% \iffalse meta-comment % % Copyright 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 % The LaTeX3 Project and any individual authors listed elsewhere % in this file. % % For further copyright information, and conditions for modification % and distribution, see the file legal.txt, and any other copyright % notices in this file. % % This file is part of the LaTeX2e system. % ---------------------------------------- % This system is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, % but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of % MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. % % For error reports concerning UNCHANGED versions of this file no % more than one year old, see bugs.txt. % % Please do not request updates from us directly. Primary % distribution is through the CTAN archives. % % % IMPORTANT COPYRIGHT NOTICE: % % You are NOT ALLOWED to distribute this file alone. % % You are allowed to distribute this file under the condition that it % is distributed together with all the files listed in manifest.txt. % % If you receive only some of these files from someone, complain! % % % Permission is granted to copy this file to another file with a % clearly different name and to customize the declarations in that % copy to serve the needs of your installation, provided that you % comply with the conditions in the file legal.txt. % % However, NO PERMISSION is granted to produce or to distribute a % modified version of this file under its original name. % % You are NOT ALLOWED to change this file. % % % % \fi % Filename: cfgguide.tex \NeedsTeXFormat{LaTeX2e}[1995/12/01] \documentclass{ltxguide}[1995/11/28] \newcommand{\filesection}[1]{\subsection{\sffamily#1}} \newcommand{\iniTeX}{ini\TeX} \setcounter{secnumdepth}{0} \title{Configuration options for \LaTeXe} \author{\copyright~Copyright 1995, \LaTeX3 Project Team.\\ All rights reserved.} \date{8 December 1995} \begin{document} \maketitle \tableofcontents \newpage \section{Configuring \LaTeX} Since one of the main aims of the new standard \LaTeX{} is to give all users the freedom provided by a reliable document processing system linked to a highly portable document format, the number of configuration possibilities is strictly limited. The reasons for this are explained in more detail in the article \textit{Modifying \LaTeX{}} in the file \texttt{modguide.tex}. An important consequence of this is that any document that relies on any extension package must declare this package within the document file; this helps to ensure that the document will work at a different site, where the \LaTeX{} system may be configured differently. Local configuration options are, by convention, placed in `configuration files', which have extension |.cfg|. This document describes the possibilities for configuration in this release of \LaTeX; it also explains how to configure the font definition files to take advantage of the available fonts. The last section considers briefly how to proceed if you require further customisation of the formatter. \section{System configuration} \filesection{texsys.cfg} This is the only configuration file that \emph{must} be present. During installation, if \LaTeX\ cannot find a file with this name then a default file |texsys.cfg|, consisting entirely of comments, is written out and used. Note that, until this file has been read, \LaTeX{} is not able to test reliably whether a given file exists on the system. The contents of the file |texsys.cfg| allow \LaTeX{} to cope with various differences between the behaviours of different \TeX{} systems, mainly in relation to file handling. The default version of this file contains, in its comments, possible settings that may be needed for a range of \TeX{} systems. For more information, typeset the file |ltdirchk.dtx|. If you have copied your \LaTeX{} installation from a computer that used a different operating system then you may well have a version of |texsys.cfg| that will make it difficult to install \LaTeX{} on your system. If this happens then start the process again with an empty |texsys.cfg| file; this will produce an installation that should, at least, allow you to typeset the documentation. However, it is possible that \LaTeX{} can still find only those files that are in the current directory; in this case you must set the macro |\input@path| correctly for your system. \section{Configuring the \LaTeX\ format} There are four configuration files that enable personal preferences to be incorporated into the \LaTeX{} format file |latex.fmt|. The range of preferences that can be configured by these files is strictly limited as this helps to ensure document portability. All four files work in the same way: if the file \m{file}|.cfg| is found, it will be input by \iniTeX; otherwise a default file \m{file}|.ltx| will be input instead. Thus, providing one of these |.cfg| files completely overrides any settings in the corresponding standard |.ltx| file. \subsection{Font configuration} Before you even think about configuring the font declarations by producing a file |fontmath.cfg| or |fonttext.cfg|, you should read the documented file |fontdef.dtx|. This is the source file from which the default files |fonttext.ltx| and |fontmath.ltx| are produced; it contains information concerning the contents of the default files and what sort of customisation is possible. In particular, it describes in detail the effects of individual customisations on document portability including: which customisations can be made without endangering the ability to exchange documents with other sites (even if the