- ntg-context - Mailing Lists

wiki page for \feature
by Idris Samawi Hamid ادريس سماوي حامد 22 Mar '13

22 Mar '13

Dear gang, I made a wiki page for \feature et al: http://wiki.contextgarden.net/Open_Type_Fonts_and_Featuresets_in_MkIV Towards the end we need a graphical sample of the sample file, but I do not know how to do that. See ======= Now let us review the results: [output/graphic here] ======= I have to move on to other projects so I'm leaving completion and improvement to others in the community. Here is the sample file (needs latest beta! pdf attached as well) that needs graphical output on the page: ============== \definefontfeature [schola-preset] [mode=node,script=latn,language=dflt,kern=yes,liga=yes,lnum=yes] \starttypescript [serif] [schola-preset] [name] \definefontsynonym [Serif] [name:texgyreschola-regular.otf][features=schola-preset] \stoptypescript \starttypescript [serif] [schola-preset] [size] \definebodyfont [35.8pt,29.8pt,24.8pt,20.7pt,17.3pt,14.4pt,12pt,11pt,10pt,9pt,8pt] [rm] [tf=Serif sa 1] \stoptypescript \starttypescript [schola-default] \definebodyfontenvironment [schola-default] [default] [interlinespace=2.7ex] \definetypeface [schola-default] [rm] [serif] [schola-preset] [schola-preset] % [default] \stoptypescript \usetypescript[schola-default] \setupbodyfont[schola-default,12pt] \definefontfeature[f:smallcaps] [smcp=yes] \definefontfeature[f:thinimacron] [ss04=yes] \definefontfeature[f:upsidedown] [dlig=yes] \definefontfeature[f:newstyle] [onum=no] \definefontfeature[f:nocaps] [smcp=no] \definefontfeature[f:wideimacron] [ss04=no] \definefontfeature[f:rightsideup] [dlig=no] \definefontfeature[f:ligatures] [liga=yes] \definefontfeature[f:noligatures] [liga=no] \definefontfeature[f:oldstyle] [onum=yes,lnum=no] \definefontfeature[f:oldstyleupsidedown] [onum=yes,dlig=yes] \definefontfeature[f:newstylerightsideup] [onum=no,dlig=no] \definefontfeature[f:oldstylewmacron] [ss04=no,onum=yes] \definefontfeature[f:newstylesmallcaps] [smcp=yes,onum=no] \startTEXpage[offset=10pt] \define\SAMPLE{123 Idrīs ?` !` VA fi} \SAMPLE\blank \feature[+][f:oldstyle] \SAMPLE \blank \feature[more][f:thinimacron] \SAMPLE \blank \addfeature[f:upsidedown] \SAMPLE \blank \feature[+][f:smallcaps] \SAMPLE \blank \addfeature[f:wideimacron] \SAMPLE \blank \feature[-][f:upsidedown] \SAMPLE \blank \feature[=][f:oldstyleupsidedown]\SAMPLE \blank \feature[!][f:smallcaps] \SAMPLE \blank \feature[<] \SAMPLE \blank \stopTEXpage ============== Thanks and best wishes Idris -- Professor Idris Samawi Hamid Department of Philosophy Colorado State University Fort Collins, CO 80523

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Bug in \column
by Xan 22 Mar '13

22 Mar '13

Hi, I found a possibly bug (I attached the doc). With bigskip twocolumns work but with \column it does not. That is, with the diff: 98c98 < \bigskip --- > %\bigskip 100c100 < %\column --- > \column it does not work: the last exercise is shown in the first column. Can anyone explain me what happens? Thanks in advance, Xan. PS: Please CCme.

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Mixed columns
by Wolfgang Schuster 22 Mar '13

22 Mar '13

Hi, after the problem with the \column command with the normal columns environment I tried if the original problem can be solved with mixed columns. While the \column command works there a unwanted space appeared at the begin of the second column. In the following example you can see space from the \blank in the first column is ignored while in the second column it appears in the output. <example> \starttext \showframe \startmixedcolumns \blank text \column \blank text \stopmixedcolumns \stoptext </example> Wolfgang

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placefigure
by Hans Hagen 21 Mar '13

