[comp.text.tex] Desperately Seeking SliTeX Help!!!!

eln272v@monu1.cc.monash.oz ( r lang) (04/09/90)

In article <271@opusc.CS.SCAROLINA.EDU>, bert@snuffleupagus.csd.scarolina.edu (Bert Still) writes:
> I have tried to create slides using SliTeX according to Leslie Lamport's
> Appendix A to no avail...  If any kind sould could tell me why I might get
> the following error:
> 
> % latex foo
Here is the problem - use instead
% slitex foo
(The error message was generated because you were trying to use
a SliTeX font that was not defined in LaTeX)

If you don't have slitex prebuilt, you will need to use 
initex to produce splain.fmt from splain.tex (the slitex macros), 
and then use virtex to produce a slitex executable from splain.fmt.
The same happens with plain TeX from plain.tex, and LaTeX from lplain.tex.

> I think I have done things correctly
> in the file foo.tex.  Here's the entire file:
> 
> \documentstyle{slides}
> \pagestyle{empty}
> \begin{document}
> \begin{slide}{}
> This is a test.
> \end{slide}
> \end{document}
You should have two files, the root file and the slide file.
Try instead:

file: root.tex
\documentstyle{slides}
\begin{document}
This is front matter.
\colors{black}
\colorslides{slide1}
\end{document}

file: slide1.tex
\begin{slide}{blank}
This is a slide.
$y = x^{2}$
\end{slide}

-- 
Russell Lang   Email: rjl@monu1.cc.monash.edu.au   Phone: (03) 565 3460
Department of Electrical and Computer Systems Engineering
Monash University, Australia

des@elberton.inmos.co.uk (David Shepherd) (04/09/90)

In article <1929@monu1.cc.monash.oz>, eln272v@monu1.cc.monash.oz (    r 
lang) writes:
> > [description of "usual SliTeX problem no. 2" ... i.e. trying to
> >  use just one file ]
> You should have two files, the root file and the slide file.


as someone has brought this up .... can anyone give a reasonable
explanation as to why you *MUST* have this extra level of files
for SliTeX .... it just find it a pain !

david shepherd
INMOS ltd

ken@cs.rochester.edu (Ken Yap) (04/10/90)

|as someone has brought this up .... can anyone give a reasonable
|explanation as to why you *MUST* have this extra level of files
|for SliTeX .... it just find it a pain !

Yes, the reason become obvious when you see how colour (color to
USAns) layers are implemented: slitex iterates through each colour
with the slide file so there are 3 sets of pages, not interleaved. No
doubt you could eliminate this extra indirection level for B&W slides.

Once you get used to the idea, you just find yourself copying a
boilerplate root.tex into a new directory when you start making a new
set of slides. :-)