Very nice! It contains a lot of typographical buglets -- and a main one, namely that `mptopdf' isn't mentioned at all.

Uh, oh, this man page doesn't handle mptopdf at all... Do you have something better?

I'll fix these and send it to this list so that it can be included in TeXLive, ConTeXt, and Debian.

Anyway, here is the revised version. Werner .\" mptopdf.1 .\" .\" Revised 2006-Jul-02 by Werner Lemberg . . .de EX . RS . IP . nf . ft CW .. . .de EE . ft R . fi . RE .. . .TH texexec 1 "October 2000" ConTeXt ConTeXt . . .SH NAME . texexec \- ConTeXt and PDF auxiliary program and batch processor . . .SH SYNOPSIS . \fBtexexec\fP [\ \fIOPTION\fP .\|.\|.\ ] \fIFILE\fP [\ .\|.\|.\ ] . . .SH DESCRIPTION . .B \%texexec is a Perl script that provides several functions: . .IP o Process a TeX file. This includes performing as many runs as necessary of .BR tex (1), .BR texutil (1), and .BR metapost (1). Options allow you to select the output format, the pages to process, paper size, and so forth. . .IP o Create new ConTeXt formats (with .BR \-\-format ). . .IP o Post-process existing PDF files, including merging multiple files, and extracting and rearranging pages within a file, similar to the functions provided by .BR psnup (1) and .BR pdfmerge (1). . .IP o Extract or strip documentation from ConTeXt source files, using .BR texutil (1). . .IP o Run METAPOST to generate figures from METAPOST source files. Note that the METAPOST binary is normally called .BR mpost (1). . .IP o Produce `proof sheets' of figures used in a .B ConTeXt source file. . . .SH OPTIONS . In this man page, all switches are specified in full, but they can be abbreviated to the shortest unique string. Thus, .B \-\-ver works the same as .BR \-\-verbose . . .SS "General Options" . .TP .B \-\-alone Avoid calling other programs if possible. For example, .B \-\-alone prevents .B \%texexec from using .BR fmtutil (1) to generate formats (which can be handy while tracing installation problems). . .TP .BI \-\-environment= ENVIRONMENT Specify a ConTeXt .I ENVIRONMENT to use when processing the file. This option can be useful when converting from non-ConTeXt file formats where no environment or layout settings are present in the file. . .TP \fB\-\-help\fP [\ \fISWITCH\fP\ ] Produce a summary of switches and arguments. Many switches have additional information that can be seen by typing . .EX \f(CWtexexec \-\-help optvar(SWITCH)\fP .EE . .TP .B \-\-interface= LANGUAGE Specify the language .B ConTeXt should use to communicate with you. Options are . .RS .TP .B en US English .TP .B nl Dutch .TP .B de German .TP .B uk British English .TP .B cz Czech .TP .B it Italian .RE . .TP .B \-\-once Process a file once and only once. By default, .B \%texexec processes the file as many times as necessary to sort out all references, to typeset .B METAPOST code, and so forth. . .TP .BI \-\-output= DRIVER Specify the output .I DRIVER for use with \f(CW\especial\fP primitives. Defaults to the setting in the local .I cont-sys.tex file, but can be set to one of . .RS .TP .B pdftex Native .BR pdftex (1) code. .TP .B dvips For .BR dvips (1). This is the default. .TP .B dvipsone For .B dvipsone. .TP .B dviwindo For .BR dviwindo , the oldest .B ConTeXt drivers. .TP .B dviview For .B dviview (experimental). .RE . .IP There may be other supported drivers \(en check the most recent .B ConTeXt documentation. . .TP .BI \-\-pages= PAGENUMBERLIST Specify the pages or page range to appear in the output file. .I PAGENUMBERLIST may be the keyword .B odd or .BR even , one or more pages separated by commas (\f(CWx,y\fP), or a page range in the form \f(CW:z\fP. . .TP .BI \-\-passon= STRING Pass additional command-line switches and arguments to the .BR tex (1) process run by .BR \%texexec . . .IP For example, the .B MikTeX TeX system (for DOS/Windows) can embed information in the DVI file that allows you to find the line in a source code file corresponding to the line in the typeset output. It uses a switch called `\-\-src' to activate this functionality, and can be used from .B \%texexec as . .EX \f(CWtexexec \-\-passon="\-\-src" somefile\fP .EE . .IP The double quotes (\f(CW"\fP) are required to prevent .B \%texexec from using the switch itself. . .TP .B \-\-program The name of the TeX program to use .RB ( tex (1), by default). . .TP .BI \-\-result= FILENAME Allows you to change the basename of the output file. See .B \-\-mode for an