Leap Year's Day 2016

From: Dr Christopher Mabb, Scientific Word Ltd.
To: Our Scientific Word/WorkPlace/Notebook Technical Typesetting list

1. Version 6.0.12:    Changes in this v6.0.12 release include:
   
   • Fixed a problem when using OS X to allow spaces in document names when creating PDF
   • Fixed a problem importing where an empty \mbox was not handled properly
   • Fixed a problem importing where encapsulated TeX fields surrounded text
   • Changed Windows cmd files to import msitex.cmd via the MSIPATHS environment variable, and to pause command windows when SWPDEBUG is defined in the environment
   • Reworked details of graphics conversion. Do not do graphics conversion when a document is loaded if it is not necessary. This also allows reading documents on the Macintosh that come from Windows and use WMFs or EMFs (see Item 5 below)
   • Changes when using OS X to account for Ghostscript creating read-only files
   • When using OS X, put /usr/local/bin in the path where it belongs
   • Fixed a problem importing when a required space is followed by a TeX field
   • Fixed a problem importing when markers used special symbols like < and > in the marker names
   • Fixed a problem where an auto-expanding table would overwrite surrounding text
   • Changed the '->' automatic substitution to work in both text and math.modes



2. Version 6.0.11:    Version 6.0.11 changes included:
   
   • Updated help files to show Ctrl+Alt+= as the New Definition keyboard shortcut
   • Fixed a problem importing where certain special characters in label names caused an import failure
   • Fixed a problem importing where the hyperlink address included certain special characters
   • Fixed a problem importing where the longtable environment wasn't handled properly
   • Fixed a problem importing front matter elements in an afthesis document
   • Fixed a problem importing upright tagged text in math mode
   • Improved cursor movement in getting out of displays
   • Changed css style to improve cursor position locations
   • Changed source view to prevent extra white space characters from added (except where it exists in the verbatim environment)
   • Added View, TeX Errors menu item to help identify LaTeX compile errors when using PDF Preview in SW and SWP
   • Improvements to importing eps and wmf graphics conversions when using Windows
   • Updated ReadMe file for OS X installer to improve line wraps and include advise to use control+click to open the TeX Live and SW or SWP installers
   • Added signed version of the wmf2epsc printer driver files to the installation when using Windows
   • Internal changes to saving files to correct an occasional problem where the css directory inside the .sci file was removed
   • Restored shift+return and shift+enter as the keyboard shortcuts for linebreak
   • Added instrumentation to help diagnose occasional failure to produce PDF when using OS X
   • Added alternative script to install TeX Live when using OS X El Capitan if the installer fails
   • Improved being able to enter text between two consecutive displayed equations



3. Installation Instructions:    The latest versions of Scientific Word/WorkPlace/Notebook are always available from our Download page. We recommend re-installing TeXLive and selecting Skip to create a new installation (even though it is not supposed to be necessary).



4. Wide-screen Beamer:    Some institutions and conference centres use wide-screen format, 16:9, rather than 4:3, for presentations. If you need to produce wide-screen presentation, our instructions are as follows:

   In v5.5:

   1. Starting with a v5.5 Beamer document (File – New – Other Documents – Slides-Beamer) add the line:
      

      \usepackage[orientation=landscape,size=custom,width=16,height=9.75,scale=0.5,debug]{beamerposter}

      to the Typeset – Preamble. Note that after saving and re-opening the document, this will have disappeared from the Preamble and been assimilated into Typeset – Options & Packages.
   2. Unpack beamerposter.zip to C:\swp55\TCITeX\TeX\LaTeX\contrib\beamer\beamerposter\    [which you will need to create]
   3. Unpack fp.zip to C:\swp55\TCITeX\TeX\LaTeX\contrib\fp\    [which you will need to create]
   4. Unpack type1cm.zip to C:\swp55\TCITeX\TeX\LaTeX\contrib\type1cm\    [which you will need to create]
   5. Unpack xkeyval.zip to C:\swp55\TCITeX\TeX\LaTeX\contrib\xkeyval\    [which you will need to create]

   There's a sample v5.5 document for download here, which compiles to produce this PDF; either download the .tex file and compile, or download the PDF and then open it in the Acrobat Reader in full-screen mode (Ctrl-L, or Window – FullScreen) to get the presentation effect. You may need to give permission for the animated graphic on p16/19 to run (Scientific WorkPlace only).
   Note that we have modified the definition of the columns TeX Fields (which you can copy and paste as required) to work in this wide-screen format.
   
   In v6.0:

   1. Starting with a v6.0 Beamer document (File – New – Presentations – Slides_Beamer) add the line:
      

      \usepackage[orientation=landscape,size=custom,width=16,height=9.75,scale=0.5,debug]{beamerposter}

      to the Typeset – Preamble.
   2. You will need access to the packages beamerposter, fp, type1cm and xkeyval. Use the TeXLive Manager, as outlined in our December 2015 mailing Item 4, to check which packages you have installed, and add any of these four that are missing.

   There's a short v6.0 document for download here, which compiles to produce this PDF; either download the .sci file and compile, or download the PDF and then open it in the Acrobat Reader in full-screen mode (Ctrl-L, or Window – FullScreen) to get the presentation effect.




5. Mac v6.0:    Please read this for information on porting your Scientific Word/WorkPlace v5.5 documents containing graphics to v6.0 on the Mac. Note: these instructions require the current v6.0.12 or later.



6. Annual Maintenance:    The benefits of our Annual Maintenance Scheme are laid out on our website here. Do please click the link to make sure you're getting all the goodies you're entitled to: we discovered only last week that one of our campus-wide sites in the North of England has not been taking advantage of the complimentary access to the v5.5 videos of our £4000+ Training Course!
   If you're not sure whether your institution is part of our Annual Maintenance Scheme, feel free to ask us.



7. File – Send:    In thousands of hours using, doing Tech Support, and giving Training Courses internationally, I'd never noticed the File – Send menu item in Scientific Word/WorkPlace v5.5 (and possibly in previous versions). Incredible! I wonder how long that had been there?
   Thanks for pointing it out, Robin...



8. Version 5.0:    With the maturing of v6.0, a licence for which provides access to v5.5 (most people use the software under Clause 2), we are now ending support for the previous v5.0. If you're one of those still using v5.0 – fewer than 100 in the whole of the UK – we're sorry to lose you from our database of current users. Thank you for your support and colleagueship over the past decade and more. All the best!



9. Leap Year:    Well, it's not the kind of thing you have every day – more like once every 1460.9688 days (mathematicians please go here to waste a happy few minutes).
   In 1984, while doing research for my doctorate, I was teaching maths part time in a girls public school where the pupils were mostly daughters of the University. Deciding to make Leap Year's Day classes a little special to mark the occasion, I taught my Lower 4 class how to write a cheque (remember those?).
   All went well with the date... the amount in numbers... and the amount in words. When we came to the name of the payee, I suggested making their dummy cheque out to their parents, and showed them where to write "Mr and Mrs [Surname]". At which point most of them chorused "Sir, it's Dr and Mrs"; several of them "it's Dr and Dr". And one of them, "it's Lord and Lady".
   Happy Memories!