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Path: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!bloom-beacon.mit.edu!xlink.net!howland.reston.ans.net!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!nntp-server.caltech.edu!hot.caltech.edu!bobby
From: bobby@hot.caltech.edu (Bobby Bodenheimer)
Newsgroups: comp.text.tex,news.answers
Subject: TeX, LaTeX, etc.: Frequently Asked Questions with Answers [Monthly]
Supersedes: <tex-faq_752661194@hot.caltech.edu>
Followup-To: comp.text.tex
Date: 7 Dec 1993 22:21:10 GMT
Organization: California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA.
Lines: 1041
Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.Edu
Expires: 4 Feb 1994 22:20:54 GMT
Message-ID: <tex-faq_755302854@hot.caltech.edu>
Reply-To: bobby@hot.caltech.edu
NNTP-Posting-Host: hot.caltech.edu
Keywords: monthly faq
Originator: bobby@hot.caltech.edu
Xref: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu comp.text.tex:40025 news.answers:15586
Archive-name: tex-faq
Comp.text.tex is a forum for the discussion of TeX, LaTeX and other
related things. TeX is a software system written by Donald Knuth to
typeset text, especially text containing mathematics. LaTeX is a set
of macros written in TeX, designed to simplify the the typesetting of
a document by allowing the user to concentrate on the content and
structure of the document rather than the exact appearance of the
finished product. METAFONT, also discussed here, is a program which
allows the user to design their own fonts. The definitive reference
for TeX is _The TeXbook_, by Donald Knuth (Addison Wesley, 1984, ISBN
0-201-13447-0, paperback 0-201-13448-9). For LaTeX, see _LaTeX, a
Document Preparation System_ by Leslie Lamport (Addison Wesley, 1986,
ISBN 0-201-15790-X). For METAFONT, see _The METAFONTbook_ by Donald
Knuth (Addison Wesley, 1984, ISBN 0-201-13445-4). The American
Mathematical Society has two macro packages which are also popular,
called AMS-TeX and AMS-LaTeX.
This article contains answers to some frequently asked questions on
comp.text.tex. Please don't ask these questions again, as they've been
answered many times before. Note that Guoying Chen
(chenguo@spunky.cs.nyu.edu) posts the monthly document ``Supplementary
TeX Information'' to this newsgroup containing other information and
software relevant to TeX users but beyond the scope of this article.
This is version 1.42 for December, last changed 12/7/93.
This article includes answers to:
1) How can I get a copy of this article?
2) Where can I get a DVI to PostScript conversion program?
3) How can I include a PostScript figure in LaTeX?
4) Where can I find a DVI previewer for machine Y running Q?
5) Where can I get the manual for PiCTeX?
6) What is VorTeX and where can I get it?
7) What is OzTeX and where can I get it (TeX for the Mac)?
8) What is Fig and where can I get it?
9) How do I get WEB for C, FORTRAN, or some other language?
10) How can I typeset music in TeX?
11) What is TUG and TUGboat?
12) How do I convert Adobe's afm files to tfm format?
13) In LaTeX, how do I get a double-spaced document?
14) In LaTeX, how do I include a file in the verbatim environment?
15) In LaTeX, how do I do Y?
16) Where can I find a TeX macro or LaTeX style file for doing Y?
17) How do I generate an index in TeX/LaTeX?
18) How do I get METAFONT to do what I want it to do?
19) Where do I get TeX/LaTeX for machine Y running Q?
20) Where can I get a thesis style for LaTeX?
21) How do I get symbols for ``the real numbers'', ``the complex numbers'',
and so on?
22) What repositories of TeX material are available, and how can I
access them?
23) How do I use PostScript fonts with LaTeX?
24) How can I convert from format Y to TeX or LaTeX, and vice-versa?
25) How do I get a file into the major style repositories?
26) Where can I get font Y?
27) Where can I get a dvi driver for the HP LaserJet?
28) TeX and LaTeX are hyphenating words weirdly. What can I do?
29) How can I convert a TeX or LaTeX file into a plain ASCII file,
with all the formatting intact, a la nroff?
30) How do I enlarge TeX? I keep getting ``memory capacity exceeded''
errors.
31) In LaTeX, I used \pagestyle{empty}, but the first page is still
numbered. What do I do?
32) Where do I find documentation about BibTeX?
33) How do I use BibTeX with plain TeX?
34) How do I draw Feynman diagrams in LaTeX?
35) What is the New Font Selection Scheme (NFSS)?
36) In LaTeX, my cross-references for floats (figures and tables) are
incorrect. What's wrong?
37) I want to change the margins in LaTeX. What can I do?
38) How do I find the width of a letter, word, or phrase in TeX?
39) In LaTeX, is there a comment or ``ignore'' environment with which
I can exclude blocks of text from the .dvi file?
40) Where can I find a spelling checker for my TeX file?
If you are looking, for instance, for the answer to question 17, and wish
to skip everything else, you can search ahead for the regular expression
``^17)''.
These are all legitimate questions, but they seem to appear too
frequently for long-time readers of the list.
Many of the answers below tell you that you can obtain something
through anonymous ftp. ``Ftp'' stands for file transfer protocol, and
is also the name of a program implementing the protocol. The program
allows users to transfer files to and from remote sites, if the sites
are connected via a network such as the Internet. ``Anonymous ftp''
indicates a user may connect to a remote site as the user
``anonymous'' with a password consisting of their email address, and
thus be able to retrieve files from that site. Remember, anonymous
ftp is a privilege and the system administrators for these sites
have made these files available out of their own generosity. Therefore
please restrict your ftp'ing to non-prime hours at the various sites.
I would like to acknowledge Don Hosek, Ken Yap, Tomas Rokicki, and
Micah Beck, whose postings provided many of the answers. Joe Weening,
Hal Perkins, Walter Carlip, Max Hailpern, Tad Guy, Raymond Chen,
Henning Schulzrinne, Sebastian Rahtz, Mark James, Peter Galko, Mike
Ernst, Rainer Sch\"opf, Oren Patashnik, Philippe Louarn, Rafal
Zbikowski, Anita Marie Hoover, David Rhead, Darrell McCauley, Cameron
Smith, Emma Pease, Patrick McPhee, Karl Berry, Robin Fairbairns, and
Joohee Jeong provided additional material and criticisms. The format
of this document is based on the Frequently Asked Questions written by
Steve Hayman which formerly appeared in comp.unix.wizards. Any
mistakes are mine. Send corrections, suggestions, and additions to
bobby@hot.caltech.edu.
