path: root/info/slitex.hlp

!!! ======================================================================
!!!  @Digital-HELP-Text-file{
!!!     filename        = "slitex.hlp",
!!!     version         = "1.0",
!!!     date            = "12 January 1993",
!!!     ISO-date        = "1993.01.12",
!!!     time            = "14:21:12.28 CST",
!!!     author          = "George D. Greenwade",
!!!     address         = "Department of Economics and Business Analysis
!!!                        College of Business Administration
!!!                        P. O. Box 2118
!!!                        Sam Houston State University
!!!                        Huntsville, Texas, USA 77341-2118",
!!!     email           = "bed_gdg@SHSU.edu (Internet)
!!!                        BED_GDG@SHSU     (BITNET)
!!!                        SHSU::BED_GDG    (THENET)",
!!!     telephone       = "(409) 294-1266",
!!!     FAX             = "(409) 294-3712",
!!!     supported       = "yes",
!!!     archived        = "*Niord.SHSU,edu:[FILESERV.VMS-LATEX-HELP]",
!!!     keywords        = "VMS, help, librarian, LaTeX, SliTeX",
!!!     codetable       = "ISO/ASCII",
!!!     checksum        = "14634 365 2395 16612",
!!!     docstring       = "This is a replacement for SLITEX.HLP in the VMS
!!!                        Help Library.  It is a modification of the DECUS
!!!                        SLITEX.HLP file with the LaTeX command strings
!!!                        copied into a higher level so that the command
!!!                          HELP SLITEX COMMAND topic
!!!                        is immediately accessible.
!!!                        
!!!                        The checksum field above contains a CRC-16
!!!                        checksum as the first value, followed by the
!!!                        equivalent of the standard UNIX wc (word 
!!!                        count) utility output of lines, words, and
!!!                        characters.  This is produced by Robert 
!!!                        Solovay's checksum utility."
!!! }
!!! ======================================================================
1 SliTeX
      The SliTeX command typesets a file of text using the TeX program
 and  the  SliTeX  Macro  package  for  TeX.   To be more specific, it
 processes an input file  containing  the  text  of  a  document  with
 interspersed commands that describe how the text should be formatted.
 It produces two files as output, a Device Independent (DVI) file that
 contains  commands that can be translated into commands for a variety
 of output devices, and a `transcript' or  `log  file'  that  contains
 summary information and diagnostic messages for any errors discovered
 in the input file.

 SliTeX is a version of LaTeX designed for making color slides, though
 you  can use it for black-and-white slides as well.  You don't need a
 special  printer  to  make  color  slides;  SliTeX  uses   the   same
 black-and-white  printer  as  LaTeX.  You get color slides by copying
 SliTeX's output onto colored transparencies.

 For a description of what goes on inside TeX, you should consult  The
 TeXbook by Donald E.  Knuth, ISBN 0-201-13448-9, published jointly by
 the  American  Mathematical  Society  and  Addison-Wesley  Publishing
 Company.

 For a description of SliTeX, you should  consult  Appendix  A  of  "A
 Document   Preparation   System:   LaTeX"  by  Leslie  Lamport,  ISBN
 0-201-15790-X, published jointly by the American Mathematical Society
 and Addison-Wesley Publishing Company.

 Format:

    SLITEX input-file
2 Parameters
 input-file, ...

 The input file specification indicates the file to be formatted;  TeX
 uses  TEX  as  a  default file extension.  If you omit the input file
 entirely, TeX accepts input from the terminal.  You  specify  command
 options  using  the conventional VAX/VMS arrangement -- options begin
 with a slash mark (/), and are placed following the command  name  or
 following the input file specification.

