I found this FAQ on the 'net in plain ASCII, so I made a quick conversion to HTML, so that it at least would look OK when printed. Well, this is the result. – Share and enjoy!Comp.text.tex is a forum for the discussion of TeX, LaTeX and other related things. TeX is a software system written by Donald Knuth to typeset text, especially text containing mathematics. LaTeX is a set of macros written in TeX, designed to simplify the the typesetting of a document by allowing the user to concentrate on the content and structure of the document rather than the exact appearance of the finished product. METAFONT, also discussed here, is a program which allows the user to design their own fonts. The definitive reference for TeX is The TeXbook, by Donald Knuth (Addison Wesley, 1984, ISBN 0-201-13447-0, paperback 0-201-13448-9). For LaTeX, see LaTeX, a Document Preparation System by Leslie Lamport (Addison Wesley, 1986, ISBN 0-201-15790-X). For METAFONT, see The METAFONTbook by Donald Knuth (Addison Wesley, 1984, ISBN 0-201-13445-4). The American Mathematical Society has two macro packages which are also popular, called AMS-TeX and AMS-LaTeX.zrajm, 2000-09-16
This article contains answers to some frequently asked questions on comp.text.tex. Please don't ask these questions again, as they've been answered many times before. Note that Guoying Chen (chenguo@spunky.cs.nyu.edu) posts the monthly document ``Supplementary TeX Information'' to this newsgroup containing other information and software relevant to TeX users but beyond the scope of this article.
This is version 1.42 for December, last changed 12/7/93.
\pagestyle{empty}, but the first page is still
numbered. What do I do?
Many of the answers below tell you that you can obtain something through anonymous ftp. ``Ftp'' stands for file transfer protocol, and is also the name of a program implementing the protocol. The program allows users to transfer files to and from remote sites, if the sites are connected via a network such as the Internet. ``Anonymous ftp'' indicates a user may connect to a remote site as the user ``anonymous'' with a password consisting of their email address, and thus be able to retrieve files from that site. Remember, anonymous ftp is a privilege and the system administrators for these sites have made these files available out of their own generosity. Therefore please restrict your ftp'ing to non-prime hours at the various sites.
I would like to acknowledge Don Hosek, Ken Yap, Tomas Rokicki, and Micah Beck, whose postings provided many of the answers. Joe Weening, Hal Perkins, Walter Carlip, Max Hailpern, Tad Guy, Raymond Chen, Henning Schulzrinne, Sebastian Rahtz, Mark James, Peter Galko, Mike Ernst, Rainer Schöpf, Oren Patashnik, Philippe Louarn, Rafal Zbikowski, Anita Marie Hoover, David Rhead, Darrell McCauley, Cameron Smith, Emma Pease, Patrick McPhee, Karl Berry, Robin Fairbairns, and Joohee Jeong provided additional material and criticisms. The format of this document is based on the Frequently Asked Questions written by Steve Hayman which formerly appeared in comp.unix.wizards. Any mistakes are mine. Send corrections, suggestions, and additions to bobby@hot.caltech.edu.
Other news.answers/FAQ archives are: cnam.cnam.fr (163.173.128.6)
in the anonymous ftp directory /pub/FAQ; ftp.uu.net (192.48.96.2)
in the anonymous ftp directory /pub/usenet (also available via mail
server requests to netlib@uunet.uu.net, or via uunet's 1-900
anonymous UUCP phone number); and ftp.cs.ruu.nl (131.211.80.17) in
the anonymous ftp directory NEWS.ANSWERS (also accessible via mail
server requests to mail-server@cs.ruu.nl). Many of the archives
mentioned in question 22 also maintain current versions of this
document.
One further note about including PostScript figures is that they
are not part of the dvi file, but are included when you use a dvi
to PostScript conversion program. As a result, most dvi previewers
will simply show the blank space TeX has reserved for your figure,
not the figure itself.
Anil K. Goel has written a long document describing in detail how to
include figures, pictures, and images in LaTeX documents. It is available
via anonymous ftp from math.uwaterloo.ca (129.97.140.144) in
./pub/figsInLatex.ps.Z. A dvi file with the included PostScript files
is also available.
The proceeds from this sale go to Michael Wichura, the author of PiCTeX,
and TUG.
