MiKTeX Manual

Revision 1.20a (MiKTeX 1.20a)

April 1999

Christian Schenk <cschenk@snafu.de>


Table of Contents


Copyright (C) 1996-1999 Christian Schenk

Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice are preserved on all copies.

Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a permission notice identical to this one.

Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions, except that this permission notice may be stated in a translation approved by the Free Software Foundation.

What is MiKTeX?

MiKTeX is a free TeX distribution for Windows (9x/NT).

MiKTeX Features

Components

The MiKTeX consists of the following applications:

TeX 3.14159
The classic TeX compiler.
e-TeX 2.1
A feature-extended version of TeX.
Yap 0.95d
The MiKTeX DVI previewer.
pdfTeX 0.13d
Creates PDF files from TeX documents.
dvipdfm 0.10.5
Converts DVI files into PDF documents.
Omega 1.8
An enhanced version of TeX with support for 16-bit character sets.
METAFONT 2.718
Converts font specifications into raster fonts.
MetaPost 0.641
Converts picture specifications into PostScript commands.
dvips 5.83
Converts DVI files into PostScript.
MakeIndex 2.12
Composes indexes.
BibTeX 0.99c
Composes bibliographies.
Standard LaTeX Packages
AMS-LaTeX, Babel, PSNFSS, ...
TeXware, METAFONTware, PSutils, ...
Lots of utilities.

How to get MiKTeX

MiKTeX Distribution

You can download the MiKTeX distribution from the CTAN(1) directory

systems/win32/miktex/

Other Packages

Here is a list of other packages you should take into consideration:

Aladdin GhostScript 5.50 (http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~ghost/aladdin/index.html).
GhostScript is an interpreter for the PostScript language. The DVI previewer Yap uses GhostScript to display EPS inclusions.
Adobe Acrobat Reader (http://www.adobe.com/prodindex/acrobat/readstep.html).
You can use it two view PDF files.
WinEdt (http://home.istar.ca/~winedt)
WinEdt is a shareware TeX editor/shell. It coorperates with MiKTeX.
ActivePerl (http://www.activestate.com)
ActivePerl is an implementation of Perl for the Win32 platform. A few MiKTeX utilities (e.g. psmerge) are Perl scripts. Therefore you will need Perl if you want to use these utilities.

The MiKTeX Project Page

Visit the MiKTeX Project Page for information about new releases, patches and so on.

The MiKTeX Mailing List

MiKTeX Mailing List

Claus Ekstroem from Denmark has created a discussion list for MiKTeX. To join this list, send an e-mail to <miktex-request@dsts.dk> which contains the word subscribe as the first line in the message body.

This list is archived at www.egroups.com.

Documentation

The MiKTeX Manual (which you are reading right now) concentrates on documenting MiKTeX specific details.

The `doc' directory hierarchy contains user manuals for various applications.

What's new in MiKTeX 1.20a?

The source archives (source*.zip) were removed from the normal distribution. They are now in the CTAN directory systems/win32/miktex/source.

Updated Apps

New Apps

Resolved Problems

Installing MiKTeX

  1. If you still have MiKTeX 1.11 installed on you computer, then you should use the uninstall option of MiKTeX 1.11.
  2. Make sure that you have enough disk space. A complete MiKTeX installation consumes approximately 40MB of disk space.
  3. It is highly recommended that you login as Administrator, if you're installing MiKTeX on a Windows NT computer.
  4. Choose a location for the installation directory, say c:\texmf. This directory receives the files of the MiKTeX distribution.
  5. You can cause MiKTeX to deposit newly created files (fonts, memory dumps, filename databases) in a separate directory tree. This directory tree is called the Local TEXMF Tree. If you decide to create such a tree, then you must choose a name for its root directory, say c:\localtexmf. Benefits that a local tree provides include the following:
  6. Decide whether you want to incorporate a preexisting TEXMF tree. For example, if you have a TeXLive CD in CDROM drive e:, then it is possible to include e:\texmf in the MiKTeX search path.
  7. Start the MiKTeX Setup Wizard (setupwiz.exe).
    1. When prompted for the installation directory, enter the name chosen in step 4.
    2. When prompted for the local TEXMF directory, enter the name chosen in step 5 or check the button `No local TEXMF tree', if you don't need a local tree.
    3. When prompted for the list of additional TEXMF root directories, enter a semicolon-separated list of preexisting TEXMF root directories. Check the button `No preexisting TEXMF directory trees', if you just want to use the TEXMF tree that comes with MiKTeX.