21 Mar '13

Hi, while fixing some buglets that showed up in the test suite I ran into: \starttext test \placefigure[somewhere:alpha][whatever]{alpha}{} test \placefigure[somewhere:beta] [whatever]{beta}{} test \placefigure[somewhere:gamma][whatever]{gamma}{} test \placefigure[somewhere:delta][whatever]{delta}{} test \placefigure{}{} in \in{figure}[whatever] bla bla \placenamedfloat[figure][*l*] \placenamedfloat[figure][gamma] \placenamedfloat[figure][beta] \stoptext maybe worth wikifying (bug will be solved in beta) ----------------------------------------------------------------- Hans Hagen | PRAGMA ADE Ridderstraat 27 | 8061 GH Hasselt | The Netherlands tel: 038 477 53 69 | voip: 087 875 68 74 | www.pragma-ade.com | www.pragma-pod.nl -----------------------------------------------------------------

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chapter titles
by H. van der Meer 21 Mar '13

21 Mar '13

I would like to put something directly after each chapter number, like so: Chapter 5 <add something everytime> Title of Chapter Is there an option for this? \setuphead? \setupheader? which parameter? I looked up the wiki, but it made me no wiser. Hans van der Meer

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"Missing number, treated as zero" error when using \definefont with \define'd dimension
by Lars Huttar 21 Mar '13

21 Mar '13

Hello, I reported a Missing Number error back in December (thread at http://www.ntg.nl/pipermail/ntg-context/2012/070471.html) but got sidetracked on another issue before finding a resolution. Now I'm back to the Missing Number error, and I have a short example that reproduces it: \define\largefontsize{13pt} % Works fine: \definefont[SerifL][Arial at 13pt] % Leads to error: \definefont[SerifL][Arial at \largefontsize] % "Missing number, treated as zero" error thrown on the following line: \starttext \SerifL{Hello} \stoptext Note that the SerifL font definition works fine (no error) if I hard-code in "13pt" instead of using an intervening \largefontsize definition. But if I hard-code the point size, it would hamper the modularity of our font configuration and the use of modes in which different size fonts are used. Maybe \define is just the wrong command to use when creating an identifier for a specified dimension? I tried changing it to \def and the error went away! I looked up the documentation of \define (http://wiki.contextgarden.net/Command/define) and \def, and couldn't find any obvious difference, except that \def is TeX and \define is ConTeXt. The wiki page I just linked to mentions differences between MkII and MkIV, but this error occurs in both (in XeTeX and LuaTeX). Can someone help me understand why I should not use \define for this case? (Or in general, when I should not use \define?) Or does the problem lie somewhere else? Thanks, Lars

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man pages for ConTeXt: looking for volunteers
by Mojca Miklavec 21 Mar '13

21 Mar '13

Dear users, In preparation of this year's TeX Live release, it would be nice to also revise man pages a bit. Hans just implemented auto-conversion of help into man pages for the lua scripts. So the options are described as they should be, but if there are any volunteers to help polishing out and provide either more extensive descriptions, examples, ... or overall improvements, you are invited to leave some feedback or provide some help (additional text/descriptions or syntax corrections). The old man pages are at http://svn.contextgarden.net/suite/man/ and the new (possibly still experimental) man pages are now part of ConTeXt (see doc/context/scripts). Mojca

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problem with t-gnuplot.tex
by JIN Xiao-Yong 21 Mar '13

21 Mar '13

Using the new beta from context-minimal This is LuaTeX, Version beta-0.75.0-2013030308 (rev 4589) \write18 enabled. (/Users/jin/pkgs/ConTeXt/tex/texmf-context/tex/context/base/cont-yes.mkiv ConTeXt ver: 2013.03.20 21:07 MKIV fmt: 2013.3.21 int: english/english system > 'cont-new.mkiv' loaded (/Users/jin/pkgs/ConTeXt/tex/texmf-context/tex/context/base/cont-new.mkiv system > beware: some patches loaded from cont-new.mkiv ) system > files > jobname 'bulk_trans', input 'bulk_trans', result 'bulk_trans' fonts > latin modern fonts are not preloaded languages > language 'en' is active (bulk_trans.tex resolvers > modules > 'gnuplot' is loaded (/Users/jin/pkgs/ConTeXt/tex/texmf-modules/tex/context/third/gnuplot/t-gnuplot.tex loading > Gnuplot module ! Undefined control sequence. log system > tex > error on line 99 in file /Users/jin/pkgs/ConTeXt/tex/texmf-modules/tex/context/third/gnuplot/t-gnuplot.tex: Undefined control sequence ... <argument> ...:= \@@GNUPLOT@term@context@linejoin ; gp_use_dashed := \@@GNUP... \meta_start_extensions ...extensions("#1",\!!bs #2 \!!es )} l.99 \stopMPextensions ? This happens with context running on a file generated by gnuplot 4.6.1. I have been using context in the texlive 2012 without any problem.

