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diff --git a/Master/texmf-dist/doc/generic/FAQ-en/html/FAQ-erroradvice.html b/Master/texmf-dist/doc/generic/FAQ-en/html/FAQ-erroradvice.html new file mode 100644 index 00000000000..52223c34168 --- /dev/null +++ b/Master/texmf-dist/doc/generic/FAQ-en/html/FAQ-erroradvice.html @@ -0,0 +1,71 @@ +<head> +<title>UK TeX FAQ -- question label erroradvice</title> +</head><body> +<h3>How to approach errors</h3> +<p/>Since TeX is a macroprocessor, its error messages are often +difficult to understand; this is a (seemingly invariant) property of +macroprocessors. Knuth makes light of the problem in the TeXbook, +suggesting that you acquire the sleuthing skills of a latter-day +Sherlock Holmes; while this approach has a certain romantic charm to +it, it’s not good for the ‘production’ user of (La)TeX. This +answer (derived, in part, from an article by Sebastian Rahtz in +<i>TUGboat</i> 16(4)) offers some general guidance in dealing with TeX +error reports, and other answers in this section deal with common (but +perplexing) errors that you may encounter. There’s a long list of +“hints” in Sebastian’s article, including the following: +<ul> +<li> Look at TeX errors; those messages may seem cryptic at first, + but they often contain a straightforward clue to the problem. See + <a href="FAQ-errstruct.html">the structure of errors</a> for further + details. +<li> Read the <code>.log</code> file; it contains hints to things you may + not understand, often things that have not even presented as error + messages. +<li> Be aware of the amount of context that TeX gives you. The + error messages gives you some bits of TeX code (or of the + document itself), that show where the error “actually happened”; + it’s possible to control how much of this ‘context’ TeX actually + gives you. LaTeX (nowadays) instructs TeX only to give you + one line of context, but you may tell it otherwise by saying +<blockquote> +<pre> +\setcounter{errorcontextlines}{999} +</pre> +</blockquote><p> + in the preamble of your document. (If you’re not a confident macro + programmer, don’t be ashamed of cutting that 999 down a bit; some + errors will go on and <em>on</em>, and spotting the differences + between those lines can be a significant challenge.) +<li> As a last resort, tracing can be a useful tool; reading a full + (La)TeX trace takes a strong constitution, but once you know how, + the trace can lead you quickly to the source of a problem. You need + to have read the TeXbook (see + + <a href="FAQ-books.html">books about TeX</a>) in some detail, fully + to understand the trace. +<p/> The command <code>\</code><code>tracingall</code> sets up maximum tracing; it also sets + the output to come to the interactive terminal, which is somewhat of + a mixed blessing (since the output tends to be so vast — all but + the simplest traces are best examined in a text editor after the event). +<p/> The LaTeX <i>trace</i> package (first distributed with the + 2001 release of LaTeX) provides more manageable tracing. Its + <code>\</code><code>traceon</code> command gives you what <code>\</code><code>tracingall</code> offers, but + suppresses tracing around some of the truly verbose parts of + LaTeX itself. The package also provides a <code>\</code><code>traceoff</code> + command (there’s no “off” command for <code>\</code><code>tracingall</code>), and a + package option (<code>logonly</code>) allows you to suppress output to the + terminal. +</ul> +The best advice to those faced with TeX errors is not to panic: +most of the common errors are plain to the eye when you go back to the +source line that TeX tells you of. If that approach doesn’t work, +the remaining answers in this section deal with some of the odder +error messages you may encounter. You should not ordinarily need to +appeal to the <a href="FAQ-gethelp.html">wider public</a> +for assistance, but if you do, be sure to +report full backtraces (see <code>errorcontextlines</code> above) and so on. +<dl> +<dt><tt><i>trace.sty</i></tt><dd>Distributed as part of <a href="ftp://cam.ctan.org/tex-archive/macros/latex/required/tools.zip">macros/latex/required/tools</a> (<a href="ftp://cam.ctan.org/tex-archive/macros/latex/required/tools.tar.gz">gzipped tar</a>, <a href="http://www.tex.ac.uk/tex-archive/macros/latex/required/tools/">browse</a>) +</dl> +<p/><p>This question on the Web: <a href="http://www.tex.ac.uk/cgi-bin/texfaq2html?label=erroradvice">http://www.tex.ac.uk/cgi-bin/texfaq2html?label=erroradvice</a> +</body> |