XFig is essentially the same program except it runs under the X
Window System. It is available via anonymous ftp from ftp.x.org
(192.112.44.100) in ./contrib/R5fixes/xfig-patches/xfig-2.1.*.Z. It
was written by Brian Smith.
There is a version of WEB called Spidery WEB which supports many
languages including ADA, awk, and C. It was written by Norman Ramsey
and, while not in the public domain, is usable free. It is available
via anonymous ftp from pip.shsu.edu (192.92.115.10) in
tex-archive/web/spiderweb.
FWEB is a version of WEB for Fortran, Ratfor, and C written by John
Krommes (krommes@lyman.pppl.gov). Version 1.13 is available via
anonymous ftp from lyman.pppl.gov (192.55.106.129) in ./pub/fweb.
SchemeWEB is a Unix filter that translates SchemeWEB into LaTeX source
or Scheme source. It was written by John Ramsdell and is available from
sun.soe.clarkson.edu (128.153.12.3) in ./pub/tex/tex-programs/schemeweb.
APLWEB is a version of WEB for APL and is available from
watserv1.waterloo.edu (129.97.129.140) in ./languages/apl.
FunnelWeb is a version of WEB that is language independent. It is
available via anonymous ftp from ftp.adelaide.edu.au (129.127.40.3)
in ./pub/funnelweb. It also appeared in comp.sources.unix volume 26
issue 121, posted 11 April 1993. Another language independent version
of WEB is NUWEB, available via anonymous ftp from cs.rice.edu
(128.42.1.30) in ./public/preston. NUWEB is written in ANSI C.
Most of the above are also available from your nearest CTAN site
(see question 22).
A more powerful package which allows the typesetting of orchestral
and polyphonic music is MusicTeX, written by Daniel Taupin
(taupin@frups51.bitnet). It is available via anonymous ftp from
rsovax.ups.circe.fr (130.84.128.100) [.musictex]. It should also
be available from the archive sites detailed in question 22.
There is a mailing list for discussion of typesetting music in TeX.
To subscribe, send a request to mutex-request@stolaf.edu.
For the Macintosh, there is a program called EdMetrics which does
the job (and more). It is available free from:
If you fail to convince your officials, or want some inter-line
space for copy-editing:
It's not worth going to a lot of trouble. (If officials won't allow
standard typographic conventions, you won't be able to produce an
aesthetically pleasing document anyway!)
Another way to do this is to use the alltt environment defined in
the style file alltt.sty available from the CTAN archives in
./tex-archive/macros/latex/contrib/misc/alltt.sty.
This should create a base file named plain.base (or something close)
and should be moved to the directory containing the base files on
your system.
Now you need to make sure METAFONT loads this base when it starts
up. If METAFONT loads the plain base by default on your system, then
you're ready to go. Under Unix, we might, for instance define a
command mf which executes ``virmf &plain,'' loading the plain base
file.
The usual way to create a font with plain METAFONT is to then start
it with the line
in response to the * prompt or on the METAFONT command line. If
<mode name> is unknown or omitted, then the mode defaults to proof
mode. If this has happened METAFONT will produce an output file
called <font file name>.2602gf. The <magnification> is a floating
point number or magstep (magsteps are defined in _The METAFONTbook_
and _The TeXbook_). If mag=<magnification> is omitted, then the
default is 1. For example, to generate cmr10 at 12pt for an epson
printer you would type
Instructions for retrieving TeX via anonymous ftp are available
in the document FTP.nwc, itself available via anonymous ftp from
ftp.cs.umb.edu (158.21.104.33) in ./pub/tex.
Note: The Unix version of TeX allows your ``macros'' or ``inputs''
and ``fonts'' directories to be hierarchically organized with
further subdirectories, rather than dumping everything into one
directory. This can cause TeX to start very slowly. The cure
for this problem is to insure each subdirectory contains either
only directories or only files.
All Public Domain TeX software for the PC is also available
through TUG. A catalog is available free from them at the
address given in question 11. This collection is maintained by
Jon Radel, who will answer technical questions on the material
(with no service guarantee). Send electronic mail to jon@radel.com.
A set of LaTeX macros for a ``lazy person's'' blackboard bold are:
The CTAN sites are currently ftp.uni-stuttgart.de (129.69.8.13)
with the TeX root directory ./pub/tex, ftp.tex.ac.uk
(134.151.44.19) with root directory ./pub/archive, and
pip.shsu.edu (192.92.115.10) with root directory ./tex-archive.
