summaryrefslogtreecommitdiff
path: root/Build/source/texk/dvidvi/README
blob: 0aee6b45ed7006bde1583dfdcd9f87bcb91a1099 (plain)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
       dvidvi 1.0, Copyright (C) 1988-2011, Radical Eye Software
Anyone may freely use, modify, and/or distribute this file, without limitation.

Here's a little hack I threw together for those doing pagination
tricks.  Any improvements are appreciated.  Enjoy!
The dvidvi program converts a dvi file into another dvi file,
with perhaps certain changes.  Invocation is

        dvidvi param infile outfile

What are the parameters?  The 'easy' paramaters are the following:

	-f n     page n is first page selected
	-l n     page n is last page selected
	-n n     select at most n pages. Notice that n is the number of pages
		 selected, independently of the number of pages actually
		 contained in a sheet
	-i { n1..n2 | n1 }[,...]
		 include pages (ranges allowed). When this option is
		 used, ONLY the specified pages are selected. However,
		 we can exclude from these pages with the option -x
	-x { n1..n2 | n1 }[,...]
		 exclude pages (ranges allowed)
	-q       work in quiet mode, that is do not print in the screen
		 messages of how the work is being done.
	-r       reverse the order of the pages.

The page numbers for the above options -f -l -i and -x can be specified
in different ways.

1) If a number n is given, it is interpreted as the n'th page from the
begining of the .dvi file. Of course, this number is independent of the
page number assigned by TeX.

2) TeX page numbers are those who are actually written in the page;
these page numbers can be modified, for example, by using the TeX commands
\pagenumbering, \setcounter{page}{n}, and \addtocounter{page}{n}.
A TeX page number can be specified by preceding the number n with the
character @. Thus, if you specify -f @25 -l @30 you select the pages
between 25 and 30, these numbers being those assigned by TeX.

3) However, several pages can have the same TeX page number in a .dvi file.
For example, the introductory pages in a book are numbered i, ii, and so on
until the first chapter begins and then, the pages are numbered 1, 2, etc.
In this case, the pages numbered i and 1 in the .dvi file have the same TeX
page number. If you want to select for example the second occurrence of the
page numbered 1, you can specify a page number as (@2)1. Thus @1 is equivalent
to (@1)1. For example, if you specify -f (@2)1 -l(@2)10 you select the pages
between 1 and 10 of the first chapter, not the introductory pages between
i and x.

There is another parameter that tells dvidvi how you want to change page
layout and specifications. This is the -m parameter.

        The number preceding the colon is the modulo value.  Everything
will be done in chunks of pages this big.  If there is no colon, than the
default value is assumed to be one.  The last chunk of pages is padded
with as many blank pages as necessary.

        Following the colon is a comma-separated list of page numbers.
These page numbers are with respect to the current chunk of pages, and
must lie in the range zero to the modulo value less one.  If a negative
sign precedes the number, then the page is taken from the mirror chunk;
if there are m chunks, then the mirror chunk of chunk n is the chunk
numbered m-n-1.  Put simply, it is the chunk numbered the same, only
from the end.  This can be used to reverse pages.  If no number is
given, the page number defaults to 1.

        Following each page number is an optional offset value in
parenthesis, which consists of a pair of comma-separated dimensions.
Each dimension is a decimal number with an optional unit of measure.
The default unit of measure is inches, or the last unit of measure
used.  All units are in true dimensions.  Allowable units of measure
are the same that TeX allows:  in, mm, cm, pt, pc, dd, and cc.

        Simple enough, eh?  Okay, let's do some simple things.

-m -      Reverses the order of the pages.  This time, both the modulo and
	  the page number are defaulted.

-m 2:0    Selects the first, third, fifth, etc. pages from the file.  Print
	  this one after printing the next, taking the paper out of the
	  feed tray and reinserting it into the paper feed.

-m 2:-1   Selects the second, fourth, etc. pages, and writes them in reverse
	  order.
-m 4:-1,2(4.25in,0in)
-m 4:-3,0(4.25in,0in)
	 Useful for printing a little booklet, four pages to a sheet,
	 double-sided, for stapling in the middle.  Print the first one,
	 put the stack back into the printer upside down, and print the
	 second.  The `in' specifications are superfluous.
-m ,(1pt,1)
        Scare your system administrator!  Actually, things are so
        blurry with this option, you may want to send enemies letters
        printed like this.  *Long* letters.
-m 4:0(5.5in,4.25),3(0,4.25)
-m 4:1(0in,4.25),2(5.5,4.25)
        Print a four-page card on one sheet.  Print the first, rotate
        the paper 180 degrees and feed it again.  (PostScript people
        can do funny tricks with PostScript so this isn't necessary.)

Enjoy; this is an early release, so make suggestions, improvements,
and I'll get back to you with a better version later.