%% file: TXSletr.doc - Letters and Memos - TeXsis 2.18 %% @(#) $Id: TXSletr.doc,v 18.3 2000/06/01 21:54:30 myers Exp $ %======================================================================* % (C) Copyright 1989, 1992, 1994, 1997 by Eric Myers and Frank E. Paige % This file is a part of TeXsis. Distribution and/or modifications % are allowed under the terms of the LaTeX Project Public License (LPPL). % See the file COPYING or ftp://ftp.texsis.org/texsis/LPPL %======================================================================* \ifx\undefined\bs \texsis\input TXSdocM.doc\input Manual.aux\draft\fi \section{Letters, Memos and Referee Reports \label{sect.letr}} The commands \CS{letter}, \cs{memo}, \cs{referee} and \cs{formLetters} invoke special styles for producing letters or memos. The letter formats follow closely the letter format given in Appendix~E of \TeXbook, although there are some differences and some additions. \index{letters} \subsection{Letters} \CS{letter} is designed for typing basic business-style letters on letterhead stationary. It uses the following commands: \description{~closing\qquad}\clump \itm{\CS{letter}} Initialize the letter format. \itm{\CS{dated}\arg{date}} Sets the current date to be \meta{date} rather than today's date. This redefines \cs{today} to be the date you give. If omitted, \cs{today} just gives the current date. \itm{\CS{withEnvelope}} Signals that an envelope should also be printed. See Section~\use{sect.env} to find out how this works. \itm{\CS{letterhead}\arg{phone-ext}} Puts the date and phone number \ at the top of the page, so that it will appear near the letterhead when the letter is printed on your institutional stationary. \itm{\CS{address}} The name and address of the recipient should follow, in \cs{obeylines} format. The first line is used as the name of the addressee in a running headline for pages after the first. \itm{\CS{body}} Begins the body of the letter. The line immediately below this should be the opening salutation, (e.g. ``Dear Ann Landers,''). \itm{\CS{closing}} Begins the closing material, in \cs{obeylines} format. The first line following is the closing salutation (e.g. "Sincerely Yours,") and the second is the sender's name. When the letter is printed, room is left for a signature. Optional additional lines can be added after the name for the sender's title, or similar information. \itm{\CS{annotations}} Optional annotations follow, in \cs{obeylines} format. \itm{\CS{cc}} Carbon copy. A "cc:" and the names following are printed, properly aligned. \itm{\CS{Encl}} Enclosure. This is like \CS{cc} but "Encl:" is printed for a list of enclosures. \itm{\CS{ps}} Optional postscript follows. This is not in \cs{obeylines} format. \itm{\CS{endletter}\qquad} Ends the letter. You can say \cs{bye} instead. \enddescription The \CS{letter} document format automatically sets up a running headline for all pages after the first, containing the addressee's name (taken from the first line following \cs{address}), the date, and the page number. If you wish, you can turn off these running headlines by saying \cs{nopagenumbers}. If you want to change the name of the addressee you can simply redefine the macro called \CS{addressee} anytime after \cs{address} has been used (using \cs{gdef}, so that the re-definition exists outside of the group used to enclose the address). Or, if you don't want the person's name used at all, simply redefine \CS{addressee} to be empty, like so: |\gdef\addressee{}|. \bigskip The use of some of these macros is illustrated by the following example: \TeXexample \texsis \letter \dated{1 April 1999} \letterhead{7734} \address Prof.~D. Knuth Stanford University Stanford, CA~94305 \gdef\addressee{Knuth, the \TeX\ God} \body Dear Prof.~Knuth: We enclose the documentation and source code for a \TeX\ macro package which we have developed for physics papers. \closing Sincerely yours, Eric Myers Frank E.