Manuals
< This Way | My Way | Web resources >
- Manuals: http://www.pragma-ade.com/overview.htm (if you feel lost there, follow the "First manuals" section below)
- Subversion repository of (some) manual sources: svn://ctx.pragma-ade.nl/manuals
- http://context.aanhet.net/svn/ is a browseable tree of the subversion repository. It is updated hourly.
Some of the manuals exist in a "paper" and a "screen" edition, some also in English and Dutch versions. Linked on this page are always the English screen editions. You find the others on the overview page. Manuals on single topics are linked on their topic page(s).
You can even buy printed versions of some at H2O-Books.
Contents
First manuals
You can easily get lost in the number of manuals on ConTeXt here, so before you proceed to the advanced features of ConTeXt, the following selection of the manuals should give you the insight how the things work in ConTeXt. Except the first one they are not necessary for those who want to use ConTeXt out of the box, rather they are meant for those beginners who like to understand the foundations, want to explore advanced features, write own macros or modify existing features. To save time of developers, please, read them before you start asking questions at the mailing list.
- ConTeXt, an excursion (old but still mostly valid)
- What is ConTeXt?
- Fonts in ConTeXt
Also not-yet-finished but very beautiful Typographic Programming is recommended to the curious beginners by experienced users.
General Manuals
- What is ConTeXt?
- ConTeXt, an excursion
- Typographic Programming : On how TeX thinks. Line-breaking, protrusion, layout
- ConTeXt reference manual : the complete, but never up-to-date manual
- Command reference : short syntax reference of all the commands
Layout
Fonts
- Fonts
- Font Sampler (MkII)
XML and derivatives
- Dealing with XML in ConTeXt MkIV (2009)
- XML in ConTeXt (2001, for XML in MkII)
- MathML
- MathML in ConTeXt, Examples
- Figure Databases
- XML tools : a few tools for XML processing
- directory trees : XML tool for directory trees
- LMX : XML/Lua templating (MkIX, MkXI)
- ePub : exporting XML and ePub
Science
- MathML manual, MathML examples, xtag helper module
- PhysML : support for SI units in MathML
- ChemML : support for chemistry in MathML
- OpenMath examples
- Math rendering : discussion about math rendering in MkIV
- PPCHTeX: macros for typesetting chemical structures
- PPCHTeX: examples of chemical formulas
- Units : SI units support
- Bibliography: manual for bibliographies in MkIV
Tables and Databases
- Extreme Tables in ConTeXt MkIV by Hans Hagen
- Simple Spreadsheets in ConTeXt MkIV by Hans Hagen
- Figures with XML by Hans Hagen and Ton Otten
- SQL in ConTeXt by Hans Hagen
Graphics, Diagrams, Forms
- Step charts
- Flowcharts
- Widgets uncovered : manual on form elements, cross references and JavaScript in PDF
- Colors : color spaces, profiles, transparency etc., also in MetaPost
MetaPost/Metafun
- Metafun manual by Hans Hagen (Oct 2010, 657 Pages) (screen) (print) for MetaPost and the MetaFun extension. A full-color paper copy can be ordered from Boekplan.
- creating MetaPost outlines
Workflow
- Workflows : MkIV and LuaTeX features for more efficient workflows
- Figure databases
- Correspondence : serial letters with PDF interfaces for letters and envelopes
- Modes (Modes)
- Preprocessing : Runtime processing of source files and graphic resources
LuaTeX
- LuaTeX reference
- Hybrid technology : How LuaTeX combines TeX, MetaPost, Lua and XML
- About LuaTeX development 2015
- manual:languages-mkiv: Using Lua in TeX, hooks and features
- CLD Documents : coding documents in Lua
- SWIGlib : use external libraries
- Lua - the ConTeXt libraries
Different Hacks
- Details : hints about grid typesetting, columns, text backgrounds, graphics issues and formula tuning
- Spacing : line correction in grid typesetting
Tool Manuals
- mtxrun : Lua tools for ConTeXt
- SciTE editor setup
- SciTE editor, short manual
- XML tools : a few tools for XML processing
Uptodate
There are 6 uptodate files available from PRAGMA ADE.
- [screen] [paper] Field Widgets References
- [screen] [paper] PPCHTeX examples
- [screen] [paper] Flowcharts
- [screen] [paper] Tabulation
- Reserved for Bibliographies
- Reserved for Mathematics
- [screen] [paper] Chinese
- [screen] Automatic Tables
The uptodate documents now also exist under a different name:
- mwidget-p.pdf (paper) and mwidget-s.pdf (screen)
- eppchtex.pdf
- mchart.pdf
- (Not changed?)
- (never published)
- (never published)
- mchinese.pdf
- enattab.pdf
Presentations
ConTeXt Sources (MkII)
Apart from the manuals, the source files (especially, some of the old ones) contain excellent documentation and examples. If you want a pretty printed pdf of a source file, say core-rul.tex, you can type
texmfstart texexec --module kpse:core-rul.tex
the --module
switch tells texexec
to generate the documentation. The kpse
before the filename, tells texexec
to search the texmf tree core-rul.tex
other documentation
Not about ConTeXt, but interesting to ConTeXt users.
- overview of PDF file format