Under the root directory, the organization is identical.
To find software at a CTAN site, use anonymous ftp to the host,
and then execute the command `quote site index <search-term>'.
The mail servers of the CTAN sites are not yet identical, but this is
planned. Here are the current methods of access via electronic mail:
There are several other repositories of TeX material available:
Another good source of information is NETWORK SOURCES OF TeX WARE by
Peter Flynn which appeared in TeXhax, volume 90, issues 45-47 (in
May 1990).
This is a PC program written in Turbo Pascal by R. C. Houtepen at
the Eindhoven University in the Netherlands. It converts
WordPerfect 5.0 documents to LaTeX. Pascal source is included.
Users find it ``helpful'' and ``decent'' in spite of some
limitations. It gets high marks for handling font changes.
Limitations include no indices, table of contents, margins or
graphics. It also won't handle the new features of WordPerfect
5.1, in particular the equation formatter. The program is
copyrighted but free.
Glenn Geers of the University of Sydney (glenn@qed.physics.su.oz.au)
is translating wp2latex into C and adding some WordPerfect 5.1
features, in particular its equation handling. This is an ongoing
project; the most recent version can be retrieved via anonymous ftp
from suphys.physics.su.oz.au (129.78.129.1) in ./wp2latex. It was
posted to alt.sources on 8 August 1990.
Commercial packages are available for DOS which convert from
WordPerfect to LaTeX, and from TeX and LaTeX to WordPerfect, but
I am unaware of any free products which do this.
If you cannot use ftp, mail your contribution to sty-mgr@shsu.edu
and it will be passed along. You will make everyone's life easier
if you choose a descriptive and unique name for your submission, so
it's probably good idea to browse through some of the styles
already available to insure your style file's name is not already
in use.
For those of you curious about the change, here's what happened:
in versions of TeX before 3.0 the hyphenation algorithm would not
break a word if the part before the break was not at least two
characters long, and the part after the break at least three
characters long. Starting with version 3.0 two integer parameters,
Another possibility is to use screen.sty, available from all the
major archives. However you need a program called crudetype to
process the resulting dvi file. It is available from
emx.utexas.edu (128.83.186.11) in
./pub/mnt/source/tex/tex-3.0/DVIware/lpr-viewers/crudetype and
from ftp.uni-stuttgart.de (129.69.8.13) in
./tex-archive/dviware/screenview. Another possibility is to use
the LaTeX-to-ASCII conversion program, l2a, available from
comp.sources.misc archives (one archive site is ftp.uu.net
(192.48.96.9)), although this is really more of a de-TeXing
program. If you are running under Unix and have C++ and perl, you
might try Jonathan Monsarrat's LameTeX package (which actually
does much more than this), available from wilma.cs.brown.edu
(128.148.33.66) in ./pub/lametex.tar.Z.
If you really need to extend your TeX's capacity, the proper method
varies depending on your installation. In the purest form, you
change the parameters in module 11 (``The following parameters can
be changed...'') In less pure forms, you might need to modify a
change file, or perhaps change some environment variables. Consult
the documentation that came with your particular implementation.
The ``Designing BibTeX Styles'' document, contained in the file
btxhak.tex, explains the postfix stack-based language used to
write BibTeX styles (.bst files). The file btxbst.doc is the template
file for the four standard styles (plain, abbrv, alpha, unsrt). It
also contains the documentation for them.
The current Unix-BibTeX man page, contained in the file
bibtex.1, was updated in January 1992 and is about one page long.
There's an old and obsolete version floating around, written in 1985
before ``BibTeXing'' and ``Designing BibTeX Styles'' appeared, that is
several pages long. You should ignore it (or throw it away), since it
describes BibTeX version 0.98, style files of which are incompatible
with the current version, 0.99 (to be precise, 0.99c).
All files mentioned in this answer are available via anonymous ftp
from labrea.stanford.edu (36.8.0.112) in the BibTeX ftp area,
tex/bibtex. All the non-Unix files should be available on any system
that runs BibTeX; if they're not on your system, please complain to
your BibTeX installer or to your distribution source.
NFSS will be part of version 3.0 of LaTeX. Currently, you need
to create a new format file to use it. It is available via
anonymous ftp from all the major archives mentioned in question
22. Its home is on ftp.uni-stuttgart.de (129.69.8.13) in
./tex-archive/macros/latex/distribs/nfss2. NFSS can be used in plain
TeX as well, through an interface written by Wayne Sullivan.