~Paige \ps This stuff is also available by anonymous ftp. \endletter |endTeXexample By default the closing material is indented about 3.5 inches. The actual amount is set by \CS{longindent}, which you can change. You should put the change on the same line as the \CS{closing}, like so:\index{letters!adjusting size} \TeXexample \closing\longindent=0pt Sincerely yours, Joe User |endTeXexample \noindent This example puts the closing material flush with the left margin. You should not put \CS{longindent}|=0pt| on the line following, because \CS{closing} uses that line as the closing salutation (like ``Sincerely,''). The default ``letterhead'' created by \CS{letterhead} is pretty plain -- it just puts the date and phone number at the top of the page. The idea is that you can put your own office letterhead stationary in the printer and when you print the letter on this paper the date and phone number will be in an appropriate position.\Footnote*{If you can't put stationary in your printer you can copy it onto stationary with a copying machine.} Alternatively, you can create a different letterhead macro to actually print a letterhead at the top of the page. The physics department at Excited State University could have a custom |\ESUletterhead| macro which prints their logo and letterhead (it should still take a phone number as an argument, to make it easier to switch between |\ESUletterhead| and |\letterhead|.) These kind of custom macro definitions should be put in a local site file, as described in Appendix~\use{install}. If a letter is somewhat too short or too long to fit on a page, its length can be adjusted indirectly by changing the width of the text. To do this insert \CS{letterwidth}\arg{width} immediately after \cs{letter} to set the width of the text. Not only does this change the \cs{hsize} to the size you specify, but it also adjusts the margins and centers the text appropriately (so it is preferable to simply changing the \cs{hsize}). \bigskip A simple Unix shell script called \idx{{\tt letr}} is included with the current \TeXsis\ distribution to make it easier to compose letters. Saying \TeXexample letr -m Hutu |endTeXexample will create a template file |Hutu.tex|, if there is not already a file by that name, and then start you editing the file. It then automatically runs your file through \TeXsis, and the envelope file too if it exists (see the next section). The |-m| flag, which is optional, should tell your printer to go into ``manual feed'' mode to wait for you to feed in your own stationary. (Manual feed mode is always selected for an envelope printed by |letr|.) Keep in mind that this only works on Unix and the script has to be executable and exist in your ``path''. Ask a local wizard for help if you don't know what this means. %======================================================================* \subsection{Envelopes \label{sect.env}} Many laser printers can print on envelopes, as long as you arrange to put the address and return address in the right place, and print the material in ``landscape'' mode (turned 90\degree\ on the page). The simplest way to do this is to simply say \CS{withEnvelope} at the beginning of your file, after the \cs{letter}. When you run your letter through \TeXsis, it will then create a file with the same name but an extension of |.env|, which contains the commands to print the envelope. Run {\sl that} file through \TeXsis\ and print the output in landscape mode and you will get your envelope. If you are using |dvips| the appropriate command is \example |dvips -m -t landscape myfile.dvi| \endexample The ``|-t landscape|'' rotates the output, while the ``|-m|'' puts the printer in manual feed mode so that you can feed in the envelope. You will have to figure out how your printer wants the envelopes to be fed to it. Some take the envelope down the middle, while others want it over to one side or another. You can adjust for different envelope sizes, or shift the position of the printing over a bit to make it easier to feed in the envelope, by changing the parameters \CS{EnvlWidth}, \CS{EnvlHeight}, and \CS{ENvlVoffset}. The default values are \TeXexample \newdimen\EnvlWidth \EnvlWidth=24cm \newdimen\EnvlHeight \EnvlHeight=10.5cm \newdimen\EnvlVoffset \EnvlVoffset=1.25in |endTeXexample The actual printing of the envelope is done by the macro \CS{MakeEnvelope}, which takes two arguments. The first is the address, while the second is the return address. Line endings in either are respected, or you can use \cs{n} to cause a line break. Saying \CS{withEnvelope} simply causes a \CS{MakeEnvelope} command to be written to the |.env| file