TeXhax Digest Tuesday, November 17, 1987 Volume 87 : Issue 94 [SCORE.STANFORD.EDU]TEXHAX94.87 Editor: Malcolm Brown Today's Topics: dvi2ps and NeWS gftopk Wanted: PK -> GF convertor Foo (bar codes) Timestamping TeX CalTeX Document AMSTeX fonts Re: AMSTeX fonts help Attn: Princeton University TeX users mixing text and screendumps Information needed Various from V87 #92 Metafont for the Mac latex margins ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 10 Nov 87 17:01 +0100 From: Igor Metz Subject: dvi2ps and NeWS Is there anybody who has modified dvi2ps in such a way that it could be used to produce PostScript files which could be previewed with NeWS' psview program? We include PostScript figures in our TeX files and we would like to preview these mixed documents. My first naive approach to use the "normal" dvi2ps crashed NeWS. Regards, Igor Metz Igor Metz EAN: metz@iam.unibe.ch aka metz@iam.unibe.chunet Institut fuer Informatik UUCP: ..!uunet!mcvax!iam.unibe.ch!metz und angewandte Mathematik BITNET: u04z@cbebda3t.bitnet Universitaet Bern Phone: (+31) 65 44 30 Switzerland ------------------------------ Subject: gftopk Date: Tue, 10 Nov 87 09:32:35 PST From: N K Krishnan There seems to be a small problem in gftopk. In section 64 while finding the smallest bounding box it skips empty rows at the top of the glyph. However in section 65 when converting the row list to glyph list it does not. This leads to the generation of the raster representation that is longer than specified in the pk character description. Here is the addition to the change file to work around the problem. %-------- % [0065] %-------- @x state := true ; buff := 0 ; while row[row_ptr] <> end_of_char do begin @y state := true ; buff := 0 ; while row[row_ptr] = end_of_row do incr(row_ptr) ; while row[row_ptr] <> end_of_char do begin @z By the way, this problem showed up with locally brewed gf files, and not those generated by Metafont. The gf files sail through gftype with no problems. With the problem, sometimes gftopk would bomb; on other occasions pktype on the resulting file would bomb. === krishnan@hplabs.hp.com ------------------------------ From: Mario Wolczko Date: Tue,10 Nov 20:34:15 1987 Subject: Wanted: PK -> GF convertor Does anybody have a program that will convert PK fonts to GF fonts? Alternatively, does anyone have a version of dvi2ps that understands PK fonts? Mario ______ Dept. of Computer Science Internet: mario%r5.cs.man.ac.uk /~ ~\ The University USENET: mcvax!ukc!man.cs.r2!mario ( __ ) Manchester M13 9PL JANET: mario@uk.ac.man.cs.r5 `-': :`-' U.K. Tel: +44-61-273 7121 x 5699 ____; ;_____________the mushroom project____________________________________ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Nov 87 15:46:49 EDT From: Dimitri Vulis Subject: Foo (bar codes) Dear Malcolm: I believe that the following file would of general interest, but I think it's too long for the digest: % I was amazed to find out that business people pay enormous money for the % ability to produce bar codes. This ought to be TRIVIAL with \TeX. % So, I got hold of a public domain BASIC program that supposedly does that and % lifted the codes and put them into METAFONT (it was EASY). Caveat(s): I have % never tested these codes with an OCR. The BASIC program said it used `3 of 9' % encoding. I presume it's not the same as UPC. The sizes may be off---I % took them from the BASIC program that used HP LJ's 100dpi graphics mode. % Disclaimer: I haven't tested these codes. Use them at your own risk. % Remarks: % 1) White space is a displayable character. % 2) There are 9 significant strips, bwbwbwbwb; 3 of them are wide. % 3) The white_naro; at the end of each code is the inter-code spacing. % Credits: the original BASIC program was written by `Bill Wood Mil., WI' and % later re-written by `Bill Baines, Enfield, CT.'