There is one caveat that applies to LaTeX documents written for
the OLD scheme: some of them use special styles for special fonts
which will not work under the NFSS.
Perhaps the easiest way to get more out of a page in LaTeX is to
get fullpage.sty, available from all the major archive servers
mentioned in question 22. This sets the margins of the page identical
to those of Plain TeX, i.e., 1-inch margins at all four sides of the
paper. It also contains an adjustment for A4 paper.
Here is a brief explanation of what's going on with the page
parameters in LaTeX. They are explained in section C.4.2 of the
LaTeX manual (p. 163). The margin parameters represent measurements
made to the DVI file. The origin in DVI coordinates is one inch
from the top of the paper and one inch from the left side. This
explains the ``one inch less than'' terminology used in the LaTeX
manual. In DVI coordinates, positive horizontal measurements extend
right across the page, and positive vertical measurements extend down
the page. Thus, for margins closer to the left and top edges of the
page than 1 inch, the corresponding parameters, e.g.,
Finally, to change the margins of a document within the document,
modifying the parameters listed on page 163 will not work. They
can only be changed in the preamble of the document, i.e, before
the This environment takes two arguments, and will indent the left
and right margins by their values, respectively. Negative values
will cause the margins to be widened, so
In LaTeX, the following works (taken from the manual):
For DOS, jspell is an extended version of ispell, and is available via
anonymous ftp from oak.oakland.edu (141.210.10.117) in
./pub/msdos/tex/jspell*.zip.
1. How can I get a copy of this article?
You're reading it aren't you? SAVE it :-). This article is posted
monthly to comp.text.tex and cross-posted to news.answers. It is
therefore archived at any site that archives news.answers.
News.answers is archived on rtfm.mit.edu (18.70.0.209), and this
article is available there via anonymous ftp in the directory
./pub/usenet/news.answers/tex-faq. If you do not have anonymous
ftp, send an e-mail message containing the lines ``SENDME FAQ.'' to
fileserv@shsu.edu (fileserv@shsu.bitnet). Another way to retrieve
it via email is through the mailserver at rtfm: send a message
containing the lines ``help'' and ``index'' to
mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu for information on how to obtain it.
2. Where can I get a DVI to PostScript conversion program?
Two good DVI to PostScript conversion programs that run under
Unix are:
3. How can I include a PostScript figure in LaTeX?
Perhaps the best way to do this is to use the psfig macros written
by Trevor Darrell. They are available via anonymous ftp from
whitechapel.media.mit.edu (18.85.0.125) in ./pub/psfig. You will
also need a dvi to PostScript conversion program that supports
\specials. The ones mentioned in question 2 do, and come with a
version of psfig ready to use with them. The psfig macros work best
with Encapsulated PostScript Files (EPS). In particular, psfig will
need the file to have a BoundingBox (see Appendix C of the
_PostScript Language Reference Manual_). If you don't have an EPS
file, life can be difficult.
4. Where can I find a DVI previewer for machine Y running Q?
This briefly lists some previewers available via anonymous ftp. All
are available from any CTAN site (see question 22) in addition to the
sites listed below:
5. Where can I get the manual for PiCTeX?
The PiCTeX manual is not free. It is available for $30 ($35 with the
disk) from the TeX Users Group:
TeX Users Group
P. O. Box 869
Santa Barbara, CA 93102-0869 (USA)
805-963-1338
FAX: 805-963-8358
tug@tug.org
6. What is VorTeX and where can I get it?
VorTeX is a package of programs written at the University of California.
It includes several nice previewers and some Emacs modes for TeX and
BibTeX. It is available via anonymous ftp from ftp.cs.berkeley.edu
(128.32.149.78) in ./ucb/mhgs. The VorTeX distribution is not maintained.
7. What is OzTeX and where can I get it (TeX for the Mac)?
OzTeX is a public domain version of TeX for the Macintosh. A DVI
Previewer and PostScript driver are also included. It should run on
any Macintosh Plus, SE, II, or newer model, but will not work on a
128K or 512K Mac. It was written by Andrew Trevorrow, and is available
via anonymous ftp from from midway.uchicago.edu (128.135.12.73) in
./pub/OzTeX, which contains other public domain TeX-related software
for the Mac as well, or on a floppy disk from TUG (see question 11).