when you say \cs{endletter} or \cs{bye}. You can edit that file before your run it through \TeXsis\ if you don't like the form of the address or return address. Alternatively, \CS{withEnvelope} will use the two macros \CS{theSignature} and \CS{ReturnAddress} to construct the return address. The default value for \CS{theSignature} is taken to be the name appearing after the closing salutation, below \cs{closing}. If you want to change it to something else you should include a new definition {\em after} the \cs{closing}, using |\gdef|. For example, \TeXexample \closing Sincerely yours, Joe User \gdef\theSignature{Joe's Mamma} |endTeXexample This would use ``Joe's Mamma'' as the name on the return address, even though ``Joe User'' would appear in the closing of the letter. %======================================================================* \pagecheck{0.5\vsize} \subsection{Memos \label{sect.memo}} Saying \CS{memo} sets up a special format for memoranda, including a header at the top of the page with the name of your organization and the word "MEMORANDUM". The organization name defaults to \cs{ORGANIZATION}, which you can change if you like simply by saying \index{memos} \example |\def|\cs{ORGANIZATION}\arg{name} \endexample (This can be done once in the file |TXSsite.tex| before compiling \TeXsis, as described in Appendix~\use{install},\index{memos!customization} or you can explicitly put the name of your organization in your file.) The commands for the memo format are: \description{Xendmemo\quad}\clump % \itm{\CS{memo}} Initialize \TeXsis\ for memo format. % \itm{\CS{faxmemo}} A document format similar to \CS{memo}, but for faxes. Included in the header is a space to enter the number of pages sent. A return fax number is also included if it is defined in \CS{FaxNumber}. % \itm{\CS{Date}} Prints the word "{\twelvess Date:}" and the date, which must be on the same line. If no date is given, then the current date is used, as given by \cs{today}. If you would rather have the date in the upper right hand corner, as in a letter, use |\letterdate| instead of \CS{Date}. % \itm{\CS{To}} Prints the word "{\twelvess To:}" and the name(s) which follow. % \itm{\CS{From}} Prints the word "{\twelvess From:}" and the name(s) which follow %. \itm{\CS{Subj}} Prints the word "{\twelvess Subject:}" and the subject which follows. The subject may be several lines long. The first line of the subject field is used in a running headline at the top of all pages following the first. % \itm{\CS{FAX}} Prints ``{\twelvess FAX \#:},'' for entering a fax telephone number. % \itm{\cs{n}} New line for |\To|, |\From|, or |\Subj|. % \itm{\CS{nopagenumbers}} Turns off the running subject headlines and the page numbers. This must be typed after |\memo| since it is redefined by the memo format. % \itm{\CS{Text}} Begins the text of the memo. You can also say \cs{body}. % \itm{\CS{annotations}\qquad} Optional annotations follow, in \cs{obeylines} format. % \itm{\CS{cc}} Carbon copy. A "cc:" and the names following it are printed, properly aligned in \cs{obeylines} format. % \itm{\CS{Distribution}\qquad} This is like \CS{cc} but prints "Distribution:" instead. % \itm{\CS{Encl}} This is like \CS{cc} but prints "Encl:" instead, as for letters. % \itm{\CS{ps}} Optional postscript follows. This is not in \cs{obeylines} format. % \itm{\CS{endmemo}} Ends the memo. You can say \cs{bye} instead. \enddescription All of these commands with mixed case names have synonyms which are the same name but in all lower case letters. The use of the \cs{memo} format is illustrated by the following example: \TeXexample |smalltt\memo \To \TeXsis\ Users \From E. Myers and F.E. Paige \Date \Subj \TeXsis\ 2.18 \text \TeXsis\ 2.18 is now available. The new version adds several features and corrects various bugs. \Distribution A. Blake I. Harrity B. Nichols \endmemo |endTeXexample If the memo is longer than one page a headline containing the subject and page number is put across the top of all pages after the first. If the subject is longer than one line only the first line of the subject is used in this headline. You can easily change what is used as this subject line by changing the definition of the macro \CS{subjectline} anywhere in the body of the memo. For example, although