The Setup Wizard does not change the PATH variable, i.e. you have to add something like

set PATH=%PATH%;c:\texmf\miktex\bin

to your autoexec.bat.

Uninstalling MiKTeX

There is no uninstall option (yet), so you must do it by hand if you decide to delete MiKTeX:

  1. Delete the main TEXMF folder (usually c:\texmf) includaing sub folders.
  2. Delete the local TEXMF folder (usually c:\localtexmf) including sub folders.
  3. Delete Registry entries:
    1. Start regedit
    2. Open the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE and delete the MiK subkey.
    3. Open the key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software and delete the MiK subkey.
  4. Remove the MiKTeX item from the Start menu.
  5. Remove the bin directory from the PATH.

The TEXMF Directory Hierarchy

The setup program creates a TDS-compliant directory hierarchy. Normally this hierarchy is distributed over two physical directory trees:

  1. The Installation Directory (usually `c:\texmf') contains all files from the MiKTeX distribution.
  2. The Local Directory (usually `c:\localtexmf') receives all files that are created on-the-fly (i.e. after the installation process has finished).

It's possible to redefine theses two directories anytime. See section Defining TEXMF Root Directories, for more information.

Installation Directory

The Installation Directory (usually c:\texmf) is the root of a TDS-compliant directory hierarchy. If you have installed the complete distribution, then the Installation Directory contains the following sub-directories:

bibtex, dvips, makeindex, ...
These directories contain application related input files.
doc
This directory contains all user documentation.
fonts
This directory contains fonts in various formats.
miktex
The miktex directory is reserved for MiKTeX related files:
miktex\bin
Contains all executable files.
miktex\config
Contains the global configuration file miktex.ini and the MiKTeX font mapping file miktex.map. The MiKTeX Setup Wizard installs its own log file here.
miktex\base
Contains the METAFONT string pool file mf.pool.
miktex\fmt
Contains TeX string pool files: etex.pool, pdftex.pool, omega.pool, tex.pool.
miktex\mem
Contains the MetaPost string pool file mp.pool.

Local Directory

The Local Directory (usually c:\texmf receives files that are generated on-the-fly. For example, if the TeX compiler needs a TeX Font Metric (TFM) file that is not available yet, then it creates that file (if possible) and installs it in an appropriate sub-directory of the Local Directory.

Typically the Local Directory contains the following sub-directories:

fonts
Contains font files that are not part of the MiKTeX distribution, but that were created on-the-fly.
miktex\config
This directory contains the filename database files.

MiKTeX Configuration Files

The Two Kinds of Configuation Files

MiKTeX configuration parameters are stored in two configuration files:

Personal configuration settings override global settings.

How to specify search paths

Search paths are used by MiKTeX to find special files (such as TeX input files) within a comprehensive directory hierarchy.

A search path is a semicolon-separated list of directory paths. This list is traversed from left to right, i.e. the first directory is searched first.

In a directory path, the following character seqeuences have a special meaning:

%R
A placeholder for the list of TEXMF root directories.
//
A flag, which auses MiKTeX to search recursively.

Example

Assuming that c:\texmf;\\myserver\texmf is the list of TEXMF root directories, the search path .;%R\tex\latex//;%R\tex\generic// causes LaTeX to search its input files in the following locations:

  1. In the current directory (.).
  2. In the directory c:\texmf\tex\latex and in all directories below it.
  3. In the directory \\myserver\texmf\tex\latex and in all directories below it.
  4. In the directory c:\texmf\tex\generic and in all directories below it
  5. In the directory \\myserver\texmf\tex\generic and in all directories below it.

Testing a new search path

You can use the configuration utility initexmf to test whether an input file can be found via the current search path. For example, the command

initexmf --find-latex-input a4.sty

searches for the LaTeX input file a4.sty. The full pathname is printed if the file was found.

Contents of a MiKTeX Configuration File

A MiKTeX configuration file is divided into several named sections. Each section contains configuration settings for a specific application or feature.

