MacFormat 1995 January

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ MacFormat 1995 January / macformat-020.iso / Shareware City / Applications / Alpha.5.96 folder / Help / LaTeX Help < prev next >

Wrap

Text File | 1994-09-17 | 55.1 KB | 1,203 lines | [TEXT/ALFA]

NOTE: This is the help file for latex.tcl v2.3 (compatible with LaTeX 2e). For backward compatibility with LaTeX 2.09, install latex.tcl v2.0 by choosing 'install:latex' on the Utils menu. =========================================================================== ALPHA LaTeX MACROS =========================================================================== This is the "LaTeX Help" file available from Alpha's Help menu. To navigate this file quickly, activate the window's mark menu by pressing the '{}' icon on the toolbar at the right. Documentation ------------- Besides this Help file, there is also the file "LaTeX Key Bindings" on the Help menu which contains an alphabetical listing of all the command keys bound to the various LaTeX commands. In addition to these on-line help files, there are other documentation files stored in Alpha's LaTeX folder (in both the "LaTeX 2.09" and "LaTeX 2e" folders). For example, numerous tables summarizing the content of the LaTeX menu are contained in the file "latex_commands.tex". Essentially the same information, but in an abbreviated form, will be found in "latex_keys.tex". Both are LaTeX documents which you can view or print with your favorite LaTeX application. The LaTeX Menu -------------- When entering TeX mode, either manually (by choosing 'TeX' from the pop-up mode menu on the toolbar at the right) or automatically (whenever a .tex or .sty file is activated), a new menu appears in the menu bar. The LaTeX menu provides access to scores of procedures stored in source form in a file called latex.tcl loaded automatically the first time 'TeX' mode is entered. The LaTeX menu follows closely the organization and terminology of L. Lamport's _LaTeX: A Document Preparation System_ [second edition, Addison-Wesley, 1994], especially chapter 3. Many people agree that the _LaTeX_ book is still the definitive LaTeX reference and, in conjunction with _The LaTeX Companion_ by Goossens, Mittlebach and Samarin [Addison-Wesley, 1994], constitutes the "official" LaTeX2e documentation. These books, as well as Knuth's classic _TeXbook_ [Addison-Wesley, 1986], should be on every serious LaTeX user's desk. LaTeX2e ------- Beginning with version 2.2, latex.tcl supports LaTeX2e, a superset of LaTeX 2.09. LaTeX2e will compile a 2.09 document automatically, using what is called "compatibility mode". Most of the LaTeX 2.09 commands and environments have been preserved in 2e, making the transition from 2.09 to 2e (from the user's point of view, at least) relatively painless. For those who have not yet upgraded to LaTeX2e, the old LaTeX 2.09 macros are still available. Just choose 'install:LaTeX' on the Utils menu and follow the prompts to install the other version. Note, however, that all present and future enhancements to the Alpha LaTeX macros will be directed towards LaTeX2e users, and so you are encouraged to upgrade as soon as possible. Installation ------------ Alpha is configured to use the LaTeX macros right out of the box, so there is no installation process per se. But there are a number of flags and variables that control the inner workings of latex.tcl which may be changed at the user's discretion. Simply press the "flag" icon on the toolbar to the right to see the list of possibilities. wordwrap --- if true, the program automatically inserts a carriage return as the cursor nears the end of the line (defined by the variable 'fillcolumn'); otherwise, the line extends to the right indefinitely. By default, 'wordwrap' is turned on in TeX mode. useStatusBar --- determines whether or not the status bar is to be used when prompting for user input. (The status bar is a long, thin message area at the bottom of your screen.) Alpha's status bar is enabled in TeX mode, by default. See the related flag 'promptNoisily' below. optionIsMeta --- if true, the option key is used as a meta key (see the section entitled "Meta Keys" below); otherwise, the option key is used as an ordinary modifier key. Against Pete's better judgement, this flag is set to false, by default. useDollarSigns --- support is provided for both the TeX and LaTeX methods of invoking math mode (see the Math Modes submenu for the various options). But only one of these is bound to command keys (which are <Cmd Opt $> and <Shf Cmd Opt $> by default), and this is what the flag 'useDollarSigns' is for. If set to true, latex.tcl uses dollar signs to delimit math mode ( $...$ and $$...$$ ); if false, LaTeX notation will be used ( $...$ and \[...\] ). By default, 'useDollarSigns' is set to false---the LaTeX way of doing things. searchNoisily --- latex.tcl searches the current document for a variety of reasons. If the search fails, and 'searchNoisily' is set to true, the program displays a message on the status bar and beeps. If, on the other hand, 'searchNoisily' is set to false, only the message is displayed. By default, 'searchNoisily' is set to true. promptNoisily --- some environment commands prompt the user for input. As mentioned above, if 'useStatusBar' is set to true, the prompt is displayed on the thin status bar at the bottom of the screen. This is less obtrusive than an alert, but may go unnoticed at first, so if 'promptNoisily' is set to true (which it is, by default) and 'useStatusBar' has been enabled, the program beeps prior to displaying the prompt. You can turn off this annoying sound by invoking the "flag" pop-up menu on the toolbar at the right and removing the tick on 'promptNoisily'. deleteObjectNoisily --- one of the basic latex.tcl operations (see the section "Basic Operations" below) is to insert an object into the current document. If, at the time the insertion command is issued, there is a selection (i.e., highlighted text), then the program behaves differently depending on the value of the flag 'deleteObjectNoisily'. If set to true, the user will be prompted before any selected text is deleted; if, on the other hand, this flag is false, then the selection is replaced quietly and without warning (although it may be undone). By default, 'deleteObjectNoisily' is set to true. NOTE: Not all objects are "inserted" into the document since sometimes there is an attempt to "wrap" the current selection. See the section "Basic Operations" and the file "latex_commands.tex" for more information. deleteEnvironmentNoisily --- before an environment is inserted into the document, the program checks to see if there is a selection. If so, and the flag 'deleteEnvironmentNoisily' is set to true, the user is