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Re: [NTG-context] Subjects on this list - general request
by Robert Blackstone 21 Mar '13

21 Mar '13

On 20 Mar 2013, at 19:46 , "Keith J. Schultz" <keithjschultz(a)web.de> wrote > > I see no advantage in your suggestion. just search the subject. > > As for the [***Spam***] that is inroduce by mail servers. A user should maybe remove > it to avoid it. But a nuisance, yes, a problem no. > > regards > Keith. and on 20 Mar 2013, at 19:21 , Mica Semrick <paperdigits(a)gmail.com> wrote > > > I would agree with the (no subject) or SPAM titles, but if your search tool > can't tell the difference between "\column, Bug in - " - "\column, Bug in > \column" and "Bug in \column" then you probably need to find a new search > tool. I subscribe to the list in non-digest format, e.g. I get every > email. I used to get it in digest, but I found that made my searching > tougher. I use gmail and have all the list messages skip my inbox and go > directly to a tag. This has helped a ton! > > -Mica > > Am 20.03.2013 um 16:12 schrieb Robert Blackstone <blackstone.robert(a)gmail.com>: > >> …. wouldn't it be a good idea to ask everybody to clearly state the subject of their message, preferably starting with the most important keyword, and in particular to avoid (no subject) or [***SPAM***], and similar things as subjects. ... >> .. Hi Mica and Keith, Thanks for your reaction. It is informative to hear your opninon. I did not want to start a discussion -- it was rather a "cri de coeur" born out of frustration -- so I will leave it at this. Best regards, Robert

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Breaking ligatures
by Idris Samawi Hamid ادريس سماوي حامد 20 Mar '13

20 Mar '13

Dear Knights, What is the canonical way to break a ligature in MkIV? The canonical TeX way, e.g. f{}i does not work if the feature liga=yes. The zero-width joiner or non-joiner will do it but that seems ad hoc or abusive ;-) since those are really for cursive scripts like Arabic and Syriac. Best wishes Idris -- Professor Idris Samawi Hamid Department of Philosophy Colorado State University Fort Collins, CO 80523

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date handling maltreated?
by H. van der Meer 20 Mar '13

20 Mar '13

Trying to do some date and time processing myself, I ran into problems caused by ConTeXt makeing it incompatibel with the original plain TeX itself! In the TeX-book, Appendix B one finds <citation> (Some parameters are set by TeX itself as it runs, so it is inappropriate to initialize them: \time, \day, \month, and year are established at the beginning of a job; .. </citation> Now the results in ConTeXT with a minimal example, put into the log for easier copying into the mail: \starttext \writestatus{}{\meaning\date -> \date} \writestatus{}{\meaning\day -> \the\day} \writestatus{}{\meaning\month -> \month WHY NOT monthname?} \writestatus{}{\meaning\year -> \the\year} \writestatus{}{\meaning\time -> \the\time} \stoptext Result: > \time-> \time > \protected macro:->\dodoubleempty \syst_converters_date -> \date > \day-> 20 > macro:#1->\ctxcommand {monthname(#1)}-> \labeltext {unknown}RROR > \year-> 2013 > \time-> 982 I strongly ask that ConTeXt abstains from changing the definition of \month and reverts to the exact result as given by plain TeX, i.e. a number in the range [1-12]. Because the change makes it impossible to do calculations on the month. Hans van der Meer

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etexshow and generation of cont-en.xlm (cont-XX.xml)?
by Jonathan Barchi 20 Mar '13

