danher@lan.informatik.tu-muenchen.dbp.de (Daniel Hernandez) (06/28/90)
In article <741@usage.csd.unsw.oz.au> stevea@vast.eecs.unsw.oz (Steve Avery (Hell's disciple)) writes: > I have downloaded the emtex package (which I am very impressed with), > and installed it all. It works fine, except for TeXcad. I have > unzipped the texcad archive (from terminator.cc.umich.edu) straight into > my emtex directory, but every time I try to run it, I get.... C'on, that's an easy one: > Maus-Fehler: Maustreiber nicht installiert oder keine Maus da. | | | | | | | | | | Mouse error: Mouse driver not installed or no mouse there. > > Could some kind soul tell me what this means, and perhaps let me know > how I should have TeXcad set up? > I just happened to be playing around with TeXcad, so here are a couple of unauthorized English remarks on some non-obvious facts (to me) stated in the German Dokumentation of TeXcad Version 2.6. (March 1990): ---------------------------------------------------------------------- DISCLAIMER: I'm not the author nor a TeXcad guru. Just a potential user that happens to understand German! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- * TeXcad allows to draw and edit graphically the kind of objects that can be handled by LaTeX's picture environment and produces the corresponding LaTeX code as output (only the picture environment itself, which should be \inputed elsewhere) * TeXcad is written in Turbo Pascal (Version 5) and runs on all IBM PC/XT/AT and compatibles, provided: - they have a graphic adaptter for which there is a Turbo Pascal driver (several included in *.bgi files) - they have a MOUSE ATTACHED, AND THE MOUSE DRIVER HAS BEEN LOADED PRIOR TO THE CALL OF TEXCAD. * Installation: - copy texcad.exe, texcad.opt, gh.bat, ask.exe and *.bgi to the ``tex'' directory - copy emlines.sty and gh.tex to the ``texinputs'' directory. * Use: - left mouse button: select command or point, return, yes ('ja') depending on context - right mouse button: esc, no ('nein') E - while entering points S D move window X - ruler's units can be changed with OPTION/UNITLENGTH - Text in a box is represented by BT (that is not actually shown on screen) - emlines are lines with no slope restrictions (OPTIONS/EMLINES); they work only with emTeX's dvi-driver - COPY/MODE/DELETE/SAVE MACRO require selecting (picking) objects or areas to which the command will apply - COPY and MOVE work by entering start and end of a ``displacement'' vector (you also use this technique to enter the width of lines in dashboxes, something I find clumsy...) * File format: \unitlength=unit1 \special{em:linewidth unit2} \linethickness{unit2} \begin{picture}(x,y) \put(x,y){picture-object} . .... or ...... . \emline{x1}{y1}{counter}{x2}{y2}{counter} . \end{picture} - while reading: o everything before and after the picture environment is ignored o lines in a picture environment, which are not \put or \emline are kept uninterpreted and written back on exit (e.g. for font selection) - the parser is picky: - the program ends on all parsing mistakes (it does save first, however) - it requires optionals, where LaTeX does not, eg [cc] in \framebox (so it will have trouble reading pictures not generated by TeXcad itself; however a little testing will tell you how to modify those pictures so that TeXcad can read them) Finally, it's maybe appropriate to point out that TeXcad is shareware. The author's address is: Georg Horn Burgweg 1a 5400 Koblenz-Moselweiss Fed. Rep. of Germany -- Daniel Hernandez Inst. f. Informatik, Technische Universit"at M"unchen Arcisstr. 21, 8000 Munich 2, Fed. Rep. of Germany E-Mail (preferred): danher@lan.informatik.tu-muenchen.dbp.de UUCP: danher@tumult.{uucp|informatik.tu-muenchen.de} BITNET: danher at dmotui1s