example. . .TP .BI \-\-runs= NUMBER Specify the number of runs to perform on a file. Overrides .BR \%texexec 's calculations. . .TP .B \-\-silent Suppress diagnostic and progress messages. . .TP .BI \-\-suffix= SUFFIX Specify the suffix of the output file. . .TP .BI \-\-tex= PROGRAMNAME Specify the program to use instead of .BR tex (1). Useful for trying different versions of .BR tex (1) installed on the same machine. . .TP .B \-\-texutil Force a run of .BR \%texutil (1). . .TP .B \-\-verbose Output diagnostic information, including the contents of .IR \%texexec.ini . . . .SS "Processing \fBConTeXt\fP Source Files" . This subsection also covers option for the selection of paper sizes, formats, and so forth. . .TP .B \-\-arrange Don't perform page rearrangements (e.g., for producing a booklet) until the last run. . .TP .B \-\-batch Process the file in batch mode \(en continue to typeset the document after finding errors. More information about batch mode can be found in Donald E.\& Knuth's .IR TeXbook . . .TP .B \-\-bodyfont The name of a font to preload for use in setting the body of the text. . .TP .B \-\-centerpage Center the document image on the page. . .TP .B \-\-color Turn on color mode. Color mode can also be set by commands embedded in the document. These commands override the .B \-\-color option. . .TP .BI \-\-convert= FORMAT Convert the input file to ConTeXt format from .I FORMAT before processing. In most cases, this conversion results in a TeX file. Currently supported input formats are .B xml and .BR sgml . . .TP .B \-\-dvi Shortcut for .RB ` \-\-output=dvi '. . .TP .B \-\-fast Typeset the document(s) as fast as possible without causing problems. . .TP .B \-\-final Perform a final run without skipping anything. This option is typically used with .BR \-\-fast . . .TP .BI \-\-language= LANGUAGE Set the language for hyphenation. Can be specified in your source file. Options are the same as those for .BR \-\-interface . . .TP .BI \-\-mode= MODELIST Allows you to change the mode (page size and resolution) of the output file. Examples: . .EX texexec --pdf --mode=A4 --result=pdftex-a pdftex-t texexec --pdf --mode=letter --result=pdftex-l pdftex-t texexec --pdf --mode=screen --result=pdftex-s pdftex-t .EE . .IP Here the mode switch tells .B ConTeXt to obey the mode directives in the layout specifications. The .B \-\-result flag allows you to rename the output file. . .TP .B \-\-noarrange Ignore arrangement commands in the source file. . .TP .BI \-\-paper= KEY For typesetting multiple pages on a single piece of paper. .I KEY can be .B a4a3 (for printing A4 pages on A3 paper) or .B a5a4 (for printing A5 pages on A4 paper). The actual layout of the pages is specified with the .B \-\-print switch. . .TP .B \-\-pdf Shorthand for .RB ` \-\-output=pdftex '. . .TP .BI \-\-print= KEY Specify the layout of the final output. .I KEY can be .BR up , resulting in two pages per sheet, double sided, or .BR down , resulting in two rotated pages per sheet, double sided. Use the .B \-\-paper switch to specify the original page and sheet size. . . .SS "Creating \fBConTeXt\fP Format Files" . .TP .BI \-\-format= FORMATFILE Specify a format file for typesetting. .B \%texexec prepends the string `\f(CWcont\-\fP' to the name you give, so you can type `\f(CWplain\fP' instead of `\f(CWcont\-plain\fP', as in . .EX texexec --format=plain --program=pdftex somefile .EE . .TP .B \-\-make Generate a .B ConTeXt format file. . . .SS "Postprocess PDF Files" . .TP .BI \-\-combination= ROWS * COLS Specify the number of pages to show on a single page. Use with .BR \-\-pdfcombine . . .TP .B \-\-pdfarrange For rearranging pages in PDF files. Example: . .EX texexec --pdfarrange --paper=a5a4 --print=up foo.pdf .EE . .IP This command creates an A5 booklet from a PDF file .IR foo.pdf . .B \%\-\-pdfarrange is intended to be used in conjunction with the other switches of this subsection. . .TP .B \-\-paperoffset Adjust the space between the edge of the pages and the beginning of the text block. . .TP .B \-\-backspace Adjust the inside (`gutter') margins. . .TP .B \-\-topspace Adjust the top and bottom margin. . .TP .B \-\-markings Add crop marks. . .TP .BI \-\-addempty= PAGES Add empty pages after the pages specified in .IR PAGES . Useful for, among other things, adding blank pages after a table of contents. . .TP .BI \-\-textwidth= WIDTH Set the width of the original text. Specifying this