20 Mar '13

Hi all, I'm using the emacs package etexshow to provide a quick ConTeXt command reference in EMACS. This utility parses the interface file cont-en.xml (for english, in my case) and uses the contents to provide a basic dictionary of available commands. In the documentation for etexshow, there is a reference to being able to generate a complete interface description (the aforementioned xml file) like so: ";; There is still an xml-file shipped with this code. Usually you would ;; generate the xml-file with 'texexec'ing the file setupe.tex. Then you ;; will get the cont-en.xml file that can (could) be used as an input for ;; this etexshow. But for now, this won't work. It will work rsn." It is not clear whether that file (setupe.tex or setup.tex) is/was supposed to be shipped with etexshow or was supposed to be a part of context. I've searched and found a few references to this problem, but never a definitive answer, so if anyone knows the answer to these questions I would love to know!! 1. Is the referenced setup(e).tex a file that was previously shipped with ConTeXt - presumably mkii since the author refers to texexec - or would this be something the author would have included with etexshow itself? 2. Is the interface file, e.g. cont-en.xml, auto-generated from all of the defined macros in ConTeXt, or is that file hand-written as metadata to accompany the source-code definitions? 3. Since self-documentation is a goal of the project, is it possible to generate something akin to the interface file that presents a snapshot of all commands known to context at a given time, for use in things like etexshow or other tools? If so, is it possible to do this with modules loaded to see what they additionally define? Thanks in advance for any help! I'm hoping to use any information I get to update etexshow, if possible, and maybe update the ConTeXt support in AUCTEX as well. I think it would be really cool if AUCTEX could reach out at compile or run time and pull in macro definitions from the installed environment, for example. Best, Jon

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framedtext and margin
by H. van der Meer 20 Mar '13

20 Mar '13

As can be seen in the following example, within an itemized list the framedtext sticks out to the right, instead of having its right edge aligned with the outer ones. Is there a simple remedy or is it an unwanted effect? I would like the right edges line up perfectly. Hans van der Meer \starttext \startframedtext[width=local]\input tufte\stopframedtext Before list. \startitemize \startitem item one\stopitem \startitem item two\startframedtext[width=local]\input tufte\stopframedtext\stopitem \startitem item three\stopitem \stopitemize After list. \startframedtext[width=local]\input tufte\stopframedtext \stoptext

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Subjects on this list - general request
by Robert Blackstone 20 Mar '13

20 Mar '13

Dear all, Considering all complaints about the difficulties to find, in the Garden, or in the NTG mail archive, answers to specific problems, wouldn't it be a good idea to ask everybody to clearly state the subject of their message, preferably starting with the most important keyword, and in particular to avoid (no subject) or [***SPAM***], and similar things as subjects. Also, if you forgive me, subjects like "upto current" or "Bug in \column" are not really helpful when on tries to search in the archive for a solution to a specific problem. In the last-mentioned example, wouldn't "\column, Bug in - " or even "\column, Bug in \column" be better? More specific subject titles in the mails might save some of us hours of unfruitful searching and lots of teeth grinding. This is probably not the first request on this topic but, if so, I thought it would do no harm to repeat it. Thanks in advance. Best regards, Robert Blackstone

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date handling maltreated?
by H. van der Meer 20 Mar '13

20 Mar '13

Trying to do some date and time processing myself, I ran into problems caused by ConTeXt makeing it incompatibel with the original plain TeX itself! In the TeX-book, Appendix B one finds <citation> (Some parameters are set by TeX itself as it runs, so it is inappropriate to initialize them: \time, \day, \month, and year are established at the beginning of a job; .. </citation> Now the results in ConTeXT with a minimal example, put into the log for easier copying into the mail: \starttext \writestatus{}{\meaning\date -> \date} \writestatus{}{\meaning\day -> \the\day} \writestatus{}{\meaning\month -> \month WHY NOT monthname?} \writestatus{}{\meaning\year -> \the\year} \writestatus{}{\meaning\time -> \the\time} \stoptext Result: > \protected macro:->\dodoubleempty \syst_converters_date -> \date > \day-> 20 > macro:#1->\ctxcommand {monthname(#1)}-> \labeltext {unknown}HY NOT monthname? > \year-> 2013 > \time-> 989 Plain TeX here gives: \message{\meaning\day -> \the\day} \message{\meaning\month -> \the\month} \message{\meaning\year -> \the\year} \message{\meaning\time -> \the\time} \end Result: (./plaindates.tex \day-> 20 \month-> 3 \year-> 2013 \time-> 991 ) I strongly ask that ConTeXt abstains from changing the definition of \month and reverts to the exact result as given by plain TeX, i.e. a number in the range [1-12]. Because the change in ConTeXt makes it impossible to do calculations on the month. Furthermore I encountered problems with defining expanded macros for currentdate and currenttime. This seems impossible to accomplish, at least in a simple manner. See the results from these to examples: \edef\thedate{\currentdate}\writestatus{}{\meaning\thedate -> \thedate} \edef\thetime{\currenttime}\writestatus{}{\meaning\thetime -> \thetime} giving: > macro:->\currentdate -> \currentdate > macro:->\currenttime -> \currenttime This is most unhappy, because one really should be able to put the expansions of these macros somewhere. I hope the next beta will have solutions for these problems. Hans van der Meer