[BibTeX]: BibTeX Configuration Settings

The section [BibTeX] contains BibTeX related configuration settings.

Input Dirs
Search path for BibTeX input files (both databases and style files).
min_crossrefs
Minimum number of cross-refs required for automatic cite_list inclusion.

[Dvips]: Dvips Configuration Settings

The section [Dvips] contains Dvips related configuration settings.

CONFIGPath
Where Dvips searches its configuration files (e.g. config.ps).
ENCPath
Where Dvips searches for .enc files.
GraphicsPath
Where Dvips searches for .eps files.
MAPPath
Where Dvips searches for .map files.
PSPath
Where Dvips searches for PS header files.

[Graphics]: Graphics Conversion Rules

The section [Graphics] contains graphics conversion rules. Each rule has the syntax

.fromext.toext=commandline

fromext is the filename extension of the source file. toext is the filename extension of the destination file. commandline is the command-line which does the conversion. The command-line may include the following placeholders:

%i
The name of the input file.
%o
The name of the output file.

The standard MiKTeX configuration file contains the following rules:

.gif.bmp=giftopnm %i | ppmtobmp -windows > %o
.pcx.bmp=pcxtoppm %i | ppmtobmp -windows > %o
.png.bmp=pngtopnm %i | ppmtobmp -windows > %o
.tga.bmp=tgatoppm %i | ppmtobmp -windows > %o
.tif.bmp=tifftopnm %i | ppmtobmp -windows > %o
.tiff.bmp=tifftopnm %i | ppmtobmp -windows > %o

[Magic]: Memory Settings for TeX & Friends

The section [Magic] contains memory related configuration settings. The values are used by TeX, pdfTeX and Omega for the dynamic allocation of certain data structures.

Format-Independent Values

The following parameters can be changed at run time to extend or reduce TeX's capacity. They may have different values in INITEX and in production versions of TeX.

mem_min
Smallest index in TeX's internal mem array; must be 0 or more; must be equal to mem_bot in INITEX, otherwise <=mem_bot.
mem_max
Greatest index in TeX's internal mem array; must be strictly less than 1073741823.
buf_size
Maximum number of characters simultaneously present in current lines of open files and in control sequences between \csname and \endcsname; must not exceed 1073741823.
error_line
Width of context lines on terminal error messages.
half_error_line
Width of first lines of contexts in terminal error messages; should be between 30 and (error_line - 15).
max_print_line
Width of longest text lines output; should be at least 60.
stack_size
Maximum number of simultaneous input sources.
max_in_open
Maximum number of input files and error insertions that can be going on simultaneously.
font_max
Maximum internal font number; must not exceed 5000.
font_mem_size
Number of words of font_info for all fonts.
param_size
Maximum number of simultaneous macro parameters.
nest_size
Maximum number of semantic levels simultaneously active.
max_strings
Maximum number of strings; must not exceed 1073741823.
string_vacancies
The minimum number of characters that should be available for the user's control sequences and font names, after TeX's own error messages are stored.
pool_size
Maximum number of characters in strings, including all error messages and help texts, and the names of all fonts and control sequences; must exceed string_vacancies by the total length of TeX's own strings, which is currently about 23000.
save_size
Space for saving values outside of current group; must be at most 1073741823.
trie_size
Space for hyphenation patterns; should be larger for INITEX than it is in production versions of TeX.
trie_op_size
Space for "opcodes" in the hyphenation patterns.

Format-Dependent Values

Like the preceding parameters, the following quantities can be changed at run time to extend or reduce TeX's capacity. But if they are changed, it is necessary to rerun the initialization program INITEX to generate new tables for the production TeX program. One can't simply make helter-skelter changes to the following constants, since certain rather complex initialization numbers are computed from them.

mem_bot
Smallest index in the mem array dumped by INITEX; must not be less than mem_min.
mem_top
Largest index in the mem array dumped by INITEX; must be substantially larger than 0 and not greater than mem_max.

[MakeIndex]: MakeIndex Configuration Settings

The section [MakeIndex] contains MakeIndex related configuration settings.

INDEXSTYLE
Search path for MakeIndex style files.

[MakePK]: MakePK Configuration Settings

The section [MakePK] contains configuration settings that are related to the auto-creation of packed raster fonts.