parameter with a single-sided original allows .B ConTeXt to adjust the page layout for double-sided output, producing much more attractive results. . .IP With the .B \%\-\-pdfarrange flag, specifying more than one file results in all of the files being combined in the final result, allowing you to add title pages, decorated part separators, and so forth. .IP You can also do more complex manipulations, such as adding additional text to the page by setting up a small file with layout definitions and a simple figure insertion loop. . .TP .B \-\-pdfcombine Combine multiple pages. Requires you to specify the .B \%\-\-combination switch. . .TP .B \-\-pdfselect Extract pages from a file. Used in combination with the .B \%\-\-selection switch, as in . .EX texexec --pdfselect --paper=S6 --selection=1,9,14 file-1 .EE . .IP which extracts pages 1, 9, and 14 from .IR \%file-1.pdf , and places them in .I \%texexec.pdf (which is the default output filename if no output file is specified). . .IP See .B \%\-\-pdfarrange for other options. . .TP .BI \-\-selection= PAGES Specify pages to be affected by another option. See .B \%\-\-pdfarrange and .B \%\-\-pdfselect for examples. . . .SS "Extract or Strip Out Documentation" . .TP .B \-\-listing Produce a typeset version of the source code in .IR FILE . You can specify the form of the output file, as in . .EX texexec --listing --pdf readme.now .EE . .IP which produces a PDF file called .IR \%texexec.pdf . Without the .B \-\-pdf flag, .B \%texexec produces a DVI file. . .IP See also .B \%\-\-backspace and .BR \%\-\-topspace . . .TP .B \-\-module Create documentation for .BR ConTeXt , .B MetaPost (see .BR mpost (1)), and Perl modules. Converts the documentation to .B ConTeXt format and then typesets that documentation. See .BR \%texutil (1) for more information about the format of the documentation strings. . . .SS "Process METAPOST Figures" . .TP .B \-\-mpformat The name of a .B MetaPost format file. . .TP .B \-\-mptex Strip out and typeset TeX code embedded in a .B MetaPost file. . .TP .B \-\-nomp Do not run .BR MetaPost , even if needed. . .TP .B \-\-nomprun Do not run .BR mpost (1) on embedded .B MetaPost code. . . .SS "Producing Proof Sheets of Figures" . .TP .BI \-\-figures= ALTERNATIVE Specify one of three options to produce a document containing the images used in the source file: . .RS .TP .B a A proof sheet with additional information provided for each figure. .TP .B b A proof sheet with the graphics only. .TP .B c One figure per page, with the page clipped to the bounding box of the figure. .IP See also .BR \%\-\-paperoffset , which allows you to specify an offset to be added to the page, as in . .EX texexec \-\-figures=c \-\-paperoffset=.5cm *.pdf \e *.png *.jpg .EE . .RE .IP .B \%texexec uses .BR \%texutil (1) to obtain the list of figures to process. . . .SH "USAGE" . .IP o Each .B ConTeXt user interface (language) has its own format. The following command generates two formats, one using the English interface for typesetting in English, and one for Dutch: . .EX texexec --make en nl .EE . .IP By default, the language used for typesetting matches the user-interface language (set with .BR \%\-\-interface ). It is possible to use one language for typesetting and another for messages by changing the relevant settings in .IR \%cont\-usr.tex , but these languages can also be changed on the command line with a command such as . .EX texexec --make --language=pl,cz,sk --bodyfont=plr en .EE . .IP That command generates a .B ConTeXt format file with an English user interface, and the main language set to Polish .RB ( pl ). The default body font is the Polish version of Computer Modern Roman .RB ( plr ). Czech and Slovak hyphenation patterns are also loaded so that Czech and Slovak text included in a source file are typeset properly .RB ( cz and .BR sk ). . .IP o When the appropriate formats are present, a file can be typeset by typing . .EX texexec test .EE . .IP .B \%texexec tries to determine what interface it should use to typeset .I \%test.tex by looking for a line such as . .EX % interface=en tex=pdfetex output=pdftex .EE . .IP at the top of the file (i.e., on the very first line). This line is equivalent to .BR TeX 's format line, .RI ` FORMAT '). . .IP By default, .B \%texexec produces a DVI file. The .B \-\-pdf flag tells .B \%texexec to produce a PDF file instead (by running .BR pdftex (1)). You can also be