 Output files are always created in the  current  directory;  the  DVI
 file  has  the file type DVI, and the log file has the file type LIS.
 When you fail to specify an input file name,  TeX  bases  the  output
 names  on  the  file  specification  associated with the logical name
 TEX_OUTPUT.
2 Qualifiers
/FORMAT

 /FORMAT=[file-spec]            D=/FORMAT=TEX_FORMATS:SPLAIN

 Indicates which format file TeX uses upon  activation.   The  default
 format  file  is  TEX_FORMATS:SPLAIN.FMT.   This is the SLITeX format
 discussed in Appendix A of "A Document Preparation System:  LaTeX."
/INIT
 /INIT
 /NOINIT

 Indicates that you wish run TeX in  the  initialization,  or  INITeX,
 mode.  This mode is used to compile format files.
/BATCH
 Set batch mode -- no interaction on  errors  and  no  output  to  the
 terminal.  Normally, TeX is set up for interactive use; it stops when
 it encounters an error and allows  you  to  correct  it,  and  prints
 status  and  diagnostic  information  at  the  terminal.   The /BATCH
 setting is preferred for batch use; TeX will  barrel  on  through  as
 though  you  had specified `BATCHMODE' in the input file or typed `Q'
 in response to the first error message.
/OUTPUT
 /OUTPUT[=file-spec]
 /NOOUTPUT

 Controls where the output of the command is  sent.   If  you  do  not
 enter  the  qualifier,  or  if  you  enter  /OUTPUT  without  a  file
 specification, the output is sent to a file with the same name as the
 input file, only with the extension .DVI.

 If you enter /NOOUTPUT, output is suppressed.
/LOG_FILE
 /LOG_FILE[=file-spec]
 /NOLOG_FILE

 Controls where the  log output of the command is sent.  If you do not 
 enter  the  qualifier,  or  if  you  enter  /LOG_FILE without  a file
 specification,  the  log  output is  sent to the a file with the same
 name as the input file, only with the extension .LIS.

 If you enter /NOLOG_FILE, the log output file is suppressed.
/TEXFONTS
 /TEXFONTS=(name,...)                   D=/TEXFONTS=TEX_FONTS:

 Specify directories containing TeX Font Metric (TFM) font  definition
 files,  and  the  order in which they will be searched to locate each
 TFM file.  A null value in the list indicates the current  directory.
 The  search procedure TeX uses to locate font files is to search each
 of directories specified by the /TEXFONTS option.

 A complete TFM file name specification is formed by combining  a  TFM
 file  name  from  the input file with a default directory and default
 file type of TFM.  It is normal practice to  specify  only  a  simple
 file  name  in  the input file and let TeX supply the defaults, since
 this tends to protect the user  from  installation  dependencies  and
 changes  to  TeX.   When  searching  for  a  TFM  file,  TeX will try
 alternate default directories until it finds the TFM file or runs out
 of alternatives.

 Default  is  /TEXFONTS=(TEX_FONTS);  TeX  looks  in   the   directory
 associated with the logical name TEX_FONTS for font definition files.
/TEXINPUTS
 /TEXINPUTS=(name,...)

 Specify directories containing input files, and the  order  in  which
 they will be searched to locate each input file.  A null value in the
 list indicates the current directory.  This qualifier operates  in  a
 manner similar to /TEXFONTS.  The search procedure TeX uses to locate
 input files is to first search the default directory and then  search
 each of the directories specified by the /TEXINPUTS option.

 Default  is  /TEXINPUTS=(TEX_INPUTS);  TeX  looks  in  the  directory
 associated with the logical name TEX_INPUTS.
/TEXFORMATS
 /TEXFORMATS=(name,...)

 Specify directories containing format files, and the order  in  which
 they will be searched to locate each input file.  A null value in the
 list indicates the current directory.  This qualifier operates  in  a
 manner similar to /TEXFONTS.  The search procedure TeX uses to locate
 input files is to search each of the  directories  specified  by  the
 /TEXFORMATS option.

