TeX4ht: LaTeX and TeX for Hypertext

TeX4ht is a highly configurable TeX-based authoring system for producing hypertext. It interacts with TeX-based applications through style files and postprocessors, leaving the processing of the source files to the native TeX compiler. Consequently, TeX4ht can handle the features of TeX-based systems in general, and of the LaTeX and AMS style files in particular.

The examples of this document relate mainly to configurations tailored for HTML 3.2, HTML transitional 4.0, HTML 4.0 voyager, CSS, XML, and MathML. The document itself, zipped together with the files of TeX4ht, is available for downloading (osu, tug).[unzip]

* Features   * Installation   * Examples of Products   * Resources   * General Note   * Acknowledgment  

Features

A manual for the main features of TeX4ht is included within a forthcoming manuscript about LaTeX and the Web. Outlines of many of these and other features are provided here.
* From LaTeX to HTML   * Low-Level Features   * Sectioning and Tables of Contents   * Tables   * Lists and Environments   * Pictures   * Mathematical Formulas   * Paragraphs   * Configuration Files   * Cascade Style Sheets (CSS)   * Xml   * HTML Voyager, Unicode, and MathML   * Fonts   * Configurable Hooks   * Literate Programs (with ProTeX) and Scripts   * TeX  

The demonstration of TeX4ht in TUG97 illustrates the nature of the system (some of the mentioned features, however, are outdated).

[trouble shooting]

Installation

For the system to run it needs a port made up of native utilities of TeX4ht and of non-native utilities. The TeX Live and 4allTeX CD-ROM distributions include installed versions of these utilities. Hence, users having no need for the latest version of TeX4ht might be well served by getting the system from the above distributions.

The current document gives instructions on how to establish ports for Unix and MS Win 95. Alternative ports for these and other environments can be tailored in a similar manner.

Philip A. Viton discusses in details issues of installing TeX4ht under MikTeX and Scientific Word/WorkPlace, but many of the topics apply also to other platforms. The port Gertjan Klein proposed for an older version of TeX4ht suggests alternative ways to conduct the translation of pictures into gif. Steven Zeil offers improvements for the above settings.

bug fixes

Examples of Products

* TeX Live - Unix and Windows TeX on a CD-ROM (LaTeX to HTML 4.0) * 4allTeXCD-ROM (HTML 3.2) * Boot Control: alternative MBR software (LaTeX to HTML 3.2) * TeXProject: A Mini Manual (LaTeX to HTML 3.2) * A book on Theory of Computation (LaTeX to HTML 3.2) * XML and MathML from LaTeX * Current document (TeX to HTML 4.0) * Instructions for converting 9 AMS preprints (AMS/TeX/LaTeX to HTML Voyager, Unicode, and MathML)

Resources

Languages: LaTeX, TeX, HTML, XML, MathML, Style Sheets
Validators: HTML, CSS, XML
Converters:
BibTeX2HTML 1, BibTeX2HTML 2, GELLMU 3, HEVEA 4, HTeX 5, HTMX 6, HyperLaTeX 7, HyperTeX 8, LaTeX2HTML 9, LaTeX2hyp 10, Ltoh 11, Ltx2x 12, Math2HTML 13, MicroPress TeXpider 14, TeX2HTML 15, TeX2HTML 16, Texi2HTML 17, TeX2RTF 18, Tth 19, Vulcanize 20, Dvipdfm 21, PdfTeX 22
Conversion
services: 		TOM (Typed Object Model)

General Note

The current distribution is far from being complete and debugged. In particular, the system is in the middle of a major restructuring to fit it better for XML.

The virtual hypertext unicode fonts have many errors, and in quite a few instances it is not clear what entries they should include. The MathML output needs to be further refined, and no effort yet was made to work on the quality of its presentation. Many higher level constructs are missing general XML hooks, and only a few of them have so far been adjusted for HTML voyager.

Hence, if you encounter problems with the system, please don't hesitate to report them.

Acknowledgment

I am very grateful for the suggestions, contributions, and bug reports offered by many people. In particular, thanks go to Gertjan Klein and Sebastian Rahtz who got deeply involved in the project for long periods of time, and to Philip Viton for his documentation.

Eitan M. Gurari
gurari@cis.ohio-state.edu
March 31, 1999