Re: [NTG-context] Which version is best for MSWindows users.?
In message [EMAIL PROTECTED], John Culleton
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes
So how would you start an absolute newbie to e.g., Context and pdfetex?
Where would you point them for their first download?
Mswintex.zip is another option for a basic (Context only) setup that
avoids the frighteningly large list of checkbox options presented by
MikTeX. The only problems I had installing mswintex.zip were in trying
to find any installation instructions. :-) (Note to Hans: if
installation instructions do exist then please make them more visible.)
So I wrote my own :-) which I have attached and which you are welcome to
use freely. The only caveat is that I already had ActiveState Perl
installed on my machine so I don't know whether it needs to be installed
separately in order to make texexec work or whether mswintex.zip handles
this on its own as well. I would be grateful if you could check this out
for me.
If the instructions do work then please also let Hans know and maybe he
could add them to the mswintex.zip distribution? No need to keep my name
in there - people might start asking me for help (which would be bad for
them). ;-)
Regards,
--
Bruce Horrocks
Surrey
England
firstname@surname.plus.com -- fix the obvious for email
I can't find a proper install guide for mswintex.zip under XP Professional
(SP2) so here is a quick summary:
1) Unzip mswintex.zip into c:\tex (d:\tex etc. should be fine if you have
another drive/partition).
2) Start a CMD shell and run the commands:
C:\tex c:\tex\setuptex.bat
C:\tex mktexlsr
C:\tex texexec --make --alone en metafun
(The last line sets up ConTeXt for English. Use nl for Dutch, de for German.)
3) Now the problems start. The setuptex.bat file ought to go into autoexec.nt
so that it is run on startup. Unfortunately texexec doesn't seem to want to run
at all from a command.com shell (only a cmd.exe shell) but cmd.exe isn't
interested in running autoexec.nt. So far I've just been starting a shell and
running the c:\tex\setuptex.bat by hand each time.
Since setuptex.bat only sets environment variables (type 'set' to see which)
you could enter them into the registry via START - Settings - Control Panel
- System - Advanced - Environment Variables and then they would be set
permanently.
4) Create a sample file to test the installation. Copy the following to a file
called demo.tex using Notepad. Put it into a working directory somewhere - I'm
assuming c:\work. (Tip: In Notepad, when you save the file, enter the filename
as demo.tex *including* the quotes and it won't add .txt to the filename.)
Don't include the start and end lines.
-- start --
% interface=en
\setuppapersize
[S6][S6]
\setuplayout
[width=middle,
height=middle]
\setuphead
[chapter]
[header=high,
style=\bfc,
alternative=middle]
\starttext
\title{Peter D. Ward}
The Earth, as a habitat for animal life, is in old age and
has a fatal illness. Several, in fact. It would be happening
whether humans had ever evolved or not. But our presence is
like the effect of an old|-|age patient who smokes many packs
of cigarettes per day |.| and we humans are the cigarettes.
\stoptext
-- end --
5) Start a cmd shell (or use the current one) and cd to c:\work. Run the
texsetup.bat script as per step 2 if you're using a fresh shell. Now run the
command:
c:\work texexec --batch --output=pdftex demo
This will create several working files (all called demo.something) plus a
demo.pdf (assuming that all has gone well).
Hope this helps.
Bruce Horrocks, Jan 2005___
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Re: [NTG-context] Which version is best for MSWindows users.?
In message [EMAIL PROTECTED], John Culleton [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes So how would you start an absolute newbie to e.g., Context and pdfetex? [Apologies if you get this twice - first time I used the wrong email identity so I think that the list server has quarantined or deleted it.] Mswintex.zip is another option for a basic (Context only) setup that avoids the frighteningly large list of checkbox options presented by MikTeX. The only problems I had installing mswintex.zip were in trying to find any installation instructions. :-) (Note to Hans: if installation instructions do exist then please make them more obvious.) So I wrote my own :-) which I have attached and which you are welcome to use freely. The only caveat is that I already had ActiveState Perl installed on my machine so I don't know whether it needs to be installed separately in order to make texexec work or whether mswintex.zip handles this on its own as well. I would be grateful if you could check this out for me. If the instructions do work then please also let Hans know and maybe he could add them to the mswintex.zip distribution? No need to keep my name in there - people might start asking me for help (which would be bad for them). ;-) Regards, -- Bruce Horrocks Surrey, UK ___ ntg-context mailing list ntg-context@ntg.nl http://www.ntg.nl/mailman/listinfo/ntg-context
Re: [NTG-context] Which version is best for MSWindows users.?