1) How can I get a copy of this article?
You're reading it aren't you? SAVE it :-). This article is posted
monthly to comp.text.tex and cross-posted to news.answers. It is
therefore archived at any site that archives news.answers.
News.answers is archived on rtfm.mit.edu (18.70.0.209), and this
article is available there via anonymous ftp in the directory
./pub/usenet/news.answers/tex-faq. If you do not have anonymous
ftp, send an e-mail message containing the lines ``SENDME FAQ.'' to
fileserv@shsu.edu (fileserv@shsu.bitnet). Another way to retrieve
it via email is through the mailserver at rtfm: send a message
containing the lines ``help'' and ``index'' to
mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu for information on how to obtain it.
Other news.answers/FAQ archives are: cnam.cnam.fr (163.173.128.6)
in the anonymous ftp directory /pub/FAQ; ftp.uu.net (192.48.96.2)
in the anonymous ftp directory /pub/usenet (also available via mail
server requests to netlib@uunet.uu.net, or via uunet's 1-900
anonymous UUCP phone number); and ftp.cs.ruu.nl (131.211.80.17) in
the anonymous ftp directory NEWS.ANSWERS (also accessible via mail
server requests to mail-server@cs.ruu.nl). Many of the archives
mentioned in question 22 also maintain current versions of this
document.
2) Where can I get a DVI to PostScript conversion program?
Two good DVI to PostScript conversion programs that run under
Unix are:
dvips - by Tomas Rokicki. This driver is very nice and has the
ability to deal with virtual fonts. Available via anonymous ftp
from labrea.stanford.edu (36.8.0.112) in ./pub. Dvips is
written in C and ports easily to other operating systems. It
is available for VMS via anonymous ftp from any CTAN site (see
question 22) and also through the DECUS library (see question
22). A precompiled version for MSDOS is available from
monu1.cc.monash.edu.au (130.194.1.101) in ./pub/dvips54.zip or
from shape.mps.ohio-state.edu (128.146.110.30) in
./pub/msdos/dvips/dvips54.zip. If you wish to use postscript
fonts, get dvipslib.zip as well. Documentation is available in
dvips.ps.Z. Karl Berry has a version of dvips called dvipsk
which has a configure script and path searching code similar to
that in his other programs (e.g., web2c). It is available via
anonymous ftp from ftp.cs.umb.edu (158.121.104.33) in
./pub/tex/.
dvitops - by James Clark. Available via anonymous ftp from any CTAN site
(see question 22, e.g., pip.shsu.edu (192.92.115.10)), in
./tex-archive/dviware/dvitops. Dvitops is written in C and will
compile under Unix, MSDOS, VMS, and Primos.
3) How can I include a PostScript figure in LaTeX?
Perhaps the best way to do this is to use the psfig macros written
by Trevor Darrell. They are available via anonymous ftp from
whitechapel.media.mit.edu (18.85.0.125) in ./pub/psfig. You will
also need a dvi to PostScript conversion program that supports
\specials. The ones mentioned in question 2 do, and come with a
version of psfig ready to use with them. The psfig macros work best
with Encapsulated PostScript Files (EPS). In particular, psfig will
need the file to have a BoundingBox (see Appendix C of the
_PostScript Language Reference Manual_). If you don't have an EPS
file, life can be difficult.
One further note about including PostScript figures is that they
are not part of the dvi file, but are included when you use a dvi
to PostScript conversion program. As a result, most dvi previewers
will simply show the blank space TeX has reserved for your figure,
not the figure itself.
Anil K. Goel has written a long document describing in detail how to
include figures, pictures, and images in LaTeX documents. It is available
via anonymous ftp from math.uwaterloo.ca (129.97.140.144) in
./pub/figsInLatex.ps.Z. A dvi file with the included PostScript files
is also available.
4) Where can I find a DVI previewer for machine Y running Q?
This briefly lists some previewers available via anonymous ftp. All
are available from any CTAN site (see question 22) in addition to the
sites listed below:
dvipage - For SunView. This was published in volume 15 of
comp.sources.unix and is available at sites that archive
this. One such source is archive.cis.ohio-state.edu
(128.146.8.52).
xtex - For the X Window System. Available via anonymous ftp
from ftp.cs.colorado.edu (128.138.243.151) in
./pub/cs/misc/SeeTeX/SeeTeX/SeeTeX-*.tar.Z.
dviapollo- for Apollo Domain. Available via anonymous ftp from
labrea.stanford.edu (36.8.0.112) in ./pub/dviapollo.tar.Z.
dvidis - For VAXstation VWS. Available via anonymous ftp from
src.doc.ic.ac.uk (146.169.2.1) in /packages/tex/dviware/dvidis.
xdvi - Also for the X Window System. Available via anonymous ftp
from ftp.x.org (192.112.44.100) in ./contrib/xdvi.tar.Z. Karl
Berry has a version of called xdvik with features analogous
to his dvipsk (see question 2) available via anonymous ftp from
ftp.cs.umb.edu (158.121.104.33) in ./pub/tex.
dvitovdu - for Tektronix 4010 and other terminals under Unix.
Available via anonymous ftp from wsmr-simtel20.army.mil
(192.88.110.20) in the directory pd6:<unix-c.printers> as
dvi2vdu.tar-z (ftp in ``tenex'' mode).
dvi2tty - A dvi to ASCII conversion program, for normal terminals.
Available from ftp.cs.ruu.nl (131.211.80.17) in
./pub/TEX/DVI/dvi2tty.shar. A VMS version is available from
fileserv@shsu.edu (see question 22).
texsgi - For SGI under Irix. Available via anonymous ftp from
ftp.brl.mil (128.63.16.158) in ./info-iris/tex. Both a binary
and source are available, but be sure to get the fonts as well.
5) Where can I get the manual for PiCTeX?