DestDir
The specification of a directory where newly created PK (Packed Raster Font) files are to be installed. The specifiation may include special character sequences which will be replaced at search-time:
%m
The current METAFONT mode.
%d
The horizontal resolution (in dots per inch).
%s
The font supplier (e.g. public).
%t
The typeface name (e.g. cm). typeface.map.
Admin note: All MiKTeX users must have permission to create files in the specified directory.

[MakeTFM]: MakeTFM Configuration Settings

DestDir
Where new .tfm files are to be installed. The specifiation may contain special character sequences which are replaced at search-time:
%s
The font supplier (e.g. public).
%t
The typeface name (e.g. cm).
Admin note: MiKTeX users must have permission to add files to the specified directory.

[METAFONT]: METAFONT Configuration Settings

The section [METAFONT] contains METAFONT related configuration settings.

Input Dirs
Search path for METAFONT input files.

[MetaPost]: MetaPost Related Configuration Settings

The section [MetaPost] contains MetaPost related configuration settings.

Input Dirs
Where MetaPost searches for input files.

[MiKTeX]: General Configuration Settings

The section [MiKTeX] contains general configuration settings and search path specifications.

General Configuration Settings

Trace
This is a comma separated list of trace options:
notrace
Inhibits trace output to the console.
fndb
Traces the filename database.
filesearch
Traces the find-file machinery.
access
Traces file accesses.
process
Traces secondary processes.
tcx
Traces TCX tables.
error
Traces error conditions.
TraceFile
The name of the trace file.

Search Path Specifications

AFMPath
Used to locate Adobe font metric files (*.afm).
BASEPath
Used to locate METAFONT base files (*.base).
ENCPath
Used to locate *.enc files.
EXEPath
Used to locate executables.
FMTPath
Used to locate TeX dump files (.fmt). Also used to locate e-TeX dump files (.efmt).
GraphicsPath
Used to locate graphics files (*.eps;*.bmp;...).
MAPPath
Used to locate font map files (*.map).
MEMPath
Used to locate MetaPost memory files (.mem).
OFMPath
Used to locate Omega font metric files (*.ofm).
OVFPath
Used to locate Omega virtual fonts (*.ovf).
PKPath
Used to locate packed font raster files (*.pk).
PSPath
Used to locate PostScript header files (*.enc;*.map);
TCXPath
Used to locate character translation files (.tcx).
TFMPath
Used to locate TeX font metric files (*.tfm).
TTFPath
Used to locate TrueType fonts (*.ttc;*.ttf).
Type1Path
Used to locate Type1 fonts (*.pfa;*.pfb).
VFPath
Used to locate virtual fonts (*.vf).

[Omega]: Omega Configuration Settings

The section [Omega] contains Omega related configuration settings:

Input Dirs
The search path for Omega input files.
OCPPath
Where Omega searches for OCP files.

[otp2ocp]: otp2ocp Configuration Settings

Input Dirs
Used by otp2ocp to locate OTP files (.otp).

[pdfTeX]: pdfTeX Configuration Settings

The section [pdfTeX] contains pdfTeX related configuration settings.

Input Dirs
Where pdfTeX searches for input files.
PSPath
Where pdfTeX searches for font mapping files.

[ps2pk]: ps2pk Configuratio Settings

The section [ps2pk] contains configuration settings for the ps2pk utility:

PSResPath
Where ps2pk searches for PS resource files.

[TeX]: TeX Configuration Settings

The section [TeX] contains TeX-related configuration settings.

Editor
The command to be started when you press e in the error menu. You can use the following placeholders:
%f
Will be replaced by the name of the input file that caused the error.
%h
Will be replaced by a help text.
%l
Will be replaced by the line number.
%m
Will be replaced by the error message.
%t
Will be replaced by the name of the transcript file.
For example, a suitable value for WinEdt would be winedt %f -G(1,%l,0) -S(12,+1,0). For NT Emacs, set Editor to gnulientw -F +%l %f.
Input Dirs
Used by TeX to locate input files.

[Yap]: Yap Configuratuib Settings

Input Dirs
Used by Yap to locate DVI files (*.dvi).