formatting differs); and which things should be left untouched because they will make your system so different from others that the documents it produces will be non-portable. \filesection{fonttext.cfg} The file |fonttext.cfg| can contain declarations relating to the use of fonts in text modes. If it exists, it defines which font shapes, families and encodings are normally used in text mode, as well as the behavior of font attribute commands such as |\textbf| etc. It could be used, for example, to produce a \LaTeX\ format that, by default, typesets documents using Times fonts. Be warned, however, that such customisation can have unfortunate consequences; so please read carefully this section and the file |fontdef.dtx| below if you are thinking of doing this. Please note that use of this configuration file has the following consequences. \begin{itemize} \item Since the content of this file \emph{might} change in the future, anyone writing such a configuration file must be prepared to update it for use with future releases. \item Documents produced on your system are likely, at best, to be portable only in the sense of being processable at a different site---the actual formatting will not be the same if different fonts are used. \item The \LaTeX3 project team will not be able to support you in diagnosing problems if these cannot be reproduced with a format that does not use any configuration files. \end{itemize} \filesection{fontmath.cfg} The file |fontmath.cfg| can contain declarations relating to the use of fonts in math mode. If it exists, it defines which fonts in which sizes are used in math mode, and how they are used. It also defines all the math mode commands that `are likely to' depend on the choice of math fonts used (e.g.~commands that depend on the position of a glyph in a math font). The main reason for the existence of this file is to provide for future updates when a standard math font encoding is available. Right now we do \emph{not} encourage the use of this configuration file other than for special applications. Writing a proper configuration file for math mode needs expert knowledge! Please note that use of this configuration file has the following consequences. \begin{itemize} \item Since the content of this file is \emph{likely} to change in the future, anyone writing such a configuration file must be prepared to update it for use with future releases. \item Documents produced on your system are likely, at best, to be portable only in the sense of being processable at a different site---the actual formatting will not be the same if different fonts are used. \item The \LaTeX3 project team will not be able to support you in diagnosing problems if these cannot be reproduced with a format that does not use any configuration files. \end{itemize} \filesection{preload.cfg} The contents of the file |preload.cfg| can control the preloading of commonly used fonts. Preloading fonts speeds up the processing of documents but, because fonts cannot be `unloaded', you should not preload too many; otherwise you may be unable to process documents requiring unusual font families. The default file |preload.ltx| is produced from |preload.dtx|. It loads only a few fonts and these are a good choice if you normally use documents at the default, 10\,pt, size. If you normally use 11\,pt or~12\,pt then the time for \LaTeX\ to startup may be noticeably decreased if you preload the corresponding fonts for the sizes you use. Similarly, if you normally use a different font family, for example Times Roman (|ptm|) then you may want to preload fonts in this family rather than the default Computer Modern fonts. \subsection{Hyphenation configuration} \filesection{hyphen.cfg} In order to hyphenate text, \TeX{} must have hyphenation patterns and, since these patterns can be loaded only by \iniTeX, the choice of which patterns to load must be made when the format is created. The hyphenation patterns for American English are stored in the file named |hyphen.tex|; \LaTeX~2.09 always loaded this file when its format was made. With \LaTeXe{} it is possible to configure which hyphenation patterns are to be loaded into the format. When \iniTeX{} is processing |latex.ltx|, it looks for a file called |hyphen.cfg|; this file can be used to control which hyphenation patterns are loaded. If a file |hyphen.cfg| cannot be found then \iniTeX{} will load the file |hyphen.ltx|. The file |hyphen.ltx| loads the file |hyphen.tex| if it can find it; otherwise it stops with an error since a format with no hyphenation patterns is not very useful. It then sets |\language=0| and it sets the values |\lefthyphenmin=2| and |\righthyphenmin=3|, which are needed for American English. Thus, if you want any other patterns to be loaded then you should create a file |hyphen.cfg|. For each language for which you wish to load hyphenation patterns this file should: \begin{itemize} \item set |\language=|\m{number}; \item load the file which contains the hyphenation patterns for that language. \end{itemize} If the patterns you use require some definitions or assignments then a group should be used to keep such changes local to their file. \textbf{Note.