. METAFONT version is by % `Dimitri Vulis CLDLV@NASAGISS.BITNET' %%% Dimitri's correct in assuming that his METAFONT program is a bit too %%% long for normal digest distribution. His original message is now %%% stored on SCORE.STANFORD.EDU under the name %%% VULIS.TXH %%% A copy has been forwarded to TEX-L for BITNETers. Malcolm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Nov 87 01:10 GMT From: Peter Flynn Subject: Timestamping TeX Jeffrey Mark Siskind asks for a \LastFileWriteDate. This is really an editor function, available in most good editors, PC and otherwise. But here are two macros \getdate and \putdate which will allow you to access the date and time the file was last *run*. Peter. % Some \news and \defs for macros to read and write last file run date % Use \getdate before referencing \lastrun. Use \putdate at end of file. % The first time you run it, you will have to press when asked % for /lastrun (because the file LASTDATE.TEX will not have been created yet). % Peter Flynn, UCC, November 1987 (CBTS8001@IRUCCVAX.BITNET) % \newread\datein \newwrite\dateout \newtoks\lastrun \newcount\hours \newcount\mins \newcount\mhours \def\putdate{\openout\dateout=lastdate.tex \hours=\time \mins=\hours \divide\hours by60 \mhours=\hours \multiply\mhours by60 \advance\mins by-\mhours \write\dateout{\number\day--\ifcase\month\or Jan\or Feb\or Mar\or Apr\or May\or Jun\or Jul\or Aug\or Sep\or Oct\or Nov\or Dec\fi--\number\year\ at \ifnum\hours>9\else 0\fi\number\hours:\ifnum\mins>9\else 0\fi\number\mins} \closeout\dateout} \def\getdate{\openin\datein=lastdate.tex \read\datein to\lastrun \closein\datein} % \getdate\noindent This file was last run on \lastrun. \putdate \bye ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Nov 87 17:38:35 PST From: zar%XHMEIA.Caltech.Edu@forsythe.stanford.edu (Perfect Tommy) Subject: CalTeX Document I have created an 90 page document to teach local university secretaries how to use TeX with the plain macro package called ``CalTeX''. Of the approximate 100 copies sold to date, 95% have praised the document for beginning users. Of the c15 copies sold to non-work affiliated people, all but one have praised the document. I'm interested in getting some more input from non-Caltech people about my CalTeX document. If you're interested, send me mail or write: Zar Limited P.O.Box 372 Pasadena, CA 91102 Zar (a.k.a. Daniel Zirin) ZAR @ XHMEIA.Caltech.Edu, ZAR @ CITCHEM (bitnet), XHMEIA::ZAR (5.920), ZAR @ HAMLET.Caltech.Edu, ZAR @ HAMLET (bitnet), HAMLET::ZAR (5.850). ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Nov 87 08:59 N From: Subject: AMSTeX fonts Hi TeXhackers, With the Kellerman & Smith distribution tape (?) we received AMSTeX.tex which is apparently in the public domain. In trying to use it, one of our customers found out that the necessary fonts were missing. My question: aren't the fonts that go with AMSTeX public domain? If the are, how can I get them? Herman F. Vogt Computing Centre University of Groningen Bitnet: VOGT@HGRRUG5.EARN phone +31-50-633440 ext 3399 Groningen, The Netherlands ------------------------------ Mail-From: BEETON created at 11-Nov-87 05:17:33 Date: Wed 11 Nov 87 05:17:33-PST From: Barbara Beeton Subject: Re: AMSTeX fonts The Math Society is curerntly distributing the special fonts that are referenced by AMS-TeX on diskettes for the IBM PC and Macintosh. We would like to add them to the standard distribution repository at Score.Stanford.edu; however there are several serious problems, among them the following: (1) Half the fonts are in old Metafont, the others are considered proprietary, so the .mf source files cannot be distributed. (2) There is only limited space available on the Score system, so only one size (magstep 0 for 300dpi) is now there. (3) None of the output devices currently in use at the Math Society uses either .gf or .pk files (or even .pxl!) directoy, and the files that other folks can use aren't on-line. We're trying to arrange to get a reasonable suite of fonts into the hands of the principal distributors, but our main job is getting our own publications to the printer on schedule, and we've all been heavily overloaded for many months. If anyone wants to obtain the fonts on diskette, please send your postal address and I'll turn it over to the people who handle that distribution so that they can send the ordering information to you. -- Barbara Beeton bnb@seed.ams.com (Actually, the Math Society has finally got a real network connection, so you may get e-mail in reply; I'll leave that up to the folks who handle the distribution.) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Nov 87 13:48:12 CST From: "Donald J. De Smet" Subject: help Help! We are looking for a printer driver so that we can run \TeX\ on a microvax II and a QMS 800-C LASERGRAFIX printer with QUIC (not POSTSCRIPT). Can anyone help me with this? Don DeSmet DDESMET@UA1VM.BITNET ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Nov 87 12:05:27 PST From: KARNEY%PPC.MFENET@NMFECC.ARPA Subject: Attn: Princeton University TeX users Sorry to address this to the whole of the TeXhax mailing list... Could TeX users at Princeton University get in contact with me? I would like the university to get a site licence for TeXtures. But it thinks that the only TeX users are in the Plasma Lab. I can't believe this is true. Charles Karney Plasma Physics Laboratory Phone: +1 609 683 2607 Princeton University MFEnet: Karney@PPC.MFEnet PO Box 451 ARPAnet: Karney%PPC.MFEnet@NMFECC.ARPA Princeton, NJ 08544-0451 Bitnet: Karney%PPC.MFEnet@ANLVMS.Bitnet ------------------------------ From: Eric Ole Barber Date: Wed, 11 Nov 87 10:53:02 GMT Subject: mixing text and screendumps I wanted to mix screendumps (parts thereof) with LaTeX. \special would handle printing a Postscript version of the screendump, but the Postscript version is created by pssun in 2 stages. First the prologue - % lib/pssun.pro -- prolog for pssun (raster screen dump) files % Copyright (C) 1985 Adobe Systems, Inc. %%Page: ? 1 save /pssunsav exch def /inch {72 mul} def gsave initmatrix % precompute some values in case we want to scale for "fast" imaging /mxTrans matrix currentmatrix def % number of device units per 72nd of an inch /devit {dtransform 2 copy dup mul exch dup mul exch add sqrt dup 3 1 roll div 3 1 roll div exch idtransform} def /xDev 1 0 devit pop def /yDev 0 1 devit exch pop def /thisfile currentfile def /doit {/picstr cbitWidth 7 add 8 idiv string def dxWidInch inch dyHtInch inch scale {1.0 exch sub} settransfer cbitWidth cbitHt cbitDepth [cbitWidth 0 0 cbitHt neg 0 cbitHt] {thisfile picstr readhexstring pop} image } def is copied, and then sizing information and a scaling and translation are added by pssun - /cbitWidth 492 def /cbitHt 445 def /cbitDepth 1 def 0.25 inch 0.25 inch translate xDev yDev scale /dxWidInch 6.83333 def /dyHtInch 6.18056 def doit 0000000000 ... %%Trailer grestore pssunsav restore The scaling and translation were one problem, the need to do a \vscale before the \special in order for there to be space for the screendump was another. The problems were solved by a new pssun.pro - %!PS-Adobe-1.0 %%Creator: sfs1:sizex (Eric Ole Barber) %%Title: sss %%CreationDate: Tue Oct 6 15:28:00 1987 % lib/pssun.pro -- prolog for pssun (raster screen dump) files % Copyright (C) 1985 Adobe Systems, Inc. %%Page: ? 1 save /pssunsav exch def /inch {72 mul} def gsave % initmatrix % precompute some values in case we want to scale for "fast" imaging /mxTrans matrix currentmatrix def % number of device units per 72nd of an inch /devit {dtransform 2 copy dup mul exch dup mul exch add sqrt dup 3 1 roll div 3 1 roll div exch idtransform} def /xDev 1 0 devit pop def /yDev 0 1 devit exch pop def /thisfile currentfile def /doit {/picstr cbitWidth 7 add 8 idiv string def grestore % ho is set by hoffset in the LaTeX \special command, vo by voffset, hsc by % hscale and vsc by vscale. default values are 0 0 1 1 8.5 2 div dxWidInch 4 div sub ho add inch localy vo inch add translate dxWidInch inch 2 div hsc mul dyHtInch inch 2 div vsc mul scale {1.0 exch sub} settransfer cbitWidth cbitHt cbitDepth [cbitWidth 0 0 cbitHt neg 0 cbitHt] {thisfile picstr readhexstring pop} image } def newpath 0 0 moveto initmatrix /localy currentpoint exch pop def closepath gsave and a preprocessor for latex (platex) to set up an appropriate \vspace - CHARACTER LINE*256,line2*100,vspace*8 data vspace/'\\vspace{'/ open(6,form='formatted') DO 90 L=1,99999 READ(5,'(A)',END=100)LINE IF(LINE(2:16).EQ.'special{psfile=')THEN DO 40 I=18,99 IF((LINE(I:I).EQ.'