The MiKTeX Configuration Utility

initexmf.exe is the MiKTeX configuration utility. You can use it to

Defining TEXMF Root Directories

The standard setup procedure creates two TEXMF root directories:

You can redefine the TEXMF root directories by using the command-line switches --root-directories and --local-root:

--root-directories=dirlist
This switch defines the list of TEXMF root directories. dirlist is a semicolon-separated list of directory pathnames.
--local-root=dir
This switch defines the local directory.

It is necessary to refresh the filename-database whenever you redefine the TEXMF root directories (see section Maintaining the filename database).

Maintaining the filename database

To speed up file search, MiKTeX makes use of a list of known file names. This list is called the filename database (fndb). The fndb is spread over several fndb files, one for each TEXMF root directory.

The fndb file for the first TEXMF tree is called texmf0.fndb. For the second tree it is called texmf1.fndb. And so on.

It is strongly recommended that you update the fndb whenever files are added to or removed from one of the TEXMF trees.

You update all fndb files by invoking initexmf.exe with the command line switch --update-fndb:

initexmf --update-fndb

You can update a certain fndb file by specifying the TEXMF root. For example,

initexmf --update-fndb=c:\texmf

will update the fndb file for the tree rooted at c:\texmf.

Maintaining the PostScript resource database

The PostScript resource database (PSres) is used by some utilities in order to locate PostScript resources (font outlines/metrics/encodings).

The database is located in the MiKTeX config directory (usually `c:\texmf\miktex\config'). The name of the database file is `dpres.dpr'. It is a text file, so you can view it with a text editor (e.g. wordpad).

It is strongly recommended that you update the database whenever PostScript resources (`*.pfb;*.afm;*.enc') are added to or removed from one of the TEXMF trees.

You update the database files by invoking initexmf.exe with the command line switch --mkpsres:

initexmf --mkpsres

Incorporating External Font Directories

It is possible to add non-MiKTeX font directories to the resource database. The --mkpsres switch accepts as an optional argument the name of an external font directory. You can use several --mkpsres switches with on invocation of initexmf.

By specifying the command line flag --search, you can cause initexmf to automatically search your workstation for third party PS resource files (e.g. Acrobat Reader Fonts):

initexmf --mkpsres --search

Making Standard Dump Files

Some programs initialize itself by reading parts of the memory from an external file. For the TeX family of programs, such a file is called a Dump File.

The MiKTeX configuration file has built-in rules for standard dump files.

Non-standard dump files (i.e. dump files not mentioned in this section) must be created with the ini-version of the program. For example, you would say `initex texinfo @dump' to produce a Texinfo dump file (texinfo.fmt).

You create standard dump files by invoking initexmf with the command line switch --dump. This switch takes an optional argument, which is the name of the program for which a new dump file is to be created:

initexmf --dump[=program]

If program is ommited, then all standard dump files will be rebuilt. Otherwise, program must be one of the following names:

elatex
This creates the dump file plain.efmt which is used by elatex.exe.
etex
This creates the dump file plain.efmt which is used by etex.exe.
lambda
This creates the dump file lambda.fmt which is used by lambda.exe.
latex
This creates the dump file latex.fmt which is used by latex.exe.
tex
This creates the dump file plain.fmt which is used by tex.exe.
metafont
This creates the dump file plain.base which is used by mf.exe (METAFONT).
metapost
This creates the dump file plain.mem which is used by mpost.exe (MetaPost).
omega
This creates the dump file omega.fmt which is used by omega.exe.
pdflatex
This creates the dump file pdflatex.fmt which is used by pdflatex.exe.
pdftex
This creates the dump file pdftex.fmt which is used by pdftex.exe.

Controlling which hyphenation patterns are used by LaTeX

You can control the loading of hyphenation patterns by modifying the file language.dat (say `initexmf --find-tex language.dat' to find out the absolute path).

As distributed with MiKTeX, language.dat has the following contents:

% File    : language.dat
% Purpose : specify which hypenation patterns to load 
%           while running iniTeX 
english ushyphen.tex
%ukenglish ukhyphen.tex
german ghyph31.tex
%italian ithyph.tex
%dutch nehyph2.tex
%finnish fihyph.tex
%norwegian nohyph.tex
%french f8hyph.tex

Lines starting with % are comments. The only uncommented lines in the example are english ushyphen.tex and german ghyph31.tex. That is, only hyphenation patterns for U.S. English and German will be loaded by TeX. To load other hyphenation patterns, you have to uncomment the corresponding lines.

