[comp.text.tex] Midnight Macros announcement

marcel@cs.caltech.edu (Marcel van der Goot) (05/16/91)

I have made a set of TeX macro files available. They can all be used
with plain TeX, but some (most) can also be used with LaTeX. The files
come in two parts: xxx.tex has the macros and is the file you
should \input to use them; xxx.doc describes how to use the macros.
The files can be obtained from ymir.claremont.edu [134.173.4.23],
directory [tex.inputs.midnight]. Maybe soon also from other archives.

Comments about the macros are quite welcome. (But please, read the
documentation first before you ask questions about usage; and don't ask
me to send you files.)

The collection of macros, known as ``Midnight Macros,'' currently
consists of the following:

quire [.tex, .doc]: The main use of these macros is to typeset little
	booklets made of folded sheets (by reordering the pages).
	However, they also solve some other problems: Printing outlines
	around pages, printing two pages per sheet of paper, and
	printing crop marks. (This should also work with LaTeX.)
        [I know, all of this could also be done with PostScript; for
	that matter, it can also easily be done on the dvi-file.]

gloss: To make glossed sentences. (If you don't know what that means,
	you're probably not a linguist and have no use for it.)

loop: This provides a new looping construct, with \break and \continue
	``statements.'' I think it is considerably easier to use than
	plain TeX's \loop macro.

dolines: Macros that help you write other macros for which the line
	breaks inserted by the user are important. (You also need loop.tex
	to use this.)

labels: To print address labels from plain line-by-line input without
	macro calls. You can set the size of the labels. There is also
	a macro to print form letters based on the same list of addresses.
	(You need dolines.tex and loop.tex to use labels.tex.)


Final remark:
 When you TeX the documentation, TeX will try to load a font
 called ``cmman.'' If you don't have it, just type <return> to the
 error message; the font is not actually used.


                                          Marcel van der Goot
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