Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!ginosko!gem.mps.ohio-state.edu!wuarchive!psuvax1!psuvm!cunyvm!ndsuvm1.bitnet!nu013809
From: NU013809@NDSUVM1.BITNET (Greg Wettstein)
Newsgroups: comp.text
Subject: Re: Problem printing GNU manuals.
Message-ID: <2894NU013809@NDSUVM1>
Date: 7 Oct 89 13:15:21 GMT
References: <2881NU013809@NDSUVM1> <841@uakari.primate.wisc.edu>
Organization: North Dakota Higher Education Computer Network, Fargo, ND
Lines: 50
DISCLAIMER: Author bears full responsibility for contents of this article.

I spent the entire day yesterday on the problem and I have some additional
information which may help in generating a problem fix.  The problem now
appears to be totally related to an improper page length.  TeX seems to
be functioning properly in all regards but seems to assume that the printable
area is about 3 inches longer than it actually is.  This problem is occuring
when I printer either the GNU EMACS or GNU MAKE manual.

When I print either manual the various chapter and section headings start on
the top of the page in the correct position but the text always runs over the
perforation and onto the next page.  Printing continues downward on the next
next page for about three inches and then a pagebreak is generated.  The text
starts at the correct position on the next page but text is again continued
across the page margin and down about three inches onto the next page at
which time another page break is generated.

I am using Version 2.93 of TeX which was compiled from sources found on the
labrea machine at stanford.  I am using Nelson Beebes dvieps printer driver
which I picked up from the utah machine.  The lplain.tex file came from
Beebes machine and the texinfo.tex is from the 18.54 release of GNU EMACS.

I know that due to the complexity of TeX a thousand different things could
engender this problem but the problem is so straightforward that I assume that
something very simple is wrong.  I know about the :vsize variable but this is
set only in plain.tex which should be pristine.  Does texinfo invoke some kind
of scaling etc on this value that could be amiss and which could be tweaked???
Without knowing more than I do now twiddling with texinfo is kind of like
trying to improve the performance of a pocket watch by randomly poking a pin
into its internals, you might improve things but odds are not in your favor.

The only suggestion I have received so far is to grind the manuals up with
texi2roff and then process the result with [nt]roff.  My goal besides getting
the manuals printed is to develop some fluency with Tex(LaTeX,SliTeX) so that
I can utilize for numerous other personal printing projects that I have.
Backing away from TeX because I cannot get this to work would not be conducive
with that goal.  Besides the guantlet has been thrown down, its no longer a
project but a matter of principle between myself, TeX, texinfo and the
computer.  Anybody around the business for awhile will know what I am talking
about......

Any suggestions would be deeply appreciated.  Once I get a handle on whats
going on I will summarize back to comp.text.  Hopefully someone at a later time
may find the results useful.  Thanks in advance for any forthcoming assistance.


                                        As always,
                                        G.W.


Dr. G.W. Wettstein |"The truest mark of a Man's wisdom is his ability to listen
NU013809@NDSUVM1   |to other men expound their wisdom."