a ?. If I type a ?, among other choices, I am instructed to type "E to edit your file." When I type E, I receive the message: You want to edit file DSK3:[COLMENARES.BITNET]TEST.TEX;1 at line 3 No pages of output. Transcript written on DSK3:[COLMENARES.BITNET]TEST.LIS;1. Can I force TeX and LaTeX to automatically invoke the editor and perhaps place the editor's cursor on the line with the error? --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 24 MAR 89 18:05:26 PDT From: "Micro Mauler" Subject: PSFIG -- Has it been updated and where is it available? Keywords: PSFIG After Ethan Munson's very nice review entitled, ``Last Word on TeX and Mac-Generated Figures'' (Jan 89 Tex-HaX), I started mucking around with a 1987 vintage version of PSFIG (a set of PostScript macros for including MacDraw generated PostScript into LaTeX documents via Arbortex's DVIPS) I obtained way back when. The Mac prolog file is for AppleDict version 13, currently at 65 or higher, and there was no BBFIG for determining BoundingBox sizes. I looked for a more current version on linc.cis.upenn.edu without success; I couldn't find anything in pub. Is anyone, in particular the author Trevor Darrell, maintaining or upgrading PSFIG to be compatible with some of the newer object oriented draw programs such as MacDrawII and Canvas? I'd also like to get a copy of BBFIG for determing BoundingBox dimensions of PostScript files. Thanks, --Len Schwer Micro2.Schwer@crvax.sri.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 20 Mar 89 12:58 EST From: VAX Academic Assistant Subject: Re: DECUS TeX Collection tape--a query Keywords: tape, dviware, printer QUESTION # 2 I will be attending DECUS in May. The library offerings include a DECUS TeX Collection tape. Does anyone know if the tape includes drivers for the QMS Lasergrafix 2400 printer? Many thanks, Josephine Colmenares colmenar@fordmurh ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 24 Mar 89 16:40:39 CST From: Cliff Bergman Subject: Re: spell checker Keywords: TeX, spell checker Jo Schambach asked for a spell checker that can be used with TeX or LaTeX. I am using SPRINT on an IBM PC clone. SPRINT has a built-in speller, but more important, it has a powerful macro language that allows one to modify the user interface. I have done this with the speller, so that every control sequence, and all text in math mode is ignored. Actually, I have things rigged up to do a number of useful TeX-related chores. I can't send you SPRINT (although it is quite cheap--about $120 from Borland). I would be glad to send you my code, if you would like it. Cliff Bergman s2.chb@isumvs.bitnet --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 25 Mar 89 09:56:11 CST From: svb@cssun.tamu.edu (Stephan v. Bechtolsheim) Subject: Suggestion: Submissions to TeXHax in TeX source code Keywords: TeX I am in favour of asking people to submit their questions to TeXhax in TeX source code. We should have a couple of macros to be used for that purpose so a submission would read as follows: \From{.....} \Subject{....} EmailAddress{.....} asd asd \BeginVerbatim .... EndVerbatim This would allow all submissions to be nicely printed; it requires a little extra effort, of course. What do you think? Stephan Bechtolsheim %%% Moderators' Note: How does this interact with the RFCs for mail %%% formats? TeX coding for the body of the message is fine, and %%% the sort of thing that is recommended by J.E. Pittman ought to %%% be more widely used for the submission of macros, but the %%% moderators had to learn the hard way that you do not play with %%% the formats in mail headers. It doesn't seem to be a good idea %%% to change the format even within the digest, since many readers %%% undigestify the contents, and use the standard From: line to %%% generate the return address. I don't think they would thank us %%% for making that difficult. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 25 Mar 89 09:56:12 CST From: svb@cssun.tamu.edu (Stephan v. Bechtolsheim) Subject: Needed: AmSTeX macro Keywords: macro, AmSTeX Has anybody written a macro \leftmath which 1. Makes all displayed equations come out left flush, indented by some fixed amount. 2. Also redefines \align, \aligned, \alignat, \multline, \gather, \gathered Thanks. Stephan Bechtolsheim ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 25 Mar 89 09:56:17 CST From: svb@cssun.tamu.edu (Stephan v. Bechtolsheim) Subject: Query regarding nested ifs Keywords: LaTeX, nested if Assume the following nested ifs: \if [1]... then text 1 \if [2] ... then text 2 \else else text 2 \fi [2] \fi [1] Now assume that instead of \if [2] there is a macro \IfSomething which when expanded delivers a \if. Everything is fine as long as \if [1] is true because then \IfSomething is expanded. But if \if [1] is false then \fi [2] will terminate the \if [1] and it's all wrong. Is there anyway to define a macro \IfSomething in such a way that TeX will recognize it as a potential conditiona'' when conditional text is