The PiCTeX manual is not free. It is available for $30 ($35 with the
disk) from the TeX Users Group:
TeX Users Group
P. O. Box 869
Santa Barbara, CA 93102-0869 (USA)
805-963-1338
FAX: 805-963-8358
tug@tug.org
The proceeds from this sale go to Michael Wichura, the author of PiCTeX,
and TUG.
6) What is VorTeX and where can I get it?
VorTeX is a package of programs written at the University of California.
It includes several nice previewers and some Emacs modes for TeX and
BibTeX. It is available via anonymous ftp from ftp.cs.berkeley.edu
(128.32.149.78) in ./ucb/mhgs. The VorTeX distribution is not maintained.
7) What is OzTeX and where can I get it (TeX for the Mac)?
OzTeX is a public domain version of TeX for the Macintosh. A DVI
Previewer and PostScript driver are also included. It should run on
any Macintosh Plus, SE, II, or newer model, but will not work on a
128K or 512K Mac. It was written by Andrew Trevorrow, and is available
via anonymous ftp from from midway.uchicago.edu (128.135.12.73) in
./pub/OzTeX, which contains other public domain TeX-related software
for the Mac as well, or on a floppy disk from TUG (see question 11).
Questions about OzTeX may be directed to oztex@midway.uchicago.edu.
8) What is Fig and where can I get it?
Fig is a menu driven tool similar to MacDraw that allows you to
draw objects on the screen of a Sun Workstation running SunView.
TransFig is a set of tools which translate the code fig produces to
other graphics languages including PostScript and the LaTeX picture
environment. Both are available via anonymous ftp from
ftp.cs.cornell.edu (128.84.218.75) in ./pub/fig. Both Fig and
TransFig are also available from the Clarkson archive server at
sun.soe.clarkson.edu (see question 22). Fig is supported by Micah
Beck (beck@cs.cornell.edu) and Transfig is maintained by Brian
Smith (bvsmith@lbl.gov). Another tool for fig conversion is fig2MF
which generates METAFONT code from fig input. It is available from
the CTAN archives discussed in question 22.
XFig is essentially the same program except it runs under the X
Window System. It is available via anonymous ftp from ftp.x.org
(192.112.44.100) in ./contrib/R5fixes/xfig-patches/xfig-2.1.*.Z. It
was written by Brian Smith.
9) How do I get WEB for C, FORTRAN, or some other language?
There is a version of WEB for C called CWEB written by Silvio Levy. It
is available via anonymous ftp from princeton.edu (128.112.128.1) in
the directory ./pub/cweb.
There is a version of WEB called Spidery WEB which supports many
languages including ADA, awk, and C. It was written by Norman Ramsey
and, while not in the public domain, is usable free. It is available
via anonymous ftp from pip.shsu.edu (192.92.115.10) in
tex-archive/web/spiderweb.
FWEB is a version of WEB for Fortran, Ratfor, and C written by John
Krommes (krommes@lyman.pppl.gov). Version 1.13 is available via
anonymous ftp from lyman.pppl.gov (192.55.106.129) in ./pub/fweb.
SchemeWEB is a Unix filter that translates SchemeWEB into LaTeX source
or Scheme source. It was written by John Ramsdell and is available from
sun.soe.clarkson.edu (128.153.12.3) in ./pub/tex/tex-programs/schemeweb.
APLWEB is a version of WEB for APL and is available from
watserv1.waterloo.edu (129.97.129.140) in ./languages/apl.
FunnelWeb is a version of WEB that is language independent. It is
available via anonymous ftp from ftp.adelaide.edu.au (129.127.40.3)
in ./pub/funnelweb. It also appeared in comp.sources.unix volume 26
issue 121, posted 11 April 1993. Another language independent version
of WEB is NUWEB, available via anonymous ftp from cs.rice.edu
(128.42.1.30) in ./public/preston. NUWEB is written in ANSI C.
Most of the above are also available from your nearest CTAN site
(see question 22).
10) How can I typeset music in TeX?
A package called MuTeX, written by Andrea Steinbach and Angelika
Schofer, aids in doing this. It is available via anonymous ftp
from ftp.cs.ruu.nl (131.211.80.17) in pub/TEX/MuTeX.tar.Z. This
package allows you to typeset single-staff music and lyrics.
A more powerful package which allows the typesetting of orchestral
and polyphonic music is MusicTeX, written by Daniel Taupin
(taupin@frups51.bitnet). It is available via anonymous ftp from
rsovax.ups.circe.fr (130.84.128.100) [.musictex]. It should also
be available from the archive sites detailed in question 22.
There is a mailing list for discussion of typesetting music in TeX.
To subscribe, send a request to mutex-request@stolaf.edu.
11) What is TUG and TUGboat?
TUG is the TeX Users Group. TUGboat is their newsletter, containing
useful articles about TeX and METAFONT. TUG also distributes
TeX-related microcomputer software on disks. Inquiries should be
directed to:
TeX Users Group
P. O. Box 869
Santa Barbara, CA 93102-0869 (USA)
805-963-1338
FAX: 805-963-8358
tug@tug.org
12) How do I convert Adobe's afm files to tfm format?
Use the afm2tfm program distributed with dvips, available via
anonymous ftp from labrea.stanford.edu (36.8.0.112) in ./pub.
For the Macintosh, there is a program called EdMetrics which does
the job (and more). It is available free from:
Blue Sky Research
534 Southwest Third Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97204 (USA)
800-622-8398 or 503-222-9571
13) In LaTeX, how do I get a double-spaced document?
Are you producing a thesis, and trying to obey regulations that were
drafted in the typewriter era? LaTeX is a typesetting system, so the
appropriate design conventions are for ``real books''. Find whoever
is responsible for the regulations, and try to get the wording changed
to cater for typeset theses (e.g., to say ``if using a typesetting
system, aim to make your thesis look like a well-designed book'').
If you fail to convince your officials, or want some inter-line
space for copy-editing:
- Try changing \baselinestretch: \renewcommand{\baselinestretch}{1.2}
may be enough to give officials the impression you've kept
to their regulations. Don't try changing \baselineskip: its
value is reset at any size-changing command.
- Alternatively, get doublespace.sty from any CTAN site (see question 22,
e.g., pip.shsu.edu (192.92.115.10)) in
./tex-archive/macros/latex/contrib/misc. There's also a setspace.sty
in the same directory which is more flexible, and consistent with the
latest release of LaTeX.
