December 2014 mailing – Scientific Word Ltd.

Last time... (Item 3) we mentioned an undiagnosed installation error message which said "the requested operation requires elevation". A few days after that September mailing, another user raised the same issue:

"After carrying out instruction number 9 I get the message:
Error while attempting to execute
"D:\dict55\InstallD.exe"
British-English "C:\swp55\swp-pro.ins"
The requested operation requires elevation."

We realised that both these users were from the same university in the North-West of England and were – we believe – both using university-supplied machines. No-one else has reported the issue.
Conclusion: there's probably some additional (and, for our purposes, unhelpful) security measure being pre-installed by the university technical staff. Please be aware of this if you're using a university-supplied machine in a North-West city where it rains a lot... and see the solution included in last time's mailing.

Version 6.0: We continue to be embarrassed by the ongoing failure of MacKichan Software to release version 6.0. If anyone knows any creative fun ways of apologising for something outside their influence, do please let us have them ; - )
We hope not to need them by February, of course – but we've been wrong so many times before. In the meantime, here's another great collection of tips for making the most of your current version 5.5...

New shell documents: Just back from doing the Scientific Word Training Course in Paris. One of the questions was how to set up the LaTeX typesetting specification for a new class (in this case, the Springer-Verlag svjour3 class) to work with Scientific Word. Here are the (non-trivial) steps required:

First re-read Scientific Word's online Help – Search – typesetting specifications – typesetting specifications – typesetting specifications from outside sources
Download the LaTeX typesetting specifications for the required journal (LaTeX.zip); notice the class file it contains is called svjour3.cls
Therefore unzip LaTeX.zip to c:\sw55\TCITeX\TeX\LaTeX\contrib\svjour3\
Open c:\sw55\TCITeX\TeX\LaTeX\contrib\svjour3\template.tex with WordPad: note that it includes the line
\documentclass[smallextended]{svjour3} % onecolumn (second format)
Search in c:\sw55 for similar terms: svjour3; Springer. Find the Springer-Verlag Heidelberg Journal which uses svjour.cls and svjour.cst (see this by opening the .shl file with WordPad; or from Typeset – Options and Packages – Class Options for the class, and File – Style for the screen appearance)
Skim read the supplied documentation file c:\sw55\TCITeX\TeX\LaTeX\contrib\svjour3\usrguid3.pdf
Open c:\sw55\TCITeX\TeX\LaTeX\contrib\svjour3\template.tex with Scientific Word; note the message that there is no screen appearance file c:\sw55\Styles\svjour3.cst. Save the truncated template file as svjour3.tex
Try compiling svjour3.tex: there are font metric problems. From usrguid3.pdf (or use WordPad to look in the .tex file) see that we need the mathptmx package. Add mathptmx.sty from Typeset – Options & Packages – Package Options – GoNative – {mathptmx}
Copy c:\sw55\Styles\svjour\svjour.cst to c:\sw55\Styles\svjour3\svjour3.cst   Screen appearance file
Copy any .bst files to c:\sw55\TCITeX\BibTeX\bst\svjour3\   Bibliography style files, for using BibTeX
In c:\sw55\Typeset\classes.opt (open with WordPad), copy the section for svjour to become the section for svjour3, and update it to reflect the class options specified in usrguide3.pdf   This is the hard part
In \Typeset\classes.pkg (WordPad again), copy the section for svjour to create the section for svjour3   This makes this list of packages available

Create a shell document from svjour3.tex by clicking on File – Export Document – Export Type (*.shl) and locating it in the appropriate subfolder of c:\sw55\Shells\   These are the Shell Directories you see when creating a new document from File – New

A self-extracting download for this particular class is already available at http://forum.mackichan.com/node/23, together with several other new shell documents released by MacKichan Software since the latest Build 2960 update. The comprehensive steps above, however, with appropriate changes, will prove useful to many of you when incorporating additional typesetting specifications required by other Journals for which Scientific Word/WorkPlace does not yet provide a shell document.

