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+% $Id: faq-support.tex,v 1.2 2009/07/11 12:28:34 rf10 Exp $
+
+\section{Support Packages for \TeX{}}
+
+\Question[Q-xfigetc]{\AllTeX{}-friendly drawing packages}
+\AliasQuestion{Q-xfig}
+\AliasQuestion{Q-figetc}
+
+\ProgName{(X)Fig} is a menu driven tool that allows you to
+draw objects on the screen of an \acro{X} workstation; \ProgName{transfig}
+is a set of tools which translate the code \ProgName{fig}. The list
+of export formats is very long, and includes \MF{} and \MP{},
+Encapsulated \PS{} and \acro{PDF}, as well as combinations that wrap
+a graphics format in a \LaTeX{} import file, which may include
+\LaTeX{} commands to place text (compiled by \LaTeX{} itself) as
+labels, etc., in the figures.
+
+There's no explicit port of \ProgName{xfig} to windows (although it is
+said to work under \ProgName{cygwin} with their X-windows system~---
+\href{http://www.cs.usask.ca/~wew036/latex/xfig.html}{installation advice}
+is available).
+However, the program % ! line break
+\href{http://tech-www.informatik.uni-hamburg.de/applets/javafig/}{\ProgName{jfig}}
+is thought by many to be an acceptable substitute, written in Java.
+
+\ProgName{Asymptote} is a widely-praised development of the \MP{}
+language, which can draw 2D or 3D diagrams, and can also label
+diagrams with \LaTeX{} text; copious documentation is available via
+\href{http://asymptote.sourceforge.net}{\ProgName{asymptote}'s web site}.
+\begin{ctanrefs}
+\item[asymptote]\CTANref{asymptote}
+\item[xfig]\CTANref{xfig}
+\item[transfig]\CTANref{transfig}
+\end{ctanrefs}
+
+\Question[Q-texcad]{\TeX{}\acro{CAD}, a drawing package for \LaTeX{}}
+
+\TeX{}\acro{CAD} is a program for the \acro{PC} which enables the user to draw diagrams
+on screen using a mouse or arrow keys, with an on-screen menu of available
+picture-elements. Its output is code for the \LaTeX{}
+\environment{picture} environment.
+Optionally, it can be set to include lines at all angles using
+the em\TeX{} driver-family
+\htmlignore
+\csx{special}s (\Qref{}{Q-specials}).
+\endhtmlignore
+\begin{htmlversion}
+\Qref{\csx{special}s}{Q-specials}.
+\end{htmlversion}
+\TeX{}\acro{CAD} is part of the em\TeX{} distribution.
+
+A Unix port of the program (\ProgName{xtexcad}) has been made.
+\begin{ctanrefs}
+\item[emtex]\CTANref{emtex}
+\item[xtexcad]\CTANref{xtexcad}
+\end{ctanrefs}
+
+\Question[Q-spell]{Spelling checkers for work with \TeX{}}
+
+For Unix, \ProgName{ispell} was long the program of choice; it is well
+integrated with \ProgName{emacs}, and deals with some \TeX{} syntax.
+However, it has more-or-less been replaced everywhere, by
+\ProgName{aspell}, which was designed as a successor, and certainly
+performs better on most metrics; there remains some question as to its
+performance with \AllTeX{} sources.
+
+For Windows, there is a good spell checker incorporated into many of
+the \Qref*{shell/editor}{Q-editors} combinations that are available.
+The spell checker from the (now defunct) 4All\TeX{} shell remains
+available as a separate package, \ProgName{4spell}.
+
+For the Macintosh, \ProgName{Excalibur} is the program of choice. It
+will run in native mode on both sorts of Macintosh. The distribution
+comes with dictionaries for several languages.
+
+The \acro{VMS} Pascal program \ProgName{spell} makes special cases of
+some important features of \LaTeX{} syntax.
+
+For \MSDOS{}, there are several programs. \ProgName{Amspell} can be
+called from within an editor, and \ProgName{jspell} is an extended
+version of \ProgName{ispell}.
+\begin{ctanrefs}
+\item[4spell]\CTANref{4spell}
+\item[amspell]\CTANref{amspell}
+\item[aspell]Browse \CTANref{aspell}~--- choose just those language
+ dictionaries (under subdirectory \File{dict/}) that you need.
+\item[excalibur]\CTANref{Excalibur}
+\item[ispell]\CTANref{ispell}
+\item[jspell]\CTANref{jspell}
+\item[\nothtml{\bgroup\rmfamily}\acro{VMS}\nothtml{\egroup} spell]%
+ \CTANref{vmspell}
+\item[winedt]\CTANref{winedt}
+\end{ctanrefs}
+
+\Question[Q-wordcount]{How many words have you written?}
+
+One often has to submit a document (e.g., a paper or a dissertation)
+under some sort of constraint about its size. Sensible people set a
+constraint in terms of numbers of pages, but there are some that
+persist in limiting the numbers of words you type.
+
+A simple solution to the requirement can be achieved following a
+simple observation: the powers that be are unlikely to count all the
+words of a document submitted to them. Therefore, a statistical
+method can be employed: find how many words there are on a full page;
+find how many full pages there are in the document (allowing for
+displays of various sorts, this number will probably not be an
+integer); multiply the two. However, if the document to be submitted
+is to determine the success of the rest of one's life, it takes a
+brave person to thumb their nose at authority quite so
+comprehensively\dots{}
+
+The simplest method is to strip out the \AllTeX{} markup, and to count
+what's left. On a Unix-like system, this may be done using
+\ProgName{detex} and the built-in \ProgName{wc}:
+\begin{verbatim}
+ detex <filename> | wc -w
+\end{verbatim}
+The \ProgName{latexcount} script does the same sort of job, in one
+``step''; being a \ProgName{perl} script, it is in principle rather
+easily configured (see documentation inside the script).
+\ProgName{Winedt} (see \Qref[question]{editors and shells}{Q-editors})
+provides this functionality direct in the Windows environment.
+
+\ProgName{TeXcount} also goes a long way with heuristics for counting,
+starting from a \LaTeX{} file; the documentation is comprehensive, and
+you may try the script on-line via the % ! line break
+\begin{wideversion}
+ \href{http://folk.uio.no/einarro/Comp/texwordcount.html}{package home page}.
+\end{wideversion}
+\begin{narrowversion}
+ package home page~(see
+ \URL{http://folk.uio.no/einarro/Comp/texwordcount.html}).
+\end{narrowversion}
+Even quite sophisticated stripping of \AllTeX{} markup can never be
+entirely reliable, however: that markup itself may contribute typeset
+words, and this could be a problem. The \Package{wordcount} package
+contains a Bourne shell (i.e., typically Unix) script for running a
+\LaTeX{} file with a special piece of supporting \TeX{} code, and then
+counting word indications in the log file. This is probably as
+accurate automatic counting as you can get, if it works for you.
+\begin{ctanrefs}
+\item[detex]\CTANref{detex}
+\item[latexcount.pl]\CTANref{latexcount}
+\item[TeXcount]\CTANref{texcount}
+\item[wordcount]\CTANref{wordcount}
+\end{ctanrefs}
+