Questions about OzTeX may be directed to oztex@midway.uchicago.edu.
8. What is Fig and where can I get it?
Fig is a menu driven tool similar to MacDraw that allows you to
draw objects on the screen of a Sun Workstation running SunView.
TransFig is a set of tools which translate the code fig produces to
other graphics languages including PostScript and the LaTeX picture
environment. Both are available via anonymous ftp from
ftp.cs.cornell.edu (128.84.218.75) in ./pub/fig. Both Fig and
TransFig are also available from the Clarkson archive server at
sun.soe.clarkson.edu (see question 22). Fig is supported by Micah
Beck (beck@cs.cornell.edu) and Transfig is maintained by Brian
Smith (bvsmith@lbl.gov). Another tool for fig conversion is fig2MF
which generates METAFONT code from fig input. It is available from
the CTAN archives discussed in question 22.
9. How do I get WEB for C, FORTRAN, or some other language?
There is a version of WEB for C called CWEB written by Silvio Levy. It
is available via anonymous ftp from princeton.edu (128.112.128.1) in
the directory ./pub/cweb.
10. How can I typeset music in TeX?
A package called MuTeX, written by Andrea Steinbach and Angelika
Schofer, aids in doing this. It is available via anonymous ftp
from ftp.cs.ruu.nl (131.211.80.17) in pub/TEX/MuTeX.tar.Z. This
package allows you to typeset single-staff music and lyrics.
11. What is TUG and TUGboat?
TUG is the TeX Users Group. TUGboat is their newsletter, containing
useful articles about TeX and METAFONT. TUG also distributes
TeX-related microcomputer software on disks. Inquiries should be
directed to:
TeX Users Group
P. O. Box 869
Santa Barbara, CA 93102-0869 (USA)
805-963-1338
FAX: 805-963-8358
tug@tug.org
12. How do I convert Adobe's afm files to tfm format?
Use the afm2tfm program distributed with dvips, available via
anonymous ftp from labrea.stanford.edu (36.8.0.112) in ./pub.
Blue Sky Research
534 Southwest Third Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97204 (USA)
800-622-8398 or 503-222-9571
13. In LaTeX, how do I get a double-spaced document?
Are you producing a thesis, and trying to obey regulations that were
drafted in the typewriter era? LaTeX is a typesetting system, so the
appropriate design conventions are for ``real books''. Find whoever
is responsible for the regulations, and try to get the wording changed
to cater for typeset theses (e.g., to say ``if using a typesetting
system, aim to make your thesis look like a well-designed book'').
\baselinestretch: \renewcommand{\baselinestretch}{1.2}
may be enough to give officials the impression you've kept
to their regulations. Don't try changing \baselineskip: its
value is reset at any size-changing command.
14. In LaTeX, how do I include a file in the verbatim environment?
A good way to do this is to use Rainer Schöopf's verbatim.sty,
which provides the command \verbatiminput that takes a file
as an argument. This package is available from any CTAN site (see
question 22) in ./tex-archive/macros/latex/distribs. Several
files are needed.
15. In LaTeX, how do I do Y?
If you can't figure out how to do something in LaTeX after you
have read the manual very carefully, asked your local LaTeX
guru, and thought about it, there is a LaTeX help service
available. Please note that the way to accomplish something
in LaTeX is often by using an appropriate style file, so please
check this also (see question 16). If none of this works, send mail
in English describing your problem to latex-help@cs.stanford.edu.
If you haven't gotten a reply to your problem within about a week,
send mail to latex-help-coordinator@cs.stanford.edu.
16. Where can I find a TeX macro or LaTeX style file for doing Y?
Before you ask for a TeX macro or LaTeX style file to do something,
please search the TeX macro index written by David M. Jones
(dmjones@theory.lcs.mit.edu) and available via anonymous ftp
from theory.lcs.mit.edu (18.52.0.92) in ./pub/tex/TeX-index. Those
without access to anonymous ftp can send a message containing the
line ``send tex TeX-index'' to archive-server@theory.lcs.mit.edu.
The index is an excellent reference document with plenty of
cross-references. Also, many of the archive sites mentioned in
question 22 maintain extensive latex style collections, which you
can look through if you need something not in the index.
