thanks Fred...I've been putting together an NSF fastlane tutorial I've never heard of tex or latex but will read with interest At 06:11 PM 9/22/00 -0400, you wrote: > Don't know if the below will be helpful or not--but the Associate Director >here forwarded 2 e-mails around our Institute recently on the conversion of >Tex and LaTex files into PDFs--which I've copied below. > > Fred Averick > Sponsored Research Administrator > Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences > New York University > ph: (212) 998-3372 > fax: (212) 995-4125 > > > Dear all, > Since NSF proposal season is now upon us, this seems a good time to > remind you how to create PDF files from tex or latex, and to provide > some tricks for avoiding font incompatibilities in NSF's FASTLANE system. > > CREATING PDF FILES FROM TEX OR LATEX > If your document consists of plain tex or latex, with no embedded postscript >"" >"" (for latex). These function just like > tex or latex, but the output is filename.pdf rather than filename.dvi > If your document has embedded postscript figures then you must > first convert it to postscript, then to pdf, using the sequence of > commands: > latex filename > dvips -o filename.ps filename > distill filename.ps >"" a file created elsewhere. However > the only certain means of avoiding font problems is to do the entire > file-creation process (latex, dvips, and distill) on the same system. > If you're using postscript files created, for example, by xfig, > it would be prudent to export them from xfig on the same system too. > To check for font problems, it isn't sufficient to view the document > on the screen -- you should also try printing it. Font conflicts > sometimes prevent documents from printing well even though they view > well. > > TIPS ON CREATING FILES FOR FASTLANE > Creating an NSF proposal in Fastlane requires creating a bunch of > separate PDF documents (research description, bibliography, cv, etc). > But some parts are most naturally created together -- for example, > to make latex number the references automatically you must latex > the proposal body and bibliography together. So it's most natural to > create one large document then chop it up. > In fact this strategy was, at least for me, a necessity rather > than just a convenience. When I created some pieces > separately then glued them into fastlane, they viewed OK separately >"" mode. I fixed the problem by creating > the proposal as one large pdf file then chopping it into the desired > pieces. > Chopping a large pdf file into smaller ones is easy. Use the >""""). Your document >"" >"", to save a > piece of the document with a filename of your choice. > If you're preparing a multi-investigator proposal then to follow my > algorithm you'll need to include your collaborators' cv's in your > document. > > > > > > > Dear all, > I wrote a couple of weeks ago giving advice on PDF file > creation in general, and for NSF's Fastlane system in particular. >"Tips on creating files for >") suggested avoiding font conflicts by (1) creating > your whole proposal as a single PDF document then > (2) chopping it apart, to avoid font conflicts. As far as I > know this works, however it's obviously a crude > work-around, and I've learned that NSF has > different -- undoubtedly better -- advice for avoiding font > conflicts. (Thanks to Dan Tranchina for bringing this to my > attention.) > The main point is to create your PDF files with embedded > fonts. Starting from a postscript file filename.ps, you do this > by using the command > distill -embedallfonts on -maxsubsetpct 100 filename.ps >"". NSF asks that pdf files > created for Fastlane ALWAYS be created this way. > You can save yourself a lot of typing by establishing an alias for > this command. Do this by editing the file .cshrc in your home > directory, adding the line > alias nsfdistill 'distill -embedallfonts on -maxsubsetpct 100' > preferably near the end. Log out and in again for it to take > effect. Once you've done this, you'll be able to type > nsfdistill filename.ps > to create a pdf file with embedded fonts as NSF suggests. > An additional piece of advice. NSF recommends that when you > create filename.ps from a tex document you use the command > dvips -Ppdf -o filename.ps filename.dvi >"". > This is clearly not necessary on our system -- most people > haven't been doing it -- but try it if you're having problems with > the more obvious command. (Example: try it if your proposal > takes only 15 pages when you print it, but runs to 16 pages > in Fastlane, and you're not allowed to use 16 pages.) >"PDF creation >" on the NSF Fastlane web page. To get there: > go to www.nsf.gov, select Fastlane from the menu at the left, > then look for PDF creation instructions in red near the top. > > > > At 02:43 PM 9/22/00 -0700, you wrote: > > If you have any solutions or questions please contact her directly at > > xxxxxx@evergreen.edu > > > > she has had no responses from fastlane I'm hoping one of you can help >me with the last hurdle for submitting this NSF proposal Everything looks >great on screen, but when the proposal prints out, some fonts and figures >are partially whited out. > > NSF guidelines for getting fonts to print properly are at >https://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/a1/pdfcreat.htm > > Here's the process: > > latex file.tex dvips -Ppdf -o -j0 file.ps file.dvi > > <>/dvips/config/config.ps file does contain the line p psfonts.map) > > Adobe Acrobat Distiller 4.0 (using FastLane job options) Distiller >creates file.pdf > > It looks perfect. > > I download file.pdf into Fastlane Proposal Preparation. Viewing the >downloaded document, it looks great. > > I print the file to a postscript printer. Some fonts and figs are whited >out. > > This happens in all cases: * whether or not I include -j0 in dvips >command line * whether I print the pdf file locally or after Fastlane >download > > Down to the wire... Zita > Audrey Streeter > Grants Coordinator > The Evergreen State College > Library 3232 > Olympia, WA 98505 > 360-866-6000, ext. 6640 > xxxxxx@evergreen.edu > > > ====================================================================== Instructions on how to use the RESADM-L Mailing List, including subscription information and a web-searchable archive, are available via our web site at http://www.hrinet.org (click on "Listserv Lists") ======================================================================
