UKTeX Digest Friday, 5 Nov 1993 Volume 93 : Issue 35 ``The UKTeX Digest is brought to you as a free, unfunded and voluntary service of the UK TeX Users Group and the UK TeX Archive.'' Today's Topics: {Questions & Answers}: Re: dvips pattern matching and catcodes RE: pattern matching and catcodes Hardware/software for running TeX, LaTeX, AMSTeX? RE: Hardware/software for running TeX, LaTeX, AMSTeX? Misinformation corner: RE: Misinformation corner: Setting the default encoding in NFSS2 Re: Setting the default encoding in NFSS2 Re: Setting the default encoding in NFSS2 creating new modes for mf Latex -> anything! Searching for items in UK CTAN Re: Searching for items in UK CTAN {Announcements}: New version of subeqnarray available shortly Administrivia: Moderators: Peter Abbott (Aston University) and David Osborne (University of Nottingham) Contributions: UKTeX@uk.ac.tex Administration, subscription and unsubscription requests: UKTeX-request@uk.ac.tex ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 23 Oct 1993 14:22:54 +0000 From: spqr@uk.ac.tex.ftp Subject: Re: dvips > I would like to upgrade my version of Tex to include Postscript > graphics using dvips. I have obtained a list of files from the > Texserver relating to dvips using `whereis dvips' but I am > uncertain which files I require to transfer. Under msdos I presume > that the following two files would be needed > DISK$TEX:[TEX-ARCHIVE.SYSTEMS.MSDOS]DVIPS.EXE_VVE;2 > DISK$TEX:[TEX-ARCHIVE.SYSTEMS.MSDOS.EMTEX.BONUS]DVIPS.ZIP_VVE;2 I > would appreciate some advice. if you must transfer from tex.ac.uk, get the latter of the two files. but please, if at all possible, use Internet FTP to ftp.tex.ac.uk instead. I have the greatest difficulty keeping tex.ac.uk up to date because of local network problems, and the service will end in a few months anyway if you only have JANET, go via uk.ac.ft-relay. ask your local comms people about this sebastian ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 Oct 1993 14:36:38 +0000 From: Nigel Chapman Subject: pattern matching and catcodes This is a simplified version of a problem I'm having with TeX. Consider the following: \def\x agenda#1!{#1} \def\zilch{agenda99} \def\y{\expandafter\x\zilch!} The idea is that \x uses the pattern matching facility to strip off a prefix of agenda from something, so \x agenda99! would evaluate to 99. If the something is a macro like \zilch, then it's necessary to use \expandafter, as in the definmtion of \y, which also gives 99. So far, so good. But, the reason I'm doing this is that I want to be able to run TeX on, say agenda99.tex and get it to write an auxiliary file actions99.out (or run it on agenda98.tex and get actions98.out, and so on). So, what I wanted to do was: \def\thenumbers{\expandafter\x\jobname!} % (cf. \y). Which, as I'm sure you all realize, produces an error message telling me that use of \x doesn't match its definition. I think I know why: when TeX expands \jobname it gives all the tokens category code 12 (other), whereas in the parameter text of \x, they are all letters of category code 11. Hence the pattern match fails, as I suppose it ought to. I got as far as realizing that it's possible to get tokens of category code 12 into the parameter text by doing something like { \catcode`a=12 \catcode`g=12 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 Oct 1993 14:48:20 +0000 From: Philip Taylor (RHBNC) Subject: RE: pattern matching and catcodes As almost all predefined CS's are lower-case only, change the catcode of the upper case letters corresponding to the lower case letters which are in your target pattern; then \lowercase the lot, which will change the character codes, but not the category codes, of your pattern. Philip Taylor, RHBNC ------------------------------ Subject: Hardware/software for running TeX, LaTeX, AMSTeX? Dear colleague, Our department is very interested in installing TEX and using it to produce papers and technical reports. We would like help to get started in this process. Can you answer the following questions? (1) What hardware and software would you recommend? (2) What is the easiest and cheapest way of getting TEX, together with LATEX and AMS-TEX? (3) Can you recommend a good book on the subject? Any advice would be very gratefully received. Yours faithfully, Allan J. MacLeod (amcl@uk.ac.paisley.cs) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Oct 1993 11:25:02 +0000 From: Philip Taylor (RHBNC) Subject: RE: Hardware/software for running TeX, LaTeX, AMSTeX? >>> (1) What hardware and software would you recommend? h/w: IBM clone, 4-8Mb RAM, 100Mb+ disc, 386+ processor. Laser printer. s/w: MS/DOS if needing TCP/IP connection, otherwise OS/2. >>> (2) What is the easiest and cheapest way of getting TEX, together >>> with LATEX and AMS-TEX? The emTeX distribution, free of charge apart from disc costs. >>> (3) Can you recommend a good book on the subject? ``The TeXbook'', by Knuth; ``TeX by Topic'', by Eijkhout. 'Phone if you need more advice ('phone number sent under separate cover so as not to broadcast on UK-TeX). Philip Taylor, RHBNC. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 29 Oct 1993 17:49:13 +0000 From: C.A.Rowley@uk.ac.open Subject: Misinformation corner: Spotted in Springer's blurb for `TeX in Practice'. "Recently, fairly good TEX(sic) implementations have come out for PCs" Phew, it's a good job that very good ones came out a long time ago, isn't it? chris ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 29 Oct 1993 17:59:50 +0000 From: Philip Taylor (RHBNC) Subject: RE: Misinformation corner: >> Phew, it's a good job that very good ones came out a long time ago, >> isn't it? I should think that Stefan wrote the blurb when he first started on the opus! ** Phil. