Textures 2.2.0a8 review
DownloadTextures is a programmable desktop publishing system for Macintosh.
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Textures is a programmable desktop publishing system for Macintosh. An interactive, integrated implementation of the TeX typesetting language, Textures is most commonly used for producing scientific articles and textbooks.
Textures is also an extraordinary tool for fine typography, database and catalogue publishing and automated document production.
TeX, the typesetting engine of Textures, is an extremely powerful, versatile, programmable typesetting language created by Stanford University's Donald Knuth. Especially designed to automatically reproduce the quality of fine handset type, TeX is equally at home whether it is typesetting complex math and scientific notation, processing thousands of pages of mailing labels, or producing complex, book-length or even multi-volume works. TeX is a markup language, like HTML, that adds tags to ordinary text to identify parts of the document's structure.
This is a very preliminary release; the 2.2.0a version indicates "alpha", and we wish it clearly understood that this is experimental software which cannot be expected to be reliable, stable, or predictable. We will not be responsible for any loss or damage incurred by the use of this software. It has only the bare minimum of functionality, and has essentially no user interface; what interface there is will be readily seen to be incomplete, inconsistent, and in places suggestive of functionality that does not yet exist. You have been warned.
(One of our developers likes to say that complex software projects are like constructing an iceberg, in that the bulk of the work is underwater. In this analogy, Textures 2.2.0a is just barely visible above the waterline.)
Installation.
Drag the Textures application to your Applications folder.
If you have a current Textures 2.1 installation (PowerPC/Classic): this native Textures will use the same fonts and activation keys. We suggest placing an alias to your current TeX Fonts folder into the (user)/Library/Application Support/Textures/Metrics folder, and a similar alias to your current TeX Inputs folder into the (user)/Library/Application Support/Textures/Inputs folder. This will allow Texture 2.2.0a to find your current metrics and macros. (The Inputs and Metrics folders will be automatically created when Textures is first launched.)
If you do not have a current Textures 2.1. installation: (this will be true for all Intel Macintosh systems) drag the Computer Modern folder into your /Library/Fonts folder. It will be necessary to enter your Textures 2.1 serial number and activation key; it will also be necessary to have an Internet connection to request an installation key from the bluesky.com server.
Limitations:
For those who'd like to take Mathsetter XTension for a "test drive", we offer a 30-day trial version for $30.00. These are the full program with the only difference being that the security key expires after 30 days.
What's New:
With Textures 2.2.0a8, document windows begin to “hold together” — closing the edit window closes the document, it's no longer possible to open multiple copies of the same document, etc., and it's possible to change the typeset view size. All this is still very rough, but taking shape.
Note: this update corrects a serious bug when saving documents, and is therefore strongly recommended!
Textures 2.2.0a8 keywords