the subject of your memo might be simply ``Annual Report,'' you might make the headline more specific by defining: \TeXexample \def\subjectline{Annual Activity Report for Buckaroo Banzai} |endTeXexample \nobreak\noindent Then this longer title will appear with the page number on all pages after the first. %======================================================================* \subsection{Referee Reports} The \CS{referee} format creates a document very much like a \cs{memo}, although there are some important differences. \index{referee reports} Referee reports are supposed to be confidential, so instead of printing the name of your organization at the top of the first page it puts the words ``Referee Report.'' In the \CS{referee} format you can use the same commands that are used in the \cs{memo} format, such as |\To| and |\Date|, but if you use \cs{From} a warning message will be printed on your screen. (This is only a warning, it still does what it has been asked to do!) \bottomfigure{Referee} \begingroup \def\resetcounters{\relax} % don't globally change the section number \line{\hfil \tightboxit{\hbox{\vbox to 11cm{\leftskip=1cm \referee\ninepoint\hsize=8.5cm\rightskip=1cm \centerline{{\twelvepoint\bf Referee Report}} \bigskip \memoitem{DATE:} 1 April 2001 \memoitem{TITLE:} \TeXsis\ -- \TeX\ Macros for Physicists \memoitem{AUTHORS:} E.~Myers and F.E.~Paige \memoitem{MANUSCRIPT:} LP-3105 \text This is pretty good, but it's too long for Physical Review Letters. \vfill}}} \hfil} \endgroup \caption{Sample Referee Report} \endfigure There are also some additional commands for the referee report format: \description{~authors\qquad}\clump % \itm{\cs{title}} The title of the paper being reviewed should follow this on the same line. This is similar to |\Subj| in the memo format. % \itm{\cs{author}} Prints ``{\twelvess AUTHOR:}'' and the name that follows on the same line. % \itm{\cs{authors}} Same as \cs{author} for a paper with more than one author. % \itm{\CS{MSref}} Prints ``{\twelvess MANUSCRIPT:}'' and the manuscript reference number which follows. \enddescription The text of the report should begin with \cs{text} or \cs{body}, just as for a memo, and the whole document should end with |\endmemo| or \cs{bye}. An example of the referee report format is given by the following: \TeXexample \referee \date 1 April 1999 \title \TeXsis\ -- \TeX\ Macros for Physicists \authors E.~Myers and F.E.~Paige \MSref LP-3105 \text This is pretty good, but it's too long for Physical Review Letters. \bye |endTeXexample This produces a report which looks something like \Fig{Referee} %======================================================================* \subsection{Form Letters \label{sect.form}} The \CS{formLetters} layout makes it simple to send identical or similar letters to a list of people. \index{form letters}\index{letters|see{form letters}} \index{mail merge|see{form letters}} The body of the form letter is stored in one file using the standard \TeXsis\ letter format, while the control commands and a list of addresses are put in a second file. The body of the letter should begin with \cs{body} and end with \cs{endletter}, and it can contain an arbitrary number of control sequences defined for each recipient. It can make use of all the features of the letter format. For example, the letter body might contain the following \TeXexample |smalltt\body Dear \Whoever: \if P\Job I wish to apply for a postdoctoral position \else\if F\Job I wish to apply for a faculty position \else I wish to apply for a postdoctoral or faculty position \fi\fi at your institution. Enclosed you will find my curriculum vitae, a list of publications, and ... \closing Sincerely yours, Joe Postdoc \Encl Publication list Curriculum vita \endletter % don't say \bye here! |endTeXexample This example addresses the letter to |\Whoever|, and it uses the first text if |\Job| is |P|, the second if |\Job| is |F|, and the third otherwise. Thus form letters are very flexible. The mailing list file initializes the form letter macros and contains the list of addresses. \TeXsis\ should be run on this file, not on the file containing the body of the letter! For the example above it would have the form: \TeXexample|smalltt \texsis \formLetters{\letterhead{7734}}{letterbody.tex} \BL Prof.