It's not worth going to a lot of trouble. (If officials won't allow
standard typographic conventions, you won't be able to produce an
aesthetically pleasing document anyway!)
14) In LaTeX, how do I include a file in the verbatim environment?
A good way to do this is to use Rainer Sch\"opf's verbatim.sty,
which provides the command \verbatiminput that takes a file
as an argument. This package is available from any CTAN site (see
question 22) in ./tex-archive/macros/latex/distribs. Several
files are needed.
Another way to do this is to use the alltt environment defined in
the style file alltt.sty available from the CTAN archives in
./tex-archive/macros/latex/contrib/misc/alltt.sty.
15) In LaTeX, how do I do Y?
If you can't figure out how to do something in LaTeX after you
have read the manual very carefully, asked your local LaTeX
guru, and thought about it, there is a LaTeX help service
available. Please note that the way to accomplish something
in LaTeX is often by using an appropriate style file, so please
check this also (see question 16). If none of this works, send mail
in English describing your problem to latex-help@cs.stanford.edu.
If you haven't gotten a reply to your problem within about a week,
send mail to latex-help-coordinator@cs.stanford.edu.
16) Where can I find a TeX macro or LaTeX style file for doing Y?
Before you ask for a TeX macro or LaTeX style file to do something,
please search the TeX macro index written by David M. Jones
(dmjones@theory.lcs.mit.edu) and available via anonymous ftp
from theory.lcs.mit.edu (18.52.0.92) in ./pub/tex/TeX-index. Those
without access to anonymous ftp can send a message containing the
line ``send tex TeX-index'' to archive-server@theory.lcs.mit.edu.
The index is an excellent reference document with plenty of
cross-references. Also, many of the archive sites mentioned in
question 22 maintain extensive latex style collections, which you
can look through if you need something not in the index.
17) How do I generate an index in TeX/LaTeX?
Making an index is not trivial. There are several indexing programs
which aid in doing this. The following are available from any CTAN
site (see question 22):
makeindex - for LaTeX under Unix (but runs under other OS's
without changes). A version for the Macintosh is available from
Johnny Tolliver at tolliver%atf.mfenet@nmfecc.llnl.gov. The
Makeindex documentation is a good source of information on how
to create your own index. Makeindex can be used with some TeX macro
packages other than LaTeX, such as Eplain.
idxtex - for LaTeX under VMS.
texix - for TeX on CMS and Macintosh machines.
texindex - for LaTeX under Unix. Available from
comp.sources.misc archives in Volume 23.
18) How do I get METAFONT to do what I want it to do?
METAFONT allows you to create your own fonts, and ordinary TeX users
will never need to use it. METAFONT, unlike TeX, requires some
customization. Each output device for which you will be generating
fonts needs a mode associated with it. Modes are defined using the
mode_def convention described on page 94 of _The METAFONTbook_. So
first create a file, which we will call local.mf, containing all the
mode_defs you will be using. The file modes.mf by Karl Berry,
available via anonymous ftp from ftp.cs.umb.edu (158.121.104.33) in
./pub/tex is a good starting point for this. Listings of settings for
various output devices are also published periodically in TUGboat
(see question 11). Now create a plain base file using inimf, plain.mf,
and local.mf:
% inimf
This is METAFONT....
**plain # you type plain
(output)
*input local # you type this
(output)
*dump # you type this
Beginning to dump on file plain....
(output)
%
This should create a base file named plain.base (or something close)
and should be moved to the directory containing the base files on
your system.
Now you need to make sure METAFONT loads this base when it starts
up. If METAFONT loads the plain base by default on your system, then
you're ready to go. Under Unix, we might, for instance define a
command mf which executes ``virmf &plain,'' loading the plain base
file.
The usual way to create a font with plain METAFONT is to then start
it with the line
\mode=<mode name>; mag=<magnification>; input <font file name>
in response to the * prompt or on the METAFONT command line. If
<mode name> is unknown or omitted, then the mode defaults to proof
mode. If this has happened METAFONT will produce an output file
called <font file name>.2602gf. The <magnification> is a floating
point number or magstep (magsteps are defined in _The METAFONTbook_
and _The TeXbook_). If mag=<magnification> is omitted, then the
default is 1. For example, to generate cmr10 at 12pt for an epson
printer you would type
mf \mode=epson; mag=1.2; input cmr10
Note that under Unix the '\' and ';' characters must usually be
escaped, so this would typically look something like
mf \\mode=epson\; mag=1.2\; input cmr10
If you don't have inimf or need a special mode that isn't in the
base, you can put its commands in a file (e.g., ln03.mf) and invoke
it on the fly with the \smode command. For example, to create
ln03.300gf for an LN03 printer, using the file
% This is ln03.mf as of 2/27/90
% mode_def courtesy of John Sauter
proofing:=0;
fontmaking:=1;
tracingtitles:=0;
pixels_per_inch:=300;
blacker:=0.65;
fillin:=-0.1;
o_correction:=.5;
(note the absence of the mode_def and enddef commands), you would type
mf \smode="ln03"; input cmr10
19) Where do I get TeX/LaTeX for machine Y running Q?
Unix - The Unix TeX distribution is available via anonymous ftp from any
CTAN archive (see question 22). If you don't want to do this, you can
order it from the University of Washington, for a small fee. Contact:
Director
Northwest Computing Support Center
Thomson Hall, Mail Stop DR-10
University of Washington
Seattle, WA 98195 (USA)
(206)543-6259
or send electronic mail to Elizabeth Tachikawa at
elisabet@max.u.washington.edu (note the ``s''). The fee charged
for getting the TeX distribution through the University of
Washington helps fund the further development of Unix TeX, so
it's a good idea to order it this way.
Instructions for retrieving TeX via anonymous ftp are available
in the document FTP.nwc, itself available via anonymous ftp from
ftp.cs.umb.edu (158.21.104.33) in ./pub/tex.
Note: The Unix version of TeX allows your ``macros'' or ``inputs''
and ``fonts'' directories to be hierarchically organized with
further subdirectories, rather than dumping everything into one
directory. This can cause TeX to start very slowly. The cure
for this problem is to insure each subdirectory contains either
only directories or only files.
