[NTG-context] emp.sty and metapost

[Aditya Mahajan]

On Tue, 27 Jun 2006, David Arnold wrote:

> Aditya,
>
>
>> I have faced this problem in the past, but was never sure why it
>> occured or how to rectify it. Try the command
>>
>> mpost --tex=latex useemp.mp
>>
>> on your shell. Do you get the same error message as before (you
>> should).
>
> Yes, same error message.
>
> qdf $ mpost --tex=latex useemp.mp
> This is MetaPost, Version 0.901 (Web2C 7.5.5)
> (useemp.mp (qdftools.mpnewer: target file `qdftools.mpx' doesn't exist.
> /usr/local/teTeX/bin/powerpc-apple-darwin-current/makempx: Command
> failed: latex mpxerr.tex; see mpxerr.log
>
> >> qdftools.mp
> >> qdftools.mpx
> ! Unable to make mpx file.
> l.41  label.rt(btex
>                     $x$ etex, (5u,0));
> Transcript written on useemp.log.
>
>
>> Now try,
>>
>> makempx --tex=latex useemp.mp useemp.mpx
>>
>> Does this create an mpx file?
>
> qdf $ ls
> OTqdbpreview.sty        dev.qdf                 sample2.qdf
> dev.1                   dev.tex                 useemp.mp
> dev.mp                  functions.qdf           useemp.pdf
> dev.pdf                 qdftools.mp             useemp.tex
> qdf $
>
> qdf $ makempx --tex=latex useemp.mp useemp.mpx
> newer: target file `useemp.mpx' doesn't exist.
> dvitomp: mpx14741.dvi: No such file or directory
> mv: rename mpx14741.dvi to mpxerr.dvi: No such file or directory
> /usr/local/teTeX/bin/powerpc-apple-darwin-current/makempx: Command
> failed: dvitomp mpxerr.dvi useemp.mpx
>
> qdf $ ls
> OTqdbpreview.sty        functions.qdf           sample2.qdf
> dev.1                   mpx14741.aux            useemp.mp
> dev.mp                  mpx14741.log            useemp.pdf
> dev.pdf                 mpx14741.tex            useemp.tex
> dev.qdf                 mpxerr.log
> dev.tex                 qdftools.mp
>
> Doesn't look like it.
>
>> If it does, then atleast a workaround
>> for the problem is to have
>>
>> \immediate\write18{makempx --tex=latex \jobname.mp \jobname.mpx}
>> before
>> \immediate\write18{mpost --tex=latex \jobname}.
>>
>> If makempx fails, look at the output of
>>
>> makempx --verbose --tex=latex useemp.mp useemp.mpx
>>
>> What do you get?
>
>
> qdf $ makempx --verbose --tex=latex useemp.mp useemp.mpx
> /usr/local/teTeX/bin/powerpc-apple-darwin-current/makempx: Invalid
> option: --verbose.
> Try `makempx --help' for more information.
>
>
> qdf $ makempx --help
> Usage: /usr/local/teTeX/bin/powerpc-apple-darwin-current/makempx [-
> tex|-tex=<program>|-troff] MPFILE MPXFILE.
>   If MPXFILE is older than MPFILE, translate the labels from the
> MetaPost
>   input file MPFIle to low-level commands in MPXFILE, by running
>     mpto -tex, , and dvitomp
>   by default; or, if -troff is specified,
>     mpto -troff, eqn -Tps -d\$\$ | troff -Tps, and dmp.
>
>   The current directory is used for writing temporary files.  Errors
> are
>   left in mpxerr.{tex,log,dvi}.
>
>   If the file named in $MPTEXPRE (mptexpre.tex by default) exists,
> it is
>   prepended to the output in tex mode.

Hmm... the makempx that comes with miktex has --verbose, the one that 
comes with context standalone does not. So, you seem to have one from 
context.

How about following makempx commands "by hand" that is,

mpto useemp.mp

This should strip out everything between btex ... etex into some tex 
commands. If this works,

     mpto useemp.mp > temp.tex

Any non-existing filename instead of "temp" will do. Then do,

     latex temp.tex

     dvitomp temp.mp useemp.mpx

and if all of these work without any error, do

    mpost useemp


If possible, use Context to create the graphics, i.e.

    texexec --mptex useemp.mp

to get mps files (.1, .2, etc) or

   texexec --mpgraphic useemp.mp
   pdf2ps useemp.pdf

If however, you need to stick to latex for some reason, you need to 
figure out what is going wrong with your system.

Aditya