} The hyphenation files that are read in should \emph{only} set the hyphenation tables for the language, using the commands |\hyphenation| and |\patterns|. In particular they should make no assignments to the lowercase/uppercase tables (|\lccode| and |\uccode|) and should not make any global command definitions to be used after the file has been read. Unfortunately some older hyphenation files do contain such settings; thus they are \emph{incompatible} with the mechanisms \LaTeX\ uses to ensure independence of input and output encodings. After this the file |hyphen.cfg| should: \begin{itemize} \item set |\language| to its default value; \item set |\lefthyphenmin| and |\righthyphenmin| to the correct values for this default language. \end{itemize} There are packages available, such as `french', that can help you with this configuration. The `babel' collection contains many examples of setting up a multi-lingual \LaTeX{} format. The documentation in |lthyphen.dtx| (the source file for |hyphen.ltx|) also contains some useful examples. [We intend in a future release of \LaTeX{} to provide a set of standard commands for use in configuring hyphenation.] \section{Configuring the font definition files} If you have special fonts available (or if some fonts are unavailable) at your site then you may need to produce customised versions of the font definition files; these have extension \texttt{.fd} and are read by \LaTeX{} to obtain information about the font files installed at your system and when to load them. Although we do not encourage such customisation, you will find information about the content of these files and its syntax in the documented source file \texttt{cmfonts.fdd} and \textit{\LaTeXe{} font selection} in the file \texttt{fntguide.tex}. [We hope to be able to provide further information and examples on this subject at some time in the future.] Please note that the use of customised font definition files has the following consequences. \begin{itemize} \item Documents produced on your system will, at best, to be portable only in the sense of being processable at a different site---the actual formatting will not be the same if different fonts are used. \item The \LaTeX3 project team will not be able to support you in diagnosing problems if these cannot be reproduced with a format that does not use any customised font definition files. \end{itemize} \subsection*{Note to system administrators} If you install a version of \LaTeX{} with a locally configured font set-up then this system is likely to produce documents that are no longer `formatting compatible'; for example, the use of different default fonts will most likely produce different line and page breaks. If you do install, on a multi-user system, a system that is configured in such a way that it is not `formatting compatible' then you should consider carefully the needs of users who need to create portable documents. A good way to provide for their needs is to make available, in addition, a standard form of \LaTeX{} without any `formatting incompatible' customisations. \section{Configuring compatibility mode} When processing documents that begin with |\documentstyle|, \LaTeXe{} tries to emulate the old \LaTeX~2.09 system as far as possible. \filesection{latex209.cfg} Whenever a \LaTeX{} document starts with |\documentstyle|, rather than with |\documentclass|, \LaTeX{} assumes that it is a \LaTeX~2.09 document and therefore processes it in `compatibility mode'. This does the following: \begin{itemize} \item sets the flag |\@compatibilitytrue|; \item inputs the file |latex209.def|; \item inputs the file |latex209.cfg| if it exists. \end{itemize} The \LaTeX~2.09 set-up allowed the format itself to be customised. When making the format with \iniTeX, the process ended with this request: \begin{quote}\tt Input any local modifications here. \end{quote} If your site did input any modifications at that point then the \LaTeXe{} `compatibility mode' will not fully emulate \LaTeX~2.09 \emph{as installed at your site}. In this case you should put all these `local modifications' into a file called |latex209.cfg| and put this file in the default input path at your site. These `local modifications', although not stored in the format, will then be loaded before any old-style document is processed. This should ensure that you can continue to process any old documents that made use of this local customisation. \section[Configuration files for standard packages and classes]% {Configuration files for standard packages\\ and classes} Most of the packages in the distribution do not have any associated configuration files. The exceptions are listed here. \filesection{sfonts.cfg} The file |sfonts.cfg| can contain declarations relating to the use of fonts in the slides class. If it exists, it is read instead of the file |sfonts.def|. Please note that use of this configuration file has the following consequences. \begin{itemize} \item Since the font set-up for slides has not yet been revised to fit modern usage, the content of this file should be completely updated sometime. Thus anyone writing such a configuration file must be prepared to update it for use with future releases. \item Documents are portable only in the sense of being processable at a different site---the actual formatting will not be the same if different fonts are used. \item The \LaTeX3 project team will not be able to support you in diagnosing problems if these cannot be reproduced with a format that does not use this configuration file. \end{itemize} \filesection{ltxdoc.cfg} The file |ltxdoc.cfg| can be used to customise some aspects of the behaviour of the \textsf{ltxdoc} class; this class is used to typeset the documented code in the |.dtx| files. If this file is present then it is read in at the beginning of the file |ltxdoc.cls|. As this file is read before the \textsf{article} class is loaded, you may pass options to \textsf{article}. For example the following line might be added to |ltxdoc.cfg| to format the documentation for A4 paper instead of the default US letter paper size. \begin{quote} |\PassOptionsToClass{a4paper}{article}| \end{quote} You should note however, that even if paper size options are specified, the \textsf{ltxdoc} class always sets the |\textwidth| parameter to 355\,pt, to enable 72 columns of text to appear in the verbatim code listings. If you really need to over-ride this you could use: \begin{quote} |\AtEndOfClass{\setlength{\textwidth}{ ...