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 1.35 for May, last changed 5/4/93.
This article includes answers to:
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, and Patrick McPhee provided additional material and criticisms. The format of this document is based on the Frequently Asked Questions appearing in comp.unix.wizards, and written by Steve Hayman. Any mistakes are mine. Send corrections, suggestions, and additions to bobby@hot.caltech.edu.
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 and from
ymir.claremont.edu (134.173.4.23) in [anonymous.tex.music.mtex].
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 (USA)
805-899-4673
tug@math.ams.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 ./pub/tex/latex-style at
sun.soe.clarkson.edu, or, if you are using the new font selection
scheme, get doublespace.sty from ymir.claremont.edu
(134.173.4.23) in [anonymous.tex.inputs.latex-contrib]. There's
a setspace.sty from fileserv@shsu.edu which is more flexible, and
consistent with the latest release of LaTeX. See question 22.
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 file is available from both the Aston archive
(see question 22) and ymir.claremont.edu (134.173.4.23). Several
files are needed. From ymir.claremont.edu, get the file
[tex.inputs.latex-mainz]verbatim.readme to find out what other
files you will need.
Another way to do this is to use the alltt environment defined in
the style file alltt.sty available in ./pub/tex/latex-style from
sun.soe.clarkson.edu (see question 22).
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. Some are:
makeindex - for LaTeX under Unix (but runs under other OS's
without changes). Available via anonymous ftp from
ymir.claremont.edu (134.173.4.23, VMS) in the directory
[.tex.utilities.makeindex]. A version for the Macintosh is
available from Johnny Tolliver at
tolliver%atf.mfenet@nmfecc.llnl.gov. The Makeindex documentation
is a pretty good source of information on how to create your
own index.
idxtex - for LaTeX under VMS. Available via anonymous ftp from
ymir.claremont.edu in the directory [.tex.utilities.idxtex].
texix - for TeX on CMS and Macintosh machines. Available via
anonymous ftp from ymir.claremont.edu in the directory
[.tex.utilities.texix].
indexor - for LaTeX under Unix, VMS, and DOS. Available via
anonymous ftp from ymir.claremont.edu in [.tex.utilities.indexor].
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 (192.12.26.23) 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=; mag=; input
in response to the * prompt or on the METAFONT command line. If
is unknown or omitted, then the mode defaults to proof
mode. If this has happened METAFONT will produce an output file
called .2602gf. The is a floating
point number or magstep (magsteps are defined in _The METAFONTbook_
and _The TeXbook_). If mag= 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 no longer available via anonymous
ftp from one location. An up-to-date version of Unix TeX can
be assembled, however, by ftp'ing from several different sites.
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. This distribution compiles
under Ultrix. 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.
To get TeX via anonymous ftp, first get the current web2c
distribution from ftp.cs.umb.edu (192.12.26.23) in ./pub/tex. If you
plan on using METAFONT, also grab the current version of modes.mf
(see question 18). The web2c distribution will allow you to create
initex, virtex, inimf, virmf, bibtex, and several programs for
manipulating fonts. Next you will need the basic TeX and METAFONT
macro files, available from labrea.stanford.edu (36.8.0.112) in
./pub/tex/lib. The basic BibTeX style files are here as well, in
./pub/tex/bibtex. If you want LaTeX, the current distribution is
available from rusinfo.rus.uni-stuttgart.de (129.69.1.12) in
./soft/tex/latex. I recommend LaTeX be installed with the New Font
Selection Scheme (NFSS) (see question 35). It resides in
./soft/tex/macros/latex/distribs/nfss. If you want AMSLaTeX or
AMSTeX, get them from e-math.ams.com (130.44.1.100) in ./ams.
Finally, you need fonts. TeX itself needs font files with the
extension ``.tfm''. Your output device driver needs fonts in a
different format, probably ``.pk''. Both ymir.claremont.edu
(134.173.4.23) and rusinfo.rus.uni-stuttgart.de maintain collections
of fonts in these formats. These collections contain the necessary
fonts for the plain format and LaTeX, and other fonts you might
want. Alternatively, the necessary font formats can be generated
from the METAFONT source, either by you, or automatically if you use
the dvips driver mentioned in question 2. The METAFONT sources are
available from the ymir and rusinfo archives. Note that I have
tried to mention the definitive sources for all the programs above.
The nearest archive server (see question 22) may have everything
mentioned above, without having to ftp around the world.
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
rusinfo.rus.uni-stuttgart.de (129.69.1.12) in
./soft/tex/systems/unix/aix3.1.
PC - A TeX package for the PC, including LaTeX, BibTeX, previewers,
and drivers is available via anonymous ftp from
vax.eedsp.gatech.edu (130.207.226.7) 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
rusinfo.rus.uni-stuttgart.de (129.69.1.12) in
./soft/tex/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.
