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- Newsgroups: comp.sys.next.software
- Path: sparky!uunet!stanford.edu!leland.Stanford.EDU!physics!dmitri
- From: dmitri@physics (Dmitri Linde)
- Subject: Answers to InstantTeX Questions
- Message-ID: <1992Jul22.053948.7691@leland.Stanford.EDU>
- Sender: news@leland.Stanford.EDU (Mr News)
- Organization: none
- Date: Wed, 22 Jul 92 05:39:48 GMT
- Lines: 144
-
- You might be interested in the ...
-
- ANSWERS TO THE InstantTeX QUESTIONS
-
-
- 1. 10-MINUTE LONG DEMO
-
- I have submitted InstantTeX 10-minute long demo to
- nova.cc.purdue.edu. It is in /pub/next/submissions, and it has
- replaced the previous demo. I apologize for posting the 2-minute long
- demo. It is indeed impossible to give justice to InstantTeX in 2
- minutes.
-
- 2. PRINTING
-
- Charlie in <1992Jul21.185459.11141@socrates.umd.edu> writes
-
- > Now for the good part--I clicked on help and InstantTeX passes its
- help(.dvi)
- > file to TeXView (NOTE: It installs its own Beta version(2.1) of
- TeXview!!!)
- > which in my rush I decided to print out. DO NOT DO THIS!!!! Since I
- didn't
- > notice that the "Custom Resolution" switch was ON (The InstantTeX
- version
- > of TeXview came this way, I checked)
- > my NeXT began generating fonts at 1270 dpi (also using up about 10
- M of
- > needed space in the process.)
- >
- > Fixes--(1) Make sure the CR switch is off,
- >
- > OR (2) Don't use the TeXview supplied by InstantTeX
- >
- > OR (3) Forget about the InstantTeX demo so you won't waste the
- > ENTIRE F****** afternoon for a two minute demo!!!!!!!
- >
-
- Old TeXview which comes with NeXTstep 2.0 does not work nicely with
- non-NeXT printers, because each time one has to click on the custom
- resolution button and set the custom resolution to 300. New TeXview
- which comes with InstantTeX selects the custom resolution flag by
- default and takes the custom resolution from your preferences
- database. This means that it is sufficient to set it once in a
- lifetime in order to print on a given printer. This is a very
- important improvement for users who have non-NeXT printers. Charlie's
- database contained customdpi=1270 because it is the default setting
- which comes with TeXview (NeXTstep 2.0 version), and this setting was
- not changed because apparently Charlie has a NeXT printer and does
- not use custom resolution. This setting actually was written to the
- database probably because Charlie used TeXview1.0 or TeXview3.0.
- The fact that 1270 resolution has to be changed to 400 by some users
- will be part of the installation section in the manual. I may also
- decide to reset the custom resolution entry in the database during
- the installation (if such entry exists). Note, that new TeXview has
- several other advantages as compared with the old one. In particular,
- InstantTeX mode will work on multiple-page documents ONLY if you use
- TeXview supplied with InstantTeX. New TeXview is not a beta version
- anymore; InstantTeX now supplies TeXview2.2.
-
-
- 3. COMPARISON OF InstantTeX TO OTHER TeX PRODUCTS.
-
- There exist four main TeX products for NeXT*
- 1)NeXTTeX 2.0
- 2)NeXTTeX 3.0
- 3)TeXmenu2.2
- 4)InstantTeX1.0
-
- InstantTeX offers the following main features unavailable in 1) 2)
- and 3).
-
- 1. InstantTeX makes it possible to TeX your file directly from Edit
- via a keystroke. NeXTTeX 2.0 requires a unix command typed in the
- Terminal. NeXTTeX 3.0 requires one to select a menu or double click
- on the file or to open TeXview and select a menu. TeXmenu2.2 requires
- one to open TeXmenu and press a key or click on a button. When you do
- it several times an hour, you really feel the difference.
-
- 2. InstantTeX has an Instant mode which allows you to TeX your file
- automatically as you are writing it and preview the results in
- TeXview almost instantaneously. No other program offers this feature.
- It saves your time, lets you edit your document faster. It is
- especially helpful when you are writing and editing equations, since
- you almost immediately see the output.
-
- 3. When TeX works with InstantTex in the Instant mode, it is very
- easy to locate an error: if you made an error, it is certainly in the
- part of the text you are currently working on. If you are in the
- normal mode, in all other editors except emacs* it is a pain in the
- neck to find an error. In the InstantTeX it is enough to click on a
- button (or to press a key) in TeXWorks, and Edit will automatically
- show you the line which contains the error. So far no other program
- offers this feature.
-
- 4. There are many other features which make life of TeX users a
- little bit easier. Such features range all the way from the online
- TeX reference card to automatic erasing of auxiliary files like
- filename.log.
-
-
- Footnote: * There are programs for the use of TeX with emacs editor.
- However, emacs itself is not easy to learn and to use.
-
-
- 4. PRICE
-
- The only other user-friendly programs with the features similar to
- those of InstantTeX are TeX for Amiga and Textures for Macintosh. TeX
- for Amiga does not have an InstantTeX mode. Its price is $300. The
- price of Textures is $495 with academic discount. Note, that the
- price for each of these programs is very high even though there exist
- public domain versions of TeX both for Amiga and for Macintosh. The
- price of InstantTeX is only $150. If you are ordering a network
- license, the price is $150 for running the program on the first
- computer and only $75 for each additional computer. We believe that
- this program makes NeXT one of the best (or possibly THE best)
- computer for writing papers in TeX, at a price which is about 3% of
- % the price of the computer itself!
-
-
-
- BOTTOM LINE:
-
- (1) Do use TeXview supplied with InstantTeX.
-
- (2) Set the custom resolution in the Print Panel in TeXview to 400 if
- you use a NeXT printer, or set it to 300 if you use non-NeXT printer
- (if the resolution is 300 by 300 dpi).
-
- (3) Get a new demo version and play with it. It may answer many of
- your other questions. You may read (or print) the manual for
- InstantTeX using `Help' menu.
-
- (4) Send us your comments about the program. We are here to make it
- even better.
-
- - Dmitri Linde
-
- Reply to dmitri@StarConn.com
-
- InstantTeX
- 744 Mayfield Avenue
- Stanford, CA 94305
-