TeXhax Digest Friday, October 9, 1987 Volume 87 : Issue 81 [SCORE.STANFORD.EDU]TEXHAX81.87 Editor: Malcolm Brown Today's Topics: Re: TeX on Gould Powernode and TeX -> spell filter Re: \footnote problem in \tabular-environment Problem with bibtex TeX vs troff Where is Stefan Bechtolsheim's DVI->PS driver? Unwanted expansion of underscore astronomical symbols stretching/shrinking words, implicit kerning JTeX PostScript AFM files Re: Aligning on the decimal point Hershey fonts |-> METAFONT ? Framing text ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 30-Sep-87 23:20:57-PDT,1042;000000000000 Date: Wed, 30 Sep 87 22:53:29 pdt From: well!pti@lll-crg.arpa (Personal TeX) To: lll-crg!score.stanford.edu!texhax@lll-crg.arpa Subject: Re: TeX on Gould Powernode and TeX -> spell filter Peter Ilieve inquires about TeX on a Gould Powernode. Clarkson University has TeX on a Powernode 9080. It was compiled using the pac compiler. Gould's compiler had(has) *serious* problems. Two contacts at Clarkson: mrd@clutx.clarkson.edu, reh1@clutx.clarkson.edu. Good luck. Phil Windley asks about a utility to remove TeX commands from a document so that spelling can be checked. Such a filter exists on the Unix-TeX distribution tape. Both detex and delatex are there, coded in lex. Bill Kaster ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 1 Oct 87 09:21 N From: Subject: Re: \footnote problem in \tabular-environment To: texhax@score.stanford.edu In response to my question I received the following solution from Barbara Beeton: > i'm not really a latex hacker, but i believe i know the answer. > footnotes get "lost" when they're set inside boxes -- see the warnings > in the texbook, pp 116-117. i've reason to believe that the tabular > environment uses the kinds of boxes that cause this problem. the > best solution i know is to separate the footnotemark and the > footnotetext (i think those are the terms that latex uses) and > specify the footnotetext after the end of the environment. (you > may have to fiddle around to make sure the footnote actually gets > onto the proper page, but perhaps the latex manual has some > suggestions on that.) In this she was completely right, \footnotemark and \footnotetext work fine, except when you get a pagebreak between them. (I don't seem to read enough in Lamport's book, it's all described on p. 156. Sorry, Mr. Lamport) Herman F. Vogt VOGT@HGRRUG5.BITNET ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 1 Oct 87 15:46:58 EDT From: Peter Galvin To: texhax@score.stanford.edu Subject: Problem with bibtex There seems to be a problem with standard BIBTEX, at least as built on a Sun workstation. It appears that it fails to read files with capital letters in their file names. Given as input XXX.bls, it gives the error: Unable to open XXX.bls Am I hallucinating, or does this happen on other systems? --Pete ------------------------------ Date: 1 Oct 87 15:44:00 EDT To: From: Ian (I.) Easson Subject: TeX vs troff Having used TeX (actually, LATeX) for a couple of years, I have a pretty good idea of its strengths and weaknesses. Recently, I have been talking to people about troff, which I know nothing about. Is there someone out there who can give me an (unbiased) comparison of troff and TeX? Ian Easson (EASSON@BNR) Dept 7R61 Bell Northern Research P.O. Box 3511, Station C Ottawa Ontario Canada K1Y 4H7 (613) 727-4641 ------------------------------ From: Oliver Schoett To: texhax@score.stanford.edu Reply-To: schoett@infovax.informatik.tu-muenchen.dbp.de Subject: Where is Stefan Bechtolsheim's DVI->PS driver? Date: Thu, 1 Oct 87 16:25:59 -0100 In TeXhax Digest #68 of 13 August, Stefan Bechtolsheim announces that his new DVI->PS driver was available by anonymous FTP from l.cc.purdue.edu . However, when I connect to l.cc.purdue.edu, there seems to be almost nothing at all on that machine! I tried mailing Stefan (i5f@l.cc.purdue.edu), but did not get any reply. Does anyone know how I could get the driver? Oliver Schoett schoett@infovax.informatik.tu-muenchen.dbp.de (X.400) / relay.cs.net (arpa/csnet) schoett%infovax.informatik.tu-muenchen.dbp.de@ - unido.uucp (uucp) \ ddoinf6.bitnet (bitnet) ------------------------------ Date: 2-OCT-1987 12:23:50 GMT -01:00 From: THOWARD%graphics.computer-science.manchester.ac.uk@NSS.Cs.Ucl.AC.UK To: texhax <@NSS.Cs.Ucl.AC.UK:texhax@score.stanford.edu> Subject: Unwanted expansion