asked whether or not the current selection should be replaced; if false, the current selection is deleted without warning. The default value of 'deleteEnvironmentNoisily' has been set to true. As with objects, environments may wrap, so sometimes the current selection (if there is one) is treated differently. See the section "Basic Operations" and the file "latex_commands.tex" for more information. useBoxMacro --- if true, the body of a figure environment consists of a call to the box-making macro stored in the variable 'boxMacroName' (see below); if false, the body of a figure environment is left blank unless there is a current selection, in which case the selection is wrapped. boxMacroName --- the name of the box-making macro to use in the body of the figure environment. Has no effect, of course, if the flag 'useBoxMacro' (see above) is set to false. The default value of 'boxMacroName' is "BoxedEPSF", the name of a TeX macro defined as part of the boxedeps package written by Laurent Siebenmann. There are, of course, other box-making macros one could use, but none, perhaps, is as cross-platform compatible as boxedeps. (Not everyone will agree with this assessment, and that is why we made sure that the value of 'boxMacroName' can be easily changed.) funcExpr --- in TeX mode, 'funcExpr' is a regular expression used to search for a subsection header (see the commands 'nextSubsection' and 'prevSubsection' on the Goto submenu). funcExprAlt --- a regular expression used to search for a section header (see the commands 'nextSection' and 'prevSection' on the Goto submenu). prefixString --- used in conjunction with the 'insertPrefix' and 'removePrefix' commands on the Convert:Strings submenu. In TeX mode, this string is set to "% " which makes 'insertPrefix' very useful for commenting out blocks of LaTeX code. wordBreak, wordBreakPreface --- see the explanations in Alpha's "Intro" file on the Help menu. All of the above flags and variables are listed on the "flag" pop-up menu on the toolbar at the right. Other flags and variables (such as 'fillcolumn' mentioned earlier) may be added to the list by choosing 'changeList' from the "flag" menu. One useful installation trick that you might want to put in your "userStartup.tcl" is the following: bind 't' <cs> {newMode TeX} With this binding, it's easy to invoke TeX mode no matter where you are or what you're doing. Using this command key definition---regardless of the file you're currently editing---select 'New' from the File menu (or press <Cmd N>) and then <Cmd Shf T> to conjure up LaTeX mode and the LaTeX menu. Basic Operations ---------------- The macros in latex.tcl revolve around two basic operations called 'insertObject' and 'wrapObject'. Basically, 'insertObject' is a call to 'insertText' preceded by the automatic deletion of previously selected text (this behavior is easily changed, however, by resetting the flag 'deleteObjectNoisily' on the "flag" pop-up menu on the toolbar on the right). For example, if there is no current selection, choosing the command 'Greek:alpha' from the LaTeX menu inserts the corresponding LaTeX command at the insertion point; otherwise it replaces the current selection with the string "\alpha". In other words, 'insertObject' works just like the familiar 'Edit:Paste' command. It turns out that a good number of the commands in latex.tcl rely on 'insertObject', but it's usually faster to just type the desired LaTeX command at the keyboard. (Even faster is to use the corresponding command keys...but more on that later.) On the other hand, if you forget the syntax of a particular LaTeX command, it's easier to look it up on the menu than it is in the _LaTeX_ book. The complementary operation to 'insertObject' is called 'wrapObject'. The difference between the two is the way the latter treats the current selection, that is, 'wrapObject' inserts its argument at the insertion point (just like 'insertObject'), but if there is a selection, 'wrapObject' cuts it out (without effecting the state of the Clipboard) inserting it in the middle of the chosen command. For example, consider the LaTeX menu command 'Miscellaneous:footnote'. This command inserts the string "\footnote{}•" (without the double quotes, of course) into the document, positioning the insertion point between the pair of braces. The user then types the text to be footnoted and presses the <Tab> key, after which the tab stop macro finds (and deletes) the bullet • at the end of the string. (Note: use <Opt Tab> to insert a literal tab character into the document.) On the other hand, if a selection exists at the time 'Miscellaneous:footnote' is issued, the selection itself is surrounded by LaTeX's \footnote command, and the insertion point is brought to the end of the selection automatically. Some commands, for better or worse, even go so far as to insert the selection into one of several competing positions within the command string. The 'Formulas:fraction' command is a good example of this type of behavior. It assumes the current selection (if there is one) is the numerator of the fraction to be typeset, cutting & pasting accordingly. The concept of wrapping is carried one step further in the case of an environment. Suppose you want to center an existing tabular environment, for example. Just select the tabular environment to be centered and choose 'Environments:center' from the LaTeX menu. The resulting center environment will completely surround the existing tabular environment, indenting the latter one tab stop to the right. Not all environments wrap, however. Those environments whose body is very structured (such as enumerate, itemize, description, thebibliography, tabular, array, eqnarray, and eqnarray*) do not. Instead, these environments simply insert text into the document. If there happens to be a selection at the time one of these commands is issued, an alert appears asking if the selection should be deleted. To turn this alert off, simply toggle the flag 'deleteEnvironmentNoisily' on the "flag" pop-up menu. Whitespace ---------- Before continuing, let me say a few words about whitespace. In virtually all cases, superfluous whitespace in command strings has been deleted. For example, objects inserted with 'insertObject' (a sizable portion of latex.tcl's functionality) do not routinely insert a trailing space character. Instead, the user must decide whether or not space should immediately follow a particular LaTeX control word, as sometimes it's needed and sometimes it's not. Setting 'indentOnCR' on the Mode:Flags submenu to false also prevents a lot of extraneous whitespace from being inserted into your document, but then it won't look so good! =========================================================================== VERSION