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+ NEWSLETR - A newsletter format for Plain TeX
+ Hunter Goatley
+ January 22, 2004
+
+%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
+% Copyright 1989--2004 by Hunter Goatley.
+%
+% Permission is granted to anyone to use this software for any purpose
+% on any computer system, and to redistribute it freely, subject to the
+% following restrictions:
+%
+% 1. This software is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+% but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+% MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
+%
+% 2. Altered versions must be plainly marked as such, and must not be
+% misrepresented as being the original software.
+%
+% End
+%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
+
+NEWSLETR is a file of plain TeX macros that I wrote to publish a printed
+newsletter about author Robert McCammon. Most of the macros are original,
+but some came from _The TeXbook_ and other sources; most of these have been
+either rewritten or modified. The following files should be found here (and
+the names are short for people using MS-DOS):
+
+ READ.ME This file
+ NEWSLETR.TEX The newsletter format
+ NEWSLETR.TXT List of commands in newsletter format
+ NEWSSAMP.TEX Sample newsletter file
+ LODRIVER.TEX Sample newsletter driver (part of a real newsletter)
+ LOSAMPLE.TEX Sample newsletter title page, articles, etc.
+
+The format is for plain TeX, not LaTeX---real TeXies don't use LaTeX! 8-)
+Seriously, I developed my newsletter format because LaTeX wasn't flexible
+enough for the stuff I wanted to do---namely multiple columns (1--6 columns),
+switching columns on the same page, and including figures.
+
+When you see it, some of the stuff will look kludged---but it sounds like
+what some of you are using now was kludged, so it shouldn't be much worse!
+
+Because the format file (NEWSLETR.TEX) is pretty big, I'd suggest that you
+create a new TeX format file that contains it. Under VMS using DECUS TeX,
+the command would be:
+
+ $ TEX/INIT/NOFORMAT "&plain \input newsletr \dump"
+ $ TEX/FORMAT=newsletr
+
+NEWSLETR is set up so that it can be used as an extended plain TeX (you have
+access to the macros, with all of TeX's default settings). When building
+a newsletter, you can execute \newspage to use pages that are a little taller
+and wider (7" x 9") and to change some of TeX's penalties, etc.
+
+Finally, I would like to point out a couple of features that I think would be
+useful for anybody who uses TeX for any reason. I've extracted these two
+pieces into separate files so that you can easily include them in other
+documents.
+
+As you all know, TeX requires that you use `` and '' instead of " to get
+proper double-quotes. I have written a macro that will let the double-quote
+character (") work like `` and ''. It assumes that they come in pairs, except
+that a " as the first character of a paragraph is treated as ``. To enable
+the double-quote recognition, simply add \begindoublequotes to your file.
+(You can disable it using \enddoublequotes.) Proper spacing after '' is
+maintained. (QUOTE.TEX)
+
+I've also included macros \ital and \slant for typesetting text in the
+italic (\it) and slanted (\sl) fonts, respectively. A lot of people don't
+seem to know about---or forget to use---the italic correction (\/) when
+switching among fonts. The \ital and \slant macros look at the next character
+following the parameter and add the italic correction unless the next character
+is a period or a comma, as recommended on page 14 of _The TeXbook_. Using
+these macros, you should never need to type \/ again. (ITALIC.TEX)
+
+I would appreciate being kept informed of bug fixes or improvements you make to
+the file. I can't promise support, but I use these macros too, and I'm willing
+to help whenever/wherever I can.
+
+Questions, comments, or suggestions are welcome.
+
+Hunter
+------
+Hunter Goatley, Process Software, http://www.process.com/
+<goathunter@GOATLEY.COM> http://www.goatley.com/hunter/