[pdftex] landscape package- problems!!!

[Robin Fairbairns]

> I am mailing this to a couple of mailing lists + newsgroup, since I am not
> sure which one is the most appropiate.

comp.text.tex is probably best.

> I am trying to LaTex a paper, some of  whose pages I would like to have in
> landscape orientation. Also, I would like to have a .pdf output (possibly,
> by pdflatex)
> 
> I have tried the package landscape (within the graphics bundle). This is
> what I got:
> 
> -- Yap doesn't seem to be able to display landscape mode
> (is this a general issue with .dvi output?) 

it's a general property of yap (though aiui a rotating version is in
development: will presumably require nt4 or w2k, like all the other
rotating windoze previewers)

> -- if I use dvips, the .ps output displays landscape mode. However, when
> pdfwrite to a .pdf output, the latter is poor. (why?) 

because pdfwrite is feeble (you need a ghostscript >=6.0), or because
you're not using type 1 fonts in dvips (specify -Ppdf to dvips),
unless you're using times fonts.

> -- if I go directly from .tex to .pdf by pdflatex, .pdf output doesn't
> display landscape mode. 

you don't say which version of pdftex you're using, but...

> -- also, are there alternative to the landscape package? 
> 
> I am on win98 + MikTex (+WinEdt).
> 
> My file preamble is:
> 
> \documentclass[leqno]{article}
> \usepackage[active]{srcltx} 
> \usepackage[dvips]{epsfig}           [1]
> \usepackage[english,italian]{babel}
> \selectlanguage{italian}
> \usepackage{graphics}                [2]
> \usepackage{lscape}                  [3]

... you've forced the graphics package to be loaded with dvips option
(at [1]).  when you load it again (at [2] and [3]) it takes you at
your word and doesn't try loading another driver.  if your graphics
package is moderately up-to-date, it comes with a graphics.cfg will
detect that whether you're running under pdftex and use the dvips or
pdftex as appropriate.  so if it works at all without it, don't use
the [dvips] option.

but you don't tell us which version of the graphics package you're
using either.  whatever, it works for me (pdfTeX, Version
3.14159-14f-released-20000525, graphics 1999/02/16 v1.0l), and no
driver specified.