After modifying language.dat, you have to create new LaTeX dump files (see section Making Standard Dump Files).

Personal Configuration Files

You can cause MiKTeX to read a personal configuration file (in addition to the global one) by using the command line switch --personal:

initexmf --personal[=FILENAME]

If specified, FILENAME must be the name of an existing configuration file. If FILENAME is ommitted, then MiKTeX will not use a personal configuration file.

Values read from FILENAME will override those values that were read from the global configuration file.

For example, consider the case that you have some private LaTeX style files in you home directory (say c:\users\me). You could write a private configuration file (say miktex.ini) and place it in your home directory. The configuration file should look like this:

[LaTeX]
Input Dirs=.;c:\users\me//;%R\tex\latex//;%R\tex\generic//

Then you had to announce the configuration file this way:

initexmf --personal=c:\users\me\miktex.ini

Configuring Dvips

As distributed with MiKTeX, Dvips is configured as follows:

You probably have to change some of theses settings for your site. To do so, open the Dvips configuration file config.ps with your favourite text editor.

The line starting with M specifies the METAFONT mode which Dvips uses for the generation of new raster fonts. Enter a suitable mode here. If you don't know the mode for your output device, then take a look at metafont\misc\modes.mf. This file contains an annotated list of METAFONT modes.

The line starting with D specifies the resolution. Enter a value that matches your printer.

See the Dvips manual, for more information about configuring Dvips.

Manual Pages

Common Compiler Options

The following command-line switches are commonly supported by the TeX compilers, i.e. by TeX, Omega, pdfTeX and e-TeX:

--buf-size=n
Set the internal buf_size to n. buf_size is the maximum number of characters simultaneously present in current lines of open files and in control sequences between \csname and \endcsname; must not exceed 1073741823.
--c-style-errors
Show C/C++ style error messages. This switch implies \scrollmode.
--error-line=n
Set the internal error_line to n. error_line us the width of context lines on terminal error messages.
--half-error-line=n
Set the internal half_error_line to n. half_error_line is the width of first lines of contexts in terminal error messages; should be between 30 and (error_line - 15).
--halt-on-error
Quit after the first error.
--initialize
Initialize internal tables; these tables can be \dumped to a dump file.
--job-name=name
Specify the name of the job. This also sets the name of all output files.
--job-time=filename
Set the time of all output files to the time of filename.
--help
Show a help screen and exit.
--max-in-open=n
Set the internal max_in_open to n. max_in_open is the maximum number of input files and error insertions that can be going on simultaneously.
--max-print-line=n
Set the internal max-print-line to n. max-print-line is the width of longest text lines output; should be at least 60.
--max-strings=n
Set the internal max_strings to n. max_strings is the maximum number of strings; must not exceed 1073741823.
--mem-bot=n
Set the internal mem_bot to n. mem_bot is the smallest index in the code array dumped by INITEX (INIOMEGA, INIPDFTEX); must not be less than mem_min.
--mem-max=n
Set the internal mem_max to n. mem_max is the greatest index in the internal mem array; must be strictly less than 1073741823.
--mem-min=n
Set the internal mem_min to n. mem_min is the smallest index in the internal mem array; must be 0 or more; must be equal to mem_bot in INITEX (INIOMEGA, INIPDFTEX), otherwise <= mem_bot.
--mem-top=n
Set the internal mem_top to n. mem_top is the largest index in the mem array dumped by INITEX (INIOMEGA, INIPDFTEX); must be substantially larger than 0 and not greater than mem_max.
--nest-size=n
Set the internal nest_size to n. nest_size is the maximum number of semantic levels simultaneously active.
--param-size=n
Set the internal param_size to n. param_size is the maximum number of simultaneous macro parameters.
--pool-size=n
Set the internal pool-size to n. pool_size is the maximum number of characters in strings, including all error messages and help texts, and the names of all fonts and control sequences; must exceed string_vacancies by the total length of the program's own strings, which is currently about 30000.
--save-size=n
Set the internal save_size to n. save_size is the amount of space for saving values outside of current group; must be at most 1073741823.
--src-specials
Insert source file information into the DVI file.
--stack-size=n
Set the internal stack_size to n. stack_size is the maximum number of simultaneous input sources.
--string-vacancies=n
Set the internal string_vacancies to n. string_vacancies is the minimum number of characters that should be available for the user's control sequences and font names, after the program's own error messages are stored.
--tcx=name
Causes TeX to process the TCX table name.
--terminal=oem
Causes TeX to uses the current DOS codepage (e.g. cp850) for console output.
--trace=traceflags
Set trace flags.
--trie-size=n
Set the internal trie_size to n. trie_size is the amount of space for hyphenation patterns; should be larger for INITEX (INIOMEGA, INIPDFTEX) than it is in production versions of the program.
--trie-op-size=n
Set the internal trie_op_size to n. trie_op_size is the amount of space for "opcodes" in the hyphenation patterns.
--try-gz
Try file.tex.gz if file.tex cannot be found.
--undump=name
Causes TeX to read the dump file name.
--version
Print version information and exit.