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date problem
by H. van der Meer 20 Mar '13

20 Mar '13

There is a nasty problem when defining the \date. First approach: *** > macro:->\date \def\thedate{\date}\writestatus{***}{\meaning\thedate} Alas, I get lateron a luatex error on \date: ! LuaTeX error [string "\directlua "]:1: invalid escape sequence near '\d'. Second approach, use \edef to get an expanded value. \edef\thedate{\date}\writestatus{***}{\meaning\thedate} *** > macro:->\date Alas, the date is still the unexpanded macro and not something like 20 march 2013. How to? Hans van der Meer

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Endnotes - How to place all endnotes in a separate chapter?
by Robert Blackstone 20 Mar '13

20 Mar '13

Dear list, How can I collect, in a separate (unnumbered) chapter at the end, or in the Backmatter, of a book, all endnotes from the previous chapters, as lists per chapter (for example in sections in this chapter "Notes", with, preferably, the chaptertitles as sectiontitles of that chapter) My setupfile contains, on the subject of notation, only: \setupnotation[endnote][way=bychapter,bodyfont=10pt] and each chapter now ends with: \placenotes[endnote][height=\textheight] which neatly gives a list at the end of each chapter. Thanks in advance for any advice. Best regards, Robert Blackstone

1 0

(no subject)
by non-null 20 Mar '13

20 Mar '13

Here is a simple example: \starttext \startitemize[1,packed] Introduction text to the list below. \item some item text1 \item some item text2 \stopitemize I want to be able to adjust the vertical white space between the list introduction text and the list of items. How can this be accomplished? Wolfgang Schuster <schuster.wolfgang(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > Provide a example for this. > > Wolfgang

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[***SPAM***] What am I doing wrong?
by d.henman 19 Mar '13

19 Mar '13

While reading the ConTeXt Manual I tried the following two commands, which didn't work. Here is the sample souce. \starttext First line. %\hskip With text here, this causes an compile time error. \hskip3em Indented?\crlf \hskip 3em Indented?\crlf \hskip3cm Indented?\crlf %\sym{on} This causes an error. %\sym{$\diamond$} This causes an error. %\sym{$\diamondsuit$} This causes an error. Last line. \stoptext What happened to \hskip and \sym ? Or what am I doing wrong? One further question. I tried nopping \before, \after, \between, and the none, and joinedup option but could not suppress white space occurring after \startitemize and the 1st \item. I tried looking in the garden as well, but had no luck. I believe th e information is in there but I couldn't find it after a hour or so. So please inform me as to how can tell ConTeXt how much space, including none, to place between the an item header (or none) and the list??? I'd appreciate the assistance in learning who to do this.

2 1

Including section number in reference broken
by Steffen Wolfrum 19 Mar '13

19 Mar '13

Hi, in October 2011 Marco asked how to get an output like this: I Foo A Bar subsection I.A The example he posted (see below) came to this result: I Foo A Bar subsection A Then Wolfgang added this line: \setupreferencestructureprefix[default][prefixsegments=2:*] But running this advice with todays beta does not have any effect one Marcos original example, and it does not lead to the desired ouput. Is this broken now? Steffen %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% \definestructureconversionset [myset] [ Romannumerals, Romannumerals, Romannumerals, Character, ] [numbers] \setuphead [sectionconversionset=myset] \setuphead [subsection] [sectionsegments=subsection] \starttext \startsection [title=Foo] \startsubsection [title=Bar, reference=bar] \stopsubsection \in{subsection}[bar] \stopsection \stoptext %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

2 1

bug in new beta
by Xenia 18 Mar '13

18 Mar '13

Hi there, bold font in math works now for me, but there occurs a new error message even for simple text samples (see logfile) with ConTeXt ver: 2013.03.15 00:17 MKIV and still after updating to $ context --version mtx-context | ConTeXt Process Management 0.60 […] mtx-context | current version: 2013.03.16 01:5 Thanks, Xenia