HISTORY =========================================================================== Changes in Version 2.3 ---------------------- • A handy install mechanism (designed and implemented by Tom Pollard) lets the user choose between the old LaTeX macros (aka LaTeX 2.09) and the current version (which is LaTeX 2e-compatible). Simply choose 'install:LaTeX' on the Utils menu to switch versions. • Totally redesigned the kernel so that the insertion of LaTeX environments and document templates is faster and less choppy. • The 'Typeset' command is now bound to <Cmd T> (thanks, Pete!) and supports version 2.2 of CMacTeX (courtesy of its author, Tom Kiffe). • The navigation commands 'bibtex' and 'makeindex' are now on the Goto submenu (compliments of Tom Pollard). • Added \textnormal to the Text Style submenu. It has no corresponding command key, by default. • Added 'flushleft' and 'flushright' commands to the Environments submenu on either side of 'center'. • Added a new Utilities submenu. There's a procedure called 'clearTabStops' (bound to <Cmd Tab>) which removes all tab stops, and another proc called 'convertDollarSigns' which replaces all dollar signs with appropriate LaTeX syntax (see the "MathModes" section of this document). Both these commands act on the current document or the current selection (if there is one). Another command called 'loadSymbolPackage' carefully inserts the string "\usepackage{latexsym}" into the current document (see p.42 of the _LaTeX_ book). • Added 'smallskip', 'medskip', and 'bigskip' to the Spacing submenu. • Modified 'filecontents' on the Documents submenu so that the user is presented with a standard file dialog for selecting the file to be prepended to the current document. • Fixed a bug in "latexKeys.tcl" (reported by Christian Konrad <Konrad@dax1.w7.ipp-garching.mpg.de>) that prevented Bib mode from initializing TeX mode. • Both the figure and table environments now have optional arguments. • Added the flag 'promptNoisily' to the "flags" pop-up menu. • Listed many of the corresponding command keys in the "LaTeX Help" file (i.e., this file). Changes in Version 2.2 ---------------------- • Improved the messages throughout. (These can be read from the status line at the bottom of your screen.) • Significantly enhanced the letter documentclass template. • The 'Typeset' command (formerly called 'Latex') on the LaTeX menu not only switches to the appropriate LaTeX app (Textures and OzTeX are currently supported), but also TeXs the current document automatically, with a single keystroke. (Thanks to Tom Pollard for assistance.) • Interchanged the command keys assigned to 'eqnarray' and 'eqnarrayStar' so that they parallel those assigned to 'displaymath' and 'equation'. As a result, un-numbered equations begin with the <Opt Shf> modifier while numbered equations begin with <Opt Ctl>. Also, 'eqnarrayStar' comes before 'eqnarray' on the Math Environments submenu. • Changed the command keys for the 'slide', 'tabular', and 'thebibliography' environments. (These changes were needed to make way for new environments). See the files "latex_commands.tex" and "latex_keys.tex" for a complete list of command keys suitable for printing. • Changed "\documentstyle" to "\documentclass" in the document templates to conform with LaTeX2e syntax. Added a generic "\usepackage" command to each of the templates. • Added the \appendix declaration to the Sectioning submenu. • Reorganized the Text Style menu according to LaTeX2e conventions. Changed "{\em }" to "\emph{}", "{\it }" to "\textit{}" and "{\sl }" to "\textsl{}", and removed the italic correction on all three (which LaTeX2e now handles automatically). Also changed "{\sc }" to "\textsc{}", "{\bf }" to "\textbf{}", "{\rm }" to "\textrm{}", "{\sf }" to "\textsf{}", and "{\tt }" to "\texttt{}". Added \underline (which works in any mode), as well as \textup and \textmd (the default shape and series, respectively). The latter two commands do not have assigned command keys, by default. • Added four new math styles to the Math Style submenu: "\mathrm", "\mathbf", "\mathsf", and "\mathtt". Changed the name of "\mit" to "\mathit" and "\cal" to "\mathcal". Relocated the Math Style submenu higher up on the LaTeX menu. • Added support for the new "slides" documentclass, and the associated environments "slide", "overlay", and "note". • Implemented the Functions submenu, a menu of 34 log-like functions. • Added omicron to the Greek submenu, for completeness. • Added many commands, too numerous to mention by name, to the Binary Operations, Relations, Arrows, Symbols, and Large Operators submenus. • Some LaTeX2e symbols require the input of a special symbol package. In latex.tcl, before such a symbol is inserted into the text, a macro automatically checks to see if the required symbol package is loaded. If not, the user may opt to have the program install it automatically. • Added a Page Layout submenu and macros to insert a title page and abstract. There is also a 'maketitle' command which inserts a template into the current document and positions it automatically. (Note: The "titlepage" style is often used in conjunction with \maketitle. See the 'styles' command on the Documents submenu.) Other page layout commands have also been added. • Fine tuned the insertion macros so that input is less choppy. • Command names now mimic their LaTeX2e counterparts as much as possible. • Streamlined the code underlying the Delimiters submenu. • Added a 'center' command to the Environments submenu. • By default, <Cmd Opt $> and <Shf Cmd Opt $> are respectively bound to 'latexMath' and 'latexDisplaymath' (previously, these keys were bound to 'texMath' and 'texDisplaymath'). Users wanting to use the old-style dollar signs to invoke math mode should set the flag 'useDollarSigns' to true. • TeX mode now recognizes the suffixes .ltx, .dtx and .ins, in addition to .tex and .sty. (Note that the suffixes are case sensitive, however.) • Restored the <Opt 8> keystroke to its default Macintosh setting (which necessitated moving \bullet to <Cmd Opt 8>). Thus <Opt 8> inserts a literal bullet into the .tex document. Bullets may be used in conjunction with the tab stop mechanism (<Tab> and <Shf Tab>), and are great for setting "bookmarks", for example. • The <Tab> and <Shf Tab> keys now beep if a tab stop is not found. This can be turned off by setting the 'searchNoisily' flag to false. (Note: Other search operations in latex.tcl also beep; the 'searchNoisily' flag applies to all of them simultaneously.) • Added a proc called 'nthTabStop' (bound to <Ctl Tab>) which generalizes the existing 'nextTabStop' and 'prevTabStop' routines by taking an arbitrary integer argument. • Added a new Goto submenu containing the various navigation commands mentioned