initexmf

initexmf is the MiKTeX Configuration Utility.

Command-Line Switches

--dump
Refresh all dump files (*.base;*.efmt;*.fmt;*.mem).
--dump=program
Refresh the dump files related to a specific program. program must be one of: elatex, etex, lambda, latex, metafont, metapost, omega, pdflatex, pdftex, tex.
--find-elatex-input FILE
Find e-TeX input file.
--find-etex-input FILE
Find e-LaTeX input file.
--find-lambda-input FILE
Find Lambda input file.
--find-latex-input FILE
Find LaTeX input file.
--find-metafont-input FILE
Find METAFONT input file.
--find-metapost-input FILE
Find MetaPost input file.
--find-omega-input FILE
Find Omega input file.
--find-pdflatex-input FILE
Find pdfLaTeX input file.
--find-pdftex-input FILE
Find pdfTeX input file.
--find-tex-input FILE
Find TeX input file.
--list-modes
List all known METAFONT modes.
--local-root root
Specify the local TEXMF root.
--mkpsres
Update the PostScript resource database `psres.dpr'. You can use this option in conjunction with --search (see below).
--mkpsres=`dir'
Add a new font directory to the PostScript resource database `psres.dpr'.
--personal
-p
Do not use a personal configuration file.
--personal=FILENAME
-pFILENAME
Define the location of the personal configuration file.
--print-only
-n
Print what would be done. Nothing is changed.
--reconfigure
Reconfigure MiKTeX.
--report
Create a configuration report.
--root-directories dirlist
-r dirlist
Specify the list of TEXMF root directories.
--search
Search for PS resource files (requires --mkpsres).
--update-fndb
-u
Refresh the whole filename database.
--update-fndb=root
-uroot
Refresh the filename database for a specific TEXMF root.
--verbose
-v
Print information on what is being done.
--version
-V
Print the version number and exit.

mp

mp is the MetaPost compiler. The general command-line syntax is

mp [switches...] [filename]

Command-Line Switches

--c-style-errors
Show C/C++ style error messages. This switch implies \scrollmode.
--initialize
Initializes MetaPost's internal tables so that they can be dumped.
--help
Shows a short help screen and exits.
--tex=texprogram
Uses texprogram instead of tex when compiling text labels. This flag overrides the environment variable TEX.
--version
Prints version information and exits.

Aliases

inimp
Equivalent to mp --ini.

Environment Variables

TEX
Specifies the TeX compiler which should be used when compiling text labels.

omega

Omega is an 16-bit enhanced version of TeX.

The general command-line syntax is

omega [switches] [firstinputline]

firstinputline, if supplied, specifies the first input line. This is usually the name of an input file.

For example, the command

omega hello.tex

causes Omega to produce the DVI file hello.dvi from the input file hello.tex. You can specify the input file without the .tex extension:

omega hello

You must specify the .tex extension if the filename contains more than one dot (.). For example, it does not work to say

omega foo.bar

You have to say

omega foo.bar.tex.

instead.

Please note: you cannot specify file names that contain space characters, even if the file system allows such names.

Command-Line Switches

Omega supports the common compiler options (see section Common Compiler Options).

Aliases

iniomega
Equivalent to omega --ini.
viromega
Equivalent to omega.
lambda
Equivalent to omega "&lambda".

pdftex

pdfTeX is a special version of TeX that outputs PDF.

