UKTeX Digest Friday, 26 Oct 1990 Volume 90 : Issue 37 Today's Topics: emTeX distribution VDM and Z in LaTeX TeX server problems RE: TeX server problems PCTEX problem Matrix alignment pcTeX drivers Trailing \label in LaTeX LaTeX version 3.0 DVIPS on DOS and VMS Naming conventions for font files? - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Moderator: Peter Abbott Editor: David Osborne (University of Nottingham) Submissions: uktex@uk.ac.aston Administration: uktex-request@uk.ac.aston Back Issues: These are stored in the Aston archive, in the directory DISK$TEX:[TEX-ARCHIVE.DIGESTS.UKTEX.90] Latest TeXhax: #65 Back Issues: These are stored in the Aston archive, in the directory DISK$TEX:[TEX-ARCHIVE.DIGESTS.TEXHAX.90] Latest TeXmag: V4 N4 Back Issues: These are stored in the Aston archive, in the directory DISK$TEX:[TEX-ARCHIVE.DIGESTS.TEX-MAG] ------------------------------------------------------------ Date: Sat, 20 Oct 90 00:16:12 +0100 From: UCGADKW@UK.AC.UCL Subject: emTeX distribution Dear Aston TeX Archivists, The UKTeX banner, printed at the end of each issue, explains how one can get TeX for VMS, Unix, and the Mac. I assume that these particular implementations are distributed because they are free, and because they are well packaged, and not too much of a nightmare to handle. One of the commonest platforms for TeX is DOS. And emTeX is an excellent, free, and well packaged implementation for DOS (and OS/2). I realize that it is easy for me to ask someone else to do something, but couldn't emTeX be added to the TeX implementations that are available on disk by post from the Aston archive team? Dominik ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 22 Oct 90 10:20:23 -0000 From: NDN@UK.CO.NATIONAL-PHYSICAL-LAB.SEG Subject: VDM and Z in LaTeX In a recent UKTeX John Nissen asked about use of LaTeX for typesetting VDM and Z. Mike Spivey of the Programming Research Group, Oxford sells a package for typesetting and typechecking Z specifications, called fuzz. We at the National Physical Laboratory have written a set of macros for the developing BSI standard VDM. These are available either by mailing me (ndn@seg.npl.co.uk) or by sending a message to the NPL info-server (info-server@seg.npl.co.uk) with body: request: latex topic: vdmsl.sty topic: vdmsl.tex The macros and, in particular, the documentation are not in their final state yet, but anyone is welcome to try them and send us comments. They are fairly robust, having been used to set the working draft standards for both VDM and Modula-2. Nick North National Physical Laboratory ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Oct 90 09:15:47 +0000 From: AJH@UK.CO.STC.ICL.WIN Subject: TeX server problems Sir, Over the past few weeks I have been trying to access the TeX server, and have had no useful response. Most of my requests have been acknowledged by the TeX server, with messages of the form: > Subject: RE: your <9010090900.AA21028@win.icl.stc.co.uk> -- HELP command OK > Sender: "JANET TEXSERVER@UK.AC.ASTON.VAX.KIRK" > Message-Id: <20401542_000F3588.0093DED17DFB0380$12_1@UK.AC.ASTON.VAX.KIRK> > > Your TeXserver request has been received and validated. It has joined the > queue of outstanding requests and will be processed in due course. I have had no other responses. Reviewing my "mail sent" folder I find the following are my most recent attempts to get information. I have made no other requests in this period. Request Acknowledgement sent received Thu Jul 26 Mon Aug 6 Thu Jul 26 Mon Aug 6 Mon Aug 6 Tue Aug 14 Mon Aug 6 Fri Jul 27 Mon Aug 13 Wed Aug 15 Thu Aug 30 Thu Sep 13 Fri Sep 28 Mon Oct 1 Tue Oct 9 Tue Oct 9 Previously I have sent messages to the TeX server and received replies containing the expected files etc. I have also sent a message to info-tex-request@uk.ac.aston trying to subscribe to UKTEX, but have had no response. Given that the TeX server sends the acknowledgements it would seem that the mail path is working OK, so is there some problem at Aston? Thank you for your help Adrian Hammon ajh@win.icl.stc.co.uk ICL Secure Systems, Winersh Triangle, Wokingham, Berks. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Oct 90 11:01:10 -0000 From: TEX@UK.AC.CRANFIELD.RMCS Subject: (411) RE: TeX server problems In message 53 of Tue, 23 Oct 90 09:15:47 GMT, AJH@UK.CO.STC.ICL.WIN wrote: > Over the past few weeks I have been trying to > access the TeX server, and have had no useful response. I've investigated the most recent of your attempts (those in previous months have been archived off the running system). Your problem is that you are specifying an explicit return address, and it's NOT in the format laid down by the JNT for the format of network addresses in the UK. In the UK, we use big-endian format, with the UK at the front of the string: this is at variance with most of the rest of the world. Some system's mailers are capable of reordering such incorrect presentation of an address, but Aston's isn't. > Previously I have sent messages to the TeX server and > received replies containing the expected files etc. I'm surprised to hear that, if you've *always* used the same format for presenting your return address: perhaps you used to specify it the other way round? > Given that the TeX server sends the acknowledgements > it would seem that the mail path is working OK, so is > there some problem at Aston? The reason that the receipt is getting to you is that this is sent using REPLY (effectively). You can avoid all these problems by abandoning the old format for TeXserver requests: omit the line of three hyphens, and the line giving your return address, and *start* your message with the TeXserver command verb --- I suggest that you should try HELP again in the first instance. This verb must be the first non-blank line of your message. If you *must* specify a different return address, you may precede the command verb with a line containing a PATH command: however, note that any address you give in this *must* appear in the canonical format, with the UK first---and isn't it always! > I have also sent a message to info-tex-request@uk.ac.aston > trying to subscribe to UKTEX, but have had no response. Sorry about your problems with getting onto UKTeX distribution; the editor will doubtless check on this. Perhaps you *have* been added, but with your address in the wrong, little-endian format. Then your particular copy would fail when sent each week. Brian {Hamilton Kelly} ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Oct 90 13:33:00 +0000 From: GNEA69@UK.AC.GLASGOW.VMS1 Subject: PCTEX problem Dear Madam/sir, I was wondering whether you can help me with a problem I am having with the PTIPS (dvi to postscript generator) for PCTEX. Specifically I am trying to import postscript graphics files in a LaTEX document. On single page test files I have managed to import scale and position the postscript files (with some manual editing of the imported postscript file and with the use of the \centerps macro supplied with PCTEX). However when importing into a longer document (ie. more than one page) the PTIPS program tells me that it cannot find the file to import. If I take a few paragraphs out so that the diagram prints out on the first page then it can find the import file. I am using PTIPS (Personal TeX Incorporated PostScript) Version 2.01. I have tryed a large number of permutations of file names to try and figure out what the problem is (i.e. fully qualified pathnames to just the filename by itself) without any success. It appears to be a bug in the postscript driver program. Do you have any knowledge of this problem and can you suggest a fix? If you cannot suggest a fix then could you recommend a public domain driver which allows one to import postscript or encapsulated postscript into LaTEX documents. Alternatively could you put me onto someone who may be able to help. Any help that you can offer would be greatly appreciated. Regards, Bob Betz, Dept, Electronics & Elec. Eng. University of Glasgow. email:gnea69@uk.ac.glasgow.vms1 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Oct 90 14:08:33 -0000 From: DAVID.HANDSCOMB@UK.AC.OXFORD.NA Subject: Matrix alignment Is there an easy way (either TeX or LaTeX) of setting a formula involving matrices so that they are aligned on their top (or, come to that, bottom) rows, rather than on their centrelines? I know about {array}[t] and \vtop, but they deal only with the matrix elements, not the enclosing brackets, and \left[...\right] leaves the brackets still centred. I want to be able to set f = (a b) / c \ | d | \ e / (if you see what I mean). ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Oct 90 14:20:17 -0000 From: B.CHAPMAN@UK.AC.SURREY.EE Subject: pcTeX drivers Dear Sir/Madam, I am a new post-grad at Surrey University, and I`m looking for TeX drivers for PCTeX (TeX for IBM PC`s and compatibles). I have the PCTeX compiler, but no drivers for either a) CGA for screen previewing (if there is such a thing) or b) a printer driver for a dot-matrix printer (epson LX800 compatible). Do you know where I might be able to get hold of these? Thanks in advance, Yours, Bob Chapman (JANET b.chapman@uk.ac.surrey.ee). ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Oct 90 23:53:55 -0000 From: CET1@UK.AC.CAMBRIDGE.PHOENIX Subject: Trailing \label in LaTeX A user here (Dr D.M.R.Gray-Stephens: DGS1@UK.AC.CAM.PHX) came across the following problem. If the final page of a LaTeX document contains only \label's, then the corresponding definitions never get output into the .aux file. For example: \documentstyle{article} \begin{document} Arbitrary text. \clearpage \label{what-have-you} \end{document} Originally, of course, the page break before the trailing \label was accidental (it followed an \end{itemize}). Is this a known problem/bug/feature of LaTeX? The user wanted to use \pageref{...} to generate a page head/footing containing `page N of M'. Can anyone provide an alternative way of doing this, other than tieing the \label securely to the last piece of text (which is difficult to do in a way that survives modification of the document)? Chris Thompson Cambridge University Computing Service JANET: cet1@uk.ac.cam.phx Internet: cet1%phx.cam.ac.uk@nsfnet-relay.ac.uk ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 24 Oct 90 12:33:24 +0000 From: ARMSTRONG@UK.AC.LEEDS.ICF.LEVA Subject: LaTeX version 3.0 I have been asked by one of my colleagues to obtain a copy of the archive from Aston containing the latest version 3.0 of LaTeX. He would like to have a complete copy of this archive. Please could you let me know the current handling charge for this service, and whether it can be supplied on TK70. Our 1/2" tape deck operates at only 1600, so the full set would take rather a lot of tapes! Thank you John Armstrong (0532 334457) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 24 Oct 90 17:48:00 +0000 From: CLS016@UK.AC.BANGOR.VAXC Subject: (230) DVIPS on DOS and VMS I am having some problem with DVIPS. It is generating postscript quite happily but the postscript is not printing. The printer is OK but I am unclear what the problem is with the postcript What headers should I use the .PRO or .LPR Is anyone running it sucessfully on VMS ? All comments welcome Edmund Sutcliffe ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 26 Oct 90 10:06:09 +0000 From: MD2RJH@UK.AC.SHEFFIELD.IBM Subject: Naming conventions for font files? Can you help? A few months ago a file describing the naming conventions of Font files eg. .PK .PXL files was mentioned in the newsletter. I downloaded it and stored it away for future reference - however now I want it I've found it gone! Does anyone remember where this file is on the archive or if it is still available. It was very useful as it described the way to calculate the names of the .pk files given the point size, the device resolution and the magnification Thanks for any help. Richard Hillier (MD2RJH@UK.AC.SHEF.IBM) ------------------------------ !! UK TeX ARCHIVE at ASTON UNIVERSITY: !! !! NIFTP access: site uk.ac.aston.tex !! username public !! password public !! !! Files of interest !! [tex-archive]00readme.txt [tex-archive]00files.txt !! [tex-archive]00directory.list [tex-archive]00directory.size !! [tex-archive]00last7days.files [tex-archive]00last30days.files !! !! !! Washington TeX tape distribution: !! The latest tape is labelled !! !! TeX 3.0, Metafont 2.0, LaTeX 2.09; !! utilityfonts, cmfonts, LaTeXfonts, amsfonts. !! Unix 4.2/3BSD, Sys V. !! Tar, 1600bpi, blocked 20, 1 file !! !! I have the facility to copy this tape for anyone who sends the following !! 1 2400 tape with return labels AND RETURN postage. (2.50 pounds sterling !! for UK users, payable to `Aston University') Outside UK please ask me. !! UK users send 4.25 for two tapes or 6.60 for three tapes. !! Send to !! !! P Abbott !! Computing Service !! Aston University !! Aston Triangle !! Birmingham B4 7ET !! !! A VMS backup of the archive requires two 2400' tapes at 6250bpi. !! Remaining details as above. !! !! A VMS backup of TeX 2.991 plus PSprint is available; one tape is needed. !! !! Exabyte tape drive with Video 8 cassettes: !! Same formats available as 1/2in tapes. We use the following tapes !! SONY Video 8 cassette P5 90MP, MAXCELL Video 8 cassette P5-90 !! TDK Video 8 cassette P5-90MPB !! Postage 35p UK (stamp please), 1 pound sterling Europe, other areas 2 pounds !! !! OzTeX - Send 10 UNFORMATTED (800k) disks with return postage. !! !! ---Peter Abbott. End of UKTeX Digest *******************