From: mschulter AT  DOT value DOT net (M. Schulter)
Newsgroups: comp.os.msdos.djgpp
Subject: groff installation: thanks, eli
Date: 18 Mar 1997 01:32:16 GMT
Organization: Value Net Internetwork Services Inc.
Lines: 52
Message-ID: <5gkrb1$8ph$1@vnetnews.value.net>
NNTP-Posting-Host: value.net
To: djgpp AT delorie DOT com
DJ-Gateway: from newsgroup comp.os.msdos.djgpp

Hi, everyone.

This is to thank eli, dj, and all the GNU/DJGPP team for making possible a
32-bit version of groff in DOS.

A few installation points:

(1) For more ignorant users such as myself <grin>, it might be helpful to
note in the instruction on adding the extra lines in the DJGPP README file
to DJGPP.ENV if your DJGPP trunk directory is not C:\DJGPP:

"If you cut and paste the following code into DJGPP.ENV, please be sure to
remove the tabs at the beginning of each line."

When I took this step, the error messages about groff.exe not finding the
DESC file suddenly cleared up <grin>.

Of course, maybe I should have read another FAQ somewhere about the syntax
for the djgpp.env file <grin>; but in the excitement of the installation,
I cut and pasted somewhat uncritically.


(2) Since I'm using groff mainly as a typesetting language to generate
PostScript output to a file I can then interpret and view from within
Emacs, I changed the variable for the default device from

+GROFF_TYPESETTER=ascii

to

+GROFF_TYPESETTER=ps

which is the default documented in the GNU man pages. Of course, this
choice may reflect the fact that I use less to read man pages -- as I
learned to do in the DJGPP FAQ <grin>.


(3) I'm delighted to report that groff works with my PS interpreter from
within Emacs: I can edit a file in troff format, changing the point size,
say, and then run a batch file to run groff, generate PS output to a file,
run the interpreter on the file, and call a viewer to display it. This
looks like a great way to learn troff, including the options to embed ps
code in a document, because there's near-real-time visual feedback. (It
takes maybe between five and ten seconds to format and preview a short
practice document.)

BTW, the .ps (font size) command works with fractional sizes like 38.8,
and I love the way that groff is obviously designed to work well with
PostScript.

Most appreciatively,
Margo