above. Also included are commands for moving to and from the next and previous (sub)sections. (See the docs for the corresponding command keys.) • Added more than ten commands to the Boxes submenu, including \fbox, \sbox, \raisebox, \parbox, and \rule. There's also a new minipage environment. • Reorganized and enhanced the Spacing submenu with additional commands, the first half-dozen of which are listed in increasing order of "wideness". Adjusted the corresponding command keys (all of which are a modified spacebar) so that they more closely match the order of the menu items. • To facilitate file transfer, LaTeX2e now has a 'filecontents' environment which contains the source of a LaTeX auxiliary file. This new environment is supported in latex.tcl 2.2 on the Documents submenu. Also on the Documents submenu are new commands for automatically inserting standard LaTeX2e styles and packages. • Implemented the International submenu, including most of the symbols and half of the accents. • The \mathcal command on the Math Style submenu now checks to see that its argument is upper-case. • Broke the latex.tcl source code into four parts: latex.tcl, latexMode.tcl, latexMenu.tcl, and latexKeys.tcl. • Fixed 'wordBreak' and 'wordBreakPreface' (thanks Pete!) so that the leading backslash is now selected when double-clicking a LaTeX command. • The flags 'optionIsMeta' and 'useDollarSigns' (on the "flag" pop-up menu) are now dynamic in the sense that they may be changed at any time with immediate effect. • Environments which prompt the user for input (enumerate, itemize, description, thebibliography, tabular, array, eqnarray, and eqnarray*) now do so on the status line at the bottom of the screen. (Version 2.1, a development version, was never released.) Changes in Version 2.0 ---------------------- • The documentation (LaTeX Help and latex_commands.tex) has been totally rewritten. • A new, expanded LaTeX menu has been implemented, following closely the organization and terminology of the LaTeX book. • Ellipses have been added to LaTeX menu items where appropriate. • Macros intelligently respond to the current selection---although many objects simply replace the current selection (similar to Paste), others conveniently and automatically wrap themselves around it. Environments automatically wrap themselves around a selection, too. • Functionality has been localized in utility macros as much as possible. • Standard document types (letter, article, report, and book) have been added. Simply select some text (or not) before choosing the desired command from the Documents menu. • Three flags have been added to the Utils menu: 'useBoxMacro' (which controls the behavior of the figure environment), 'deleteObjectNoisily' (which controls an alert that appears when the current selection is about to be replaced by an object), and 'deleteEnvironmentNoisily' (which controls an alert that appears when the current selection is about to be replaced by an environment). • Many new environments have been added (figure, table, verbatim, quote, quotation, verse) and some (enumerate, itemize, description, tabular, bibliography, array, eqnarray, and eqnarry*) now prompt the user for the desired number of rows and, in some cases, columns. The environment body is then constructed automatically. • The figure environment now depends on a flag called 'useBoxMacro' on the Utils menu. If this flag is true (which it is by default), then the figure environment inserts the string "\\centerline{\\$boxMacroName{•}}" into its body. Otherwise, the body of the figure environment is left empty (unless there is a current selection, in which case the figure environment wraps). • A new, improved fraction macro now parses a selection of the form "numerator/denominator" and then automatically constructs the corresponding displayed fraction. A selection not containing a "/" is inserted in lieu of the fraction's numerator. • Both TeX and LaTeX math modes are supported, including $...$, $$...$$, $...$, and \[...\]. These are inserted into the document horizontal- ly. The corresponding multi-line environments \begin{math}...\end{math} and \begin{displaymath}...\end{displaymath} are also supported and heartily recommended (since these constructs are more easily modified and maintained by the user). • There's now a two-parameter nth root, in addition to square root. • Arbitrary one- and two-parameter LaTeX commands have been implemented, namely, \<command>{•} and \<command>{•}{•}. These can be run inter- actively, or used as templates for user-defined commands. • In addition to sum and integral, numerous "large operators" (product, union, intersection, logical and/or) have been added. • The nonumber command has been removed since it only appears in the context of an eqnarray environment. • Both the Conjugate and Expected Value commands have been removed since in my (perhaps limited) experience these are nonstandard mathematical notation. • Sectioning commands no longer insert a trailing carriage return. • The Sum and Integral commands no longer typeset the current selection as the lower limit of the sum or integral. • The command texDisplayEqn is no longer supported. Instead, the commands MathModes:texDisplaymath and MathModes:latexDisplaymath insert themselves horizontally into the .tex file. For vertical source code formatting, use MathEnvironments:Displaymath. • Extraneous comments preceding each environment have been removed. • The command alignEqual has been removed since the separator is now inserted automatically into the appropriate environments. Changes in Version 1.2 ---------------------- • **IMPORTANT**: KEYBINDINGS NOW DEPENDENT ON optionIsMeta FLAG • macros shortened through use of movePoint and selReplace utility macros. • new macros added: section, subsection, subsubsection, enumerate, itemize • most short macros handle selected text (i.e. highlight "word", execute the boldface command, and you get "{\bf word}"). NOTE: this is OPTIONAL--you can still execute boldface, type "word", and type tab. • latex key bindings only performed the first time Tex mode is entered, to save time • emphasize macro updated Changes in Version 1.1 ---------------------- • non-breaking space removed from cite macro • slide environment macro added and assigned to o-F9 and c-o-9 • equation, displaymath, eqnarray, eqnarray*, slide, and general environment now indent and no longer insert a blank line if called from column 0. • texDisplayEqn ($$...