AIX - TeX for the IBM RS6000 running AIX can be found on
ftp.uni-stuttgart.de (129.69.8.13) in
./tex-archive/systems/unix/aix3.1.
386/ix - Executables for the 386/ix are available via anonymous ftp
from tik.vtt.fi (130.188.52.2) in ./pub/tex/bin-386ix and from
math.berkeley.edu (128.32.183.94) in ./pub/tex386ix.tar.Z.
PC - A TeX package for the PC, including LaTeX, BibTeX, previewers,
and drivers is available via anonymous ftp from
vax.eedsp.gatech.edu (130.207.226.24) in ./pub/TeX. The variety here
is sbtex version 30 by Wayne Sullivan. EmTeX, another TeX package
for the PC by Eberhard Mattes, is available via anonymous ftp from
ftp.uni-stuttgart.de (129.69.8.13) in
./tex-archive/systems/msdos/emtex and also from niord.shsu.edu
(192.92.115.8) in [.emtex]. This package includes LaTeX, METAFONT,
BibTeX, etc., as well. Documentation is available in both German
and English.
All Public Domain TeX software for the PC is also available
through TUG. A catalog is available free from them at the
address given in question 11. This collection is maintained by
Jon Radel, who will answer technical questions on the material
(with no service guarantee). Send electronic mail to jon@radel.com.
Mac - see question 7 for a public domain version (OzTeX). Another version
is CMacTeX, which has TeX 3.14, METAFONT 2.7, a screen previewer,
dvips, a PostScript printing utility for the LaserWriter, and some font
managing utilities. It is available from the CTAN archives discussed
in question 22.
TOPS-20 - TeX was originally written on a DEC-10 under WAITS, and so
was easily ported to TOPS-20. A Distribution that runs on TOPS-20
is available via anonymous ftp from science.utah.edu
(128.110.198.2) in ./pub/tex/pub/web.
VAX/VMS - TeX for VMS is available from any CTAN site (see question 22)
in the directory ./systems/vms. Standard tape distribution is
through DECUS or Maria Code.
Atari - TeX is available for the Atari ST from atari.archive.umich.edu
(141.211.165.41) in ./atari/tex. If anonymous ftp is not available
to you, send a message containing the line ``help'' to
atari@atari.archive.umich.edu. The mail server can uuencode
binary files. Another version can be obtained via anonymous
ftp from ifi.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de (129.69.211.1) in
./pub/atari.st/tex. There is also lots of TeX stuff for the
Atari on the rusinfo and ftp.cs.ruu.nl archives mentioned in
question 22.
Amiga - A full implementation of TeX 3.1 call PasTeX and METAFONT 2.7
are available via anonymous ftp from merlin.etsu.edu (192.43.199.20)
in ./ab20/AMIGA. It is also available via anonymous ftp from
forwiss.uni-passau.de (132.231.20.10) in ./pub/amiga/tex.
You can also order a CDROM containing this and other amiga software
from Walnut Creek CDROM, (510) 947-5997.
Tandy 6000 - If you are interested in building TeX on this machine
contact Ken Yap (ken@syd.dit.csiro.au), and he'll help you.
20) Where can I get a thesis style for LaTeX?
Thesis styles are usually very specific to your University, so it's
usually not profitable to ask the whole newsgroup for one. If you
want to write your own, a good place to start is the ucthesis style
available from any CTAN archive in macros/latex/contrib/ucthesis
(see question 22).
21) How do I get symbols for ``the real numbers'', ``the complex numbers'',
and so on?
These symbols are known as ``blackboard bold'' and are available in
the AMS fonts ``msam'' (e.g., ``msam10'' for 10pt) and ``msbm''.
They replace the older ``msxm'' and ``msym''. The fonts have a large
number of mathematical symbols to supplement the ones
provided by TeX. The fonts are available via anonymous ftp from
e-math.ams.com (130.44.1.100) in the directory ./ams/amsfonts.
Two files which load the fonts and define the symbols are provided,
and both work with either TeX or LaTeX. Questions or suggestions
regarding these fonts should be directed to
tech-support@math.ams.com.
A set of LaTeX macros for a ``lazy person's'' blackboard bold are:
\newcommand{\R}{{\sf R\hspace*{-0.9ex}\rule{0.15ex}%
{1.5ex}\hspace*{0.9ex}}}
\newcommand{\N}{{\sf N\hspace*{-1.0ex}\rule{0.15ex}%
{1.3ex}\hspace*{1.0ex}}}
\newcommand{\Q}{{\sf Q\hspace*{-1.1ex}\rule{0.15ex}%
{1.5ex}\hspace*{1.1ex}}}
\newcommand{\C}{{\sf C\hspace*{-0.9ex}\rule{0.15ex}%
{1.3ex}\hspace*{0.9ex}}}
22) What repositories of TeX material are available, and how can I access
them?
To aid the archiving and retrieval of of TeX-related files, a TUG
working group developed the Comprehensive TeX Archive Network
(CTAN). Each CTAN site has identical material, and maintains
authoritative versions of its material. These collections are
extensive; in particular, almost everything mentioned in this
document is archived at the CTAN sites, even if not explicitly
stated.
The CTAN sites are currently ftp.uni-stuttgart.de (129.69.8.13)
with the TeX root directory ./pub/tex, ftp.tex.ac.uk
(134.151.44.19) with root directory ./pub/archive, and
pip.shsu.edu (192.92.115.10) with root directory ./tex-archive.
Under the root directory, the organization is identical.
To find software at a CTAN site, use anonymous ftp to the host,
and then execute the command `quote site index <search-term>'.
The mail servers of the CTAN sites are not yet identical, but this is
planned. Here are the current methods of access via electronic mail:
- For the UK site, send a message to texserver@tex.ac.uk. The
first non-blank line of the message must contain a valid
TeXserver command (help, directory, files, whereis, search,
or path). The program will then mail you a response notifying
you that your request has been received. If you fail to get a
response from the TeXserver, you may need to use the ``path''
command to help the program out. For Internet users the
return address is of the form name%site@nsfnet-relay, while
for Bitnet and EARN it is name%site@earn-relay (i.e., include
a line that says ``path name%site@nsfnet-relay'' along with a
line containing ``help'').