}').or. 1 (LINE(I:I).EQ.' '))THEN c look for a vscale too vscale=1.0 do 10 j=i,99 if(line(j:j).eq.'}')then go to 15 elseif(line(j:j+6).eq.'vscale=')then read(line(j+7:100),*)vscale go to 15 endif 10 continue 15 continue c look for a voffset too voffset=0.0 do 20 j=i,99 if(line(j:j).eq.'}')then go to 25 elseif(line(j:j+7).eq.'voffset=')then read(line(j+8:100),*)voffset go to 25 endif 20 continue 25 continue voffset=max(voffset,0.0) OPEN(10,FILE=line(17:i-1),status='old') do 35 j=1,99999 read(10,'(a)')line2 if(line2(2:10).eq.'dyHtInch ')then read(line2(11:100),*)ht close(10) go to 50 endif 35 continue endif 40 continue 50 continue write(6,'(a,f10.5,a)')vspace,voffset+vscale*ht/2,'in}' endif write(6,'(a)')line(1:lnblnk(line)) 90 continue 100 continue end Note the automatic scaling by a half in the new pssun.pro; as it happens the images with which I was dealing were all created by the same process, and look OK at that size on paper. One could use the vscale and hscale parameters to the \special command to adjust for screendumps from other sources, or alter the pssun.pro again, or give a global parameter to platex. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Nov 87 14:09:59 PST From: To: TEXHAX@score.stanford.edu Subject: Information needed Gentle readers: My apologies for asking a rather general question of the list, but your expertise is much appreciated and needed. Here at Boston College, we are contemplating adding TeX to our VAX-Cluster. As a faculty member, I see that TeX will aid me in drafting my papers, and hence I am eager to get it. However, there are questions which our support staff needs to have answered before they will go along with my request: 1) How much user support is needed? My impression is that TeX seems to generate a large number of questions because users attempt to do very odd things ("How can I typeset a table in Sumerian?") which are impossible to do using other programs. I would like to assure the staff that a typical non-mathematical user will not run into many situations in which he/she will need staff help. 2) How much support does the program usually demand? We have two 11/785 and an 8700 in our cluster (running VMS 4.5), along with a QMS 1200 (soon to be 2400) and LN03. I would like some one to tell me that it is possible to install TeX, LaTeX, AMS-TeX and not have to tinker with them weekly after the installation. One particular question: do we need to set up a separate printer queue for TeX? My initial response was no, but a systems programmer seems to think it necessary. 3) Can you suggest vendors? The staff is very much afraid of public- domain software, as they have had bad experiences in the past with unsupported products. A low price is not as important as support. Many thanks. Rob Gross Mathematics Department Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA 02167 (617) 552-3818 BITNET: GROSS@BCVMS ARPANET: GROSS%BCVMS.BITNET@WISCVM.WISC.EDU (maybe) UUCP: ...harvard!talcott!BCVMS.BITNET!GROSS ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Nov 87 22:46:42 CST To: From: "YANG-WEI WANG" Where can I get a PC/XT version of Tex/LaTex? What are the necessary hardware and softweare to run Tex/LaTex on a PC/XT? Y. W. Wang (at n2.yww@isumvs on BITNET) ------------------------------ Date: 12-NOV-1987 08:03:16 GMT From: ABBOTTP%aston.ac.uk@NSS.Cs.Ucl.AC.UK To: TEXHAX <@NSS.Cs.Ucl.AC.UK:TEXHAX@score.stanford.edu> Subject: Various from V87 #92 1 LN03 printing a blank sheet. We have the same problem on the LN03 when using the VAX/VMS print command. A blank sheet is produced at the beginning. We also use an Apple Laserwriter but this does not suffer from the same defect with print (nor when using TeX or LaTeX). 