$$) added and bound to o-s-4 Bugs ---- Comments, suggestions, and bug reports are certainly welcomed. In fact, many of the improvements and features in this version of latex.tcl were suggested by Alpha LaTeX users like yourself. Please contact Tom Scavo 616 Westcott St. Syracuse, NY 13210 USA <trscavo@syr.edu> with your ideas and feedback. The following are known bugs in latex.tcl: • when wrapping, the fraction command does not remove redundant parentheses. • 'nthTabStop' on the Goto submenu doesn't validate the user's input. • 'styles' assumes the \documentclass statement already has an optional parameter (which it does if the document template was inserted via the LaTeX menu). • none of the environment commands that prompt for the number of rows or columns validates the user's input. Future Enhancements ------------------- Here's a list of things that I've thought about, but haven't got around to. If there's something here that catches your eye, drop me a line and I'll move it up a notch on the priority list. • an interactive list-making command • interactive (re)newcommand, (re)newenvironment, and newtheorem commands • a tabbing environment (yuck!) • an index environment • support for the AMS math fonts • the ability to "unwrap" fractions and other complex objects • support for other keyboards (AZERTY, for example) • dynamic itemize, enumerate, and description environments • the ability to remove ordinary delimiters • multi-line big delimiters • 'stackrel' should wrap on its second argument • somehow implement \| (that is, "||") • tiny icons for each of the items on the Greek submenu • support for the "graphics" package • support for the "color" package • a 'selectEnvironment' command (tough!) • more command keys on the menus (please ask Pete :-) • put 'boxMacroName' on the Boxes submenu • dream up a set of command keys for the Font Size submenu • menu commands that dim out of context (tough!) • support for AMS-LaTeX =========================================================================== MENUS =========================================================================== The LaTeX menu is organized into four parts: general commands, document-related commands, paragraph mode commands (that is, normal text commands), and math mode commands. Each group of commands is separated by a thin grey line on the LaTeX menu. The order of the commands on any give submenu is significant insofar as possible. For example, the various commands on the Environments submenu mirror the corresponding command keys, while submenus such as Relations and Arrows follow exactly the ordering found in the _LaTeX_ book. We'll try to point out these organizational aids as we go along. A brief description of each available command follows. See the file "latex_commands.tex" for summary info. Navigation Commands ------------------- Typeset <Cmd T> If you use Textures, OzTeX or CMacTeX, you'll be happy to know that Alpha and LaTeX now work better together. To typeset the file you're currently editing in Alpha, simply choose 'typeset' from the LaTeX menu or press <Cmd T>. Alpha first checks to make sure that any changes to the file have been saved, then switches to LaTeX and typesets the file---automatically. The inverse operation, switching from LaTeX to Alpha, depends on which LaTeX app you're using. OzTeX users simply choose 'edit' from OzTeX's Edit menu or press <Cmd E> to return to Alpha. (By the way, typing "e" in response to a LaTeX error message in the OzTeX window throws you back into Alpha at the offending line. The same trick works in CMacTeX, too.) Goto:LaTeX <Cmd -> This command switches to your favorite LaTeX app *without* saving and typesetting the current document. It is identical to the old 'latex' command in v2.0. Goto:BibTeX Goto:MakeIndex These commands switch to the corresponding Macintosh application. Goto:nextTabStop <Tab> Goto:prevTabStop <Shf Tab> As you build your document using the various commands on the LaTeX menu, templates are inserted into the text complete with tabstops (represented by bullets, which are also inserted with <Opt 8>). The idea is to enter an argument at the current tab stop, press <Tab> to go to the next tab stop, enter another argument, press <Tab> again, and so on. That's what 'nextTabStop' and 'prevTabStop' do: they move around from tab stop to tab stop. Since 'nextTabStop' and 'prevTabStop' are bound to the <Tab> and <Shf Tab>, respectively, the menu commands aren't as convenient as simply pressing the tab key---they're included on the LaTeX menu for completeness. NOTE: Press <Opt Tab> to insert a literal tab into the document. Goto:nthTabStop <Ctl Tab> This command generalizes 'nextTabStop' and 'prevTabStop'. The user is prompted for an integer (positive or negative) which specifies which tab stop to go to (relative to the cursor position). Goto:nextSection <Shf Kpad3> Goto:prevSection <Shf Kpad1> These commands are useful for navigating large files with many sections and/or chapters. They utilize the regular expression 'funcExprAlt' on the "flag" pop-up menu (which, of course, may be modified). Goto:nextSubsection <Kpad3> Goto:prevSubsection <Kpad1> These commands are similar in function to 'nextSection' and 'prevSection' except that they also stop at each \subsection and \subsubsection as well. Uses 'funcExpr' on the "flag" pop-up menu (which may also be modified). In TeX mode, these commands take the place of Alpha's generic 'nextFunc' and 'prevFunc', and are bound to the same command keys (<Kpad3> and <Kpad1>, respectively). Utilities:clearTabStops <Cmd Tab> The 'clearTabStops' command removes all tab stops (bullets) from the current document (or the current selection, if there is one). Utilities:convertDollarSigns Plain TeX uses dollar signs to delimit math mode and displaymath mode. Since LaTeX inherits most (all?) of plain TeX's functionality, dollar signs work in LaTeX documents, too. But identical left and right delimiters are difficult to parse, and so any error messages will be misleading at best. That is why LaTeX has its own math mode delimiters and why they should be used. The 'convertDollarSigns' command will replace all dollar signs in the current document (or the current selection, if there is one) with appropriate LaTeX syntax. It does this by making two passes over the code, and is therefore kind of slow on large documents. Document-related Commands ------------------------- Documents:letter The most complex of all the document templates: includes tab stops for the letter's mailing address, return address, salutation, closing, etc. Documents:article Documents:report Documents:book Documents:slides Choosing one of these document templates from the Documents submenu either inserts the desired template at the insertion point or, if there is a current selection---say, a paragraph of text or an entire document---the selection is wrapped up inside the chosen template. In either case, the insertion point is positioned at the beginning of the template where the user enters any specific style options that may