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Latest beta (minimals) failure to download/install
by Alan Bowen 18 Mar '13

18 Mar '13

Hi! My efforts to download/install the latest minimals was stopped with this error message: ! LuaTeX error .../ConTeXt/tex/texmf-context/tex/context/base/font-otn.lua:260: attempt to index field 'steppers' (a nil value) stack traceback: .../ConTeXt/tex/texmf-context/tex/context/base/font-otn.lua:260: in function 'code' .../ConTeXt/tex/texmf-context/tex/context/base/util-lua.lua:81: in function 'loadedluacode' .../ConTeXt/tex/texmf-context/tex/context/base/luat-env.lua:94: in function 'luafilechunk' .../ConTeXt/tex/texmf-context/tex/context/base/luat-cod.lua:45: in function 'registercode' [string "\directlua "]:1: in main chunk. log system > tex > error on line 41 in file /Applications/ConTeXt/tex/texmf-context/tex/context/base/font-lib.mkvi: LuaTeX error ... \registerctxluafile ...ua.registercode("#1","#2")} l.41 \registerctxluafile{font-otn}{1.001} % otf main node Alan

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To update or not to update - that is the question...
by Marcin Borkowski 18 Mar '13

18 Mar '13

Hi all, I have an issue with \overrightarrow being positioned under its argument. I've read on the list that this is now fixed, but... I can't upgrade! This is because I'm preparing a document in an "incremental" way, that is, I'm preparing course materials (problem sets) for the next class each week and giving them away to students. If I upgrade, the pagebreaks change (probably due to some tweaking Hans added to multicolumn itemgroups a few months ago). So what would you suggest? I can see at least three solutions, none of which is ideal for me. 1. Manually backport the fix to my ConTeXt. Pro: ideal solution (at least for now). Con: no idea how to do it - I don't know how to access ConTeXt repository (if it's at all possible for a non-developer). 2. Upgrade and insert some manual pagebreaks so that pages 21-22 (which I'm currently working on) contain the same problems as they used to. Pro: easy fix. Con: very dirty trick, and what if someone asks me about some old problems, because he lost his copy? 3. Just use \vec instead of \overrightarrow. Pro: very easy, no dirty hacks. Con: ugly looking (see: \vec{AB}). Any ideas? Is it possible to find the official ConTeXt repo somewhere, or if not, maybe someone could send me the diff of the commit which fixed that (this post: http://article.gmane.org/gmane.comp.tex.context/79011 suggests that it is the 2012.10.30 21:13 commit)? Regards, -- Marcin Borkowski http://octd.wmi.amu.edu.pl/en/Marcin_Borkowski Adam Mickiewicz University

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How to fix a break
by hwitloc＠gmail.com 17 Mar '13

17 Mar '13

I'm getting "mtxrun | unknown script 'context.lua' or 'mtx-context.lua'" on the three line \starttext This is the text section. \stoptext This is the TeXLive distributed version and it worked yesterday. I'm pretty sure I messup up the paths or tex path database used by kpathse, etc. Is there a program I can run to go through a texlive installation and rebuild the TDS database? Thanks

3 3

TeX macro to MP variable
by Marco Patzer 17 Mar '13

17 Mar '13

Hi, I am looking for a way to assign the value of a TeX macro to an MP variable. However, this only works the first time, then the value is not updated any longer. Example: \startMPdefinitions size = \somesize ; \stopMPdefinitions \startuseMPgraphic{alpha} fill unitcircle scaled size; \stopuseMPgraphic \starttext \def\somesize{1cm} \useMPgraphic{alpha} %% diameter = 1cm \def\somesize{2cm} \useMPgraphic{alpha} %% diameter = 1cm \stoptext I looked into \setupMPvariables, but I couldn't manage to assign them to an MP variable. The setups key from \defineMPinstance seems to to the job, but it's TeX, not MetaPost. What comes to mind is a \processMPbuffer before every MPgraphic: \startbuffer[foo] size := \somesize ; \stopbuffer \startuseMPgraphic{alpha} fill unitcircle scaled size; \stopuseMPgraphic \starttext \def\somesize{1cm} \processMPbuffer[foo] \useMPgraphic{alpha} %% diameter = 1cm \def\somesize{2cm} \processMPbuffer[foo] \useMPgraphic{alpha} %% diameter = 2cm \stoptext Is there a better way? Marco

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