May 2005 - ntg-context - NTG Mailing Lists

encircled characters
by Michael Fuchs 19 May '05

19 May '05

Hi! Is there a way to use encircled characters in context? Similar to the Copyright-Symbol, but with selfdefined characters or numbers. I was trying to use metapost for the job, but I wasn't able to get the "circleit" function to work. Best Regards Michael

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Re: Context, Latex, or an XML for acaddemic writing?
by David Waller 18 May '05

18 May '05

Just to add a slightly different flavour, I have been using PdfLatex for several years to produce technical manuals for various pieces of software, which have included a lot of graphics and tables. I have recently changed to ConText mainly because it is far easier to set up how you want the text to be displayed and you don't need to include lots of additional packages which often have side effects with each other and need to be included in the correct order. I have also found it very easy to modify Latex input to Context input and particularly like the separation possible with graphics (whereby you can have a separate file that points to the graphics file and not have to embed the file name in the middle of the document) It would be nice if this list could produce some "good" layouts for others to use to provide us all with some defaults and a starting point rather than everyone reinventing the wheel. Dave Waller

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straight single quote
by Stuart Jansen 18 May '05

18 May '05

While I appreciate TeX's support for attractive curly quotes, when representing console text it is important to use straight single and double quotes. I've been googling, exploring the list archives, reading the source, and beating my head against a nice blue pillar over by the window. None of these approaches has resulting in a straight single quote. What is the best way to get a straight single quote that matches the straight double quote of the current font? -- Stuart Jansen <sjansen(a)gurulabs.com> Guru Labs, L.C.

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Re: Re: [NTG-context] Is there a mathematica typesetting manual for ConTeXt ?
by xiaojf 18 May '05

18 May '05

======= 2005-05-14 13:31:00 You worte：======= >xiaojf said this at Sat, 14 May 2005 19:49:02 +0800: > >>>The double-, triple-, and quadruple-integrals (\iiiint) are undefined in >>>basic ConTeXt's math. >>I must say thank you very very much! >> >>In fact I've been looking for \iint in ConTeXt in the last two days -_- >>so i'll try to use \int\!\!\!\int instead of looking for a ConTeXt >>implementation :) >> >>I met another problem today. Since there are not as many arrows in >>ConTeXt as there >>in AMS-LaTeX,I don't konw how to type the formula in the attached picture >>which will >>be referred in my presentation next Monday. > >Hello, Xiao. > >I'm glad I could help: I'm learning these advanced requirements as I go >along. My personal mathematics needs are much more modest. > >I wouldn't give up on ConTeXt just yet. Try: >\loadmapfile[original-ams-base] >\starttext >\showmathcharacters >Note the \formula{\rightleftharpoons} and >\formula{\upharpoonleft\!\downharpoonright}. >\stoptext > >Do you know how you would code that cycle in (AMS)LaTeX? Hi, I can code the cycle in ConTeXt,but it's too ugly and I will try to improve it. here is my code: \starttext \placeformula \startformula \matrix{A+B&{\Delta G_1\atop\rightleftharpoons}&AB\cr \Delta G_3\!\!\upharpoonleft\!\downharpoonright&& \upharpoonleft\!\downharpoonright\!\!\Delta G_4\cr A'+B&{\rightleftharpoons\atop\Delta G_2}&A'B\cr} \stopformula \stoptext There is a similar example in "The TeXbook"(example 18.46). You can try the follow code: $$\def\normalbaselines{\baselineskip20pt \lineskip3pt \lineskiplimit3pt } \def\mapright#1{\smash{ \mathop{\longrightarrow}\limits^{#1}}} \def\mapdown#1{\Big\downarrow \rlap{$\vcenter{\hbox{$\scriptstyle#1$}}$}} \matrix{&&&&&&0\cr &&&&&&\mapdown{}\cr 0&\mapright{}&{\cal O}_C&\mapright\iota& \cal E&\mapright\rho&\cal L&\mapright{}&0\cr &&\Big\Vert&&\mapdown\phi&&\mapdown\psi\cr 0&\mapright{}&{\cal O}_C&\mapright{}& \pi_*{\cal O}_D&\mapright\delta& R^1f_*{\cal O}_V(-D)&\mapright{}&0\cr &&&&&&\mapdown{\theta_i\otimes\gamma^{-1}}\cr &&&&&&\hidewidth R^1f_*\bigl({\cal O} _V(-iM)\bigr)\otimes\gamma^{-1}\hidewidth\cr &&&&&&\mapdown{}\cr &&&&&&0\cr}$$ Since i'm just a newbie of TeX, I don't really understand the first a few lines of the solution. I still need some learning and practice :) >-- >=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= > Adam T. Lindsay, Computing Dept. atl(a)comp.lancs.ac.uk > Lancaster University, InfoLab21 +44(0)1524/510.514 > Lancaster, LA1 4WA, UK Fax:+44(0)1524/510.492 >-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- > >_______________________________________________ >ntg-context mailing list >ntg-context(a)ntg.nl >http://www.ntg.nl/mailman/listinfo/ntg-context = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 　　　　　　　　xiaojf 　　　　　　　　jfxiao(a)sibs.ac.cn 　　　　　　　　　　2005-05-14