\ John Doe Department of Physics University of Nowhere Nowhere, OK 73019 USA \V\Whoever{Professor Doe} \V\Job{F}\EL \BL Dr.\ Buckaroo Banzai Physics Department The Banzai Institute Grovers Mill, NJ 08544 \V\Whoever{Dr.\ Banzai} \V\Job{P}\EL ... \endform \bye |endTeXexample \noindent The first argument of \cs{formLetters} is something like the usual \cs{letterhead} macro, with your phone number. Depending on your letterhead this might have multiple parameters or might even be several control sequences (all enclosed in a set of curly braces, of course). The second argument to \cs{formLetters} is the name of the file containing the body of the letter. The idea is that the stuff in the first argument gets put into the letter {\it before} the address, while the body of the letter (read from the file) is what goes after the address. Each letter begins with \CS{BL} ("Begin Letter") and has the name of the addressee on the same line and the address on the following lines. Any ``variables'' used in the letter can be defined using \cs{V}, which is just an abbreviation for \cs{gdef}. Because \cs{V} is simply \cs{gdef}, if you omit \cs{V} from an address entry, the value defined in a previous entry will be used. If necessary, variables can also be defined before the \CS{BL}. Each address in the mailing list is ended by \CS{EL} ("End Letter"). When the \CS{EL} is executed it reads in the file containing the text for the letter and actually produces the letter. Any address in the list can be ignored simply by replacing the \CS{BL} with \CS{IL} ("Ignore Letter"). In particular, this can be done by a simple global edit after each batch of letters is made, and the same file can then be used to send a second mailing by changing \CS{IL} back to \CS{BL} for a select subset of addresses. In earlier versions of \TeXsis\ the \cs{formLetters} command was called \cs{formletters}. The first is now prefered, though the second will also be accepted. Also, as of \TeXsis\ version 2.17 the form letter macros have actually been moved to the style file {\tt Formletr.txs}. This style file is \cs{autoload}'ed, so as long as you have that file on your system you should not notice a difference. \bigskip \nosechead{Mailing Labels} The same address file can be used to produce mailing labels instead of letters simply by replacing |\formLetters{...}{...}| with \CS{formLabels}. It is assumed that there are three columns of names and addresses to fit on standard photocopy machine mailing labels. With the default parameters nine labels each 1~in.\ high are printed per column with the top and bottom rows left blank. This can be changed, and the alignment of the labels can be adjusted, by setting appropriate values for the following dimensions: \TeXexample |smalltt \fullHsize=8.500in % hsize for label page \fullVsize=9.999in % vsize for label page \lblHsize=2.833in % width of standard label \lblVsize=1.000in % height of standard label \lblVoffset=0.100in % vertical starting position \lblHoffset=-0.500in % horizontal starting position |endTeXexample Choosing appropriate values may require some experimentation with your printer and labels. When the correct values are found, they can be set in the file |TXSsite.tex| before compiling the format (see Appendix~A). Please note that earlier versions of \TeXsis\ used \cs{formlabels} rather than \CS{formLabels}, but the latter is now prefered. \bigskip \nosechead{Printing Envelopes} Instead of printing mailing labels and then peeling these off to put them on envelopes, it is possible to print addresses from your mailing list directly onto envelopes, if your printer is capable of feeding envelopes. To do this, simply use \CS{formEnvelopes} in place of \CS{formLabels}. Then each address is simply fed into a \cs{MakeEnvelope} command. To set the return name and address you can define \cs{theSigature} and \CS{ReturnAddress}, as in this example: \TeXexample \texsis \def\theSignature{Joe Rockhead} \def\ReturnAddress{Department of Physics\n University of Delphi\n Oracle, UT 65432} \formEnvelopes |endTeXexample You will probably have to print the output in ``landscape'' mode, and you may want to adjust the size or placement of the envelopes, as described in Section~\use{sect.env}. %>>> EOF TXSletr.doc <<<