ConTeXt resembles LaTeX in being a system of TeX macro packages and helper scripts. ConTeXt has a fairly centralised development model, when compared to LaTeX's bazaar model, with much popular functionality provided by user-contributed packages. ConTeXt targets small publishers, aiming to provide ...
153
votes
5answers
23k views
Differences between LuaTeX, ConTeXt and XeTeX
I’m interested in the differences and commonalities between the “new” (La)TeX processors:
LuaTeX,
XeTeX, and
ConTeXt.
Personally, I’ve only used XeTeX so far and without having the time to try out ...
26
votes
7answers
2k views
File extensions of LaTeX-related files
In addition to the .tex and .dvi or .pdf files, TeX/LaTeX/ConTeXt produces and uses lots of other files. What do they do? Which ones are used to create the document and which ones are automatically ...
68
votes
8answers
5k views
Simulating hand-drawn lines
I am working on a project that will have some vector graphics, perhaps using TikZ (or a similar tool). All of the graphics consists of lines, in shades of gray. However, the lines from TikZ appear too ...
33
votes
2answers
935 views
Can one (more or less) automatically suppress ligatures for certain words?
One of the major attractions -- for me at least -- of typesetting my papers in (La)TeX is its automated and fully transparent use of typographic ligatures. However, as Knuth pointed out in the ...
38
votes
6answers
1k views
Where can I find good ConTeXt documentation
Where would be a good place to start learning ConTeXt if you haven't got a lot of experience under your belt yet? Any place online or in a bookstore is welcome, provided that the reading is ...
13
votes
3answers
562 views
LaTeX equivalent of ConTeXt buffers
While creating a series of graphics (using TikZ) in ConTeXt, I frequently use ConTeXt's buffer to "copy-paste" code. Is there a LaTeX package that implements this feature?
Since most LaTeX users may ...
23
votes
2answers
502 views
Porting the luatex/ConTeXt module “translate” to lualatex
In this question, which I posted a few weeks ago to TeX Stack Exchange, I asked how one should go about disabling specific ligatures (such as ff, fi, fl, and ffl) automatically for a list of ...
5
votes
2answers
386 views
Replacing matching text with a macro containing information from a CSV file
I have some data stored in a CSV file, in this manner:
000000001 @ name @ information @ more information @ some more information
I also have a information.tex file containing the numbers from the ...
67
votes
3answers
5k views
Why should I be interested in ConTeXt?
In the spirit of a free-form Friday on StackOverflow, I'd like to know if I should consider learning ConTeXt. What got me into LaTeX way back in 1994 was having structural markup that made longer ...
15
votes
7answers
1k views
ConTeXt editors
There is a very active question about LaTeX editors and IDEs. I personally use Vim with LaTeX-suite for any latex editing, and I am very happy with it. Lately I began to use ConTeXt more and more. ...
31
votes
8answers
4k views
Is anybody using TeX for business reporting?
Would TeX (LaTeX, ConTeXt, etc) be a good solution for PDF business reports that require dynamically generated graphs and tables?
I need to create financial reports that must look top-notch in their ...
13
votes
1answer
636 views
Converting ConTeXt document to HTML
For LaTeX, I used to rely on htlatex, latex2html, or more rarely tth. I know that we can use XML with ConTeXt, although I have no experience with this, and that Pandoc let us use Markdown syntax and ...
5
votes
1answer
401 views
Use .otf/.ttf in ConTeXt MKiV/LuaTeX
I would like to use an .otf Font for my document which I typeset in ConTeXt MKiV. Sadly I was not able to change the font. I set export OSFONTDIR="/usr/local/share/fonts;$HOME/.fonts and ran mtxrun ...
9
votes
3answers
257 views
Which symbols need to be escaped in ConTeXt?
When writing "$" or "%" in a document, one must used \$ and \% so that they will be interpreted as symbols which should be displayed along with the text.
What other symbols need to be escaped in ...
5
votes
1answer
682 views
Code highlighting in ConTeXt
What is the best way to highlight code when using ConTeXt? I am aware of support for specific languages, as described on the ConTeXt wiki, but it seems rather limited at present. I know that we could ...
11
votes
3answers
283 views
Updated documentation of ConTeXt
I'm trying to decide which set of macros/typesetting system to learn. I tried Latex2e for a while, but I was very disappointed that it didn't work nicely with Unicode and that in my tryout I had many ...