be required (standard options include "11pt", "twoside" and "twocolumn", for example). If none are desired, simply skip over this part of the template (it's okay to leave the empty square brackets where they are). See the command 'Documents:styles' below for more information on style options. Documents:custom... In addition to the standard LaTeX documentclasses (letter, article, report, book, and slides) a custom documentclass that queries the user for the name of the class is provided. Documents:styles... Presents the user with a dialog box and a list of standard styles. Choosing one of these or typing a custom style name into the text box of the dialog automatically inserts the chosen style into the current document at the appropriate place. Documents:packages... Like 'styles', this command gives a list of standard packages from which to choose. Documents:filecontents... To facilitate file transfer, LaTeX2e now has a 'filecontents' environment which contains the source of a LaTeX auxiliary file. Issuing this command brings up a standard file dialog. After locating the file to be included, latex.tcl wraps the contents of this file inside a filecontents environment, and inserts it at the beginning of the current document. PageLayout:maketitle LaTeX's \maketitle command formats a title page with information provided by the user. Choosing this command from the LaTeX menu inserts a template into the current document just after the \begin{document} command. PageLayout:abstract PageLayout:titlepage 'abstract' and 'titlepage' are environments containing the text of an abstract and title page, respectively. The latter differs from \maketitle in that the user is totally responsible for the format of the title page. PageLayout:pagestyle... PageLayout:thispagestyle... PageLayout:pagenumbering... The 'pagestyle' and 'thispagestyle' commands control what appears in the header and footer of the current document. The user is presented with a list of standard formats from which to choose. The 'pagenumbering' command is for choosing the style of the page numbers, and is also interactive. PageLayout:twocolumn PageLayout:onecolumn These are simple declarations that tell LaTeX to begin formatting the output in two or one column format, respectively. Sectioning:part Sectioning:chapter Sectioning:section Sectioning:subsection Sectioning:subsubsection Sectioning:paragraph Sectioning:subparagraph All LaTeX sectioning commands are available from the Sectioning submenu, the most common being the chapter, section, and subsection commands. The corresponding LaTeX command is inserted at the insertion point. The current selection, if there is one, is assumed to be the name of the section and wrapped up inside curly braces. The resulting declaration is NOT automatically followed by a carriage return since the user has the option of putting a label (or whatever) on the same line. Sectioning:appendix Unlike the other sectioning commands, this command does not have an argument. It simply tells LaTeX to start numbering differently. The \appendix declaration only makes sense in the context of a long document such as a book. Paragraph Mode Commands ----------------------- The following eleven commands take an argument, namely, the text to be formatted in the given style. For large amounts of text, use the corresponding declarations on p.37 of the _LaTeX_ book. TextStyle:emph <Cmd Shf E> Short for "emphasized", this command is perhaps the most-used LaTeX text style. If the surrounding text has the upright shape (see below), then LaTeX typesets emphasized text in italics. If the surrounding text is italicized, then emphasized text will be upright. TextStyle:underline <Cmd Opt U> Although underlined text is not used much anymore, the corresponding command is included here for completeness. The 'underline' command may also be used in math mode and appears on the Grouping submenu. TextStyle:textup TextStyle:textit <Cmd Shf I> TextStyle:textsl <Cmd Shf S> TextStyle:textsc <Cmd Shf H> These four commands specify the SHAPE of their respective arguments. They call for upright text, italics, slanted text, and small caps, respectively. Upright is the default. TextStyle:textmd TextStyle:textbf <Cmd Shf B> These commands specify an attribute called the SERIES of the corresponding font. They call for medium and boldfaced text, respectively. Medium is the default. TextStyle:textrm <Cmd Shf R> TextStyle:textsf <Cmd Shf W> TextStyle:texttt <Cmd Shf T> The third and final component of any given font is the FAMILY. There are three families: roman, sans serif, and typewriter. Roman is the default. International: latex.tcl implements about half of LaTeX's full palette of international symbols and accents (if you can think of way to get the rest on the LaTeX menu, please let me know!). See Tables 3.1 and 3.2 on pp.38--39 of the _LaTeX_ book for a complete list. Environments:enumerate <Opt F7> Environments:itemize <Opt Shf F7> Environments:description <Opt Ctl F7> Environments:thebibliography <Cmd Opt F7> Environments:slide <Opt F8> Environments:overlay <Opt Shf F8> Environments:note <Opt Ctl F8> Environments:figure <Opt F9> Environments:table <Opt Shf F9> Environments:tabular <Opt Ctl F9> Environments:verbatim <Opt F10> Environments:quote <Opt Shf F10> Environments:quotation <Opt Ctl F10> Environments:verse <Cmd Opt F10> Environments:flushleft <Opt F11> Environments:center <Opt Shf F11> Environments:flushright <Opt Ctl F11> Environments:general <Opt F12> Perhaps the most useful of latex.tcl's many features is its ability to insert skeletal templates for multi-line environments (that is, LaTeX constructs delimited by a \begin...\end pair). These may be inserted anywhere in the document (even in the middle of a line), complete with tab stops and appropriate indentation (provided the Alpha variable 'indentOnCR', available on the Mode:Flags submenu, is set to true). In some cases (like 'enumerate'), the user is asked to specify the number of rows desired, after which the program generates the corresponding environment body complete with punctuation and tab stops. Some environment commands (like 'tabular') also prompt the user for the desired number of columns. There's even a 'general' command for inserting user-defined environments on the fly. Note: The Environments submenu seeks to mimic the corresponding command keys. Each group of environments on this submenu has been assigned a different function key, beginning with <F7>. The 'general' environment, for instance, is bound to <Opt F12>. See "latex_commands.tex" for more information. Boxes:mbox <Cmd Shf M> or <Cmd Opt M> Boxes:makebox Perhaps the most useful box-making command is \mbox, which formats its argument in LR mode, a restricted form of paragraph mode