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Problems placing figures II
by Richard Gabriel 18 May '05

18 May '05

Hi all, regarding my problems with figure placing (posted on 2005-05-05), I've found out that problems occur only if there are too many unplaced figures (pending floats). After a lot of googling, I've only found out that in LaTeX, there's a command \clearpage which places all unprocessed floats and starts a new page. In addition, the commands \totalnumber, \topnumber and \bottomnumber are available to set the maximum float count on one page. (for details, see http://www.tug.org.in/tutorial/chap09-scr.pdf) Is there any similar mechanism in ConTeXt? Which command(s) can I use to place all unprocessed figures immediately? Thanks in advance. Richard

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RE: [NTG-context] Context, LaTeX, or an XML for academic writing?
by Ville Voipio 18 May '05

18 May '05

> I've also seen the MS thesis of Han The Thanh. It's good. But I would > need something more suited for natural sciences that accomodates > plenty of figures and references. Also I would like to "cloak" my > thesis by avoiding Computer Modern. LaTeX is developed for mathematical sciences by a mathematician. It works beautifully with complex equations and embedding maths into text. Everything in it -- including the CM fonts -- screams "mathematics!". ConTeXt is developed for typesetting manuals. Some requirements are the same, for example the need for very solid and reliable cross-references. Some requirements are different. Manuals and other documentation require more control over the layout and a very good support for illustrations. Writing a thesis in science falls somewhere in between. If you are writing something about quantum mechanics, I'd say you should use LaTeX. If you are living on the fringe and doing something more computer-oriented (or even chemical), the intentions of ConTeXt developers and you converge better than with LaTeX. I wrote my PhD thesis with LaTeX, because that was the only viable alternative back then (four years ago). Now I think I'd use ConTeXt due to its better layout handling. [For the curious: the thesis is available at http://lib.tkk.fi/Diss/2001/isbn9512257270/ I can supply the LaTeX sources plus a document telling about the tools and rationale behind, if someone needs it. But be warned, it is not up-to-date information.] --- Someone suggested using a ready-made template. Sure, if you can get one somewhere with all the bells and whistles suitable for your academic institution, take it. Be it ConTeXt or LaTeX, you'll save a lot of trouble using a proven platform. Beautiful documents with minimal effort. That's exactly what the universities should supply. Very unfortunately, there are seldom any good templates around. Very often there are no *TeX templates around, regardless of quality. There may be some half-hearted Word templates around, but at that point ducking or running -- whichever is more convenient -- is a good alternative. And if there are no good templates around, then you'll need to roll your own. One which fulfills all requirements set by the administrators (all those lovely forms) and is easy-to-read and looks nice. One of the mixed blessings (=curses) brought about by computers is that now you need to be an academic writer, a typesetter, and a graphic artist at the same time. At this point the number of should-knows explodes. On the typography side you have to know a million small things. What kind of quotes to use, when to use en dash, when to use em dash, how to hyphenate, how to type numbers and units. Then you need to decide on the typefaces to use, and the general layout of the page. After all this is understood, then the technical problems have to be overcome. You will need to find the fonts you want to use, and you will need to be able to explain all this to the type- setting system in use. Also, you have to be able to draw the illustrations, with the requirement that they are both aesthetically pleasing and help to convey the message they carry. To do this, you need the software to draw the illustrations and the file formats to transfer the drawings to the typesetting system. After all this is done, you can try to produce the printed book. This