of underscore TeXHaxers with good memories might remember that I've asked this before, but I lost the answers! Apologies for the re-submission...; also I neglected to post a summary back to TeXHax, which I will do this time. It's often useful to create index entries on the fly, such as when the thing you're indexing is first defined in a macro. But when there's an underscore involved, you get an undesired expansion: \index{p\_p} % regular indexing, which as expected writes % \indexentry{p\_p}{1} % on the idx file \newcommand{\indirect}[1]{ % useful stuff, and then index it too... \index{#1}} \indirect{q\_q} % ``indirect indexing'', which writes the following: % \indexentry{q\unhbox \voidb@x \kern .06em % \vbox {\hrule width.3em}q}{1} % Yuk. I can't figure out how to stop this expansion with \protect or \string or \anything---can anyone help? Thanks, Toby Howard Computer Graphics Unit, Department of Computer Science, Manchester University, Oxford Road, Manchester, England, M13 9PL. Phone: +44 61 273 7121 x5429/5406 Janet: thoward@uk.ac.man.cs.cgu ARPA: thoward%cgu.cs.man.ac.uk@nss.cs.ucl.ac.uk ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 2 Oct 87 13:41:35 PDT From: holub@violet.Berkeley.EDU To: texhax@score.stanford.edu A few digests back someone suggested using a normal PostScript-compatible paint program to create pictures, which can then be inserted into the output file by the dvi driver. Does anyone know of a PostScript paint program that runs on the IBM-PC? There seem to be plenty on the Mac, but the only one that I've found for the IBM is Autosketch, which produces miserable PostScript (it uses several hundred line segments to draw circles, for example). -Allen Holub holub@violet.berkeley.edu ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 01 Oct 87 18:19:11 EDT From: Dave Patterson Subject: astronomical symbols To: TEXHAX@score.stanford.edu I am currently working on a manuscript which uses a number of astronomical/celestial symbols: longitude of the ascending node, the planetary symbols, etc... Does anyone have METAFONT source to generate these? Thanks. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 2 Oct 87 16:03 N From: Subject: stretching/shrinking words, implicit kerning To: texhax@score.stanford.edu We wonder if it is possible to stretch or shrink a single word. In normal typesetting, we have possibilities to influence not only the space between words, but also the space between individual characters. Is it possible to do this in TeX without changing the font metrics, i.e. is there a parameter that can be set to obtain any kind of implicit kerning, like is done now between characters in certain combinations. Rob de Bruin Herman Vogt Rekencentrum RUGroningen VOGT@HGRRUG5.BITNET ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 02 Oct 87 08:53:33 PLT From: Dean Guenther Subject: JTeX To: TeXhax Digest , rcgbbalo@heithe5 In TeXhax #76 Leon Oninckx asked about JTeX. You can get info on JTeX from Yaski Saito at Nippon Telephone and Telegraph. From BITNET you would use the address yaski%ntt-20@sumex-aim.stanford.edu Dean Guenther TeX IBM VM/CMS Site Coordinator Washington State University Pullman, Wa. 99164-1220 phone: 509-335-0411 BITnet: GUENTHER@WSUVM1 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 02 Oct 87 01:56:45 EDT From: Jon Radel <6033138%PUCC.BITNET@forsythe.stanford.edu> Subject: PostScript AFM files To: mrd@clutx.clarkson.edu, texhax@score.stanford.edu For people dealing with PostScript drivers who need AFM (Adobe Font Metric) files: The official source is Adobe Systems, Inc. If you send two formatted floppies (either IBM PC or Macintosh) and a stamped return mailer, they'll send you the files for both the ROM fonts and at least some of their other fonts. When you buy fonts from them, you also get the AFM files for the fonts you buy. The address is: Attn: AFM file order Adobe Systems, Inc. 1585 Charleston Road P.O. Box 7900 Mountain View, CA 94039-7900 They also have a document "AFM Files: An Interchange Format for PostScript Font Metrics. --Jon 6033138@pucc.bitnet ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 1 Oct 87 16:35:19 CDT From: Glenn Vanderburg To: TeXhax journal Subject: Re: Aligning on the decimal point Nelson Beebe writes: How does one produce a table in which column entries are aligned on decimal points, when the number of figures following the point is variable, i.e. a table with a column like this: --------- x.x x.xx xx.xxxx xxx.x --------- Leslie Lamport writes: The easiest way is to put `r@{.