[texhax] complaints

[Bob Tennent]

 >|You offer a great font, in
 >|"Avant Garde". 

De gustibus non est disputandum.

 >|Too bad it does not seem possible to implement under the
 >|"article" document class. 

"implement" means what?  Have you tried

\usepackage{avant}
\renewcommand{\familydefault}{\sfdefault}

 >|I can't find any *general
 >|way* to turn off those bogus ornamental quote marks endogenous to that,
 >|conformist, font. I have to go thorugh the entire manuscript, typing in
 >|\texttt{"} , wherever I want these.

Again. I'm not going to comment on your taste but you could do

\renewcommand{\"}{\texttt{"}}

and then use \" wherever you want them (assuming you don't need the
original meaning).

 >|I don't like the book by Voss. I did like the earlier books by Knuth,
 >|and Lamport. Is there something along their lines for your updated
 >|software? 

Check out

http://www.tug.org/interest.html#latexbooks

 >|   Most annoying at present, is that I cannot finish compiling anything
 >|without getting the notice that there is a "required file" which cannot be
 >|found:
 >|
 >|tex\context\base\supp-pdf.mkii
 >| which puportedly resides in some folder named mptopdf. Fine. So I go find
 >|this thing, --- there's a 154kB version, and a 5.19kB version, both in
 >|CTAN. I send these  to "documents" in my C drive. But when I try to
 >|"install" any of this, either from your disc itself, or my documents, I am
 >|told variously MikTex CD/DVI "not found", or that my address is "*not a
 >|local package depository*". So what kind of a catch-22 have you whopped up
 >|here? I'm getting very tired of this notice popping up.

This is so confused I hardly know where to start. You seem to be
using MiKTeX, not TeXLive. What exactly are you doing to try and
"install" a single file? If you start the MiKTeX package manager and
enter supp-pdf.mkii in the File Name box, you should get mptopdf as
a package that has that file. It will then install the package for
you.

 >|   Similarly annoying, there are three places in my manscript where
 >|   I sould
 >|like to box off, with a border, pieces of texct/equations. They are
 >|especially important. I've read all of your informative instructions about
 >|what commands to use in order to do this. The only thing I can accomplish
 >|it to either 1) produce a one-line box of text, extending acroos both
 >|columns, and then endlessly beyond, -or- if I put in all the correc [ ]
 >|parameters, I can create a nervous breakdown, in which, apparently very
 >|line of text in the ms. is in error, and it insults my mother, etc.
 >|Suggestions?
 >|   The third problem is in placement of graphics, about which the software
 >|seems very rigid. No time for more on this now.

And I've run out of patience with your tiresome attitude.  

Bob T.