being skipped?! How do you solve this problem? Stephan Bechtolsheim ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 26 Mar 89 22:15:41 EST From: Ashwin Ram Subject: Figure placement in LaTeX Keywords: LaTeX, figures I like to separate figures from the text using a horizontal line, e.g., something like: \begin{figure}[tbp] \makebox[\textwidth]{\hrulefill} ... \makebox[\textwidth]{\hrulefill} \end{figure} The problem is that I would like the horizontal line to appear only on the "text side" of the figure. In other words, if the figure appears at the top of the page, I want only the line at the bottom of the figure to separate it from the rest of the text below; if it appears at the bottom of the page, I want only the line at the top of the figure to separate it from the rest of the text above; and if it appears on a page by itself, I want either both lines or none (depending on my mood :-)). How do I achieve this? Is there a way to test where the figure is currently being placed? At present I've been resorting to running LaTeX, looking at the output, and manually adding or removing the appropriate line. Thanks, Ashwin. ARPA: Ram-Ashwin@cs.yale.edu UUCP: {decvax,ucbvax,harvard,cmcl2,...}!yale!Ram-Ashwin BITNET: Ram@yalecs -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 27 Mar 89 16:04:29 EST From: smith%sandalphon@harvard.harvard.edu (Steve Smith) Subject: Complex Double Column Macros Keywords: TeX, LaTeX, macros I am looking for a sophisticated TeX or LaTeX double column macro capable of the following: i) Double/Single column capability on the same page (LaTeX starts a new page each time its format is switched from \doublecolumn to \singlecolumn). ii) The ability to split the opposing column of a large displayed equation. I.e., The right column will be split played equation that appears when the equation within it. These rules are ------------------------------ a^n = b^n + c^n +d^n + e^n + f^n + ... + z^n ______________________________ appears in the left column. affected if the split appears Splitting must occur with on the top or bottom of a page. horizontal rules to separate The columns must be balanced a split column from the dis- and may include single column material that spans the entire page. This format mimics that of many IEEE journals. Is there an IEEE.sty LaTeX style file anywhere? Have any TeX hackers attacked this problem? I currently use double column macros cannibalized from a Knuth paper on literate programming (included in VMS TeX releases). These provide balanced double columns with single column text on the same page, but have no fancy large displayed equation/split column capability. I must admit, examination of the TeX macros performing only i) proves a daunting experience for those wishing to embellish them with ii). Steven Smith smith%sandalphon@harvard.harvard.edu ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 25 Mar 89 09:56:09 CST From: svb@cssun.tamu.edu (Stephan v. Bechtolsheim) Subject: What is the difference between \crcr versus \cr? Keywords: LaTeX, \crcr, \cr Why do macros like \eqalign and \eqaligno use \crcr to terminate the preamble? I mean what is the difference compared to using \cr to terminate a preamble? Thanks. Stephan Bechtolsheim --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 27 Mar 89 11:26:24 PST From: KARNEY%PPC.MFENET@CCC.MFECC.LLNL.GOV Subject: Re: Conflicting settings for \strutbox in LaTeX Keywords: LaTeX, \strutbox Here is Leslie Lamport's answer to the question about \strutbox's that I asked recently... Thanks for the observation. The first setting of \strutbox is, indeed, useless and should probably be removed. What is the "right" definition of \strutbox? (I vote that it be set according to the unstretched \baselineskip so that it tracks the point size but in independent of \baselinestretch... I think that the current setting is the right one. The \strut command is used to simulate a \baselineskip space in places where TeX refuses to put one in, so it seems appropriate to key it to the actual \baselineskip. If someone wants a dimension that depends on the point size, they can do something like {\rm\global\foo=1em} Anyway, it's a minor point. The only valid use of \baselinestrecth that I know of is to produce wide spacing for copy editing--in which case, the small differences introduced by struts are irrelevant. Leslie Lamport KARNEY ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 23 Mar 89 15:24:03 EST From: "John P. Rouillard" Subject: Latex style file for filling text around figure Keywords: LaTeX, style file I was looking for this a month or so ago, and I am hoping someone has already done the work and is willing to share. We are writing our lab reports using LaTeX on pc's and suns. We have a number of columnar figures (figures taller than wide) that we would like to put in a figure environment and have the text filled in on the right or left around the figure. It would look like: | stuff full length above | | xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx | | xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx | | xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx | | xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx | | xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx | | xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx | | xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx | | xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx | | xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx | | xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Fig 1. A Blank Block | | xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx | | xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx | | rest of page | Sample call. \begin{figure}[tbph][width of figure][side of page to align (right above1} ... figure stuff here \end{figure} Given this call, LaTeX would put the figure in. Ideally It would check \textwidth and see if there is enough room to put the figure in. The figure should still be able to float to the next page if necessary but keep its width and location. As a hack, this can be done with two minipages side-by-side, but the text that gets filled in beside the figure has to be figured out by trial and error. And when the file is updated everything goes down the tubes. This problem is akin to producing two columns of stuff $x$ inches long in the middle of the page of single column text. This sort of thing is seen in magazines all the time. I am trying to conver the department to using LaTeX, and fixing this problem would go a long way toward shutting up the resistors. If I don't get any replies, I'll have to work on it over the summer when I have the time. Any hints about where to start looking, offers of help... will be appreciated. aTdHvAaNnKcSe -- John The opinions expressed above are all mine and belong to nobody else. To U-Mass I am just a number. Person: John Rouillard Physics Major U.S. Snail: Physics Department; U-Mass Boston; Harbor Campus; Boston, MA 02125 E-Mail: rouilj@umb.umb.edu | husc6!umb!rouilj | harvard!umb!rouilj ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Date: Thu, 23 Mar 89 20:32:36 CST From: Don Hosek Subject: Re: VM/CMS format for tapes Keywords: VM/CMS, tapes [This note was originally intended to be some information which I was sending to Peter Abbott to forward to whoever would be making a CMS version of the Aston Archive, but I've decided to send it to the TeXhax and UKTeX mailing lists since it contains some generally useful information on organizing TeX on CMS] There are a couple things to be aware of in transferring files from the VMS environment to CMS which could cause some problems: the first and most important is that CMS has a flat file structure, i.e., no subdirectories. The implications of this are that for on-line storage, everything needs to be in a limited number of minidisks with as few duplications of names as possible... also all redundancies should be removed (e.g., multiple copies of TEX WEB etc.) On our system, we have a minidisk with TeX and its related files, another with MF, and a third for unsupported extras (e.g., a chess font and miscellaneous macros from TeXMaG, TeXhax, and the like). Each font set (e.g., 300dpi ww, 300dpi wb, 1270dpi etc.) has its own minidisk as does each device driver... Device drivers are then called using a front-end exec resident on the disk with TeX. To use TeX, all that is _necessary_ is to link to the TeX disk (MF requires linking to that disk and the TeX disk, but only for access to device drivers and TFM's for GFtoDVI). Most users also link to the disk with the unsupported macros because of all the neat stuff there. For the archive tape, I would recommend using CMS TAPE (simply because its fairly straightforward and has help, unlike VMFPLC2 (what's the point of that program anyway?) a tape mark should be placed between each group of related files, in the case of the Aston archive, this would generally correspond to divisions into subdirectories. I hope this information is useful to any and all who receive it. dh Don Hosek Internet: U33297@UICVM.UIC.EDU 3916 Elmwood Bitnet: U33297@UICVM Stickney, IL 60402 DHOSEK@YMIR Work: 312-996-0658 UUNet: dhosek@jarthur.claremont.edu ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 25 Mar 89 20:57:32 EST From: "Robert S. French" Subject: BibTeX support for abstracts Keywords: BibTeX A while back I posted a message to TeXHax asking about BibTeX (0.99a) support for abstracts (such as displaying an "abstract" field along with a bibliography entry). I didn't get any responses from people who had already done this, but did get a number of requests for the code if I ever found it. I finally got around to implementing this myself. Below are the context diffs for the "acm.bst" file to create the new acm-abstracts.bst file. They should translate fairly directly to other .bst files. To use them, create an (optional) "abstract" field in your bibliography entries that contains random