 Default is /TEXFORMATS=(TEX_FORMATS);  TeX  looks  in  the  directory
 associated with the logical name TEX_FORMATS.
/EDITOR
 /EDITOR=name                   D=/EDITOR=(TEX_EDIT:)
 /NOEDITOR

 Specify the editor TeX is to use when the "e" (edit) option  is  used
 when TeX finds an error.  The editors can be callable editors such as
 TPU or EDT, or command procedures.  This works similarly to  how  the
 MAIL program allows use of editors under SEND/EDIT.

 The default is  to  use  the  editor  defined  by  the  logical  name
 TEX_EDIT.

 Valid callable editors are EDT, TPU, and LSE.  Any other editor  must
 be called by way of a command procedure.
/DIAGNOSTICS
 /DIAGNOSTICS=[file-spec]
 /NODIAGNOSTICS

 Create a Diagnostics file for the Language Sensitive Editor (LSE).
/JOBNAME_SYMBOL
 /JOBNAME_SYMBOL

 Indicates the name of a symbol in which TeX should store the name  of
 the DVI file it writes.  Default is /JOBNAME_SYMBOL=TEX_JOBNAME.
/CONTINUE
 /CONTINUE
 /NOCONTINUE [D]

 Indicates that TeX should continue after editing a file.
2 Root_File
 SliTeX is a separate program that you run the same way you run LaTeX,
 giving  it  the  first name of an input file whose file type is .tex.
 This file is called the root file.  For  example,  myfile.tex.   This
 file  starts  out  with  the  customary  \documentstyle command.  The
 standard document style for making slides is slides so your  file  is
 likely to begin

        \documentstyle{slides}

 The commands are followed by any declarations that you  may  want  to
 make, followed in turn by the \begin{document} command.

 Any text that comes after the \begin{document} is treated  as  "front
 matter"  and  not  as  slide  material.   You can use it for notes to
 identify the slides.

 For SliTeX to produce color slides, you have to tell it  what  colors
 you  will  be  using.   This  is  done with the \colors command.  The
 command

        \colors{red,black,blue}

 states that you will be using three colors, which you have named red,
 black,  and  blue.   SliTeX  knows  nothing about real colors, so you
 could just as well have called your three  colors  puce,  mauve,  and
 fred.   If  you're making only black-and-white slides, then you don't
 need a \colors command.

 The text of your slides is contained not  in  myfile.tex,  but  in  a
 separate  slide file.  This file can have any name that ends in .tex;
 for example, myslid.tex.  What  goes  into  the  file  myslid.tex  is
 explained  under  Slide_File  for this topic.  Black-and-white slides
 are generated by placing the following command in the root file:

        \blackandwhite{myslid}

 Color slides are generated by the command

        \colorslides{myslid}

 The \colorslides command generates a set of  color  layer  pages  for
 each  color  specified  by  the  \colors  command.   For example, the
 command

        \colors{red,black,blue}

 causes a subsequent \colorslides command to generate  first  all  the
 red color-layer pages, then the black ones, and then the blue ones.

 As usual, your root file ends with an \end{document} command.
2 Slide_File
 The main purpose of the root file is to tell SliTeX  what  colors  to
 use  and  where  to find the slide file, so the root file tends to be
 pretty short.  It's the slide file that actually makes the individual
 slides.
3 Slides
 Each slide is produced by a slide environment.  This environment  has
 a single argument, which is a list of all the colors contained on the
 slide.  For example, a slide that has the  colors  red  and  blue  is
 created by an environment

        \begin{slide}{red,blue}
        ...
        \end{slide}

 The colors in the argument must  have  been  declared  by  a  \colors
 command  in  the  root  file.  They tell SliTeX which color layers to
 produce for this particular slide.  If there is  green  text  in  the
 slide,  that  text will appear in the black-and-white version, but no
 green color layer will be generated unless green is included  in  the
 slide  environment's  argument.   If  you  want  only black-and-white
 slides, then you can use a null argument:

        \begin{slide}{}
        ...
        \end{slide}

 The text that appears on a slide is  produced  using  ordinary  LaTeX
 commands.   You  can  use  any  commands  that make sense for slides.
 Commands that don't make sense include  sectioning  commands,  figure
 and  table environments, indexing commands, commands for generating a
 bibliography, and page-breaking commands.  The latter make  no  sense
 in a slide because each slide must fit on a single page.  You can use
 an \input  command,  but  not  an  \include  command.   Commands  for
 producing only some of the slides in your slide file are described in
 Making_Some_Slides within this topic.