4
votes
2answers
279 views
What is the ConTeXt or plain TeX equivalent of \nolinebreak?
The command \nolinebreak[4], if placed between two characters, should prevent a line break from appearing in that location. This command does not seem to be defined in ConTeXt. Is there an equivalent ...
1
vote
1answer
378 views
How to setup this layout
I am trying to replicate this page layout using context, but I am struggling.
I have read the context manual and tried changing parameters to see what happens, but I was unable to sort out the logic.
...
5
votes
1answer
269 views
What is the proper way to prevent text from splitting across columns and pages?
I have some description environments which I do not wish to have split across columns or pages. Is there some command which can be placed around an item to ensure that it will never be split across ...
4
votes
1answer
134 views
What is the correct way to end a hanging indent section in Context?
In an earlier question I got help to get hanging indents working in my text.
I now suspect that I've not been terminating the hanging indent in the right way. Have tried some different things, but ...
4
votes
1answer
437 views
How to fix error “ruby.exe seems not to be installed” in Windows 7 where both Miktex 2.9 and Ruby have been installed?
I have installed Miktex 2.9 with the latest update. I work with latex.exe successfully.
I want to learn ConTeXt and I installed Ruby. To get better settings, I restart my computer.
After restarting, ...
35
votes
4answers
805 views
Separation of content structure and style in LaTeX?
In HTML, over the last decade or so, there has been a strong push toward complete separation of content structure and style. Most websites are now built using HTML for structural mark-up, and CSS for ...
21
votes
3answers
533 views
Managing hundreds of separate components in a large document
I am making a workbook containing hundreds activities. Each activity appears as its own section and generally contains instructions, spaces to write or draw, and sometimes illustrations or diagrams to ...
10
votes
1answer
211 views
ConTeXt (core) command definitions: what do \installcorenamespace, \?? and \installcommandhandler, do?
I have the very strong impression that there is a Current and Standard way to define new (core) commands in ConTeXt; see, for example, this quote from an e-mail by Wolfgang.
Many of the \define... ...
18
votes
2answers
315 views
How to search for information about ConTeXt in search engines?
I have a kind of strange question but I think it is a real problem: How do I find information about context in search engines? You can find some, but I think it is by far not all the information you ...
8
votes
1answer
276 views
Defining word space dimensions in ConTeXt
I am pretty much a noob concerning TeX, and currently writing a project in ConTeXt.
My problem is that I don’t know how to manually define the length of a common word space. The word space length ...
7
votes
1answer
121 views
Why does Context line-break my quotation and leave the quotation sign on it's own row?
Using Context to set a book I have the following problem: Context linebreaks some quotations in a way that makes the quotation sign (in my case a guillemet [sic!]) appear on its own row. How can i ...
7
votes
2answers
300 views
How to display special symbols in ConTeXt which are processed by Lua?
I have a ConTeXt document containing many special characters. I have followed the instructions at Which symbols need to be escaped in ConTeXt? to ensure they can all display properly in the document, ...
7
votes
1answer
211 views
Creating a ConTeXt/LaTeX hybrid module
I have a simple titlepage, which I want to make available for ConTeXt- as well as LaTeX users. Each should just type \usemodule[myTitlepage], or \usepackage{myTitlepage}, respectively.
I want to do ...
7
votes
1answer
559 views
What is pronounciation of ConTeXt
How should I pronounce ConTeXt? In TeX and LaTeX x is χ so it is TeΧ and LaTeΧ. However the t after X make such pronounciation in ConTeXt difficult.
5
votes
1answer
149 views
How do I do hanging indents in Context?
How do I do hanging indents in Context? I've been looking at the few examples that I've found, for example at http://wiki.contextgarden.net/MLA_style, but couldn't get anything to work as I want it. ...
5
votes
2answers
244 views
How to retrieve a value which is set later on in the document?
According to What is the recommended way to assign a value to a variable and retrieve it for later use?, in ConTeXt, one can use \setvalue{name}{value} to set a value and \getvalue{name}, to retrieve ...
5
votes
1answer
2k views
Setting unit length in TikZ?
As I understand it, the basic unit length in TikZ is 1cm, so that for example
\draw (0,0) -- (1,0);
draws a line 1cm in length. What I want to do is to redefine that length so that all drawings in ...
4
votes
4answers
911 views
How to sort the order of pages so that they can be printed in a folded book?