- For ftp.uni-stuttgart.de, send a message containing the line
``help'' to mail-server@ftp.uni-stuttgart.de.
- For the SHSU site, send a message with the line HELP to
FILESERV@SHSU.BITNET. SENDME FILELIST will get an annotated
listing of all packages available there.
The host nic.switch.ch (130.59.1.40) mirrors ftp.uni-stuttgart.de
in /mirrors/tex, as does ftp.uni-bielefeld.de (129.70.4.55) in
/pub/tex. Src.doc.ic.ac.uk (146.169.2.1) mirrors ftp.tex.ac.uk in
/packages/TeX/uk-tex/. Finally, wuarchive.wustl.edu
(128.252.135.4) mirrors pip.shsu.edu in /packages/TeX.
There are several other repositories of TeX material available:
- ftp.cs.ruu.nl (131.211.80.17) also contains a substantial TeX
archive with ftp access. To use it via email, send a message
containing the line ``help'' to mail-server@cs.ruu.nl. This mail
server can send binary files in a variety of different formats.
- There are LISTSERV facilities for TeX at LISTSERV@DHDURZ1.BITNET.
Send a message containing the line ``help'' to this address.
- For users on BITNET, access to anonymous ftp for some files can
be obtained indirectly by sending mail to BITFTP@PUCC.BITNET.
Send a message containing the line ``help'' to this address for
more information.
There is also the DECUS TeX collection, a collection of TeX material
for VMS, Unix, MS-DOS, and the Macintosh. It is available via
anonymous ftp from wuarchive.wustl.edu (128.252.135.4) in ./decus/tex.
It can also be obtained from the DECUS Library (reference number
VS0058) in the US, or through your DECUS office outside of the US. To
contact the DECUS Library, send mail or call:
The DECUS Program Library
219 Boston Post Road BP02
Marlboro, MA 01752-1850
(508)480-3418
or send electronic mail to the DECUS TeX Collection Editor, Ted
Nieland, at decus_tex@nieland.dayton.oh.us.
Another good source of information is NETWORK SOURCES OF TeX WARE by
Peter Flynn which appeared in TeXhax, volume 90, issues 45-47 (in
May 1990).
23) How do I use PostScript fonts with LaTeX?
The best way to do this is to install the New Font Selection
Scheme (NFSS) (see question 35), and use the psnfss package
written by Sebastian Rahtz. It is available from all the major
archives mentioned in question 22. Unfortunately, on some it is
known as soton and on others as psnfss. The definitive home for
it is the UK TeX archive, tex.ac.uk (134.151.40.18) in
[tex-archive.macros.latex.distribs.psnfss]. Other methods for using
PostScript fonts in LaTeX are cumbersome at best.
24) How can I convert from format Y to TeX or LaTeX, and vice-versa?
troff - TROFF-TO-LATEX.TAR-Z is available via anonymous ftp from
wsmr-simtel20.army.mil (192.88.110.20) in the directory
pd2:<unix-c.textproc>. This program, written by Kamal Al-Yahya
at Stanford, assists in the translation of a troff document into
LaTeX format. It recognizes most -ms and -man macros, plus most
eqn and some tbl preprocessor commands. Anything fancier needs
to be done by hand. Two style files are provided. There
is also a man page (which converts very well to LaTeX :-).
The program is copyrighted but free. An enhanced version of this
program, tr2latex, is available from
ftp.informatik.rwth-aachen.de (137.226.112.172) in ./pub/TeX.
The DECUS TeX distribution (see question 22) also contains a program
which converts troff to TeX. If you are interested in obtaining a copy
of this program without getting the entire DECUS TeX distribution,
send the command: SENDME TROFFTOTEX in the body of a mail message to
FILESERV@SHSU.BITNET (FILESERV@SHSU.edu), or use anonymous ftp to the
directory [.TROFFTOTEX] on Niord.SHSU.edu (192.92.115.8).
scribe - Mark James has a copy of scribe2latex he has been
unable to test but which he will let anyone interested have.
Send email to jamesm@procor.dialogic.com. The program was written
by Van Jacobson of Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory.
wordperfect - wp2latex.zip is available on wuarchive.wustl.edu
(128.252.135.4) in the directory ./mirrors/msdos/tex and on
wsmr-simtel20.army.mil (192.88.110.20) in the directory pd1:<msdos.tex>.
This is a PC program written in Turbo Pascal by R. C. Houtepen at
the Eindhoven University in the Netherlands. It converts
WordPerfect 5.0 documents to LaTeX. Pascal source is included.
Users find it ``helpful'' and ``decent'' in spite of some
limitations. It gets high marks for handling font changes.
Limitations include no indices, table of contents, margins or
graphics. It also won't handle the new features of WordPerfect
5.1, in particular the equation formatter. The program is
copyrighted but free.
Glenn Geers of the University of Sydney (glenn@qed.physics.su.oz.au)
is translating wp2latex into C and adding some WordPerfect 5.1
features, in particular its equation handling. This is an ongoing
project; the most recent version can be retrieved via anonymous ftp
from suphys.physics.su.oz.au (129.78.129.1) in ./wp2latex. It was
posted to alt.sources on 8 August 1990.
Commercial packages are available for DOS which convert from
WordPerfect to LaTeX, and from TeX and LaTeX to WordPerfect, but
I am unaware of any free products which do this.
PC-Write - pcwritex.arc is available on wuarchive.wustl.edu
(128.252.135.4) in directory mirrors/msdos/tex and on
wsmr-simtel20.army.mil (192.88.110.20) in directory pd1:<msdos.tex>.
This is a print driver for PC-Write that ``prints'' a PC-Write V2.71
document to a TeX-compatible disk file. It was written by Peter
Flynn at University College, Cork, Ireland. It is public domain.
runoff - Peter Vanroose (vanroose@esat.kuleuven.ac.be) has
written a RUNOFF-to-TeX conversion program in VMS Pascal. It is
available from comp.text archives (they do exist, don't they? The
program was submitted in December 1987) or from the author
(peter@dit.lth.se) or from Mark James (jamesm@procor.dialogic.com).
refer/Tib - There are a few programs for converting bibliographic data
between BibTeX and refer/Tib formats. They are available via
anonymous ftp from ftp.ai.mit.edu (128.52.32.11) in the
directory ./pub/refer-to-bibtex. In spite of the directory name,
it also contains a shell script to convert BibTeX to REFER as
well. Unfortunately, this collection is not maintained.
