July 2004 - ntg-context - NTG Mailing Lists

[Fwd: Please forward]
by Hans Hagen 01 Aug '04

01 Aug '04

2 1

PDFTeX Homepage
by Salman Khilji 31 Jul '04

31 Jul '04

If I google for pdfTeX homepage, then I get the following link: http://www.tug.org/applications/pdftex/ However, this must not be the official homepage as it seems to not have been updated in a long time and also does not mention anything about the available 1.20 version. Also I cannot find the file named pdftexlib.zip as mentioned in the user manual on the above site. Where I can find the latest and greatest versions and documentatio on PDFTeX? Salman

2 1

on posters, again
by Eros Albertazzi 30 Jul '04

30 Jul '04

Still struggling to get a poster with Context. Somehow I am puzzling why almost all my collegue who are accustumed to write with latex+revtex for chem-math-phys journals then turn to powerpoint to produce poster and/or presentation, although "ConTeXt is the layout oriented alternative to the well known LaTeX." and switching tex macro should be easy. I feel there is a lacking in information and/or guide that preclude its use within this comunity. Anyhow my question: Can I have text within a (settable) margin in \setlayerframe? Probably not since margin are defined in \setuplayout and having a page layout atop of another one may not make sense.... Hereis a latex example of what should be easier (and more durable and flexible) to accomplish with contex http://andreas.welcomes-you.com/projects/a0poster/ http://andreas.welcomes-you.com/projects/a0poster/demo/poster.pdf

2 3

PDFTeX sources
by Salman Khilji 30 Jul '04

30 Jul '04

1) I want to know the simplest way (and the minimal way) to compile PDFTeX on Windows. From the manual, I see that you have to download web-7.3.tar.gz web2c-7.3.tar.gz pdftex.tar.gz However, this assumes that you have ./configure available (means UNIX or Cygwin). While I have been using Linux for the past two years, I'm afraid, I am too incompetent, dumb, lazy, stupid, and stubborn to learn autoconf and autotools---I want to know exactly what steps are performed while compiling the program and it would be best understood if I had a simple Visual C++ project file to work with. I want to be able to compile pdfTeX from sources using an already available DSP (MS Visual C++ project file)---this means it should somehow use an already existing config.h file. I downloaded the MikTeX sources, but it comes with 65535 other files and directories that I do not need and also mandates the download of Cygwin. 2) Basically, I want to learn a little about the internals of pdfTeX to investigate if I can take the PDF specific C source code out of it and somehow use then in the TeX++ project (which is a reincarnation of CommonTeX, which was an implementation of TeX written in C from scratch by Pat Monardo). I must admit that TeX++ is a piece of cake to install and compile simply because there is no autoconf and autotools to convolute the project. I have been reading TeX, the program these days from cover to cover and comparing the source code to the TeX++ sources and the two are as close as it can get. So I suppose, one could take PDFTeX, strip it out of the web2c files, massage the rest to fit TeX++, and have an easy to compile, and extend version of TeX that produces PDF files directly. Any inputs on this matter? Salman

3 2

RE: [NTG-context] more footnotes:-)
by ishamid 29 Jul '04

29 Jul '04

>% program=aleph output=dvipdfmx > >% the next texexec will automatically generate pdf which is handy for >scit eusers -) Does the latest fpTeX carry dvipdfmx (r u still using fpTeX)? I must confess I'm still using odvips-ps2pdf for all of my output... Best Idris

3 2

Question starttables ... stoptables and pagebrake
by Bernd Militzer 29 Jul '04

29 Jul '04

Hi Hans, using tables for a long documentation it wold be fine, if I could force a page brake after specific rows. The command \page does not work. Thanks for any help Bernd

2 3

Re: [NTG-context] more footnotes:-)
by Hans Hagen 29 Jul '04

29 Jul '04

ishamid wrote: >[please forward to list] > > >>===== Original Message From Hans Hagen <pragma(a)wxs.nl> ===== >>% program=aleph output=dvipdfmx >> >>% the next texexec will automatically generate pdf which is handy for >>scit eusers -) >> >>\setupcolors[state=start] >> >>\starttext >> >> > >Ok, here is a modified test file. The headers on pages 1 and 2 should be the >same throughout the entire document. Of course, when I make the temporary >global direction switch, the location of the headers get switched too. My >problem is that I have not been able to create a combination of \setupheaders >and \setuppagenumbering so that I can adjust the headers during the temporary >direction switch so that it appears that the header locations remain constant: > > ... Last night I played a bit with aleph. One of the things that we need to keep in mind with omega is that the fact that it can typeset in multiple directions does not mean that this automatically works out well when turned on. Layout issues as well as language specific issues are up to macro packages. Omega is not a multi language or multi directional typesetting system by itself, but can be used to build one. Now, before we start hacking around, and thereby mess up context, we need to figure out a way to deal with these issues, so the main question is how directional typesetting is related to document design. - directions change per paragraph, rest of doc unchanged - directions change per document, all components are influenced - directions change per document, some components are influenced - etc so, what should happen with - page ornaments (headers, footers etc): locations and content - graphics: placements and content and captions - tables: structure and content - mp graphic: text and graphics - main text: indentation, skips, text, ... Of course one can say that we need to have all possibilities, but i tend to stick to those that make sense. Are there any resources on for instance right-left book design/typography? I don't know how many users are interested in these matters; maybe we should discuss this off list Hans ----------------------------------------------------------------- Hans Hagen | PRAGMA ADE Ridderstraat 27 | 8061 GH Hasselt | The Netherlands tel: 038 477 53 69 | fax: 038 477 53 74 | www.pragma-ade.com | www.pragma-pod.nl -----------------------------------------------------------------