The usual way to start pdfTeX is as follows:

pdftex [options] [firstinputline]

firstinputline, if supplied, specifies the first input line. This is usually the name of an input file.

For example, the command

pdftex hello.tex

causes pdfTeX to produce the PDF file hello.pdf from the input file hello.tex. You can specify the input file without the .tex extension:

pdftex hello

You must specify the .tex extension if the filename contains more than one dot (.). For example, it does not work to say

pdftex foo.bar

You have to say

pdftex foo.bar.tex.

instead.

Please note: you cannot specify file names that contain space characters, even if the file system allows such names.

Command-Line Switches

Besides the common switches (see section Common Compiler Options), pdfTeX supports these command-line switches:

--font-max=n
Sets the internal font_max to n. font_max is the maximum internal font number; must not exceed 5000.

Aliases

inipdftex
Equivalent to pdftex --ini.
virpdftex
Equivalent to pdftex.
pdflatex
Equivalent to pdftex "&pdflatex".

tex

The usual way to start TeX is as follows:

tex options firstinputline

firstinputline, if supplied, specifies the first input line. This is usually the name of an input file.

For example, the command

tex hello.tex

causes TeX to produce the DVI file hello.dvi from the input file hello.tex. You can specify the input file without the .tex extension:

tex hello

You must specify the .tex extension if the filename contains more than one dot (.). For example, it does not work to say

tex foo.bar

You have to say

tex foo.bar.tex.

instead.

Please note: you cannot specify file names that contain space characters, even if the file system allows such names.

Command-Line Switches

Besides the common switches (see section Common Compiler Options), TeX supports the following command-line switches:

--font-max=n
Sets the internal font_max to n. font_max is the maximum internal font number; must not exceed 5000.

Aliases

latex
Equivalent to tex "&latex".
initex
Equivalent to tex --ini.

Index

Jump to: % - \ - a - b - c - d - e - f - g - h - i - l - m - n - o - p - r - s - t - u - v - w

%

  • %R
  • \

  • \scrollmode
  • a

  • Acrobat Reader, Acrobat Reader
  • Administrator, Administrator, Administrator, Administrator
  • AFMPath
  • b

  • Babel
  • BASEPath
  • buf_size
  • c

  • cite_list
  • CONFIGPath
  • Configuration files
  • cp850
  • CTAN
  • d

  • DestDir, DestDir
  • Dvipdfm
  • e

  • Editor
  • ENCPath
  • error_line
  • EXEPath
  • f

  • Filename database
  • FMTPath
  • font_max
  • font_mem_size
  • g

  • GhostScript
  • GraphicsPath, GraphicsPath
  • h

  • half_error_line
  • i

  • INDEXSTYLE
  • Input Dirs, Input Dirs, Input Dirs, Input Dirs, Input Dirs, Input Dirs, Input Dirs, Input Dirs
  • Installation directory, Installation directory, Installation directory
  • l

  • Local directory, Local directory, Local directory, Local directory
  • m

  • Mailing lists
  • MakeIndex
  • MakePK
  • MakeTFM
  • MAPPath, MAPPath
  • max_in_open
  • max_print_line
  • max_strings
  • mem_max
  • mem_min
  • MEMPath
  • METAFONT mode
  • min_crossrefs
  • n

  • nest_size
  • o

  • OCPPath
  • OFMPath
  • Omega
  • OVFPath
  • p

  • Paper size
  • param_size
  • PATH
  • Perl
  • PKPath
  • pool_size
  • Project page
  • PSPath, PSPath, PSPath
  • PSResPath
  • r

  • Resolution
  • s

  • save_size
  • Search paths
  • Setup Wizard
  • stack_size
  • string_vacancies
  • t

  • TCX (character translation), TCX (character translation)
  • TCXPath
  • TDS (TeX directory structure), TDS (TeX directory structure)
  • TEX
  • TeXLive
  • TFMPath
  • Trace
  • TraceFile
  • trie_op_size
  • trie_size
  • TTFPath
  • Type1Path
  • u

  • UNC (universal naming code)
  • URW PostScript fonts
  • v

  • VFPath
  • w

  • WinEdt, WinEdt

  • Footnotes

    (1)

    CTAN: Comprehensive TeX Archive Network


    This document was generated on 13 April 1999 using texi2html 1.56k.