17. How do I generate an index in TeX/LaTeX?
Making an index is not trivial. There are several indexing programs
which aid in doing this. The following are available from any CTAN
site (see question 22):
18. How do I get METAFONT to do what I want it to do?
METAFONT allows you to create your own fonts, and ordinary TeX users
will never need to use it. METAFONT, unlike TeX, requires some
customization. Each output device for which you will be generating
fonts needs a mode associated with it. Modes are defined using the
mode_def convention described on page 94 of _The METAFONTbook_. So
first create a file, which we will call local.mf, containing all the
mode_defs you will be using. The file modes.mf by Karl Berry,
available via anonymous ftp from ftp.cs.umb.edu (158.121.104.33) in
./pub/tex is a good starting point for this. Listings of settings for
various output devices are also published periodically in TUGboat
(see question 11). Now create a plain base file using inimf, plain.mf,
and local.mf:
% inimf
This is METAFONT....
**plain # you type plain
(output)
*input local # you type this
(output)
*dump # you type this
Beginning to dump on file plain....
(output)
%
\mode=<mode name>; mag=<magnification>; input <font file name>
Note that under Unix the '\' and ';' characters must usually be
escaped, so this would typically look something like
mf \mode=epson; mag=1.2; input cmr10
If you don't have inimf or need a special mode that isn't in the
base, you can put its commands in a file (e.g., ln03.mf) and invoke
it on the fly with the
mf \\mode=epson\; mag=1.2\; input cmr10
\smode command. For example, to create
ln03.300gf for an LN03 printer, using the file
(note the absence of the mode_def and enddef commands), you would type
% This is ln03.mf as of 2/27/90
% mode_def courtesy of John Sauter
proofing:=0;
fontmaking:=1;
tracingtitles:=0;
pixels_per_inch:=300;
blacker:=0.65;
fillin:=-0.1;
o_correction:=.5;
mf \smode="ln03"; input cmr10
19. Where do I get TeX/LaTeX for machine Y running Q?
or send electronic mail to Elizabeth Tachikawa at
elisabet@max.u.washington.edu (note the ``s''). The fee charged
for getting the TeX distribution through the University of
Washington helps fund the further development of Unix TeX, so
it's a good idea to order it this way.
Director
Northwest Computing Support Center
Thomson Hall, Mail Stop DR-10
University of Washington
Seattle, WA 98195 (USA)
(206)543-6259
20. Where can I get a thesis style for LaTeX?
Thesis styles are usually very specific to your University, so it's
usually not profitable to ask the whole newsgroup for one. If you
want to write your own, a good place to start is the ucthesis style
available from any CTAN archive in macros/latex/contrib/ucthesis
(see question 22).
21. How do I get symbols for ``the real numbers'', ``the complex numbers'',
and so on?
These symbols are known as ``blackboard bold'' and are available in
the AMS fonts ``msam'' (e.g., ``msam10'' for 10pt) and ``msbm''.
They replace the older ``msxm'' and ``msym''. The fonts have a large
number of mathematical symbols to supplement the ones
provided by TeX. The fonts are available via anonymous ftp from
e-math.ams.com (130.44.1.100) in the directory ./ams/amsfonts.
Two files which load the fonts and define the symbols are provided,
and both work with either TeX or LaTeX. Questions or suggestions
regarding these fonts should be directed to
tech-support@math.ams.com.
\newcommand{\R}{{\sf R\hspace*{-0.9ex}\rule{0.15ex}%
{1.5ex}\hspace*{0.9ex}}}
\newcommand{\N}{{\sf N\hspace*{-1.0ex}\rule{0.15ex}%
{1.3ex}\hspace*{1.0ex}}}
\newcommand{\Q}{{\sf Q\hspace*{-1.1ex}\rule{0.15ex}%
{1.5ex}\hspace*{1.1ex}}}
\newcommand{\C}{{\sf C\hspace*{-0.9ex}\rule{0.15ex}%
{1.3ex}\hspace*{0.9ex}}}
22. What repositories of TeX material are available, and how can I access
them?
To aid the archiving and retrieval of of TeX-related files, a TUG
working group developed the Comprehensive TeX Archive Network
(CTAN). Each CTAN site has identical material, and maintains
authoritative versions of its material. These collections are
extensive; in particular, almost everything mentioned in this
document is archived at the CTAN sites, even if not explicitly
stated.
