TeXblog

New packages and updates on CTAN in June

New packages on CTAN this month:

• pstdoc – SQLite database and Python script that provides extensive help with PSTricks commands from a terminal window.
• eltex – package for drawing simple electrical circuit diagrams in the picture environment withouth any special fonts. The circuit symbols follow the IEC 617 standard. eltex runs with LaTeX 2.09 and LaTeX 2e.
• asyfig – support for including standalone .asy figures into LaTeX documents allowing figures to be rapidly proofed before re-typesetting the document. See Asymptote language.
• getfiledate – fetches from the system the date of last modification or opening of a resident file, providing a user-friendly interface for obtaining and presenting the needed filedate in several formats.
• softmaker-freefont – LaTeX support files for the Softmaker Stone Handwriting font.
• grid – enables grid typesetting in double column documents.
• Steinmetz notation – provides a command for typesetting complex numbers in the Steinmetz notation used in electrotechnics.
• subdocs – provides a different approach for multidocument works, part of the Bezocs bundle, see documentation.
• cpssp – for drawing a two-dimensional representation of a protein’s secondary structure.
• Inconsolata – a monospaced font already described here.
• tabularew – tabular extension to improve alignment of multicolumn cells, described in an earlier post.
• collref – automatically collects multiple bibitem references which always appear in the same sequence into a single bibitem block.

Updates in June:

achemso, CodeDoc, recycle, hyph-utf8, dehyph-exptl, biblatex-mla, Asymptote, luaotfload, latexmk, tdclock, floatrow, xwatermark, tdsfrmath, amslatex-primer, sagetex, isomath, babelbib, biblatex-chicago-notes-df, keys3, prelim2e, xpackages, expl3, diagrams/taylor, chemstyle, xstring and glossaries. For package-specific information visit the package folder on CTAN.

More information about new packages and updates can be found in the ctan-ann archive.

30. June 2009 by stefan
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Bugfix in pstricks-add

If you’re using pstricks-add or a package requiring it consider updating it if its version is lower than 3.34. The version 3.34 has been released some days ago and brings a bugfix for the pstScalePoints macro. The bug could look like the one discussed today in “problem with pstricks and psset” on LaTeX-Community.org where v3.32 has been used.

Further the macro psMatrixPlot has been modified in v3.34 and is now able to plot a matrix of n² values as an intensity plot.

03. June 2009 by stefan
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New package tabularew: centering multicolumn headings

In standard tabular environments multicolumn headings will be aligned to the left when they are wider then the text below, even if they contain a “c” as format parameter. Here’s a very small demonstration example:

\documentclass[a4paper,10pt]{article}
\usepackage{eurosym}
\begin{document}
\begin{tabular}{r@{.}l}
\multicolumn{2}{c}{Price in \euro} \\
  \hline
  79 & 50 \\
   9 & 85 \\
  10 & 00
\end{tabular}
\end{document}

Output:

The tabularew package by Diego Saba solves this problem by introducing new commands for modifying the horizontal alignment. The example above can be changed to:

\documentclass[a4paper,10pt]{article}
\usepackage{eurosym}
\usepackage{tabularew}
\begin{document}
\begin{tabularew}{>{\spew{.5}{+1}}r@{.}l}
\multicolumn{2}{c}{Price in \euro} \\
  \hline
  79 & 50 \\
   9 & 85 \\
  10 & 00
\end{tabularew}
\end{document}

Output:

The command \spew and the tabularew environment are explained in the package documentation.

03. June 2009 by stefan
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New introduction: Getting something out of LaTeX

Jim Hefferon has published the document “Getting something out of LaTeX” on CTAN, taking new LaTeX user through making a first document. The author wants to give a quick taste, the reader could get an idea if the LaTeX system could help him and how it’s working.

The article contains information about getting the software, using an editor, compiling, handling errors and writing math. It comes with some source code examples and recommendations for tutorials.

26. May 2009 by stefan
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Asymptote released on CTAN

Asymptote is a powerful descriptive vector graphics language useful for for technical drawing, using LaTeX for high-quality output. It’s not just a graphics program but a programming language. Asymptote is inspired by MetaPost but provides C++-like syntax. It runs on Linux, UNIX, MacOS and Windows. In a very mathematically oriented way you can create 2D and 3D graphics, here’s just a small example coming with the program:

Now it’s been released on CTAN, 19 May 2009.

For more information visit:

• the Asymptote package on CTAN,
• the Asymptote homepage.
  The homepage contains also
  • a gallery,
  • documentation,
  • Answers to frequently asked questions (FAQ),
  • a discussion forum and more.
• the forum Asymptote and GeoGebra on artofproblemsolving.com,
• the Asymptote Wiki also on AoPS,
• the Asymptote example gallery.

Asymptote can be used easily within LaTeX documents. There’s a good introduction by Dario Teixeira: Asymptote and LaTeX: An Integration Guide.

There are even more resources you can find if you follow those selected links.

20. May 2009 by stefan
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