may sound trivial, but is far away from that. There may be problems with file formats (with an old version of pdfLaTeX I managed to make a file which crashed a commercial RIP system, this happened a few days before a big deadline), or at least with color matching if nothing else. --- Does the above sound easy? Not for me. Still, you are expected to make a professional-looking document in a situation where you need to know half a dozen professions completely unrelated to your own scientific field. The result is that most people resort to using the Word and a lot of other four-letter words. The documents range from hideous to just slightly ugly, and are extremely fragile and difficult to maintain. --- What I am trying to say is that choosing the tool is only one part of the project. Whichever tool you choose, you'll end up in trouble at some point. With some tools (WYSIWYG) you'll end up in worse trouble, but even with *TeX the road is bumpy at best, unless you really have a tested and proven templates which you can use. The bumpiness has (IMO) slightly different nature in LaTeX than in ConTeXt. In LaTeX there are a lot of great packages and a lot of documentation. Books, web resources, mailing lists, etc. The huge user base makes all this available. However, finding the right packages and debugging some odd interactions and conflicts between packages may be very difficult. ConTeXt gives a lot more control over layout in itself without any packages or modules. And if you want something more exotic, take metapost and do it. But the downside of this is that as ConTeXt is a new system and has relatively fewer users, the state of documentation is not very good. Even the official documents are sometimes out-of-date. (This is really not to blame Hans or anyone else. Hey, we get free high-quality software! But this is something that has to be acknowledged and in the long run acted upon. By us users.) Whichever you choose, you'll have moments when you wish you'd chosen differently. --- Sorry, a long posting without really any good answer. The only suggestion I give is that try to make the layout rather early in the process. That way the writing is more fun, as you can see the outcome already during the writing process. And if you cannot stretch the tools to make the layout, you can change the tools without too much trouble. Good luck with your thesis! - Ville

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How to make a PDF workbook structure with index?
by Thomas Schrader 17 May '05

17 May '05

Hi everybody, is anyone experienced in archiving PDF? I need archiving lots of different PDFs in different sizes and formats into workbooks or folders with index files. How could I possibly look into each PDF, getting the title info and generate an index? How do I do clickable references to each content PDF? How could I practically bind PDF together (ZIP, tar, ...)? Is there some sort of workbook-like file-format? I had problems with re-arranging oddly generated PDFs via pdftex so I want avoiding re-arrangement. Thanks much for any hint. Thomas Schrader

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font mapfiles
by Thomas A. Schmitz 17 May '05

17 May '05

Sorry for reposting, but I'm really curious about this issue! I just had to reinstall my TeX installation (upgrade to OS X 10.4). After mucking around with my old TeX, I decided to reinstall, and I hit a problem: even though I ran updmap, ConTeXt doesn't seem to work with the fonts I installed myself unless I include the \loadmapfile [foo] either in the typescript or in the source file. This wasn't the case before. I also tried moving the mapfiles to texmf/fonts/map/ pdftex/context insteadt of just fonts/map/, but that didn't change anything. Am I missing something obvious, or is this the expected behavior? I much prefer to have system-wide mapfiles since I use LaTeX from time to time and want the same fonts available there. They work with plain pdfetex as well, it's just ConTeXt that gives trouble. So my question is: is this the new setup, are we supposed to load mapfiles this way, and what is the advantage over the old method? Thanks! Thomas

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Math startarray and \cases{xxx} bug?
by Maurice Diamantini 17 May '05