}}| \end{quote} To set the |\textwidth| to your desired value at the end of the \textsf{ltxdoc} class. By default, most of the |.dtx| documented code files in the distribution will produce a `description' section followed by full source listing of the package. If you wish to suppress the source listings you may add the following line to |ltxdoc.cfg|: \begin{quote} |\AtBeginDocument{\OnlyDescription}| \end{quote} The documentation of the \textsf{ltxdoc} package, which may be typeset from the file |ltxdoc.dtx|, contains more examples of the use of this configuration file. \filesection{ltxguide.cfg} The class \textsf{ltxguide} is used by the `guide' documents, such as this document, in the \LaTeX\ distribution. A configuration file |ltxguide.cfg| may be used with this class in a way very similar to the customisation of the \textsf{ltxdoc} class described in the previous section. \section{Configuration for other supported packages} The `graphics' bundle of packages needs two configuration files, primarily to specify the driver used to process the |.dvi| file that \LaTeX{} produces. More documentation on these files comes with the graphics bundle but we mention them here for completeness. \filesection{graphics.cfg} Normally this file just specifies a default option, by calling |\ExecuteOptions|, for example |\ExecuteOptions{dvips}| or |\ExecuteOptions{textures}|. This file is read by the \textsf{graphics} package, and so affects all the packages in the bundle that are based on \textsf{graphics}: \textsf{graphicx}, \textsf{epsfig}, \textsf{lscape}. \filesection{color.cfg} Normally this file is identical to |graphics.cfg|. It specifies the default driver option for the \textsf{color} package. \section{Non-standard versions} If you feel the need to make a version of \LaTeX{} that differs from the standard version in ways that are not possible using the above configuration possibilities, then you should first read \textit{Modifying \LaTeX{}} in the file |modguide.tex|; this will probably make you realise that you do not have any such need. Thus we are sure that you will never need to create a non-standard version and, even if you do create one, we hope that you will not distribute such a version. Nevertheless, you are permitted to do this provided you take great care to do the following: \begin{itemize} \item respect the conditions in legal.txt and individual files regarding modification of files and changing the name; \item change all the relevant `|\typeout| banners': i.e.~those produced by all the non-standard files in your version and by the format; \item ensure that the method used to run your version is clearly distinguished from that used to run standard \LaTeX{}; e.g.~by using a command name or menu entry that is clearly different from \texttt{latex} (or \texttt{LaTeX} etc). \end{itemize} \subsection{Examples} Since we have been prompted, despite our misgivings, to document how to do this by members of the League for Programming Freedom, it seems appropriate to describe here a possible modification of \LaTeX{} to produce a system called fsf\TeX. To do this, you should create a file called \texttt{fsftex.tex} and then run it using \iniTeX{} and the standard \LaTeX{} format. The contents of the file \texttt{fsftex.tex} should be as shown on page \pageref{fsfcode}. The particular changes to the \LaTeX{} kernel that you wish to make need to be added to the file at the position indicated. You can also choose the extensions you want to use for the class and package files in your system. \newpage \label{fsfcode} \begin{footnotesize} \begin{verbatim} % fsftex.tex % % iniTEX Source code to make a `fsftex' format. % % To make this format on Unix: % % initex \&latex fsftex % % Then to run the format on file.tex: % % tex &fsftex file % %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% % *** VERY IMPORTANT!!! *** % Change the typeout banner so users know that they % are NOT running Standard LaTeX. \everyjob{\typeout{fsfTeX 1.0 based on LaTeX2e \fmtversion}} \makeatletter % fsfTeX changes some LaTeX internals: % ... put what you like here ... \def \fsf@xxxx {Some arbitrary \emph{freely modifiable} code goes here} % fsfTeX class files have extension .fcl (this week): \def \@clsextension {fcl} % fsfTeX package files have extension .fsy: \def \@pkgextension {fsy} % Change the file handling so that when a fsfTeX package or class % is not available, the standard LaTeX file will be read. % % For example, \documentclass{article} will load article.fcl if such % a file exists, but article.cls otherwise. This allows arbitrary % processing on `article' documents without changing the standard % article.cls file. \let\fsf@missingfileerror\@missingfileerror \def\@missingfileerror#1#2{% \ifx #2\@clsextension \InputIfFileExists {#1.cls}% {\wlog {fsfTeX: loading #1.cls rather than #1.#2.}}% {\fsf@missingfileerror {#1}{#2}}% \else \ifx #2\@pkgextension \InputIfFileExists {#1.sty}% {\wlog {fsfTeX: loading #1.sty rather than #1.#2.}}% {\fsf@missingfileerror {#1}{#2}}% \else \fsf@missingfileerror {#1}{#2}% \fi \fi } \makeatother \dump \end{verbatim} \end{footnotesize} \end{document}