In message [EMAIL PROTECTED], Bruce Horrocks
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes
So I wrote my own :-) which I have attached and which you are welcome
Okay, this time they're attached. :-)
Regards,
--
Bruce Horrocks
Surrey, UK
I can't find a proper install guide for mswintex.zip under XP Professional
(SP2) so here is a quick summary:
1) Unzip mswintex.zip into c:\tex (d:\tex etc. should be fine if you have
another drive/partition).
2) Start a CMD shell and run the commands:
C:\tex c:\tex\setuptex.bat
C:\tex mktexlsr
C:\tex texexec --make --alone en metafun
(The last line sets up ConTeXt for English. Use nl for Dutch, de for German.)
3) Now the problems start. The setuptex.bat file ought to go into autoexec.nt
so that it is run on startup. Unfortunately texexec doesn't seem to want to run
at all from a command.com shell (only a cmd.exe shell) but cmd.exe isn't
interested in running autoexec.nt. So far I've just been starting a shell and
running the c:\tex\setuptex.bat by hand each time.
Since setuptex.bat only sets environment variables (type 'set' to see which)
you could enter them into the registry via START - Settings - Control Panel
- System - Advanced - Environment Variables and then they would be set
permanently.
4) Create a sample file to test the installation. Copy the following to a file
called demo.tex using Notepad. Put it into a working directory somewhere - I'm
assuming c:\work. (Tip: In Notepad, when you save the file, enter the filename
as demo.tex *including* the quotes and it won't add .txt to the filename.)
Don't include the start and end lines.
-- start --
% interface=en
\setuppapersize
[S6][S6]
\setuplayout
[width=middle,
height=middle]
\setuphead
[chapter]
[header=high,
style=\bfc,
alternative=middle]
\starttext
\title{Peter D. Ward}
The Earth, as a habitat for animal life, is in old age and
has a fatal illness. Several, in fact. It would be happening
whether humans had ever evolved or not. But our presence is
like the effect of an old|-|age patient who smokes many packs
of cigarettes per day |.| and we humans are the cigarettes.
\stoptext
-- end --
5) Start a cmd shell (or use the current one) and cd to c:\work. Run the
texsetup.bat script as per step 2 if you're using a fresh shell. Now run the
command:
c:\work texexec --batch --output=pdftex demo
This will create several working files (all called demo.something) plus a
demo.pdf (assuming that all has gone well).
Hope this helps.
Bruce Horrocks, Jan 2005___
ntg-context mailing list
ntg-context@ntg.nl
http://www.ntg.nl/mailman/listinfo/ntg-context
Re: [NTG-context] Which version is best for MSWindows users.?
I am writing some e-books on free software. I am recommending TeX (of course) and Context instead of LaTeX. The vast majority of my readers will be using some flavor of MSWindows. Unfortunately there have been problems in synchronizing Context releases and Miktex releases, in re. hyphenation and fonts in general. I need to recommend a download package for readers who will be newcomers to the world of TeX. Which is the safest pointer? I see Miktex as a possibility but also the stripped versions of the TeX distribution maintained on the Context site. So how would you start an absolute newbie to e.g., Context and pdfetex? Where would you point them for their first download? I think both MikTeX and Hans' minimal tree are good. The MikTeX installer might feel a bit more familiar to a newbie, but if you give them instructions on how to install the minimal tree, it shouldn't be anymore challenging than MikTeX. Also, I think it's easier to stay in sync with Hans' development of ConTeXt using the minimal windows distribution and updating via the texsync script. Although, using texsync would also entail installing Ruby and Cygwin (to get the Rsync program). I think the only unexpected thing I had to do to get the minimal windows tree working was to make the files in texmf-mswin\bin executable (the permissions were not right). Matt ___ ntg-context mailing list ntg-context@ntg.nl http://www.ntg.nl/mailman/listinfo/ntg-context