RTF - A program for converting Microsoft's Rich Text Format to TeX
is available via anonymous ftp from astro.princeton.edu
(128.112.128.131) in ./pub/rtf2TeX.tar.Z. It was written and is
maintained by Robert Lupton (rhl@astro.princeton.edu). There is
also an rtf2LateX written by Erwin Wechtl available from
ftp.vmars.tuwien.ac.at (128.130.39.16) in ./pub/misc.
Microsoft Word - A rudimentary program for converting MS-Word
to LaTeX is wd2latex, for MS-DOS, available via anonymous ftp
from any CTAN site (see question 22). A better idea, however,
is to convert the document to RTF format and use the RTF
converter mentioned above.
In addition, a group at Ohio State University is working on a common
document format based on SGML. In theory any format could be
translated to or from this one. Also, Framemaker supposedly has
``import filters'' to aid in the translation from alien formats
(presumably including TeX) to Framemaker; perhaps other desktop
publishing programs have similar things.
25) How do I get a file into the major style repositories?
Use anonymous ftp to any CTAN archive (see question 22) and
retrieve the file README.uploads in the root directory. It contains
instructions for uploading files and notifying the appropriate
people for that site.
If you cannot use ftp, mail your contribution to sty-mgr@shsu.edu
and it will be passed along. You will make everyone's life easier
if you choose a descriptive and unique name for your submission, so
it's probably good idea to browse through some of the styles
already available to insure your style file's name is not already
in use.
26) Where can I get font Y?
A comprehensive list of METAFONT fonts is posted to Comp.fonts
about once every six weeks by Lee Quin (lee@sq.sq.com). It contains
both commercial fonts and fonts available via anonymous ftp. Most
of the fonts available via anonymous ftp are available from
the CTAN archives (see question 22). Also, the file wujastyk.txh
./tex-archive/digests/texhax/txh/wujastyk.txh is a copy of
Dominik Wujastyk's font article, and contains information on
METAFONT fonts as well.
27) Where can I get a dvi driver for the HP LaserJet?
PC - The emtex package mentioned in question 19 contains a driver for
the LaserJet, dvihplj.
Version 2.10 of the Beebe drivers support the LaserJet. These drivers
will compile under Unix, VMS, and on the Atari ST and DEC-20's. They
are available from science.utah.edu (128.110.198.2) in ./pub/tex/dvi.
28) TeX and LaTeX are hyphenating words weirdly. What can I do?
You have a version mismatch problem. The hyphenation algorithm changed
between version 2.9 and 3.0. If you are using TeX version 3.0 or
later, make sure you have plain.tex and lplain.tex files with a
version number of at least 3.0.
For those of you curious about the change, here's what happened:
in versions of TeX before 3.0 the hyphenation algorithm would not
break a word if the part before the break was not at least two
characters long, and the part after the break at least three
characters long. Starting with version 3.0 two integer parameters,
\lefthyphenmin and \righthyphenmin, control the length of these
fragments. These are set to 2 and 3, respectively, in the new
plain and lplain formats. They can be set to any value, of course,
but if \lefthyphenmin + \righthyphenmin is greater than 62, all
hyphenation is suppressed.
29) How can I convert a TeX or LaTeX file into a plain ASCII file,
with all the formatting intact, a la nroff?
Ralph Droms (droms@bucknell.edu) has a style file and a C program
that provide the LaTeX equivalent of nroff. Although it doesn't do
a good job with tables and math, it's the best way to convert that
I've seen. The software is available for anonymous ftp from
sol.cs.bucknell.edu (134.82.1.8) in ./droms/txt-dist.tar.
Another possibility is to use screen.sty, available from all the
major archives. However you need a program called crudetype to
process the resulting dvi file. It is available from
emx.utexas.edu (128.83.186.11) in
./pub/mnt/source/tex/tex-3.0/DVIware/lpr-viewers/crudetype and
from ftp.uni-stuttgart.de (129.69.8.13) in
./tex-archive/dviware/screenview. Another possibility is to use
the LaTeX-to-ASCII conversion program, l2a, available from
comp.sources.misc archives (one archive site is ftp.uu.net
(192.48.96.9)), although this is really more of a de-TeXing
program. If you are running under Unix and have C++ and perl, you
might try Jonathan Monsarrat's LameTeX package (which actually
does much more than this), available from wilma.cs.brown.edu
(128.148.33.66) in ./pub/lametex.tar.Z.
30) How do I enlarge TeX? I keep getting `memory capacity exceeded'
errors.
Most of the time, a ``memory capacity exceeded'' error can be fixed
without enlarging TeX. The most common causes are unmatched braces,
extra-long lines, and poorly-written macros. Extra-long lines
are often introduced when files are transferred incorrectly between
operating systems. (The tell-tale sign of an extra-long line error
is when the complaint is that the `buf_size' has overflowed.)
If you really need to extend your TeX's capacity, the proper method
varies depending on your installation. In the purest form, you
change the parameters in module 11 (``The following parameters can
be changed...'') In less pure forms, you might need to modify a
change file, or perhaps change some environment variables. Consult
the documentation that came with your particular implementation.
31) In LaTeX, I used \pagestyle{empty}, but the first page is still
numbered. What do I do?
If you see this problem, you are using the \maketitle command too.
This is a bug in LaTeX. The workaround is to put the command
\thispagestyle{empty} immediately after the \maketitle command, with
no blank line between them.
32) Where do I find documentation about BibTeX?
BibTeX, a program originally designed to produce bibliographies in
conjunction with LaTeX, is explained in Section 4.3 and Appendix B
of Leslie Lamport's LaTeX manual. The ``BibTeXing'' document,
contained in the file btxdoc.tex, gives a more complete description.
The ``Designing BibTeX Styles'' document, contained in the file
btxhak.tex, explains the postfix stack-based language used to
write BibTeX styles (.bst files). The file btxbst.doc is the template
file for the four standard styles (plain, abbrv, alpha, unsrt). It
also contains the documentation for them.