The host nic.switch.ch (130.59.1.40) mirrors ftp.uni-stuttgart.de
in /mirrors/tex, as does ftp.uni-bielefeld.de (129.70.4.55) in
/pub/tex. Src.doc.ic.ac.uk (146.169.2.1) mirrors ftp.tex.ac.uk in
/packages/TeX/uk-tex/. Finally, wuarchive.wustl.edu
(128.252.135.4) mirrors pip.shsu.edu in /packages/TeX.
There is also the DECUS TeX collection, a collection of TeX material
for VMS, Unix, MS-DOS, and the Macintosh. It is available via
anonymous ftp from wuarchive.wustl.edu (128.252.135.4) in ./decus/tex.
It can also be obtained from the DECUS Library (reference number
VS0058) in the US, or through your DECUS office outside of the US. To
contact the DECUS Library, send mail or call:
or send electronic mail to the DECUS TeX Collection Editor, Ted
Nieland, at decus_tex@nieland.dayton.oh.us.
The DECUS Program Library
219 Boston Post Road BP02
Marlboro, MA 01752-1850
(508)480-3418
23. How do I use PostScript fonts with LaTeX?
The best way to do this is to install the New Font Selection
Scheme (NFSS) (see question 35), and use the psnfss package
written by Sebastian Rahtz. It is available from all the major
archives mentioned in question 22. Unfortunately, on some it is
known as soton and on others as psnfss. The definitive home for
it is the UK TeX archive, tex.ac.uk (134.151.40.18) in
[tex-archive.macros.latex.distribs.psnfss]. Other methods for using
PostScript fonts in LaTeX are cumbersome at best.
24. How can I convert from format Y to TeX or LaTeX, and vice-versa?
In addition, a group at Ohio State University is working on a common
document format based on SGML. In theory any format could be
translated to or from this one. Also, Framemaker supposedly has
``import filters'' to aid in the translation from alien formats
(presumably including TeX) to Framemaker; perhaps other desktop
publishing programs have similar things.
25. How do I get a file into the major style repositories?
Use anonymous ftp to any CTAN archive (see question 22) and
retrieve the file README.uploads in the root directory. It contains
instructions for uploading files and notifying the appropriate
people for that site.
26. Where can I get font Y?
A comprehensive list of METAFONT fonts is posted to Comp.fonts
about once every six weeks by Lee Quin (lee@sq.sq.com). It contains
both commercial fonts and fonts available via anonymous ftp. Most
of the fonts available via anonymous ftp are available from
the CTAN archives (see question 22). Also, the file wujastyk.txh
./tex-archive/digests/texhax/txh/wujastyk.txh is a copy of
Dominik Wujastyk's font article, and contains information on
METAFONT fonts as well.
27. here can I get a dvi driver for the HP LaserJet?
Version 2.10 of the Beebe drivers support the LaserJet. These drivers
will compile under Unix, VMS, and on the Atari ST and DEC-20's. They
are available from science.utah.edu (128.110.198.2) in ./pub/tex/dvi.
28. TeX and LaTeX are hyphenating words weirdly. What can I do?
You have a version mismatch problem. The hyphenation algorithm changed
between version 2.9 and 3.0. If you are using TeX version 3.0 or
later, make sure you have plain.tex and lplain.tex files with a
version number of at least 3.0.
\lefthyphenmin and \righthyphenmin, control the length of these
fragments. These are set to 2 and 3, respectively, in the new
plain and lplain formats. They can be set to any value, of course,
but if \lefthyphenmin + \righthyphenmin is greater than 62, all
hyphenation is suppressed.
29. How can I convert a TeX or LaTeX file into a plain ASCII file,
with all the formatting intact, a la nroff?
Ralph Droms (droms@bucknell.edu) has a style file and a C program
that provide the LaTeX equivalent of nroff. Although it doesn't do
a good job with tables and math, it's the best way to convert that
I've seen. The software is available for anonymous ftp from
sol.cs.bucknell.edu (134.82.1.8) in ./droms/txt-dist.tar.
30. How do I enlarge TeX? I keep getting `memory capacity exceeded'
errors.
Most of the time, a ``memory capacity exceeded'' error can be fixed
without enlarging TeX. The most common causes are unmatched braces,
extra-long lines, and poorly-written macros. Extra-long lines
are often introduced when files are transferred incorrectly between
operating systems. (The tell-tale sign of an extra-long line error
is when the complaint is that the `buf_size' has overflowed.)
