Install TeX

Create the directory structure

In order to do the installation in one fell swoop it is prudent to create the directory structure beforehand, at least partially. The reason is that we need to provide two additional style files before the fpTeX installer attempts to build the format files. Create a suitable installation directory hierarchy like C:\Programs\TeXLive\texmf-local\tex\latex. Please do not use paths with spaces unless you want trouble at some point. You should have a fair amount of free space (up to 300 Mb) on that drive or partition. Copy the two files ulem.sty and url.sty into the new latex subdirectory.

Run TeXSetup

Run the file TeXSetup.exe. This is a wizard-style application that collects all necessary information from you.

• Set the fpTeX installation directory according to what you previously created, that is C:\Programs\TeXLive for the example above. fpTeX will be installed in subdirectories (texmf and texmf-local, among others) of this directory.

• On the next page, select "download from internet" and "direct connection". Clicking next will start the download process for the current package list which will take only a minute or two.

• Now you should see the package selection page. The essential packages are already selected. For our purposes you should add a few more. These are:

  • tex-extrabin

  • tex-fontbin

  • tex-fontsextra

  • tex-htmlxml

  • tex-mathextra

  • tex-psfonts

  • tex-psutils

  • one or more of the tex-langXYZ packages if you need support for languages other than the standard set.

• Start the file transfer. A cup of coffee may be warranted at this point. At the end of the download process, the installer will initialize the installation, create the filename databases, and build the format files. Check the log file for any suspicious error messages.

Configure dvips

You'll probably have to change some settings for dvips for your local site. The settings are stored in the file config.ps in the \Texmf\dvips\config directory. The following options might need a change:

• The line starting with M should be modified according to the make and model of the printer that you use. The file \metafont\misc\modes.mf contains a list of possible values. Remember that a printer which is not in the list may be happy with the mode of a related printer, e.g. most recent HP LaserJet printers work just fine with the ljet4 setting, and many other cheap non-HP laser printers work with the ljet2 setting.

• The line starting with D specifies the resolution of your printer. This always means the physical resolution, not what some resolution enhancement technology claims to make of the latter.

• The line starting with O (the capital letter, not zero) specifies the horizontal and vertical printer offsets. These are printer-specific values which can be used to adjust the printout on the paper. The easiest way to determine these values is to use the file testpage.tex, which you will find in the \texmf\tex\latex\base directory. Open a command-line window and change into this directory. Type latex testpage.tex and answer the questions that appear on your screen. A testpage.dvi will be created. Use dvips -o testpage.ps testpage.dvi to convert this to the PostScript file testpage.ps. Now print this file on your printer using GhostView. You will see a box which should be evenly spaced with a 1 inch margin on all sides. The rulers help you to calculate which offsets (if at all) have to be specified in config.ps to adjust the printout correctly. The offsets can be specified as cm, as in, or as pt. In addition, these rulers show you the printer-specific unprintable area on the edges.