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From: templon@copper.ucs.indiana.edu (jeffrey templon)
Newsgroups: comp.text.tex
Subject: Re: Figures in (La)TeX (was: What is PiCTeX)
Summary: What about VMS?
Keywords: figures, latex, vms, ps
Message-ID: <54419@iuvax.cs.indiana.edu>
Date: 14 Aug 90 19:12:04 GMT
References: <3923@cica.cica.indiana.edu> <1194@carol.fwi.uva.nl>
Sender: news@iuvax.cs.indiana.edu
Organization: Indiana University, Bloomington IN.
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== There are several methodes for figures in (La)TeX:
== 
== 	1. LaTeX figure
== 	2. epic, eepic
== 	3. tpic
== 	4. PiCTeX
== 	5. postscript
== 
== 2. An improved version of 1.  Set of macros.  It is really rather good,
==    but causes TeX to run out of memory if...  Distribution includes manuals.

	Does this version make TeX code, or do you have to get the graphic in
the file using some form of \special?  Our current driver (QTEX for the
Talaris laser printer) does not support \special.  If this could work on
our system I am interested.  Where does one get the distribution?

== 4. Set of very powerful macros but even the smallest picture causes TeX

	Thanks, not interested if it is worse than {picture} mode in
LaTeX as far as memory usage.

== 5. Unlimited power.  I used these to create my figures.  E.g., first draw
==    your figures using xfig, then translate them with transfig (which is
==    public domain).  Transfig creates *.ps and *.tex from *.fig.  The
==    files *.tex can be included in your document, which causes *.ps to be
==    included by dvips (or whatever).  Required: psfig macros, ftp'able.

	This sounds like the most desirable way to go from all angles.
Unfortunately, I live in a VAX/VMS, non-X-windows world.  We are just
barely able (or soon will be able with any luck) to do the dvips thing
(I have found out that DVIOUT works under VMS, but I bagged it since it
looked too hard to set up; I am now talking to the author of DVITOPS to
try and see if that program can be used under VMS.  Someone else told
me that a port of one of the other drivers is coming Real Soon Now),
and I have never seen any of the programs xfig, psfig, transfig, etc.
for VMS.  Further more I am betting that Xfig needs Xwindows which we
don't have.

== Patrick van der Smagt

	Thanks for the helpful reply, Patrick.  Are there any VMS people
out there who have a working system for dvi->ps with inclusion of ps
graphics?  Does bbfig run under VMS (our plotting prog supports ps output,
but does not output the bounding box)?  Any help would be appreciated.

				Jeff Templon