On a related note... People often confuse the class file (*.cls) with the screen appearance file (*.cst). A useful write up is in the Creating Documents manual pp223–233 "Understanding the Typesetting Specifications" and following sections. Alternatively, please see the summary in our Content–Appearance PDF (bottom half, right hand side).

Machine-specific: One of our sites with multiple copies of Scientific Word and WorkPlace Emailed to say:

"<snip> was running on an old XP machine that has now died
We tried to reinstall on the students new machine and got the error

Does this code need to be re-set at your end?"

As you may know already, the licensing for Scientific Word/WorkPlace/Notebook is machine-specific. We replied that:

"the licence file won’t work on another machine.
From where you’ve got to, it will probably work simply to delete that file ( \Licenses\license.lic) and then Register (from Help – Register – web option). If not, you might need to do a complete re-install with the latest Build 2960 from our website www.sciword.co.uk/demo.htm ; this is the full working system when unlocked with your serial number."

The licensing server keeps count of the registrations so that you get unimpeded use on your work machine/home machine/laptop etc. – while protecting you against unlimited, indiscriminate use of your serial number.

Slashbox: A user in China Emailed to say:

"I wonder if you could help me with a simple problem. I have a table in a paper and I would like to have the box that labels the rows and columns to have a diagonal line through it, and the labels above/below the diagonal <snip>. Do you know how to do this in swp?"

We replied:

"Thanks for your Email. The simplest way is with the slashbox package: save the .sty file attached (right-click – Save Target/Link As) in c:\swp55\TCITeX\TeX\LaTeX\contrib\slashbox\ (you’ll need to create the folder) and then the attached .tex file will produce the PDF.
You might also want to have a look at the diagbox and makecell packages..."

We did subsequently wonder whether we should have told him how to edit this TeX Field, since it's counter-intuitive: if you highlight the TeX Field and right-click – Properties (or use the magnifying glass) you'll get the Properties of the table cell, which is not what you want. To get the Properties of the TeX Field (to change i and j) you need to right-click to the right of the un-highlighted TeX Field and select Properties (or use the magnifying glass).
When using this TeX Field in existing documents, don't forget to add the slashbox package to your document from Typeset – Options and Packages – Package Options – Go Native – {slashbox}; or to avoid using GoNative (and following 3.12 above) add slashbox to c:\Typeset\classes.pkg in the section for the particular document class you're using.

Spell-checking footnotes: Somebody we know would love to... but so far we haven't been able to come up with an intelligent way to do so efficiently. The online Help – Search – footnotes – footnotes – spell checking says:

> To check the spelling in a footnote or other dialog box

1. Open the footnote or the dialog box.
2. Click [spell.wmf] or, from the Tools menu, choose Spelling.
3. Set the options as necessary and choose OK.

Do please let us have your suggestions, and we'll pass the best one/s on next time.

Ducks: There was a certain man who loved ducks. Unfortunately, his ducks weren't too bright, and wouldn't go south when winter came. The man fretted as each day got colder, and the ducks grew weaker. He put grain on the ground in an attempt to lead the ducks into the warmth of the barn, but they wouldn't take the bait. He left the barn doors open at night and turned the lights on inside, but the ducks never even noticed.
As the days went by and the weather got even colder, the duck lover tried more tricks. He played music inside the barn. He put fox decoys all around the barnyard in an attempt to scare the ducks into the barn. In frustration, he finally attempted physically herding the ducks into the warmth of the barn – but the more he waved and shouted the more afraid and skittish the ducks became. His efforts only caused the ducks to flee even further away from the warmth and the food which he was offering them.
In desperation, the man fell to his knees sobbing, knowing that the ducks would inevitably die soon, and that there was nothing he could do to help them – nothing, because he, a human being, was simply unfathomable to the little ducks. He thought, "If only I could be one of them, I could show them, communicate to them, and they would accept me and not be afraid of me – and I could bring them to the safety, warmth and shelter of the place I’ve prepared for them."
Just then he heard the bells at the nearby church ringing for Christmas Eve services – and he realized for the first time what the baby in Bethlehem was really all about (Luke 2vv8-15). With best wishes as you celebrate Christmas.