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 01 Nov 1993 10:13:14 +0000 From: dean.ayres@uk.orgn.aea Subject: Setting the default encoding in NFSS2 I'm trying to set-up NFSS2 to use the T1 encoding. The basic setup uses the OT1 encoding by default (with the cm fonts) but to use PostScript fonts I want to switch to T1 by default (including the dc computer modern fonts). What changes should I make to the files used to make the format? Thanks, Dean Dean Ayres AEA Technology Winfrith Dorchester Dorset DT2 8DH United Kingdom Tel + 44 305 251888 Fax + 44 305 202044 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 01 Nov 1993 11:23:46 +0100 From: Schoepf%de.zib-berlin.sc@uk.ac.nsfnet-relay Subject: Re: Setting the default encoding in NFSS2 Dean Ayres writes: > I'm trying to set-up NFSS2 to use the T1 encoding. The basic setup uses the OT1 > encoding by default (with the cm fonts) but to use PostScript fonts I want t o > switch to T1 by default (including the dc computer modern fonts). > > What changes should I make to the files used to make the format? None. Enter \renewcommand{\encodingdefault}{T1} immediately before \dump Rainer Schoepf Konrad-Zuse-Zentrum fuer Informationstechnik Berlin Heilbronner Strasse 10 D-10711 Berlin Federal Republic of Germany or ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 01 Nov 1993 10:23:56 +0000 From: spqr@uk.ac.tex.ftp Subject: Re: Setting the default encoding in NFSS2 > I'm trying to set-up NFSS2 to use the T1 encoding. The basic setup > uses the OT1 encoding by default (with the cm fonts) but to use > PostScript fonts I want to switch to T1 by default (including the > dc computer modern fonts). one way is to do \def\encodingdefault{T1} before you type \dump when making the format. maybe also a \fontencoding{T1} for good measure. thats what i do, anyway, and it works. sebastian ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 03 Nov 1993 14:37:43 +0000 From: A.F.Lack@uk.ac.city Subject: creating new modes for mf I have been trying to create my own mode_def for use with EmTeX's metafont. It looks like I need to create my own version of "cm.base" which I think is made as follows: C:\EMTEX> mf286 This is Metafont .... * input plain * input local ...(can't remember exactly...) When I do the first "input plain" I get the following error: Preloading the plain base, version 2.0: preliminaries, basic constants and mathematical macros, ! Missing `)' has been inserted. (future pen) l.82 capsule_def(pensquare ) makepen(unitsquare shifted -(.5,.5)); ? (I have also tried this with my Unix version and got the same result.) Clearly I am doing something wrong. Any ideas? AFL ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 03 Nov 1993 17:48:55 +0000 From: d.a.davies@uk.ac.bham (David Davies) Subject: Latex -> anything! Does anyone know of a filter for something like ClarisWorks, BBEdit or whatever that will convert a heavily formatted Latex document into RTF or some other WP-friendly format. I've got a copy of Oztex and it's unwieldly to say the least (not to mention 7Mb). All I want to be able to get at is the words, I don't actually mind about the formatting though it would be nice to retain it. The Latex formatting codes look simple enough for someone to have written a BBEdit extension to handle them. Any clues anyone? David Davies Department of Physiology, The Medical School, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT. UK. Tel No - +44-(0)-21-414-6898 Fax - +44-(0)-21-414-6924 Janet - D.A.Davies@uk.ac.bham Internet - D.A.Davies@bham.ac.uk WWW - http://med152.bham.ac.uk/http/signatures/davies.html ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 04 Nov 1993 23:54:59 +0000 From: M.Carriba@uk.ac.sheffield.dcs Subject: Searching for items in UK CTAN I guess the UK node of the CTAN provides the facility to search for the location of some specific files, directories or both if you don't know exactly wehre they're placed in directory tree. Can someone tell me the commands or give a short explanation how I can do this? It should work similar to archie's query. Cheers, Manuel Carriba (M.Carriba@dcs.shef.ac.uk) ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 05 Nov 1993 10:55:32 +0000 From: spqr@uk.ac.tex.ftp Subject: Re: Searching for items in UK CTAN > I guess the UK node of the CTAN provides the facility to search for > the location of some specific files, directories or both if you don't > know exactly wehre they're placed in directory tree. if you use ftp, the command quote site index foo searches the file list for the word "foo". is that what you mean > I can do this? It should work similar to archie's query. "should" is a strong word. sebastian ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 02 Nov 1993 15:40:51 +0100 From: "Johannes L. Braams" Subject: New version of subeqnarray available shortly Hi, Today I have put a new version of the subeqnarray option in the incoming directory of ftp.tex.ac.uk. I am sure it will find its way to the proper place in CTAN shortly. The difference between this version, 2.0 and the previous one, 1.1, is that it now checks if the user specified either one (or both) of the options leqno and fleqn. Regards, Johannes Braams PTT Research, P.O. box 421, 2260 AK Leidschendam, The Netherlands. 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