2 Multipage tabular environment. I would be interested in having this facility as well. We produce documentation and User Notices using LaTeX and often tables are too long for one page or would look `nicer' if printed half on one page and the remainder on the next. Often we do not need to repeat the headings. 3 Landscape printing on a page The following TeX will allow printing at all angles. It comes in the documentation from ArborText Inc. and is written for a Postscript printer. No doubt it can be modified for other devices. \newbox\slantlinebox \def\slantline #1 #2 #3{% \setbox\slantlinebox=\hbox{#3}% \hskip 1in \hskip #2% \special{ps::[inline,begin] gsave Xpos Ypos translate #1 rotate Xpos neg Ypos neg translate }% \hbox to 0pt{\box\slantlinebox\hss}% \special{ps::[inline,end] grestore }% \ignorespaces } \vbox{ \vskip .75in \noindent \slantline 90 10pt {Aston Univ} } #1 may be values other than 90 of course but the question asked for landscape and portrait on the same page. It may not solve the problem but... The .75in is based upon the length of the text at 90 degrees. Peter ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 12 Nov 87 09:55:11 +0100 From: "James E. Skjelbreia" Subject: Metafont for the Mac There appears to be a number of vendors providing TeX for the Macintosh family, what about Metafont? If there are practical problems associated with a Metafont implementation on the Mac, can anyone tell me what they might be? thanks, Jim Skjelbreia jim%vax.runit.unit.uninett@cernvax.bitnet ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 12 Nov 87 08:51:38 EST From: FMA00DCR%UNCCVM.BITNET@wiscvm.wisc.edu Subject: latex margins We have a sticky little problem here with our Epson LQ800 printer with a cut sheet feeder. The Epson company has designed their printer so that if you use it with the cut sheet feeder, you will get an automatic 1" margin at the top of the page. As you have probably guessed, this causes no end of problems with TeX outputs. In TeX and AmSTeX I have gotten around this problem with the \voffset and/or the \vcorrection command. We include the command \vcorrection{-1 truein} at the beginning of each file, thereby removing TeX's 1" margin. If we need running headers, we have gotten around this also. However, I cannot seem to solve the problem in LaTeX. The problem is that the output is started 2" down from the top of the page, stops when the printer sends the `out of paper' signal to the computer, and then prints the remaining 1" of output on the next piece of paper sent through the printer. We do not want to have to feed the printer a sheet at a time, nor do we want to have to look for 8.5 by 12" paper and cut off the top inch after processing. We want to have LaTeX give us output in the proper manner. I have tried the primitive TeX commands as above, and they have no affect on the output. LaTeX seems to ignore them. I then tried the LaTeX commands. I tried to set the \topmargin to -1", which would be appropriate for the desired output, but LaTeX only laughed at me and said "Try again, fool!" I tried \vspace and the *-form, both at -1in, but I got no change in the output. I admit that I have not read the LaTeX User's Guide extensively, but I have tried every place in the guide that I could think of to find some information on this, but without any luck. I am only a sorcerer's apprentice, so I don't have very many tricks, and I'm afraid that the brooms may get out of hand if I can't get any help with this. David C. Royster UNC-Charlotte ARPA:royster @ unccvax BITNET:fma00dcr at unccvm ------------------------------ %%% %%% subscriptions, address changes to: texhax-request@score.stanford.edu %%% please send a valid arpanet address!! %%% %%% submissions to: texhax@score.stanford.edu %%% %%% BITNET redistribution: TEX-L@TAMVM1.BITNET (list server) %%% %%%\bye %%% ------------------------------ End of TeXhax Digest ************************** -------