impervious to line breaks. The \mbox command is especially useful for inserting a bit of plain text in the middle of a math formula (see the _LaTeX_ book for examples). The \makebox command is a generalized form of \mbox which takes the width and height of the box as additional arguments. Boxes:fbox Boxes:framebox \fbox and \framebox are analogous to \mbox and \makebox except that a rectangular frame is drawn around the box. Boxes:newsavebox Boxes:sbox Boxes:savebox Boxes:usebox A "savebox" is a bin for storing text, graphics, formulas, or whatever. The argument to \sbox or \savebox is typeset *once* and may be recalled later, any number of times, via \usebox. Boxes:raisebox This box-making command takes a vertical offset as one of its arguments. Boxes:parbox Boxes:minipage The primary argument of LaTeX's parbox and minipage commands is typeset in paragraph mode. \parbox is for small amounts of text, while minipage is an environment. Boxes:rule \rule makes a box filled with ink. For example, \newcommand{\filledsquare}{\rule[0.125ex]{1.3ex}{1.3ex}} makes a black square approximately the same size as LaTeX's open \Box, but without the need for the AMS fonts (wherein \blacksquare is defined explicitly). Miscellaneous:ellipsis <Opt ;> Miscellaneous:en-dash Miscellaneous:em-dash Miscellaneous:TeXLogo Miscellaneous:LaTeXLogo Miscellaneous:LaTeX2eLogo Miscellaneous:date Miscellaneous:dag <Opt Shf T> Miscellaneous:ddag Miscellaneous:sectionMark <Opt 6> Miscellaneous:paragraphMark <Opt 7> Miscellaneous:copyright <Opt Ctl G> Miscellaneous:pounds The previous six commands may be used in any mode, including math mode. Miscellaneous:quotes <Cmd Shf '> Miscellaneous:doubleQuotes <Cmd Shf Opt '> latex.tcl has a "smart quotes" feature (implemented by some unknown author in "UserCode:smart.tcl") which makes the typing of quoted material totally transparent. Just use the quote key as you would for straight text files. Consequently, the commands 'quotes' and 'doubleQuotes' are primarily used for selecting and quoting existing text. Miscellaneous:marginalNote <Cmd Shf N> Miscellaneous:footnote <Cmd Shf F> Miscellaneous:label <Cmd Shf L> Miscellaneous:ref <Cmd Shf X> Miscellaneous:pageref <Cmd Shf P> Miscellaneous:cite <Cmd Shf C> Miscellaneous:item Miscellaneous:bibitem Other text-related LaTeX commands that I've found useful from time to time are also listed under the Miscellaneous submenu. Math Mode Commands ------------------ MathMode:TeXMath MathMode:TeXDisplaymath MathMode:LaTeXMath <Cmd Opt 4> MathMode:LaTeXDisplaymath <Cmd Shf Opt 4> Math mode may be invoked in any number of ways. Many TeXnical typists rely exclusively on TeX's use of dollar signs, and almost always key in their documents horizontally from left to right. Others have adopted LaTeX's tendency to prefer vertical constructions (that is, environments). Still others have settled on some combination of these, using whichever seems comfortable or convenient at the time. Whatever your approach to mathematical typesetting, there's something for everybody in latex.tcl, designed to simplify the input of complex mathematical formulas. Four Math Modes are available for normal, everyday left-to-right input. These are called Tex Math ( $...$ ) and Tex Displaymath ( $$...$$ ), and their corresponding LaTeX equivalents called Latex Math ( $...$ ) and Latex Displaymath ( \[...\] ). The LaTeX versions are equivalent to the multi-line 'math' and 'displaymath' environments (see below). The latter have the advantage that 1) they are often more readable in source form, and 2) they are more easily changed (by simply replacing keywords) as the document evolves. MathStyle:mathit <Cmd Shf Opt I> MathStyle:mathrm <Cmd Shf Opt R> MathStyle:mathbf <Cmd Shf Opt B> MathStyle:mathsf <Cmd Shf Opt W> MathStyle:mathtt MathStyle:mathcal <Cmd Shf Opt C> MathStyle:displaystyle <Opt ]> MathStyle:textstyle <Opt Shf ]> MathStyle:scriptstyle <Opt Ctl ]> MathStyle:scriptscriptstyle <Cmd Opt ]> The next submenu on the LaTeX menu is called Math Style, with commands for math italic, roman, boldface, sans serif, typewriter and calligraphic typefaces, as well as declarations for displaystyle, textstyle, scriptstyle, and scriptscriptstyle. The latter command quartet are sometimes needed to override LaTeX's default math style. (The array environment, for example, insists on enabling textstyle regardless of the surrounding environment.) Future versions of latex.tcl will also provide support for the AMS Fonts. MathEnvironments:math <Opt F5> MathEnvironments:displaymath <Opt Shf F5> MathEnvironments:equation <Opt Ctl F5> MathEnvironments:array <Opt F6> MathEnvironments:eqnarray* <Opt Shf F6> MathEnvironments:eqnarray <Opt Ctl F6> MathEnvironments:general <Opt F12> Other multi-line Math Environments ('equation', 'array', 'eqnarray', and 'eqnarray*') are also available, and each is mutually exclusive (that is, one may not be nested inside the other) except for the 'array' environment which _must_ be nested inside some other math environment. (It took me a long time to come to grips with this anomaly). There's also a 'general' environment command which, for all practical purposes, is exactly the same one available in paragraph mode (see above). Formulas:subscript <Cmd Opt ,> or <Cmd Opt -> Formulas:superscript <Cmd Opt .> or <Cmd Opt 6> Formulas:fraction <Cmd Opt F> or <Cmd Opt /> Formulas:squareRoot <Cmd Opt R> Formulas:nthRoot <Cmd Opt N> Formulas:oneParameter <Cmd Shf \> Formulas:twoParameters <Cmd Shf Opt \> The Formulas submenu contains LaTeX commands commonly used to build up even the simplest mathematical expressions. There are commands for typesetting subscripts and superscripts, fractions (which used to be difficult to typeset), square roots, and arbitrary nth roots. There are also one- and two-parameter LaTeX commands which prompt the user to type in a command name. Next to latex.tcl's environment commands, the formula commands are most useful. (In fact, it pays to memorize their command key equivalents...but more on that later.) While we're talking about the Formulas submenu, let me say a little bit about latex.tcl's ability to parse fractions. How many times have you found yourself wanting to recast a horizontally typeset fraction such as $x = (-b \pm \sqrt{b^2 - 4ac})/(2a)$ in a corresponding "vertical" form such as $$x = \frac{(-b \pm \sqrt{b^2 - 4ac})}{(2a)}$$? Obviously, such an operation involves a lot of cutting and pasting, and I used to avoid it like the plague. Well, now all you have to do is select the text you want converted (in this case, all the text inside the dollar signs except "x = ") and then choose Formulas:Fraction from the LaTeX menu. The rest is automatic. (Now if only I could get it to automatically remove those redundant