31. In LaTeX, I used
If you see this problem, you are using the \pagestyle{empty}, but the first page is still
numbered. What do I do?\maketitle command too.
This is a bug in LaTeX. The workaround is to put the command
\thispagestyle{empty} immediately after the \maketitle command, with
no blank line between them.
32. Where do I find documentation about BibTeX?
BibTeX, a program originally designed to produce bibliographies in
conjunction with LaTeX, is explained in Section 4.3 and Appendix B
of Leslie Lamport's LaTeX manual. The ``BibTeXing'' document,
contained in the file btxdoc.tex, gives a more complete description.
33.How do I use BibTeX with plain TeX?
The file btxmac.tex contains TeX macros and documentation for using
BibTeX with plain TeX, either directly or with Karl Berry's Eplain
package. It is available via anonymous ftp from labrea.stanford.edu
(36.8.0.112) in tex/bibtex (see question 32 for more information
about BibTeX).
34. How do I draw Feynman diagrams in LaTeX?
Michael Levine's macro package for drawing Feynman diagrams in LaTeX
is available via mail-server from physics.utoronto.ca. Send a message
containing the line ``send INDEX'' to mail-server@physics.utoronto.ca
for information on how to retrieve it.
35. What is the New Font Selection Scheme (NFSS)?
NFSS is an extension to LaTeX written by Frank Mittelbach and Rainer
Schöpf. It is described in TUGboat, volume 10 (1989), No. 2.
In traditional typesetting, fonts are described by four parameters:
the family (e.g., computer modern), the series (i.e., the weight and
width of the font, like light or bold), the shape (e.g., italic), and
the size. NFSS is a mechanism allowing the user to change any of these
independently. NFSS makes it relatively easy to use nonstandard fonts
such as the PostScript ones with LaTeX, and easy to change math fonts.
It also allows dynamic loading of fonts at runtime (not when the
format file is created).
36. In LaTeX, my cross-references for floats (figures and tables) are
incorrect. What's wrong?
The \label command must come after the \caption command, or
be part of it. For example,
\begin{figure} \begin{figure}
\caption{A Figure} or \caption{A Figure\label{fig}}
\label{fig} \end{figure}
\end{figure}
37. I want to change the margins in LaTeX. What can I do?
This answer first helps you change the margins throughout a
document, then tells you how to change the margins in a portion
of the document.
\evensidemargin, \oddsidemargin,
\topmargin, can be set to negative values.
\begin{document} statement. To adjust the margins within a
document we define an environment which does it:
\newenvironment{changemargin}[2]{\begin{list}{}{
\setlength{\topsep}{0pt}\setlength{\leftmargin}{0pt}
\setlength{\rightmargin}{0pt}
\setlength{\listparindent}{\parindent}
\setlength{\itemindent}{\parindent}
\setlength{\parsep}{0pt plus 1pt}
\addtolength{\leftmargin}{#1}\addtolength{\rightmargin}{#2}
}\item }{\end{list}}
\begin{changemargin}{-1cm}{-1cm} widens the left and right margins
by 1cm.
38. How do I find the width of a letter, word, or phrase in TeX?
Put the word in a box, and measure the width of the box. For example,
Note that if the quantity in the hbox is a phrase, the actual
measurement only approximates this width, since the interword glue
can be adjusted in paragraph mode.
\setbox0=\hbox{hi}
width=\wd0
This sets the value of the length command
\newlength{\gnat}
\settowidth{\gnat}{\em small}
\gnat to the width of ``small''
in emphasized text.
39. In LaTeX, is there a comment or ``ignore'' environment with which
I can exclude blocks of text from the .dvi file?
Rainer Schöpf's verbatim.sty provides a comment environment which
excludes everything between \begin{comment} and \end{comment}. It is
available via anonymous ftp from any CTAN site (see question 22) in
./tex-archive/macros/latex/distribs. Several files are needed to
install the package. A more general environment for doing this is
comment.sty, also available from the CTAN sites in
./tex-archive/macros/latex/contrib/misc.
40. Where can I find a spelling checker for my TeX file?
For Unix, ispell is probably the program of choice. It is available
from any CTAN site (see question 22) in ./tex-archive/support/ispell.
Bobby Bodenheimer @hot.caltech.edu
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