[comp.text] LANDSCAPE in LATEX ?

phd_jacquier@gsbacd.uchicago.edu (12/05/89)

Hi,
I would like to know if there is a simple way to do landscaping in LATEX.
It seems that (at least on the VAX with VMS), there is no such possibility
built in TEX/LATEX.

The only thing i see is to have the pages to landscape in separate files,
change the textwidth and textheight, and use the VMS instruction
	IMPRINT/LANDSCAPE 
to print on an imagen.  Of course it's a mess with the page numbers etc..
etc...

Why is it that LATEX can't do what WordPerfect 5.0 does? Will that capability
be included in the new version to come ? Isn't this an important part
of document writing (wide tables to put across the page) that should
have been included?

EJ

dhosek@jarthur.Claremont.EDU (D.A. Hosek) (12/05/89)

In article <6547@tank.uchicago.edu> phd_jacquier@gsbacd.uchicago.edu writes:

>Hi,
>I would like to know if there is a simple way to do landscaping in LATEX.
>It seems that (at least on the VAX with VMS), there is no such possibility
>built in TEX/LATEX.

>The only thing i see is to have the pages to landscape in separate files,
>change the textwidth and textheight, and use the VMS instruction
>	IMPRINT/LANDSCAPE 
>to print on an imagen.  Of course it's a mess with the page numbers etc..
>etc...

>Why is it that LATEX can't do what WordPerfect 5.0 does? Will that capability
>be included in the new version to come ? Isn't this an important part
>of document writing (wide tables to put across the page) that should
>have been included?

This feature is generally considered to be the function of the DVI driver,
a task which is accomplished via the use of \special. Since this varies
from driver to driver (and not all drivers support it), one can't simply
say that on a "VAX with VMS" TeX and LaTeX won't do what you want. 
Instead, it would be more accurate to say that IMPRINT won't do it. 
(what, in fact, you want to do is rotate only a portion of the page).

When the DVI driver standard is completed and becomes widespread, this 
should cease to be an issue.

-dh
-- 
"Odi et amo, quare id faciam, fortasse requiris?
   nescio, sed fieri sentio et excrucior"          -Catullus
D.A. Hosek.                        UUCP: uunet!jarthur!dhosek
                               Internet: dhosek@hmcvax.claremont.edu