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 - VMS executables are available via anonymous ftp from
ymir.claremont.edu (134.173.4.23) in [.tex.exe]. Source is
available in [.tex.sources]. Version 3.1 is available in
[.tex.sources.tex3_1]. Ymir has a mailserver for those without
ftp access, although executables are not available through it.
Send a message containing the line ``help'' to
mailserv@ymir.claremont.edu. Standard tape distribution is
through DECUS or Maria Code.
Atari - TeX is available for the Atari ST from atari.archive.umich.edu
(141.211.164.8) 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 in the latex style collection at sun.soe.clarkson.edu
(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?
There are many repositories of TeX material available. Most of them
also have a mail server, i.e., a program that will send you files
via electronic mail. Here are some of the better ones:
- In the US, the archive at ymir.claremont.edu (134.173.4.23) has
a lot of PD TeX software, and even if it's not explicitly stated,
much of the software mentioned in this document is available there.
Anonymous ftp is supported, as is a mail server. Unfortunately,
executables are not available through the mail server. Send a
message containing the line ``help'' to MAILSERV@ymir.claremont.edu.
- The archive at Clarkson University, although out of date, still has
some things of interest. Use anonymous ftp to get files from
sun.soe.clarkson.edu (128.153.12.3). An archive server is available
if you can send mail to the United States. Send a one-line message
``help'' to archive-server@sun.soe.clarkson.edu and it will send
you a file describing how to use it more fully. If you have
problems, contact archive-management@sun.soe.clarkson.edu
- In the United Kingdom, you can get TeX-related material from the
UK TeX archive at the University of Aston. (FTP access is also
available for people on JANET or the Internet. Use anonymous ftp
to tex.ac.uk (134.151.40.18). You will be placed in the root of
of the [tex-archive]. Telnet access is also allowed, to permit
more intelligent browsing. Use the username PUBLIC and the same
password. A known file is [tex-archive]000directory.list.) For
electronic mail access, 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''). Note that the old three hyphen format is obsolete, but
still accepted by the program for backward compatibility.
- 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.
- In Germany, the host rusinfo.rus.uni-stuttgart.de (129.69.1.12)
is an anonymous ftp site with much TeX material. In particular
it is the definitive source for new font selection scheme in
LaTeX, for emtex (TeX for the IBM PC, see question 19), and contains
a set of hyphenation patterns for languages other than English. To
use it via email, send a message containing the line ``help'' to
mail-server@rusinfo.rus.uni-stuttgart.de.
- There are LISTSERV facilities for TeX at LISTSERV@DHDURZ1.BITNET.
Send a message containing the line ``help'' to this address.
- Another aggressively maintained archive is FILESERV@SHSU.BITNET.
Sending a message with the line HELP will get help, and
SENDME FILELIST will get an annotated listing of all packages
available there. The archive is accessible via anonymous ftp to
the host niord.shsu.edu (192.92.115.8).
- 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)
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 (26.2.0.74) in the directory
pd2:. 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-acchen.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 (26.2.0.74) in the directory pd1:.
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 is
also available by anonymous ftp from ymir.claremont.edu
(134.173.4.23) in the directory
[anonymous.tex.ibm_pc.front_ends.wp2latex]. It was posted to
alt.sources on 8 August 1990.
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 (26.2.0.74) in directory pd1:.
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 (128.52.32.6) 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. This collection is maintained by
Thomas M. Breuel (tmb@ai.mit.edu).
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).
Microsoft Word - A rudimentary program for converting MS-Word
to LaTeX is wd2latex, for MS-DOS, available via anonymous ftp
from ymir.claremont.edu (134.173.4.23) in
[.tex.ibm_pc.front_ends]. Probably 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 rusinfo.rus.uni-stuttgart.de (129.69.1.12) and
transfer the file into the directory ./soft/tex/incoming. Then send
notification texinfo1@rusinfo.rus.uni-stuttgart.de. From there
it will propagate to other inclusive archives. 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 style repositories mentioned
in question 22 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
ymir.claremont.edu (134.173.4.23). Also, the file wujastyk.txh
on ymir.claremont.edu in [anonymous.tex.mf] 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. The driver is available by itself from
ymir.claremont.edu (134.173.4.23) in [.tex.ibm_pc.drivers.emtex]
in the files dvidrv[123].zip.
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
and from ymir.claremont.edu (134.173.4.23) in
[.tex.drivers.beebe2_10].
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 (128.83.1.33) in
./pub/mnt/source/tex/tex-3.0/DVIware/lpr-viewers/crudetype and
from rusinfo.rus.uni-stuttgart.de (129.69.1.12) in
./serv2/soft/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
(137.39.1.2)), although this is really more of a de-TeXing
program. Finally, 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 rusinfo.rus.uni-stuttgart.de (129.69.1.12) in
./soft/tex/macros/latex/distribs/nfss. 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.
--
Bobby Bodenheimer @hot.caltech.edu
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