1 0

Re: A few questions regarding ConTeXt
by Hans Hagen Outside 28 Jul '04

28 Jul '04

Broberg, Mats wrote: >Dear Sir, > >For some time now, I have been looking for suitable software solutions >for my publication projects. The projects are mainly books up to 500-750 >pages, with alot of figures, CMYK, solid PMS or lineart images, cross >references, several series of margin notes and footnotes, drop caps, >list of figures, indices, tables of contents etc. > >I have never used TeX or any of the wide array of macro packages, but I >know from having read about it that it can solve many of my publication >problems - and with a very high level of typographic quality too (which >is important to me). Initially, I was looking closely at using LaTeX - >mainly due to the fact that it is so widely used and has a vast number >of packages for the functions I need - but when coming across your site, >I think that ConTeXt may fit the bill better, since it seems to be >designed in a more parameter-driven way. > >However, judging from the documentation on your site, some features that >I have read about in LaTeX - such as drop caps, complex headers, cross >references, several series of footnotes etc (i.e. the packages >"lettrine", "fancyhdr", "varioref" and "ledmac") - don't seem to be >available in ConTeXt. > >I assume packages like these can not be used "out of the box" when using >ConTeXt, but that one needs to have someone create new packages? > > I'm a bit in a hurry (need to give a workshop at the practical tex conference). The features you mentioned are present in the core system, often providing more features; opposite to latex, where you need packages, context has all things built in. More information can be get from the rather active context mailing list. I cc the mail to there, so that others can confirm this Hans ----------------------------------------------------------------- Hans Hagen | PRAGMA ADE Ridderstraat 27 | 8061 GH Hasselt | The Netherlands tel: 038 477 53 69 | fax: 038 477 53 74 | www.pragma-ade.com | www.pragma-pod.nl -----------------------------------------------------------------

6 8

ConTeXt output & commercial printing houses
by Matt Gushee 28 Jul '04

28 Jul '04

Hello, all-- I am planning to publish a book that is typeset using ConTeXt, and very soon I am going to start contacting printers for estimates. Given that a shop prints from PDF files, does it matter that the PDFs are produced by ConTeXt? I've never worked with regular printers, but I have taken PDF files produced by TeX or ConTeXt several times to Kinko's [for the non-US readers: Kinko's is a shop found all over North America--originally they were just a photocopy shop, but now they offer a wide range of services, including computer rental, design consulting, low-end POD printing ... they do good work within their limits, but their staff are really only knowledgeable about mainstream commercial DTP software--the notion of TeX is totally beyond them]. I have found that they can produce good results, but it seems they have to adjust some settings in their system and make several attempts before the job comes out right. Are problems likely to arise with normal printers? If so, can anyone suggest questions I should ask to help determine whether they can handle my files? Also, is there anything in particular I should do to my files to make sure they are print-ready? Thanks in advance for any suggestions. -- Matt Gushee When a nation follows the Way, Englewood, Colorado, USA Horses bear manure through mgushee(a)havenrock.com its fields; http://www.havenrock.com/ When a nation ignores the Way, Horses bear soldiers through its streets. --Lao Tzu (Peter Merel, trans.)

11 17

TeXshow failing
by Willi Egger 28 Jul '04

28 Jul '04

Hi Hans, Don't know where to fix this: When I try to run texshow from the command line the following error occurs: Empty compile time value given to use lib at c:/mytex/texmf/scripts/context/perl /texshow.pl line 42 Can't locate cont_mis.pm in @INC (@INC contains: C:/Program Files/Perl/lib C:/P rogram Files/Perl/site/lib .) at c:/mytex/texmf/scripts/context/perl/texshow.pl line 65. BEGIN failed--compilation aborted at c:/mytex/texmf/scripts/context/perl/texshow .pl line 65. I wonder why texexec.pl is looking for the cont_mis.pm in the Perl directory, while it resides in the same directory as texexec.pl itself? When starting texshow within Scite it fails to come up. I believe that it is the same problem though. Could you please have a look into this? Kind regards Willi

2 1