A Five Minute Guide to MTX

What is MTX? | Document Structure | Special Formatting | MTX Format Summary | MTX User's Manual | Author and Copyright

What is MTX?

 MTX is a simplified means for creating HyperText Markup Language (HTML) documents. HTML is the page layout standard used by the World Wide Web. Unlike HTML, the MTX format is easy to learn and use. You can use any word processor or text editor to create MTX formatted files. The MTX Tool converts these files into HTML pages in a matter of seconds. Features of the MTX approach include:

How to Start?

 Create a file using your favorite word processor or editor. The only special requirement is that you save the file as plain text (also known as "generic" or "ASCII"). It is also recommended that each file name end with an ".mtx" extension. You will also need a copy of the "MTX Tool" HyperCard stack to perform the conversion to HTML.

Converting Your Documents

 To process your MTX files, follow these steps:
  1. Create a project by clicking on "New Project".
  2. Give your project a descriptive name.
  3. Identify the MTX and HTML folders with "Set Folders".
  4. Choose a one of the "Make" options:
  • Review the HTML files with your Web browser.
  • Repeat the process as needed.

    The special "One File" project is useful for small jobs.

    To delete a project, simply delete its card.

    Shortcuts:

    Document Structure

    Special Information

     MTX files begin with one or more lines of special information about the document. Each of these lines begin with a percent (%) sign and an identifier. A simple file might contain the following: 
    	%TITLE Sample WWW File
	%FILE sample
	%AUTHOR John Doe

    These lines specify that the document will be titled "Sample WWW File," that the file's name will be "sample.html," and that the author credit at the bottom of the page will be "John Doe."

    Headings

    You may add structure to a document by using headings. A heading is usually displayed in a larger, bold font. To create a heading simply add a pound (#) sign before the heading text. Two pound signs specify a sub heading and so on. Here is an example: 
    	#Introduction
	##Objectives
	Some text...
	##Background
	Some text...
	#Methods
	More text and headings...
	#Results
	etc...

    Outline Style

     By default, MTX will automatically place a table of contents listing all major headings at the top of the document:

    Introduction | Methods | Results | etc...

    Clicking on these items will allow your readers to jump directly to the desired section. If your document is more complex you can opt for a longer, hierarchical outline:

    To select longer outlines add this special information line to the top of your document: 

    	%OUTLINE long

    You may also choose to suppress all outlining with the line: 

    	%OUTLINE none

    Special Formatting

    Text Style

     You can control the style of text in your documents. To make text bold surround it with the "{*" and "*}" symbols. The symbols "{!" and "!}" indicate italics. Examples follow: 
    	This is an {!italic!} word.
	These are some {*bold words*}.

    Making a List

     Lists are very useful in any document whenever you have a series of items to display. MTX treats any line with leading tabs or spaces as part of a list. For example: 
    	This is a simple list:
		one
		two
		three

    The lines one, two, and three will appear indented with bullets on most systems.

    This is a simple list:

    Placing a Graphic

     MTX supports several graphics constructs. For example, to place a GIF format graphics file directly in a document use: 
    	{=picture=}

    The HTML document will contain an in line graphic taken from a file called "picture.gif."

    To place a graphic such as a small thumbnail and link it to a larger, full screen image use the construct: 

    	{+picture+}

    The HTML document will contain an in line graphic "picture.gif." Clicking on this graphic will jump the reader to a larger graphic named "picture.jpg." JPG is short for JPEG a popular compressed graphics format. It is important to point out that ".gif" and ".jpg" are added automatically; you do not need to type them.

    You can also add a title graphic by including another line of special information at the top of the file: 

    	%LOGO picture

    Adding Hot Links

     It is possible to link HTML documents in several ways. The simplest case is a word or words that are linked to another HTML file. The words are said to be "hot" and are displayed in a different color on the screen. Here is an example link: 
    	This is {#an example#example.html#} of a link.

    The words "an example" will be hot and clicking on them will take the reader to a file called "example.html."

    Questions and Answers

    MTX includes several question and answer formats. Each question is preceded by a question mark (?) and a letter or letters denoting the correct answer. Each answer is preceded by an "at" sign (@). Each answer may have one or more feedback lines associated with it. These lines are each indented with a tab or a space. For example: 
    	?c

	What color is the sky?

	@Red
		You should know better.
	@Green
		Trees are green.
	@Blue
		I knew you could do it!
	@Yellow
		No Way!

    Here is the simple interactive question shown above:

    Question 1

    What color is the sky?

    A) Red

    B) Green

    C) Blue

    D) Yellow

    Author and Copyright

    MTX was developed by Richard Rathe, MD, Director of the Office of Medical Informatics for the College of Medicine at the University of Florida. The MTX format, documentation, and tools are Copyright 1995 and 1996 by the University of Florida. MTX is available without charge for non-commercial use at http://www.med.ufl.edu/medinfo/mtx/. All copyright and authorship notices must remain in place.
    Edited on January 29, 1996 / Updated on January 29, 1996
    Version 1.3 / Copyright 1996 by the University of Florida
    Location: http://www.med.ufl.edu/medinfo/mtx/guide.html
    Contact: Richard Rathe / rrathe@ufl.edu