Help File for vutex VMS installations: syntax: !vutex [f1] [f2] [\p1 [,p2]...)] purpose: vutex processor will print a TeX produced dvi file to an ordinary ASCII device f1 - name of an existing dvi file created by TeX. The string '.dvi' will be appended to the end of the input name. f2 - name of a valid ASCII output device. The string '.vut' will be appended to the end of the input name. If no file name for f2 is entered, output will default to SYS$OUTPUT. If neither f2 nor f2 is entered, the user will be prompted for both. f1 must be entered at that time, while a null response to the prompt for f2 will default output to SYS$OUTPUT. p1,p2,... options to control output Options: The available options are given by: S or s : for the starting page number P or p : for the number of pages, beginning at S W or w : for the width of the page in characters before truncation T or t : for true TeX spacing as opposed to compressed G or g : to initiate processing without further dialog If no option is entered, you will be prompted for 4 parameters, all of which may be defaulted by simply hitting RETURN. For example, $vutex out This is vutex, DPS8/CP6 Version 0.01 Starting page (default=*): 3 Maximum number of pages (default=1000000): Output truncated at column (default=160): 80 Compress interword spacing, Y or N (default=Y): The first two are identical to those for dvilg8 and dvism, namely starting page number and number of pages to type. The third prompt is for the page width in characters (on most terminals, this is 80; on printers, this is 132). The fourth option allows the user to compress the spacing between words to one space. The text for each line will begin in the proper column at the left margin but all other TeX spacing between words will be reduced to one space. If the user should not select the compress option, each separate word will be left justified in the the space provided by TeX, and sup and super scripts will usually appear on separate lines. This option is most useful for tables and mathematical equations. Other invocations would include: $vutex \t,w=80 DVI file: test.dvi VUT file: or $vutex test junk\w=132,s=4 Seeing TeX output! One of the more frustrating things about TeX and its precise positioning of characters is that ``what you get is far more than what you can see'' on an ordinary ASCII terminal. The only devices for TeX output on the mainframe have been the laser printers, and that usually equates to running to get ( and waiting for ) your output, and excessive waste of paper. Note that at most installations, laser output is costed at about 10 times that produced by ordinary hammer printers. So, a program has been written to allow the TeX user to preview the output before sending it to the laser printer. Of course, the terminal screen (or an ordinary printer) still cannot handle the fine spacing of TeX, nor can it display all the characters you might wish to print. But, you will see an approximation to the spacing of words across the line and lines down the page. If your output was to a file, such as *vut in the example, you may copy that file to an ordinary line printer, or you may use a screen editor to view it. Note the following: 1. Some characters may not appear because they landed in a place already occupied. Two characters from a small TeX font may fit into the space provided on the screen, so vutex can only print one such character. 2. The output with true TeX spacing, may be wider than an ordinary screen of 80 characters, or even a printer page of 132 characters. With ordinary text you can compress the text and substantially reduce the width of the page, but text with lots of off-line text will appear best in true TeX mode. A screen editor may be used to view the output by switching from left to right side of the page. The present installation limits the width to 160 characters per line. 3. Lines of small type or with extraordinary small interline spacing may appear superimposed in spaces in the previous line. 4. \special has not been implemented and will be ignored by vutex. 5. If characters are missing from a line because of truncation or superimposition, then a > sign will appear in the first position of that line. 6. Unprintable characters from ASCII fonts, such as Greek symbols, and special math symbols, etc. will appear as # marks. However, as much as possible, vutex will try to print a meaningful character to suggest what is in the TeX output e.g. S is used to replace an integral sign. 7. A + sign in the first position of a line means that it contains super scripts to the next line down, while a - sign means that it contains sub scripts to the previous line up. 8. At the end of each TeX page, a ruler is drawn (in centimeters) to indicate the horizontal scale (this will not appear on the TeX output to a printer). Usually the vertical scale is only an approximation of the true TeX spacing, and some pages may appear physically shorter than others. If it is desired that all pages be the same length, perhaps with a form feed, this alteration can be made to the code. Note: In the examples given above, it is assumed that a suitable CLD file has been implemented. (See vutex.cld on the program disk)