;PS:TEX-FOR-PICTURES.TXT.9, 3-Oct-90 12:38:16, Edit by BEEBE TeX for Pictures [03-Oct-1990] This file collects information on support for combining pictures with material typeset by TeX, LaTeX, et al. See also: Nelson H.F. Beebe, ``TeX and Graphics: The State of the Problem'', Cahiers GUTenberg, No. 2, Mai 1989, pp. 13--53. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ >> Date: Sat, 25 Nov 89 14:06:57 GMT >> From: Sebastian P Q Rahtz >> Subject: Re: picture drawing (TeXhax Digest V89 #104) >> Keywords: pictures, graphics >> >> > From: Clement Pellerin >> >> > Can someone comment on the relative merit of tpic, epic, eepic, pictex, >> > and fig, or give a pointer to where such a work can be found. >> > Are there others that I missed (that do not require postscript)? >> some idle thoughts in no special order: >> >> - tpic requires you to have a Unix DWB license; it also requires a >> driver that understands tpic \special (there are many around, but I >> don't know of one, for instance, for HP LaserJet printers) >> - eepic is a reworking of epic which allows for more flexibility by >> replacing the core drawing primitives with tpic \specials >> - fig only runs (so far as I know) on Suns or machines running X >> Windows of some kind; the translators from fig code include ones to >> pictex and LaTeX picture mode, so its quite portable >> - how about gnutex for simple plotting? it has a LaTeX picture mode >> output >> - there have been several goes at plotting with Metafont - see the >> recent Tugboat for an article describing this approach >> >> you don't say what you want to use the things for, so there is no >> `right' answer. pictex is in many ways a good, flexible, portable >> solution, but its too big to live comfortably in standard-size TeX, >> and its sloooow. if you draw up a list of 10 desiderata for a method >> for graphics inclusion in TeX, all the approaches I know of fail one >> or more tests. Even if you allow yourself PostScript, it actually gets >> worse, as (for instance) pictures prepared on a Mac and included into >> TeX often cannot have decently typeset text. >> >> Sebastian Rahtz ------------------------------------------------------------------------ >> Date: Mon, 27 Nov 89 10:44:53 EST >> From: beck@cs.cornell.edu (Micah Beck) >> Subject: Re: TeXhax Digest V89 #104 >> Keywords: pictures, graphics >> >> In article <34594@cornell.UUCP> Clement Pellerin writes: >> >> >Can someone comment on the relative merit of tpic, epic, eepic, pictex, >> >and fig, or give a pointer to where such a work can be found. >> >Are there others that I missed (that do not require postscript)? >> >> These topics are discussed at some length in the TransFig manual, available >> as Cornell Technical Report #89-967. A more recent version of the manual >> is distributed along with the TransFig software package. >> >> TransFig is avialable via anonymous FTP from svax.cs.cornell.edu >> in ~ftp/pub/fig/transfig.tar.Z, or by mail from the archive server >> at sun.soe.clarkson.edu. >> >> Micah Beck >> Cornell CS Dept. >> -------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> Date: Sat, 9 Dec 89 11:07:44 -0800 >> From: Louis M. McDonald >> Subject: Some neat Macintosh utilities >> Keywords: PostScript, Macintosh >> >> I recently found the program AddLPrep on the BBS "America OnLine". This >> is a program that runs on the Mac and can be used to create "portable" >> PostScript. It is not perfect, and I have not been able to test it against >> non-Apple PostScript printers. A description follows. >> >> A copy of it (in STUFFIT/binhex format) can be found in aerospace.aero.org >> (26.2.0.65) as the file pub/addlaserprep.hqx. >> >> Also, if you do not read USENET newsgroup comp.binaries.mac, someone >> recently posted a MacDraw-Like program that can be used to create >> "picture" files for the LaTeX picture environment. >> I have not used it much, but it does seem to work okay. This can also >> be found on aerospace.aero.org, file is pub/pictex.hqx >> >> Louis McDonald >> >> %=== >> >> AddLPrep v1.2 Documentation 7/31/89 >> >> Apple's LaserWriter system allows a user to get a complete PostScript >> disk file (including the library code from the "Laser Prep" file) by >> hitting Command-K WHILE MOUSING DOWN on OK from the LaserWriter Print >> dialog, or a file without the library code by hitting Option-F. >> Option-K and Command-F may do one or the other (??). >> >> Unfortunately, the Laser Prep code includes a few features that make >> the Command-K file unusable on certain non-Apple laser printer systems, >> such as a DEC ScriptPrinter connected to a VAX. >> >> The AddLPrep program remedies this situation by adding a modified version >> of the PostScript code from the Laser Prep file to a PostScript file >> created by hitting Option-F. >> >> The output file produced by AddLPrep is thus suitable for >> downloading to any PostScript printer or typesetter. >> >> This version (1.2) differs from 1.1 in two ways: >> 1. It works with "Laserwriter 6.0" (AppleDict 70) as well as System 6.0 >> (AppleDict 68) and System 5.0 (AppleDict 65). >> 2. A problem is fixed, wherein the DA version caused a system crash >> after an error message. >> >> VERY IMPORTANT: AddLPrep is SHAREWARE and is copyright ) 1988 by >> Software101, Los Gatos, CA. Feel free to try it out and give >> copies to others, but if you find the program useful and continue >> to use it, send $20 to Software101, 15151 Old Ranch Road, Los Gatos, >> CA 95030. As indicated below, this program may need considerable >> support; problems will be solved only for those who have paid >> for the program. Someday, in some manner, new versions may be >> available only to those honest folks. >> >> TECHNICAL NOTE: >> AddLPrep substitutes the Laser Prep code for a line starting with: >> %%IncludeProcSet: "(AppleDict md)" >> If the input file does not contain a line like this, then AddLPrep >> produces an Alert box noting that it has just functioned as a text file >> duplicating program. (This will not occur for files created by Option-F >> as described above.) >> >> ABOUT RELIABILITY: >> As AddLPrep transfers the PostScript code from the Laser Prep >> file to the output file, it makes a few modifications to the code >> to make it suitable for use as a "transient" program that doesn't >> "take over" the printer or modify its state. AddLPrep has been >> tested with a number of common Mac applications and with a DEC >> ScriptPrinter. However, it may prove unreliable in any of the >> following cases: >> >> a) when used with a version of Laser Prep other than the ones >> distributed with Apple's System Software 5.0 and 6.0 (a.k.a. System >> 4.2/Finder 6.0 and 6.0/6.1 respectively). Internally, the code in >> these Laser Prep files is called version 65 and 68 respectively. The >> current version of AddLPrep (1.2) has also been tested with >> "Laserwriter 6.0"; the accompanying Laser Prep is >> called version 70 internally. >> >> If the Laser Prep file is sufficiently different, AddLPrep will detect >> the problem and show an Alert box. Or, >> >> b) when used with a different PostScript printer, or >> >> c) when used with applications other than those the author has tested >> it with, or >> >> d) when used with documents that contain graphic shapes other than >> those the author happens to have tested (e.g., arcs have not been >> tested). >> >> The most likely source of problems is a), for future versions of Laser >> Prep. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ From TeXMag V4N3 (Tue, 7 Aug 90 17:14:00 CDT): 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 svax.cs.cornell.edu (128.84.254.2) in ./pub/fig. Both Fig and TransFig are also available from the Clarkson archive server at sun.soe.clarkson.edu (see question 19). Both Fig and TransFig are supported by Micah Beck (beck@svax.cs.cornell.edu). XFig is essentially the same program except that it runs under X Windows. It is available via anonymous ftp from expo.lcs.mit.edu (18.30.0.22) in ./contrib/xfig-2.0.*.Z. Note that version 2.0 is the most recent. It was written by Brian Smith. For complete compatibility with TransFig, be sure to get at least patchlevel 4 of XFig 2.0. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [The End] -----------------------------------------------------------------------------