I am using ConTeXt to print a book. Each page is A5, but the print store can only print on A4 paper, so they print 2 pages on each side of the A4 paper. I used this code to specify the layout:
...
4
votes
1answer
221 views
Avoid line break after macro
The following example produces a line break after the second text.
\define[2]\smallfigure{\placefigure[margin][#1]{#2}{!}}%
\starttext
text text\smallfigure{fig1}{A}text text
\stoptext
The ...
3
votes
2answers
384 views
In ConTeXt: how to change the hsize locally?
In ConTeXt, I have text that is say 5cm wide. Once in a while I'd like to have a table or an image that sticks out of the right margin and is for example 10 cm wide. My idea is to have something like ...
2
votes
1answer
184 views
How to obtain the current page number in ConTeXt?
I want to obtain the current page number, for use in Lua conditionals, e.g.:
\startlua
if 10 <= \pagenumber < 20 then
context("The pages are between 10 and 20")
end
\stoplua
...
18
votes
6answers
1k views
Persuade me to write my thesis in ConTeXt, or not
I'm going to write my master thesis in Computer Science, regarding Operation Research, (in Italian). I have about a month and a half to collect the results and write everything down.
I have had a ...
9
votes
1answer
163 views
Making a centrefold figure
I'm laying out a 16-page booklet that has a two-page MetaPost figure spanning the centrefold. The intention is that the centrefold is "outside" the flow of the text: the image is always on pages 8–9, ...
9
votes
1answer
241 views
Storing and retrieving data in tuc file
I want to store some data in the .tuc file, which is being picked up in the next run. I suceeded in storing some values but I failed in retrieving them afterwards.
Here is my attempt:
\starttext
...
9
votes
1answer
548 views
Getting started with Chinese in ConTeXt
I am trying to setup a basic document with ConTeXt, but I am having difficulty even getting started.
First, I tried the documentation at ConTeXt wiki: Chinese. I tried the sample code on that page:
...
7
votes
1answer
294 views
Availability of LaTeX packages' functionality in ConTeXt, XeTeX, and LuaTeX
I am considering trying out ConTeXt, XeTeX, and LuaTeX, but one concern of mine is the fact that I am using a large number of LaTeX packages.
There are a number of questions comparing these TeX ...
7
votes
2answers
664 views
Improving the legibility of a pdfTeX produced PDF on Google Docs
My draft dissertation (google docs link here) shows up remarkably poorly on google docs. It was rendered on ConTeXt MkIV with the default pdf engine (pdftex, I believe.)
What steps do I need to take ...
6
votes
1answer
107 views
What is the difference between \everypar and \EveryPar?
In a previous question I got recommended to use \EveryPar instead of \everypar.
What is the difference between the two?
Are there other commands that I should capitalize the same way in ConTeXt?
6
votes
1answer
112 views
ConTeXt + XeTeX (TeXLive 2012) does not work for Indic scripts like Malayalam
This is a follow up question to What is the state of support for (Unicode) Indic scripts in Context?
I have been trying to get texexec/mkii to work with XeTeX engine, but the resulting rendering is ...
6
votes
1answer
136 views
What is the state of support for (Unicode) Indic scripts in Context?
I have used XeTeX for typesetting a book using Unicode Malayalam. It is working perfectly and the production is fine.
Reading about ConteXt, I learn it is more suitable and flexible for book ...
6
votes
2answers
479 views
Macro for the average width of a character
How can i made a macro similar to \averagecharwidth of ConTeX in LaTeX, that calculates the average width of a character based on the frequency of that character into my document ? that macro is show ...
6
votes
1answer
125 views
Compound/nested section numbers in ConTeXt: how to omit the top level? E.g. 1.2.1 --> 2.1
In the following MWE, titles have no displayed number, but sections (the second level) are still numbered 1.1, 1.2, etc, because the titles have an internal number.
I would like the sections to ...
6
votes
1answer
254 views
How to switch fonts when the language switches in ConTeXt?
I have a mostly English-language document, with fonts defined like this:
\usemodule[simplefonts]
\setmainfont[MinionPro-Regular]
\setsansfont[MyriadPro-Bold]
Occassionally, I need to have some ...
6
votes
2answers
321 views
How to check if a value is not equal using TeX conditionals?
I have a value defined in a macro, e.g.:
\mymacro{apple}
I need to check if a value does not equal a string, e.g.:
IF #1 NOT EQUAL TO "apple" THEN
PRINT "It is not a apple, it is #1."
FI
I ...
