[comp.text.tex] a style file for printing address labels?

farkas@eecg.toronto.edu (Keith I. Farkas) (05/23/91)

I have a list of names and addresses that I wish to print in a three column
format as shown below.

Name 1			Name 2			Name 3
Address line 1		Address line 1		Address line 1
Address line 2		Address line 2		Address line 2
Address line 3					Address line 3

Name 4			Name 5
Address line 1		Address line 1

** NOTE: the number of address lines is not the same for all names.

While I can use one of the multicolumn styles (i.e. threecolumn or
multicol), the "name" lines won't necessarily line up. Ideally, I would like
to have a vertical equivalent to the "mbox" command.  That is, a command
that would let me specify the width AND the number of lines. Then I could
use the "vbox" command with one of the multicolumn styles.

Any ideas,

	thanks.
		Keith Farkas
		farkas@eecg.toronto.edu
		

marcel@cs.caltech.edu (Marcel van der Goot) (05/24/91)

farkas@eecg.toronto.edu (Keith I. Farkas) wrote

> I have a list of names and addresses that I wish to print in a three column
> format as shown below.

midnight/labels.tex will do this:

	\input labels
	\hlbls=3 % three columns of labels
	\vlbls=5 % five rows of labels
	\beginlabels
	    % addresses, separated by empty lines
	\endlabels
	\bye

or	\input labels
	\hlbls=3 \vlbls=5
	\labelfile{xxx} % if file xxx has the addresses
	\bye

(Use TeX instead of LaTeX; that really doesn't matter, since your input is
just the addresses, nothing else.)

There are also control sequences to change the size of the labels, to
change the space between the labels, to specify that you want a box
around the labels, etc.

labels.tex, and the documentation, labels.doc, are available from
ymir.claremont.edu [134.173.4.23], directory [tex.inputs.midnight].


                                          Marcel van der Goot
 .----------------------------------------------------------------
 | Blauw de viooltjes,                    marcel@vlsi.cs.caltech.edu
 |    Rood zijn de rozen;
 | Een rijm kan gezet
 |    Met plaksel en dozen.
 |