}l' in the argument of the tabular environment and enter the number 123.45 by typing `123&45'. One can define an environment in which the user types `123.45' by \catcoding `.' to the `&' character. However, this is rather tricky and precludes the use of `.' for anything but aligned decimal points within the environment. Actually, the solution is easy in plain TeX. It's a little more difficult in LaTeX, but who's surprised? In both cases, the use of the period is only affected in the column in question, because TeX automatically encloses each column entry in a group. To do it in plain TeX, define two columns in the template like this: &\catcode`.=4 \tabskip0pt \hfil#&.#\hfil\tabskip= & and it will work. For LaTeX, I've enclosed a document style option called `decalign', which adds a new column specifier to the tabular and array environments. Use a `d' to indicate that a column should contain entries aligned on the decimal point. An optional character after the d indicates the character to be used as the separator; the default is a period, but Europeans will probably use commas. There are a few caveats. The `column' is actually two columns, so one must remember that when using \multicolumn or \cline. Also, to skip the column, you can't just put an ampersand, because that will only skip one column. You can't put two ampersands, either, because the separator is automatically included as the first thing in the second column. You must use \multicolumn{2}. None of the other column specifiers can be used as separators, and the use of certain characters (&, {, }, #, etc.) will probably produce chaos. This is not a severe inconvenience, because only periods and commas are likely to be used. Finally, the `d' specifier makes no sense in the {col} argument of the \multicolumn command, and will in fact wreak havoc there. Most of those problems are acceptable, but it would be nice if the column acted more like a single column. The following behavior is desirable: o The \multicolumn command would span the `d' column as though it were actually a single column. o The \cline command would behave similarly. o A `d' column entry which contained no separator would be centered in the column, rather than right-aligned with the separators in the other rows. It seems possible to define such an environment, but it would involve a more thorough reworking of LaTeX's table processing. Regards, Glenn Vanderburg Here is an example file: %%%---------------Beginning o' example file. \documentstyle[decalign]{report} \begin{document} \begin{tabular}{|r||r@{--}l|p{1.2in}|d,|} % Separator will be a comma. \hline \multicolumn{6}{|c|}{GG\&A Hoofed Stock} \\ \hline\hline &\multicolumn{2}{c|}{Price}& & \multicolumn{2}{c|}{} % Must treat the d column as two columns. \\ \cline{2-3} \multicolumn{1}{|c||}{Year} & \multicolumn{1}{l@{\,\vline\,}}{high} & low & \multicolumn{1}{c|}{Comments} & \multicolumn{2}{c|}{Other} % here too. \\ \hline 1971 & 97 & 245 & Bad year for farmers in the west. & 23,45 \\ \hline 72 & 245 & 245 & Light trading due to a heavy winter. & 435,23 \\ \hline 73 & 245 & 2001 & No gnus was very good gnus this year. & 3,8756 \\ \hline \end{tabular} \end{document} %%%---------------End o' example file. and here is the style file: %%%---------------Beginning o' style file. \typeout{Document Style option 'decalign', Released 1 October 1987} \def\dsep{} % This is necessary for some unknown reason. \def\@testpach#1{\@chclass \ifnum \@lastchclass=\tw@ 4 \else \ifnum \@lastchclass=3 5 \else \z@ \if #1c\@chnum \z@ \else \if #1l\@chnum \@ne \else \if #1r\@chnum \tw@ \else \@chclass \if #1|\@ne \else \if #1@\tw@ \else \if #1p3 \else \if #1d7 \else \ifnum \@lastchclass=7 8 \else \z@ \@preamerr 0\fi \fi \fi \fi \fi \fi \fi \fi \fi \fi} % Additions to these macros handle the extra classes. \def\@mkpream#1{\@firstamptrue\@lastchclass6 \def\@preamble{}\def\protect{\noexpand\protect\noexpand}\let\@sharp\relax \let\@startpbox\relax\let\@endpbox\relax \@expast{#1}\expandafter\@tfor \expandafter \@nextchar \expandafter:\expandafter=\@tempa\do{\@testpach\@nextchar \ifnum \@lastchclass=7 \ifnum \@chclass=8 \else\@classviii{.