From: dmitri@physics (Dmitri Linde)
Subject: Answers to InstantTeX Questions
Organization: none
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 92 05:38:24 GMT

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        ANSWERS TO THE InstantTeX QUESTIONS


1.	10-MINUTE LONG DEMO

	I have submitted InstantTeX 10-minute long demo to
nova.cc.purdue.edu. It is in /pub/next/submissions, and it has
replaced the previous demo. I apologize for posting the 2-minute long
demo. It is indeed impossible to give justice to InstantTeX in 2
minutes.

2.	PRINTING

Charlie in <1992Jul21.185459.11141@socrates.umd.edu> writes

> Now for the good part--I clicked on help and InstantTeX passes its
help(.dvi)
> file to TeXView (NOTE: It installs its own Beta version(2.1) of
TeXview!!!)
> which in my rush I decided to print out. DO NOT DO THIS!!!! Since I
didn't
> notice that the "Custom Resolution" switch was ON (The InstantTeX
version
> of TeXview came this way, I checked)
> my NeXT began generating fonts at 1270 dpi (also using up about 10
M of
> needed space in the process.)
>
> Fixes--(1) Make sure the CR switch is off,
>
> OR     (2) Don't use the TeXview supplied by InstantTeX
>
> OR     (3) Forget about the InstantTeX demo so you won't waste the
>            ENTIRE F****** afternoon for a two minute demo!!!!!!!
>

	Old TeXview which comes with NeXTstep 2.0 does not work nicely with
non-NeXT printers, because each time one has to click on the custom
resolution button and set the custom resolution to 300. New TeXview
which comes with InstantTeX selects the custom resolution flag by
default and takes the custom resolution from your preferences
database. This means that it is sufficient to set it once in a
lifetime in order to print on a given printer. This is a very
important improvement for users who have non-NeXT printers. Charlie's
database contained customdpi=1270 because it is the default setting
which comes with TeXview (NeXTstep 2.0 version), and this setting was
not changed because apparently Charlie has a NeXT printer and does
not use custom resolution. This setting actually was written to the
database probably because Charlie used TeXview1.0 or TeXview3.0.
	The fact that 1270 resolution has to be changed to 400 by some users
will be part of the installation section in the manual. I may also
decide to reset the custom resolution entry in the database during
the installation (if such entry exists). Note, that new TeXview has
several other advantages as compared with the old one. In particular,
InstantTeX mode will work on multiple-page documents ONLY if you use
TeXview supplied with InstantTeX. New TeXview is not a beta version
anymore; InstantTeX now supplies TeXview2.2.


3.    COMPARISON OF InstantTeX TO OTHER TeX PRODUCTS.

There exist four main TeX products for NeXT*
1)NeXTTeX 2.0
2)NeXTTeX 3.0
3)TeXmenu2.2
4)InstantTeX1.0

InstantTeX offers the following main features unavailable in 1) 2)
and 3).

1. InstantTeX makes it possible to TeX your file directly from Edit
via a keystroke. NeXTTeX 2.0 requires a unix command typed in the
Terminal. NeXTTeX 3.0 requires one to select a menu or double click
on the file or to open TeXview and select a menu. TeXmenu2.2 requires
one to open TeXmenu and press a key or click on a button. When you do
it several times an hour, you really feel the difference.

2. InstantTeX has an Instant mode which allows you to TeX your file
automatically as you are writing it and preview the results in
TeXview almost instantaneously. No other program offers this feature.
It saves your time, lets you edit your document faster. It is
especially helpful when you are writing and editing equations, since
you almost immediately see the output.

3. When TeX works with InstantTex in the Instant mode, it is very
easy to locate an error: if you made an error, it is certainly in the
part of the text you are currently working on. If you are in the
normal mode, in all other editors except emacs* it is a pain in the
neck to find an error. In the InstantTeX it is enough to click on a
button (or to press a key) in TeXWorks, and Edit will automatically
show you the line which contains the error. So far no other program
offers this feature.

4. There are many other features which make life of TeX users a
little bit easier. Such features range all the way from the online
TeX reference card to automatic erasing of auxiliary files like
filename.log.


Footnote: * There are programs for the use of TeX with emacs editor.
However, emacs itself is not easy to learn and to use.


4. PRICE

The only other user-friendly programs with the features similar to
those of InstantTeX are TeX for Amiga and Textures for Macintosh. TeX
for Amiga does not have an InstantTeX mode. Its price is $300. The
price of Textures is $495 with academic discount. Note, that the
price for each of these programs is very high even though there exist
public domain versions of TeX both for Amiga and for Macintosh. The
price of InstantTeX is only $150. If you are ordering a network
license, the price is $150 for running the program on the first
computer and only $75 for each additional computer. We believe that
this program makes NeXT one of the best (or possibly THE best)
computer for writing papers in TeX, at a price which is about 3% of
% the price of the computer itself!



BOTTOM LINE:

(1) Do use TeXview supplied with InstantTeX.

(2) Set the custom resolution in the Print Panel in TeXview to 400 if
you use a NeXT printer, or set it to 300 if you use non-NeXT printer
(if the resolution is 300 by 300 dpi).

(3) Get a new demo version and play with it. It may answer many of
your other questions. You may read (or print) the manual for
InstantTeX using `Help' menu.

(4) Send us your comments about the program. We are here to make it
even better.

				- Dmitri Linde

Reply to dmitri@StarConn.com

InstantTeX
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