This is version 1.3.1 of the LaTeXinfo documentation, and is for Version 18
of GNU Emacs.

Documentation for GNU utilities and libraries is usually written in a
format called "TeXinfo".  This document describes an enhancement
of this format which can be used with LaTeX instead of TeX.

LaTeXinfo offers a number of advantages over TeXinfo:

     
  1. The point size or layout style of a document can be changed easily using
     as can the `documentstyle' (article, report, book, twoside, ...).
     
  2. LaTeX has better error checking than TeX files, especially in
     begin/end environments.  In addition, the LaTeX error messages are more
     informative.  This makes it considerably easier to make extensions and
     enhancements (read hacks).
     
  3. LaTeX delimits its arguments with braces, so it's easier to tell where
     a LaTeXinfo command starts, and where it ends.
     
  4. Any LaTeX commands not understood by the on-line manual generator
     (`latexinfo.el') are simply ignored.  This means that you are free to add
     a considerable number of LaTeX commands to make you manual look pretty,
     as long as you don't care that there will be no action taken by the 
     Info formatting program.
     
  5. It is easy to add your own extensions to the on-line manual generator
     by making GNU Emacs handlers for your LaTeX extensions.  This is
     the Emacs counterpart to the `documentstyle' options.  LaTeXinfo looks
     in a specified directory for GNU Elisp code that corresponds to each
     style file.  This makes it easy to modularize you style files.
     
  6. LaTeX has many advantages over TeX, such as being able to
     incorporate the BibTeX bibliography formatting program, and is much more
     widely used than either Scribe or plain TeX.
     

To install:

1)	edit the file .login to set the LATEXINFO environment variable to 
	point to this directory.
2)	edit your .login to include a command to source this .login file
	each time you log in.
3)	source this .login file now so that you can proceed.
4)	edit the file manual/Makefile to set 
	the name of your DVI to PS filter, and
	the name of your GNU Emacs.
5)	type make to make the manual and compile the .el files
6)	move a copy of the files manual/latexinfo.info* to the info
	directory of the GNU Emacs distribution, and edit the dir
	file in that directory to include lines like

* LaTeXinfo: (latexinfo.info).   With one source file, make either a printed 
                        manual using LaTeX or an Info file.

7)	include a copy of the .emacs file in your ~/.emacs.
8)	print a copy of the manual/latexinfo.dvi file and enjoy.


Please report any errors to mike@ists.ists.ca

Mike Clarkson
