March 2005 - ntg-context - NTG Mailing Lists

New List: SemiTeX (*Tex for the Semitic Languages)
by Frederick Hoyt 24 Mar '05

24 Mar '05

Hi, (My apologies for cross-postings) I would like to announce a new mailing list that I have created called "SemiTeX." This is intended to be a forum for people concerned with typesetting Arabic, Hebrew, Aramaic/Syriac, Amharic, and any other Semitic and/or right-to-left languages using the various flavors of *TeX (LaTeX, XeTeX, ConTeXt, etc). Issues that I foresee being relevant include (but are not limited to): - Font issues related to the Semitic languages - Formatting issues related to formatting right-to-left text - Issues related to editors useful for right-to-left languages I have created the list because I thought it would be useful to have a forum in which people can feel free to ask detailed questions specific to typesetting Semitic without having to worry about boring others, and in the hope that having a forum like this might help create some critical mass of interest for creating an coherent approach to using the Semitic languages in TeX. The list is currently configured as "closed" (the list owner - myself - adds subscribers, in order to eliminate spam as much as possible), "unmoderated" (postings go straight out to subscribers), "digested" (you can get messages in daily digest form if you choose), and "archived" (the archives are currently available only to subscribers). If you wish to join, please send me an email including the email address you wish to be subscribed under, as well as the name you wish to have used. Thanks, Fred Hoyt Frederick M. Hoyt Linguistics Department University of Texas at Austin

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Re: [NTG-context] Going crazy with font conversion (macron)!
by Steffen Wolfrum 24 Mar '05

24 Mar '05

BTW: Is there also a command to translate TFM (and VF) files to AFM or another human readable format and back again? Steffen

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RE: [NTG-context] bug in latest ConTeXt (confirmed)
by ishamid 24 Mar '05

24 Mar '05

>===== Original Message From Hans Hagen <pragma(a)wxs.nl> ===== >> Sounds like supp-dir needs a no-Omega check, as well. Hans? > >attached for testing, i dunny what the pardir equivalents are for \beginL and >\beginR -) Ok, the new supp-dir.tex helps. But there is another problem. Now my following macros are messed up (used in our private ar-cont.tex) \let\beginRL=\leavevmode\startarabictext \let\endRL=\stoparabictext \catcode`\<=\active \catcode`\>=\active \defineactivecharacter < {\enclosedarabic} \def\enclosedarabic#1>{\struttedbox{\beginRL#1\endRL}} Aleph complains that (\end occurred inside a group at level 2) ### semi simple group (level 2) entered at line 102 (\begingroup) ### simple group (level 1) entered at line 102 ({) ### bottom level Can you fix the XeTeX macros so that this is no longer affected? I also have some otp's that use the \beginRL\endRL syntax; I'm afraid that's all going to be negatively affected now... Idris ============================ Professor Idris Samawi Hamid Department of Philosophy Colorado State University Fort Collins, CO 80523

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RE: [NTG-context] 5 major problems with mswincontext.zip
by ishamid 24 Mar '05

24 Mar '05

>===== Original Message From Hans Hagen <pragma(a)wxs.nl> ===== >ishamid wrote: > >> 2. aleph is still searching its format in the wrong directory; its format is >> properly installed in >> \texmf-mswin/web2c/aleph/ > >can you try what happens when you add the following lines to your texmf.cnf file > >(you can edit the file with: texmfstart --direct scite kpse:texmf.cnf) > >TEXFORMATS.xetex = $TEXFORMATS/{xetex,}// >TEXFORMATS.aleph = $TEXFORMATS/{aleph,}// >TEXFORMATS.pdftex = $TEXFORMATS/{pdftex,}// >TEXFORMATS.pdfetex = $TEXFORMATS/{pdfetex,}// Regenerated the formats after editing \texmf-local\web2c\texmf.cnf Unfortunately it still gives the same error. Please advise;-> Idris ============================ Professor Idris Samawi Hamid Department of Philosophy Colorado State University Fort Collins, CO 80523

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RE: [NTG-context] bug in latest ConTeXt (confirmed)
by ishamid 24 Mar '05

24 Mar '05

>===== Original Message From Hans Hagen <pragma(a)wxs.nl> ===== >> Sounds like supp-dir needs a no-Omega check, as well. Hans? > >attached for testing, i dunny what the pardir equivalents are for \beginL and >\beginR -) Not to belabor this, but I'm getting ### simple group (level 1) entered at line lines all over the place in my work that compiled fine with the old ConTeX, and I suspect that XeTeX may be responsible. Is there a way to completely isolate the new stuff because I'm going to lose a lot of time trying to track down every situation where my previously well-behaved stuff now gives errors because of this. This has been a really frustrating week... Idris ============================ Professor Idris Samawi Hamid Department of Philosophy Colorado State University Fort Collins, CO 80523

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Translations of "Context: an excursion"
by Gilles Pérez-Lambert 24 Mar '05

24 Mar '05

Hello, I asked Hans at EuroTeX 2005 in Pont-à-Mousson the permission to translate _Context: an excursion_ into French on behalf of GUTenberg, the French user group, and a German person (sorry, I forgot your name :-( ) did the same for the German language. Hans kindly agreed and prefers to have translations on a more recent document so here is a wiki page*: http://contextgarden.net/Revision_and_translations_of_“ConTeXt%2C_an_excurs… created on the ConTeXt wiki (thanks Patrick!). The goal of this page is to outline sections that need to be updated or erased or added. Please participate! :-) Gilles. * If the link doesn't work in your mailer, go to http://contextgarden.net/Typos_in_beginners_manual and follow the link to >>Revision and translations of "ConTeXt, an excursion"<<.

