UKTeX Digest Friday, 27 Mar 1992 Volume 92 : Issue 12 ``The UKTeX Digest is brought to you as a free, unfunded and voluntary service of the UK TeX Users Group and the UK TeX Archive.'' Today's Topics: {Q&A}: Stretchable space in LaTeX \dbltextfloatsep Is the QMS-PS 825 MR {Announcements}: LaTeX updates, as of March 18, 1992. {Archive News}: FEYNMAN 1.0 latex macros available Administrivia: Moderators: Peter Abbott (Aston University) and David Osborne (University of Nottingham) Contributions: UKTeX@uk.ac.tex Administration, subscription and unsubscription requests: UKTeX-request@uk.ac.tex ------------------------------------------------------------ Date: Sun, 22 Mar 92 20:23:15 +0000 From: Alan Jeffrey Subject: Stretchable space in LaTeX \dbltextfloatsep I'm writing a newsletter using LaTeX, set in two columns. In the document style, I've removed any stretching space from all the page style parameters, in order to make sure that the baselines of the two columns lines up properly. This is all fine and well, as I can set all the vertical space in multiples of \baselineskip, and I won't get any underfull vboxes, even though there is no stretchable space anywhere on the page. Until, that is, I start using floats. My first attempt at setting floats was to set \textfloatsep and \dbltextfloatsep to be \baselineskip plus \baselineskip. This, I thought, would ensure that there was enough stretchable space at the top of the page to make up for its absence anywhere else. Unfortunately, this doesn't work, as my test file below shows. As far as I can see, what's going on is this: When LaTeX sets a 2-column page with a 2-column float of height X at the top, it calls \@addtodblcol, which (amongst other things) sets \@colht to be \@colht minus X minus \dbltextfloatsep. Then the text for that page is set in a box of height \@colht. Unfortunately, in doing so, all the stretchiness of \dbltextfloatsep has been lost. So, even if \dbltextfloatsep is strechable, its stretchiness will never be used, since the box containing the page will always be exactly \textheight - (height of floats) - \dbltextfloatsep high. Thus, although art10.sty sets: \dbltextfloatsep 20pt plus 2pt minus 4pt this strechiness will never be used. For the moment, I'll work out some hacky workaround for this problem, but it would be nice if it were sorted out for the next LaTeX release. Cheers, Alan. Alan Jeffrey Tel: +44 273 606755 x 3238 alanje@cogs.sussex.ac.uk School of Cognitive and Computer Sciences, Sussex Univ., Brighton BN1 9QH, UK. %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% cut here for test file %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% \documentstyle[twocolumn]{article} \begin{document} \makeatletter \def\dbltopfraction{1} \dbltextfloatsep .5\baselineskip plus \baselineskip \parsep0pt \flushbottom \begin{figure*}[t] This is a figure, with a gap in the middle of it: \vskip 15cm Wasn't that exciting? \end{figure*} This is a lot of text to pad out the rest of the page. This is a lot of text to pad out the rest of the page. This is a lot of text to pad out the rest of the page. This is a lot of text to pad out the rest of the page. This is a lot of text to pad out the rest of the page. This is a lot of text to pad out the rest of the page. [repeat often enough to get a three page document] \end{document} This produces the result: This is TeX, C Version 3.14t3 (test.tex LaTeX Version 2.09 <14 January 1992> (/usr/local/lib/tex/inputs/article.sty Standard Document Style `article' <14 Jan 92>. (/usr/local/lib/tex/inputs/art10.sty) (/usr/local/lib/tex/inputs/twocolum.sty)) (test.aux) [1] Underfull \vbox (badness 1242) has occurred while \output is active Underfull \vbox (badness 1242) has occurred while \output is active [2] [3] (test.aux) ) (see the transcript file for additional information) Output written on test.dvi (3 pages, 10412 bytes). Transcript written on test.log. Page two has had to be stretched, even though there is enough stretchable space in \dbltextfloatsep to make up for it. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 25 Mar 92 14:53:19 +0000 From: Adrian F Clark Subject: Is the QMS-PS 825 MR Does anyone have experience of the QMS-PS 825 MR laser printer as a TeX or PS output device? We're thinking of getting a couple and would like to know whether people have had any problems with it. It's based on the Canon TX engine, if that helps. Many thanks in advance. ..Adrian Dr Adrian F. Clark JANET: alien@uk.ac.essex INTERNET: alien%uk.ac.essex@nsfnet-relay.ac.uk FAX: (+44) 206-872900 BITNET: alien%uk.ac.essex@ac.uk PHONE: (+44) 206-872432 (direct) Dept ESE, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, Essex, C04 3SQ, UK. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 20 Mar 92 19:13:15 +0100 From: schoepf@de.ZIB-Berlin.sc (Rainer Schoepf) Subject: LaTeX updates, as of March 18, 1992. plain.tex has been updated recently by Donald Knuth. I take the opportunity to update the corresponding LaTeX files as well. At the same time, a number of minor problems and oversights have been corrected. For a detailed list consult the file latex.bug. The following files have been changed: latex.bug latex.tex local.tex lplain.tex slitex.tex splain.tex lcircle10.mf lcirclew10.mf line.mf line10.mf linew10.mf proc.doc bezier.sty letter.sty proc.sty Note: the changes to the Metafont files do not affect the fonts themselves, they provide better error checking when Metafont is used with the wrong base file. Therefore it is NOT necessary to recompile the fonts. Rainer Schoepf Konrad-Zuse-Zentrum ,,Ich mag es nicht, wenn fuer Informationstechnik Berlin sich die Dinge so frueh Heilbronner Strasse 10 am Morgen schon so D-1000 Berlin 31 dynamisch entwickeln!'' Federal Republic of Germany or ------------------------------ Date: 23 Mar 92 16:18:52 +0000 From: spqr@uk.ac.york.minster Subject: FEYNMAN 1.0 latex macros available Michael Levine's latex macros package (version 1.0) for drawing FEYNMAN diagrams is in the UK TeX Archive in [tex-archive.latex.contrib.feynman]. The [.doc] directory contains documenattion source and a pre-made PostScript version. NOTE! I have changed these macros to \input *lowercase* names because of the case-insensitive VAX the UK TeX Archive uses. Sebastian Rahtz ------------------------------ UK TeX ARCHIVE at ASTON UNIVERSITY >>> UK.AC.TEX <<< *** Interactive and file transfer access *** JANET: Host: uk.ac.tex, Username: public, Password: public DTE 000020120091 Internet: host tex.ac.uk [134.151.40.18] For telnet access, login: public, password: public For anonymous ftp, login: anonymous, password: *** Mail server *** Send mail to TeXserver@uk.ac.tex (JANET) or TeXserver@tex.ac.uk (rest of the world) with message body containing the word HELP \section FILES OF INTEREST [tex-archive]00readme.txt [tex-archive]00directory.list [tex-archive]00directory.size [tex-archive]00directory_dates.list [tex-archive]00last30days.files \section DIGESTS This year's UKTeX back issues are stored in the archive in directory [tex-archive.digests.uktex.92] This year's TeXhax back issues are stored in the archive in directory [tex-archive.digests.texhax.92] Latest TeXhax: V92 #04 TeXMaG back issues are stored in the archive in directory [tex-archive.digests.tex-mag] Latest TeXMaG: V5N3 \section MEDIA DISTRIBUTIONS \subsection Washington Unix TeX distribution tape Latest copy of May/June 1991 contains: TeX 3.14, LaTeX 2.09, Metafont 2.7, plus many utilities suitable for Unix 4.2/4.3BSD & System V tar format, 1600bpi, blockfactor 20, 1 file (36Mb) Copies available on: One 2400ft 0.5" tape sent to Aston with return labels AND return postage OR One Quarter-Inch Cartridge, QIC-120 or QIC-150 format (DC600A or DC6150) sent with envelope AND stamps for return postage to Nottingham (This service is offered only within the UK). 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