parentheses... :-) Greek: The longest of latex.tcl's submenus contains the entire Greek alphabet, including both lower- and upper-case letters, plus a handful of lower-case "italicized" letters (\varepsilon, \vartheta, \varpi, \varrho, \varsigma, and \varphi). Each of the Greek letters has a corresponding command key, the same command key assigned by the Macintosh Symbol font. See "latex_commands.tex" or "latex_keys.tex" for a useful summary. BinaryOperators: Relations: Plain TeX defines an incredible variety of mathematical symbols, each transparently available to the LaTeX user. All of these symbols have been implemented in this version of latex.tcl. Arrows: Dots: Symbols: A quick glance at the _LaTeX_ book shows a wide assortment of arrows, dots, and miscellaneous mathematical symbols. Starting with v2.2, all of these have been implemented in latex.tcl. See the Arrows, Dots, and Symbols submenus for lists of available commands. Functions: All of TeX's so-called "log-like" functions (\exp and \sin, for instance) have been implemented in this version of latex.tcl. LargeOperators: The latex.tcl macro package also provides support for TeX's so-called "large operators". Commands such as 'sum', 'prod', 'int', 'bigcup', 'bigcap', 'bigvee', and 'bigwedge' may be found on the Large Operators submenu. Delimiters: TeX is particularly adept at "delimiting" arbitrary-sized mathematical expressions. Examples include parenthesized equations, matrices, and determinants. Since the left and right delimiters need not be of the same type, there are a host of options from which to choose, and so we're presented with an interesting design problem. A workable compromise was achieved by implementing a handful of common delimiters explicitly, and then providing access to other more esoteric combinations via dialogs. Consequently, commands for 'big parentheses', 'big brackets', 'big braces', and 'big vertical bars' (i.e., absolute value signs) will be found on the Delimiters submenu, along with a 'big left brace' (commonly used to define multi-part functions or systems of equations), as well as commands called 'other big delims' and 'other mixed big delims'. The latter two commands are interactive---the user either types the delimiter name directly into a text box or chooses the desired name from a pop-up menu of available options. Also on the Delimiters submenu are normal-sized 'parentheses', 'brackets', 'braces', 'vertical bars', and other fixed-size delimiters. MathAccents: Math accents (not to be confused with diacritical marks used in paragraph mode) are accessed from a submenu of the same name. There are commands for hats, bars, tildes, vectors, dots, etc., plus wide hats and tildes. There are also commands for dotless versions of the letters "i" and "j" used in conjuction with these accents. Insofar as possible, the macros check to make sure that only single characters are being accented, or in the case of wide accents, three or fewer characters. Grouping: The Grouping submenu has commands for underlining and overlining, and related commands for underbraces and overbraces. There's also a command called 'stackrel' used to construct compound operators via vertical stacking (see p.50 of the _LaTeX_ book for more information). Spacing: The Spacing submenu provides for various types of horizontal spacing. There are commands for negative thin, thin, medium, and thick amounts of whitespace, and additional commands for inserting the traditional typesetter's quad (1em) and double quad. Arbitrary horizontal whitespace, defined via LaTeX's \hspace command, and vertical whitespace via \vspace, may also be inserted from the Spacing submenu. LaTeX's "fill" commands will also be found on this submenu. =========================================================================== COMMAND KEYS =========================================================================== Menus are great when first learning a program, but eventually the tendency is to move away from menus towards commands keys. This can significantly speed the input process. Few of us, however, are inclined to memorize more than a couple dozen such keystrokes unless continually prompted with reminders. Unfortunately, it's not possible to display complex command key sequences on user-defined Alpha menus and so we must resort to external aids (see the files "latex_commands.tex" and "latex_commands.tex" in the LaTeX folder). Other than that, a logical approach to key assignments is about all we can hope for. Key Assignments --------------- A few remarks will help you remember the many command key sequences. Almost all commands that use 'wrapObject' have been assigned command keys beginning with either <Cmd Shf>, <Cmd Opt>, or <Cmd Shf Opt>. The first of these is reserved for paragraph mode and the others for math mode. On the other hand, commands that use 'insertObject' almost always have command keys beginning with <Opt>, <Opt Shf>, or <Opt Ctl>. Knowing these simple facts helps tremendously. In many cases, we've honored normal Mac keyboarding conventions. For example, the 'ellipsis' command has been assigned <Opt ;>. Similarly, the commands 'leq' ("less or equal") and 'geq' ("greater or equal") have been assigned <Opt ,> and <Opt .>, respectively. All the Greek letters have been assigned standard Mac option keys. There are other key sequences that you'll no doubt recognize, too. There's also a certain amount of redundancy built in. For example, the ubiquitous 'subscript' and 'superscript' commands each have a pair of command keys assigned to them, <Cmd Opt ,> and <Cmd Opt -> in the case of 'subscript', and <Cmd Opt .> and <Cmd Opt 6> for 'superscript'. Take your pick! See the files "latex_commands.tex" and "latex_commands.tex" for useful summaries. Meta Keys --------- The LaTeX key bindings make heavy use of the option key. This is fine if you never learned those strange emacs-type key combinations, or if you are accustomed to using the escape key for the meta-key combinations. However, if you are taking advantage of Alpha's ability to use the option key for the meta-key combinations (by setting optionIsMeta to 1), you have undoubtedly noticed that you have a problem in TeX mode, where <Opt V> inserts "\nabla" rather than scrolling up one screen. Fear not. If you want to use option as a meta key in TeX mode, tick the 'optionIsMeta' flag on the "flag" pop-up menu at the right. As a result, all the latex key bindings will have the control key added to them (except the tab and keypad keys), and option will work as a meta key. NOTE: latex.tcl was designed to be used with 'optionIsMeta' set to false. Setting it to true will prevent you from using some of the command keys, namely those keys which are already being modified by the control key.