 There are two major differences between the text generated by  SliTeX
 and  that  generated  by  LaTeX.  First of all, text is automatically
 centered vertically on the slide.   Secondly,  and  most  noticeable,
 SliTeX  uses  a  set of type faces especially chosen for slides.  The
 characters in these type faces are much larger than the ones  in  the
 corresponding   LaTeX  type  faces.   SliTeX's  \normalsize  produces
 roughly the same size characters as LaTeX's \LARGE.   Also,  SliTeX's
 ordinary  Roman  type  style  is similar to LaTeX's sans serif style.
 Besides Roman, the only other type  styles  generally  available  are
 italic (\it), bold (\bf), and typewriter (\tt).

 The only commands you need inside a  slide  that  aren't  present  in
 ordinary  LaTeX input are ones to tell SliTeX what color the text is.
 The \colors command in your root file defines  the  declarations  for
 doing  this.   For  example,  if  the  root file contains the command
 \colors{red,black,blue},   then   \red,   \black,   and   \blue   are
 declarations  that  specify the color.  They work just like any other
 declaration, such as \bf, having the same scoping rules.

 A color declaration does not affect the type style.

 Text in which there is no color declaration in effect appears on  all
 color  layers.   For  example,  if  you  make  no  color declarations
 anywhere in your slide file, then all color layers will be  identical
 to  the  black  and white versions.  Note that color declarations are
 undefined in the root file.

 The command \invisible is a special color declaration  for  invisible
 text.   Invisible  text  is not only colorless, appearing in no color
 layer, but does not appear in  the  black-and-white  version  either.
 The use of invisible text is explained below.

 WARNING:  Don't use a color declaration or an  invisible  command  in
 math mode.
3 Overlays
 The overlay environment is exactly the same as the slide  environment
 except  for  how  the  page is numbered.  The first overlay following
 slide number 9 is numbered "9a", the second one is numbered "9b", and
 so  forth.   To  make an overlay that perfectly overlays a slide, the
 slide and the overlay should be absolutely identical except that text
 visible in one should be invisible in the other.
3 Notes
 It is sometimes convenient to put  notes  to  yourself  in  with  the
 slides.   The  note environment produces a one-page note that appears
 only in the black-and-white  versions  of  the  slides.   Notes  that
 follow slide number 9 are numbered "9-1", "9-2"", etc.

 For example,
        \begin{note}
        This is the note for the current slide.
        etc.
        \end{note}
2 Making_Some_Slides
 For making corrections, it's handy to be able to produce a subset  of
 the slides in your file.  The command

        \onlyslides{4,7-13,23}

 in  the  root  file  will  cause  the  following  \blackandwhite  and
 \colorslides  commands  to  generate  only  slides  numbered  4, 7-13
 (inclusive) and 23, plus all of their overlays.  The slide numbers in
 the  argument must be in ascending order, and can include nonexistent
 slides---for example, you can type

        \onlyslides{10-9999}

 to produce all but the  first  nine  slides.   The  argument  of  the
 \onlyslides command must be non-empty.

 There is also an analogous \onlynotes command to generate a subset of
 the notes.  Notes numbered 11-1, 11-2, etc.  will all be generated by
 specifying page 11 in the argument of the \onlynotes command.

 If your input has an \onlyslides command and no  \onlynotes  command,
 then notes will be produced for the specified slides.  If there is an
 \onlynotes command but no \onlyslide command, then no slides will  be
 produced.   Including  both  an \onlyslides and an \onlynotes command
 has the expected effect of producing only the  specified  slides  and
 notes.