}\fi\fi \ifcase \@chclass \@classz \or \@classi \or \@classii \or \@classiii \or \@classiv \or\@classv \or \or\@classvii \or\@classviii{\@nextchar}% \fi\@lastchclass\@chclass}% \ifcase \@lastchclass \@acol \or \or \@preamerr \@ne\or \@preamerr \tw@\or \or \@acol \fi} \def\@tabular{\leavevmode \hbox \bgroup $\let\@acol\@tabacol \let\@classz\@tabclassz \let\@classiv\@tabclassiv \let\@classviii\@tabclassviii \let\\\@tabularcr\@tabarray} \def\array{\let\@acol\@arrayacol \let\@classz\@arrayclassz \let\@classiv\@arrayclassiv \let\@classviii\@arrayclassviii \let\\\@arraycr\def\@halignto{}\@tabarray} \def\@arrayclassz{\ifcase \@lastchclass \@acolampacol \or \@ampacol \or \or \or \@addamp \or \@acolampacol \or \@firstampfalse \@acol \or \@acolampacol \or \@acolampacol \fi \edef\@preamble{\@preamble \ifcase \@chnum \hfil$\relax\@sharp$\hfil \or $\relax\@sharp$\hfil \or \hfil$\relax\@sharp$\fi}} \def\@tabclassz{\ifcase \@lastchclass \@acolampacol \or \@ampacol \or \or \or \@addamp \or \@acolampacol \or \@firstampfalse \@acol \or \@acolampacol \or \@acolampacol \fi \edef\@preamble{\@preamble \ifcase \@chnum \hfil\ignorespaces\@sharp\unskip\hfil \or \ignorespaces\@sharp\unskip\hfil \or \hfil\hskip\z@ \ignorespaces\@sharp\unskip\fi}} \def\@classi{\ifcase \@lastchclass \@acol \@arrayrule \or \@addtopreamble{\hskip \doublerulesep}\@arrayrule\or \or \or \@arrayrule \or \@acol \@arrayrule \or \@arrayrule \or \@acol \@arrayrule \or \@acol \@arrayrule \fi} \def\@classiii{\ifcase \@lastchclass \@acolampacol \or \@addamp\@acol \or \or \or \@addamp \or \@acolampacol \or \@ampacol \or \@acolampacol \or \@ampacol \fi} \def\@classvii{\ifcase \@lastchclass \@acolampacol \or \@addamp\@acol \or \or \or \@addamp \or \@acolampacol \or \@ampacol \or \@acolampacol \or \@acolampacol \fi} \def\@tabclassviii#1{\@addtopreamble{\catcode`#1=4 \hfil\ignorespaces\@sharp \unskip\@sharp\unskip\hfil}} \def\@arrayclassviii#1{\@addtopreamble{\catcode`#1=4 \hfil$\relax\@sharp$& $\relax.\@sharp$\hfil}} %%%---------------End o' example file. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 02 Oct 87 23:51:34 EDT From: Dimitri Vulis Subject: Hershey fonts |-> METAFONT ? To: texhax@score.stanford.edu How come no one to the best of my knowledge has ever converted Hershey fonts to MF format? (Hershey fonts: a PD collection of about 1500 characters in vector format, designed by someone named Hershey for Nat. Bureau of Standards a while ago. They include Old English, Fraktur, Carolinian?, Cyrillic and a lot of useful symbols not usually available with TeX) I've tried it myself with limited success: I converted several OE characters (a very straightforward procedure), but then I quit because the only METAFONT I had access to was a self-port to a PC that was unbearably slow, and I'm not a graphics artist, and I plainly don't have the time (I'm a grad student burdened by 4 courses and a job.) However, for someone into METAFONT and with plenty of time, this project would be a piece of cake (relatively), and I'm willing to help a little. The results SHOULD be freely available to everyone. |---> Dimitri Vulis (cldlv%nasagiss.bitnet@wiscvm.wisc.edu ;) ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 2 Oct 87 19:51:43 pdt From: hildum@iris.ucdavis.edu (Eric Hildum) To: texhax@score.stanford.edu Subject: Framing text Hello, I am trying to use the command \framed to box text in a figure. I have defined \framed with the following: \newcommand{\framed}[1]{\fbox{\parbox{\linewidth}{#1}}} The problem is that the \fbox places the rules \fboxsep from the box created by \parbox - resulting in a box that is too large. I have looked through the LaTeX and TeX manuals and have not been able to determine how I can specify the length (\linewidth - 2\fboxsep) to \parbox. Does TeX or LaTeX allow sums of lengths to be determined? (I find it hard to believe that one has multiplication and not addition.) If it is not possible to perform addition, how can I specify the length I need? Thank you, Eric Hildum dehildum@ucdavis.edu (Internet) dehildum@ucdavis.bitnet (BITNET) ucbvax!ucdavis!dehildum (uucp) ------------------------------ %%% %%% subscriptions, address changes to: texhax-request@score.stanford.edu %%% %%% submissions to: texhax@score.stanford.edu %%% please send a valid arpanet address!! %%% %%% BITNET redistribution: TEX-L@TAMVM1.BITNET (list server) %%% %%%\bye %%% ------------------------------ End of TeXhax Digest ************************** -------