The current Unix-BibTeX man page, contained in the file
bibtex.1, was updated in January 1992 and is about one page long.
There's an old and obsolete version floating around, written in 1985
before ``BibTeXing'' and ``Designing BibTeX Styles'' appeared, that is
several pages long. You should ignore it (or throw it away), since it
describes BibTeX version 0.98, style files of which are incompatible
with the current version, 0.99 (to be precise, 0.99c).
All files mentioned in this answer are available via anonymous ftp
from labrea.stanford.edu (36.8.0.112) in the BibTeX ftp area,
tex/bibtex. All the non-Unix files should be available on any system
that runs BibTeX; if they're not on your system, please complain to
your BibTeX installer or to your distribution source.
33) How do I use BibTeX with plain TeX?
The file btxmac.tex contains TeX macros and documentation for using
BibTeX with plain TeX, either directly or with Karl Berry's Eplain
package. It is available via anonymous ftp from labrea.stanford.edu
(36.8.0.112) in tex/bibtex (see question 32 for more information
about BibTeX).
34) How do I draw Feynman diagrams in LaTeX?
Michael Levine's macro package for drawing Feynman diagrams in LaTeX
is available via mail-server from physics.utoronto.ca. Send a message
containing the line ``send INDEX'' to mail-server@physics.utoronto.ca
for information on how to retrieve it.
35) What is the New Font Selection Scheme (NFSS)?
NFSS is an extension to LaTeX written by Frank Mittelbach and Rainer
Sch\"opf. It is described in TUGboat, volume 10 (1989), No. 2.
In traditional typesetting, fonts are described by four parameters:
the family (e.g., computer modern), the series (i.e., the weight and
width of the font, like light or bold), the shape (e.g., italic), and
the size. NFSS is a mechanism allowing the user to change any of these
independently. NFSS makes it relatively easy to use nonstandard fonts
such as the PostScript ones with LaTeX, and easy to change math fonts.
It also allows dynamic loading of fonts at runtime (not when the
format file is created).
NFSS will be part of version 3.0 of LaTeX. Currently, you need
to create a new format file to use it. It is available via
anonymous ftp from all the major archives mentioned in question
22. Its home is on ftp.uni-stuttgart.de (129.69.8.13) in
./tex-archive/macros/latex/distribs/nfss2. NFSS can be used in plain
TeX as well, through an interface written by Wayne Sullivan.
There is one caveat that applies to LaTeX documents written for
the OLD scheme: some of them use special styles for special fonts
which will not work under the NFSS.
36) In LaTeX, my cross-references for floats (figures and tables) are
incorrect. What's wrong?
The \label command must come after the \caption command, or
be part of it. For example,
\begin{figure} \begin{figure}
\caption{A Figure} or \caption{A Figure\label{fig}}
\label{fig} \end{figure}
\end{figure}
37) I want to change the margins in LaTeX. What can I do?
This answer first helps you change the margins throughout a
document, then tells you how to change the margins in a portion
of the document.
Perhaps the easiest way to get more out of a page in LaTeX is to
get fullpage.sty, available from all the major archive servers
mentioned in question 22. This sets the margins of the page identical
to those of Plain TeX, i.e., 1-inch margins at all four sides of the
paper. It also contains an adjustment for A4 paper.
Here is a brief explanation of what's going on with the page
parameters in LaTeX. They are explained in section C.4.2 of the
LaTeX manual (p. 163). The margin parameters represent measurements
made to the DVI file. The origin in DVI coordinates is one inch
from the top of the paper and one inch from the left side. This
explains the ``one inch less than'' terminology used in the LaTeX
manual. In DVI coordinates, positive horizontal measurements extend
right across the page, and positive vertical measurements extend down
the page. Thus, for margins closer to the left and top edges of the
page than 1 inch, the corresponding parameters, e.g.,
\evensidemargin, \oddsidemargin, \topmargin, can be set to negative
values.
Finally, to change the margins of a document within the document,
modifying the parameters listed on page 163 will not work. They
can only be changed in the preamble of the document, i.e, before
the \begin{document} statement. To adjust the margins within a
document we define an environment which does it:
\newenvironment{changemargin}[2]{\begin{list}{}{
\setlength{\topsep}{0pt}\setlength{\leftmargin}{0pt}
\setlength{\rightmargin}{0pt}
\setlength{\listparindent}{\parindent}
\setlength{\itemindent}{\parindent}
\setlength{\parsep}{0pt plus 1pt}
\addtolength{\leftmargin}{#1}\addtolength{\rightmargin}{#2}
}\item }{\end{list}}
This environment takes two arguments, and will indent the left
and right margins by their values, respectively. Negative values
will cause the margins to be widened, so
\begin{changemargin}{-1cm}{-1cm} widens the left and right margins
by 1cm.
38) How do I find the width of a letter, word, or phrase in TeX?
Put the word in a box, and measure the width of the box. For example,
\setbox0=\hbox{hi}
width=\wd0
Note that if the quantity in the hbox is a phrase, the actual
measurement only approximates this width, since the interword glue
can be adjusted in paragraph mode.
In LaTeX, the following works (taken from the manual):
\newlength{\gnat}
\settowidth{\gnat}{\em small}
This sets the value of the length command \gnat to the width of ``small''
in emphasized text.
39) In LaTeX, is there a comment or ``ignore'' environment with which
I can exclude blocks of text from the .dvi file?
Rainer Sch\"opf's verbatim.sty provides a comment environment which
excludes everything between \begin{comment} and \end{comment}. It is
available via anonymous ftp from any CTAN site (see question 22) in
./tex-archive/macros/latex/distribs. Several files are needed to
install the package. A more general environment for doing this is
comment.sty, also available from the CTAN sites in
./tex-archive/macros/latex/contrib/misc.
40) Where can I find a spelling checker for my TeX file?
For Unix, ispell is probably the program of choice. It is available
from any CTAN site (see question 22) in ./tex-archive/support/ispell.
For DOS, jspell is an extended version of ispell, and is available via
anonymous ftp from oak.oakland.edu (141.210.10.117) in
./pub/msdos/tex/jspell*.zip.
--
Bobby Bodenheimer @hot.caltech.edu
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