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RE: [NTG-context] 5 major problems with mswincontext.zip
by ishamid 23 Mar '05

23 Mar '05

>===== Original Message From Hans Hagen <pragma(a)wxs.nl> ===== >> 1. Zapf Chancery has disappeared (the other free fonts in showfonts.pdf still >> work): >strange indeed, it looks like the files are corrupted (very small tfm/vf files); > you can regenerate the metrics with: > >texmfstart texfont.pl type-tmf.dat --en=texnansi --ven=urw -col=zapfchan ok, it works now:-) Thnx Idris ============================ Professor Idris Samawi Hamid Department of Philosophy Colorado State University Fort Collins, CO 80523

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Chapter numbers in the right margin
by Randall Skelton 23 Mar '05

23 Mar '05

Hi all, Does anyone have a setuphead snipit and definition to place a large chapter number in the right margin of the page on the first page of each chapter? I believe this should be similar (but simplier) than what is done in 'ConTeXt an Excursion' but I wasn't able to find a definition for that. I'd be quite willing to put this up on the wiki when I figure it out... What I have so far doesn't really lead to much flexibility in terms of positioning. I'd like to be able to set both the horizontal and vertical position of the chapter number. I'd also like to have the number shift vertically downwards for each new chapter. \def\MyChapterText#1{#1 \inright{ \switchtobodyfont[MyTitling, 72pt] \rm \headnumber[chapter] } } \setuphead [Topic, chapter] [textcommand=\MyChapterText, style={\switchtobodyfont[MyTitling, 16pt]\sc}, color=black, number=no, page=right, continue=no, header=empty, before=\vbox to 4cm\bgroup, after=\vss\egroup] Many thanks, Randall

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5 major problems with mswincontext.zip
by ishamid 23 Mar '05

23 Mar '05

Dear conglomerate, Ok, I've installed mswincontext.zip, dated 3-16, refreshed fndb, set UseEnginePath to true and so forth. 4 Problems: 1. Zapf Chancery has disappeared (the other free fonts in showfonts.pdf still work): ========================== \definetypeface [zapf] [cg] [calligraphy] [chancery] \switchtotypeface [zapf] [12pt,cg] Zapf Chancery \input tufte.tex ========================== Log file: =========================== This is pdfeTeX, Version 3.141592-1.20a-2.2 (Web2c 7.5.3) (format=cont-en 2005.3.21) 21 MAR 2005 17:38 entering extended mode \write18 enabled. (c:\CONTEXT\tex\texmf-local/web2c/natural.tcx) **&pdfetex/cont-en typescripts2.tex (./typescripts2.tex <snip> (c:\CONTEXT\tex\texmf-local/tex/context/base/type-buy.tex) Missing character: There is no Z in font texnansi-uzcmi8a! Missing character: There is no a in font texnansi-uzcmi8a! <snip> Missing character: There is no . in font texnansi-uzcmi8a! ) fonts : using map file: texnansi-base fonts : using map file: texnansi-urw-zapfchan [1.1 Warning: pdfetex.exe (file pdftex.map): cannot open font map file <snip> =========================== 2. aleph is still searching its format in the wrong directory; its format is properly installed in \texmf-mswin/web2c/aleph/ =========================== This is Aleph, Version 3.141592-1.15-2.1-0.0-rc4 (Web2c 7.5.3) \write18 enabled. Copyright (c) 2002--2004 the Aleph task force ---! c:\CONTEXT\tex\texmf-mswin/web2c/pdfetex/cont-en.fmt was written by pdfetex =========================== 3. If I replace the pdfetex format with aleph.fmt, the latter works. It copiles fine on the following file, but neither dvips, odvips, or dvipdfm can find the fonts: =========================== % output=aleph interface=en \starttext Latin Modern \input tufte \definetypeface [times] [rm] [serif] [times] [default] [encoding=ec] \switchtotypeface [times] [12pt,rm] Times \input tufte.tex \stoptext =========================== Also, aleph displays the strange "HASH" message: =========================== TeXExec 5.2.5 - ConTeXt / PRAGMA ADE 1997-2005 Opt=HASH(0x1c44160) executable : aleph =========================== 4. That trick with the footnotes and endnotes is interesting, but the endnotes still spill over the page (I double-checked that core-not was replaced and the format regenerated): =========================== % output=pdftex interface=en \starttext \dorecurse{100}{test \footnote{test} \endnote{eee}\endgraf} \page \placenotes[endnote] \stoptext =========================== 5. I'm still concerned about getting ConTeXt to search my old \TeXLive tree secondarily. changing C:\ConTeXt\tex\texmf-local\web2c\texmf.cnf does not seem to do anything (sigh ) == I really hope I can get everything working soon, because I've lost about a week's worth of deadlined writing fooling around with configuring ConTeXt (which is exactly what I was afraid would happen):-( Thnx in advance, and forgive my frustration-) Idris ============================ Professor Idris Samawi Hamid Department of Philosophy Colorado State University Fort Collins, CO 80523

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Bold item separator?
by dw＠trichotomic.net 23 Mar '05

23 Mar '05

Greetings, I can't seem to get an itemize list to have bold item separators, namely the "R" — UC Roman Numeral series. I bet it's really obvious *grinding teeth*. Anyone give me a clue? Regards, David

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