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About this manual 

This manual probably contains more information than you will ever need to know. It may also contain information you already know. We do not expect you to read all of it, in stead we will supply a quick overview of the content of all parts. We hope this will enable you to find the parts that are of interest to you.

Part 1 is a survey of TeX, its flavors, and its twin sister Metafont, within the context of Electronic Publishing. Especially for those who are not familiar with TeX (yet) this will be a good starting point. While reading it you may encounter terms of concepts you do not understand immediately. In that case do not worry, just read on. Details are not important at this level.
This part is an abbreviated version of a paper presented by Kees van der Laan at nluug meeting of 2 November, 1993 (nluug stands for the Dutch Unix Users Group).

Part 2 explains in just a few pages the principles of 4TeX: what philosophy it is based on, what features are available, how to get it and what support is available. Those who want to get a raw idea of what 4TeX is may want to read these pages.
This part is an adapted version of a paper presented by Wietse Dol and Erik Frambach at the European TeX conference in Gda´nsk, September 1994.

Part 3 explains how 4TeX is setup and how it is installed. Installation from CD-rom are explained, and hints for network setup are given.

Part 4 gives a complete overview of all the parts of 4TeX. All menus are discussed in detail and all functions described.

Part 5 is for those who want to know exactly what is going on. This part explains the special functions of two editors in combination with 4TeX. The TeX compilers are described in such detail that you should be able to run them `by hand' from the commandline if you wish. However, if you stick to 4TeX's menus you may never need to know any of these details.

Part 6 is for those who want to know `everything' about the print and preview program that 4TeX supports. Again, if you stick to 4TeX's menus you may never need to know any of these details.

Part 7 explains the functions of a long list of utilities that are supported by 4TeX. Although they are all integrated in 4TeX's menus it may be worthwhile to read this. Some background knowledge of e.g.,  using graphics or bibliographies will prove to be helpful and time-saving when you are writing a book or article that includes pictures and bibliographic references.

Part 8 is an overview of all software that is used by 4TeX. Most of the software is free software (i.e. you do not have to pay for it), but some of it is shareware. E.g.,  if you are using 4TeX you are using 4dos, even if you are not aware of it. 4dos is shareware so you are supposed to pay the (rather small) registration fee. The listing of software is also of interest for those who want to use utilities in their own way or for other purposes.

Part 9 covers TeX support. Many TeX user groups are active all over the world, there are many mailing lists, bulletin boards and file servers dedicated to TeX. If you want to know more about TeX c.s. you will find several references here that will put you on track.

A bibliography completes this manual.

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