more specific about what drivers .B \%texexec should use, by specifying a command line such as . .EX texexec --output=dvips,acrobat test .EE . .IP which specifies the use of the .B dvips driver (which is the default), combined with the use of Acrobat-specific PDF instructions. .IP After an error-free run, .B \%texexec executes .BR \%texutil (1) to determine whether additional runs of .BR tex (1) (or .BR \%pdftex (1)) or any utility programs (e.g., .BR \%bibtex (1) or .BR \%makeindex (1)) are necessary. You can suppress these additional runs by specifying the .B \-\-once or .B \-\-runs flags: . .EX texexec --once test texexec --runs=2 test .EE . . .SH INITIALIZATION . When starting, .B \%texexec first looks for the file .IR \%texexec.ini , which specifies the location of various programs and configuration files, and specifies the programs to use. The .B \%\-\-verbose flag causes .B \%texexec to print the information in .I \%texexec.ini to the terminal and the log file. . .P .B \%texexec requires Perl. On Unix and Unix-like systems, no special steps have to be taken to get .B \%texexec to work beyond installing Perl and having the .BR perl (1) binary in your path. On Windows systems, however, you may need to run Perl by typing commands such as . .EX perl texexec.pl optvar(ARGS)... .EE . .P The .B fpTeX distribution comes with a program called .B \%runperl.exe that can be copied and renamed to .BR \%texexec.exe . You also have to rename a copy to .B \%texutil.exe (see .BR texutil (1)). The .B teTeX and .B fpTeX distributions, at least, should perform the necessary steps as part of their installation sequence \(en if you have problems, however, you may need to follow the advice given here. . .P The file .I \%texexec.rme contains default configuration information. If no file .I \%texexec.ini exists (in .IR TEXMF/context/config/ , you should copy .I \%texexec.rme to that directory and rename it to .IR \%texexec.ini . Make any necessary changes to this file to reflect the layout of programs and directories on your system. . . .SH ENCODINGS . Some languages require specific character encodings to represent their alphabets (beyond the basic ASCII encoding). Although you can use TeX commands to represent these characters, such as `\f(CW\e.z\fP', it is easier to use a text editor that includes direct support for these characters and let .B ConTeXt translate them to the necessary TeX commands. For some languages, this approach can also improve the performance of TeX's hyphenation algorithms. . .P .B ConTeXt supports several of the most commonly used encodings. Check the files beginning with .IR enco\- , .IR lang\- , and .I font\- in the .B ConTeXt distribution for more information. . .P .B web2c distributions (such as .BR teTeX ) support a mechanism to map document encodings to .BR ConTeXt 's internal encoding, font encodings, and hyphenation patterns. .B \%texexec provides a document option and a command-line flag to pass the necessary information to .BR tex (1) or .BR \%pdftex (1). You can add lines such as . .EX %& \-\-translate\-file=cp1250pl .EE . .P or . .EX % \-\-translate=cp1250pl .EE . .P to the beginning of your document, or specify the .B \%\-\-translate flag on the command line, as in . .EX texexec \-\-translate=il2pl somefile .EE . .P Note that using language-specific encodings makes your file less portable than using ASCII. It may not be possible for other people to typeset your documents on their systems. . . .SH FILES . .TP .I TEXMF/context/config/texexec.ini TeXExec configuration file. .TP .I TEXMF/context/config/texexec.rme TeXExec configuration file defaults. . . . .SH "SEE ALSO" . .BR \%bibtex (1), .BR dvips (1), .BR \%fmtutil (1), .BR \%makeindex (1), .BR \%metapost (1), .BR mpost (1), .BR \%pdfetex (1), .BR \%pdfmerge (1), .BR \%pdftex (1), .BR perl (1), .BR psnup (1), .BR tex (1), .BR \%texshow (1), .BR \%texutil (1). . .P The TeXExec manual, .IR mtexexec.pdf . . .P The TeXExec configuration README files: .IP o .I TEXMF/context/config/texexec.rme .IP o .I TEXMF/context/perltk/texexec.rme . .P Donald E.\& Knuth's .IR "The TeXbook" . . . .SH AUTHOR . This manpage was written by Tobias Burnus and C.M.\& Connelly , revised by Werner Lemberg . It is based on the .B TeXExec manual written by Hans Hagen . . .P The PDF manual and .B \%texexec itself can be obtained from .RS .P http://www.pragma-ade.com/pragma-ade/texexec.htm . .\" end of mptopdf.1