LaTeX-processable text. This text will be included in a "quote" environment after the reference. For books, you can include a "toc" field (table of contents) which should consist of the table of contents entries, each preceeded by "\item". They will be formatted in an "itemize" environment after the reference. Note: This is the first (and hopefully only :-) .bst hacking I've ever done, so I've probably done things strangely. It works, though... Please send any bug reports or suggestions to me... Rob French rfrench@athena.mit.edu *** acm.bst Tue Mar 1 16:00:45 1988 --- acm-abstracts.bst Sat Mar 25 20:56:12 1989 *************** *** 8,16 **** % 1/24/88 (OP&HWT) Updated for BibTeX version 0.99a, Oren Patashnik; % corrected the abbreviations to "Mar." and "Sept."; % THIS `acm' VERSION DOES NOT WORK WITH BIBTEX 0.98i. ENTRY ! { address author booktitle chapter --- 8,18 ---- % 1/24/88 (OP&HWT) Updated for BibTeX version 0.99a, Oren Patashnik; % corrected the abbreviations to "Mar." and "Sept."; % THIS `acm' VERSION DOES NOT WORK WITH BIBTEX 0.98i. + % 3/25/89 (RSF) Support for abstract and toc fields. ENTRY ! { abstract ! address author booktitle chapter *************** *** 29,34 **** --- 31,37 ---- school series title + toc type volume year *************** *** 615,620 **** --- 618,642 ---- " \cite{" * crossref * "}" * } + FUNCTION {do.abstract.toc} + { add.period$ + write$ + newline$ + abstract missing$ + { skip$ } + { "\begin{quote}" write$ + abstract write$ "\end{quote}" write$ + } + if$ + toc missing$ + { skip$ } + { "\begin{itemize}" write$ + toc write$ "\end{itemize}" write$ + } + if$ + "" + } + FUNCTION {article} { output.bibitem format.authors "author" output.check *************** *** 631,636 **** --- 653,659 ---- if$ new.block note output + do.abstract.toc fin.entry } *************** *** 663,668 **** --- 686,692 ---- format.date "year" output.check new.block note output + do.abstract.toc fin.entry } *************** *** 677,682 **** --- 701,707 ---- format.date output new.block note output + do.abstract.toc fin.entry } *************** *** 710,715 **** --- 735,741 ---- format.chapter.pages "chapter and pages" output.check new.block note output + do.abstract.toc fin.entry } *************** *** 734,739 **** --- 760,766 ---- format.chapter.pages output new.block note output + do.abstract.toc fin.entry } *************** *** 756,761 **** --- 783,789 ---- format.pp.pages output new.block note output + do.abstract.toc fin.entry } *************** *** 780,785 **** --- 808,814 ---- format.date output new.block note output + do.abstract.toc fin.entry } *************** *** 795,800 **** --- 824,830 ---- format.date "year" output.check new.block note output + do.abstract.toc fin.entry } *************** *** 808,813 **** --- 838,844 ---- format.date output new.block note output + do.abstract.toc fin.entry empty.misc.check } *************** *** 824,829 **** --- 855,861 ---- format.date "year" output.check new.block note output + do.abstract.toc fin.entry } *************** *** 844,849 **** --- 876,882 ---- publisher output new.block note output + do.abstract.toc fin.entry } *************** *** 859,864 **** --- 892,898 ---- format.date "year" output.check new.block note output + do.abstract.toc fin.entry } *************** *** 870,875 **** --- 904,910 ---- new.block note "note" output.check format.date output + do.abstract.toc fin.entry } ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- %%% The TeXhax digest is brought to you as a service of the TeX Users Group %%% in cooperation with the UnixTeX distribution service at the %%% University of Washington %%% %%% Concerning subscriptions, address changes, unsubscribing: %%% BITNET: send a one-line mail message to LISTSERV@UWAVM %%% SUBSCRIBE TEXHAX % to subscribe %%% or UNSUBSCRIBE TEXHAX %%% %%% All others: send a similar one line mail message to %%% TeXhax-request@cs.washington.edu %%% Please be sure you send a valid internet address!! %%% in the form name@domain or name%routing@domain %%% and use the style of the Bitnet one-line message, so that %%% we can find your subscription request easily. %%% %%% All submissions to: TeXhax@cs.washington.edu %%% %%% Back issues available for FTPing as: %%% machine: directory: filename: %%% JUNE.CS.WASHINGTON.EDU TeXhax/TeXhaxyy.nn %%% yy = last two digits of current year %%% nn = issue number %%% %%% For further information about TeX Users Group services and publications %%% contact Karen at KLB@SEED.AMS.COM or write to TUG at %%% TeX Users Group %%% P.O. Box 9506 %%% Providence, R.I. 02940-9506 %%% Telephone (401) 751-7760 %%% %%% Current versions of the software now in general distribution: %%% TeX 2.95 metafont 1.7 %%% plain.tex 2.94 plain.mf 1.0 %%% LaTeX 2.09 ( 8/10/88) cmbase.mf see cm85.bug %%% SliTeX 2.09 gftodvi 1.7 %%% tangle 2.9 gftopk 1.4 %%% weave 2.9 gftype 2.2 %%% dvitype 2.9 pktype 2.2 %%% pltotf 2.3 pktogf 1.0 %%% tftopl 2.5 mft 0.3 %%% BibTeX 0.99c dvipage 3.0 %%% AmSTeX 1.1d %%%\bye %%% End of TeXhax Digest ************************** -------