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2 Using Hyperlatex

Using Hyperlatex is easy. You create a file document.tex, say, containing your document with Hyperlatex markup (the most important LaTeX-commands, with a number of additions to make it easier to create readable HTML).

If you use the command

  latex document

then your file will be processed by LaTeX, resulting in a DVI-file, which you can print as usual.

On the other hand, you can run the command

  hyperlatex document

and your document will be converted to HTML format, presumably to a set of files called document.html, document_1.html, .... You can then use any HTML-viewer or WWW-browser to view the document. (The entry point for your document will be the file document.html.)

This document describes how to use the Hyperlatex package and explains the Hyperlatex markup language. It does not teach you how to write for the web. There are style guides available, which you might want to consult. Writing an on-line document is not the same as writing a paper. I hope that Hyperlatex will help you to do both properly.

This manual assumes that you are familiar with LaTeX, and that you have at least some familiarity with hypertext documents--that is, that you know how to use a WWW-browser and understand what a hyperlink is.

If you want, you can have a look at the source of this manual, which illustrates most points discussed here. You can also look at the documents on my home page, all of which are created using Hyperlatex.

The primary distribution site for Hyperlatex is at ftp://ftp.postech.ac.kr/pub/ipe. However, if you are not in Korea, then I would strongly recommend using the mirror site ftp://ftp.cs.ruu.nl/pub/mirrors/ipe. It is mirrored three times a week.

There is also a mailing list for Hyperlatex, maintained by Roland Jesse. This list is for discussion of Hyperlatex and anything that relates to it. This is also where new versions of Hyperlatex are announced. To subscribe to the list send mail to: majordomo@cs.uni-magdeburg.de with the following line in the body (not subject):

   subscribe hyperlatex

To send Email to the list, mail to hyperlatex@cs.uni-magdeburg.de.

The mailing is the only "official" place where you can find support for problems with Hyperlatex. I am unfortunately no longer in a position to answer mail with questions about Hyperlatex. Please understand that Hyperlatex is just a by-product of Ipe-I wrote it to be able to write the Ipe manual the way I wanted to. I am making Hyperlatex available because others seem to find it useful, and I'm trying to make this manual and the installation instructions as clear as possible, but I cannot provide any personal support. If you have problems installing or using Hyperlatex, or if you think that you have found a bug, please mail it to the Hyperlatex mailing list at hyperlatex@cs.uni-magdeburg.de. One of the friendly Hyperlatex users will probably be able to help you. And I do read the list regularly and will try to fix real bugs promptly. Maybe some day a kind soul will even collect a list of frequently asked questions.

A final footnote: The converter to HTML implemented in Hyperlatex is written in GNU Emacs Lisp. If you want, you can invoke it directly from Emacs (see the beginning of hyperlatex.el for instructions). But even if you don't use Emacs, even if you don't like Emacs, or even if you subscribe to alt.religion.emacs.haters, you can happily use Hyperlatex. Hyperlatex can be invoked from the shell as "hyperlatex," and you will never know that this script calls Emacs to produce the HTML document.

The Hyperlatex code is based on the Emacs Lisp macros of the latexinfo package.

Hyperlatex is copyrighted.

Otfried Schwarzkopf, September 2, 1997