17 May '05

Bonjour à tous, I'm using amsl module, but it seems there is a probleme with the startarray/stoparray environment which apear with the "t" type of column (t for text). So the basic cases commande doesn't work. Also the \startcases/stopcases should have the same meaning thas \cases{xxx} has, but it doen't. I use textlive distrib with a copy og t-amsl.tex version 2004.11.18 Thank you for any help! -- Maurice Diamantini %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% \usemodule[amsl] \starttext \startformula {\bf f(x)} = \cases{ \sum_{x=1}^n x & if I am false \\ \displaystyle% just to see the difference \sum_{x=1}^n x^2 & \text{if I am true} } \stopformula % This formala works as expected, but if I replace % the forth column of type "l" which contains some \text{xxx} stuffs % with a column of type "t" without using the \text command, % there is an error. \startformula {\bf e_u(t)} = \left\{ \startarray{dlll}% ou bien : \startarray{| d | l | r | l} \displaystyle \sum_{x=1}^n f(x) & = ax^2 + b.x + c, & = a & \text{Here some text} \\ \hfil y_2 % just to center stuff within a "d" column & = 3ax^3 + 3ax^2 + b.x + c, & = b & \\ \sum_{x=1}^n h(x) & = y_2, & = a + b & \text{encore du $(x^2)$ texte} \stoparray \right. \stopformula \startformula {\bf e_u(t)} = \startcases \sum_{x=1}^n f(x) & if I am true \\ \displaystyle \sum_{x=1}^n h(x) & if I am false \stopcases \stopformula \stoptext

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RE: [NTG-context] centering framed boxes
by Idris Samawi Hamid 17 May '05

17 May '05

>===== Original Message From Hans Hagen <pragma(a)wxs.nl> ===== >\starttext > >\definelayer[test][width=12\bodyfontsize,height=12\bodyfontsize] > >\setlayerframed[test][preset=middle][width=12\bodyfontsize,height=12\bodyfont size]{one} >\setlayerframed[test][preset=middle][width= 9\bodyfontsize,height= >9\bodyfontsize]{two} >\setlayerframed[test][preset=middle][width= 6\bodyfontsize,height= >6\bodyfontsize]{three} >\setlayerframed[test][preset=middle][width= 3\bodyfontsize,height= >3\bodyfontsize]{four} > >\tightlayer[test] > >\stoptext Hi Hans, I tried your code (so beautiful and simple!): it properly stacks the frames but places the text for each level, not midway between frames as desired, but in the middle frame (on top of one another). Anyway, the following file illustrates the exact effect I'm trying to acheive (note the final overlay of some text across all four levels). I certainly would prefer to do this the ConTeXt way (e.g. is there a better way to stretch the word `testing'?)! Thanks as always for your guidance and help. Best Idris ============================================ \setupoutput[pdftex]% \setuppagenumbering[state=stop] \starttext\showstruts \startbuffer[Test] \setupfloats[location=middle] \placefigure [here][fig:Test]{4 levels.} {\startbuffer[test]\vbox{ \midaligned{\it \framed [width=12\baselineskip,height=12\baselineskip,strut=yes] {\midaligned{\raise.25ex\hbox{level 1}} $\vcenter% {\framed[width=9\baselineskip,height=9\baselineskip,strut=yes] {\midaligned{\raise.25ex\hbox{level 2}} $\vcenter% {\framed[width=6\baselineskip,height=6\baselineskip,strut=yes] {\midaligned{\raise.25ex\hbox{level 3}} $\vcenter% {\framed[width=3\baselineskip,height=3\baselineskip,strut=yes] {\midaligned{\raise3.6ex\hbox{level 4}}} }$ \midaligned{\null}}% }$ \midaligned{\null}}% }$ \midaligned{\null}} } } \stopbuffer \startbuffer[testing]\vbox{\midaligned{\kern-6\baselineskip\itb \lower1.4ex\hbox{t\,e\,s\,t\,i\,n\,g}}} \stopbuffer \hbox{$\vcenter{\getbuffer[test]}\llap{$\vcenter{\getbuffer[testing]}$}$} } \stopbuffer \getbuffer[Test] \stoptext =============================================== ============================ Professor Idris Samawi Hamid Department of Philosophy Colorado State University Fort Collins, CO 80523

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