mailing-list for TeXmacs Users

[Andrew Cooper <address@hidden>]

Henri Lesourd wrote:

> > I performed the change as you indicated (and many other ways besides). 
> > Anyway, still no progress.

> Yes, but how did you performed it ? Because if you just changed
> the .ts file of the TeXmacs stylesheet (e.g., using emacs), then
> it can have no effect before you start TeXmacs anew (and even in
> this latter case, it probably has no effect until you erase the
> cache).

I use Tools->Update->Styles after altering the .ts file. Anyway, it's 
all academic because, thanks to your suggestion, the problem is solved. 
Specifically, you said:

> This is why in my previous mail, I suggested to
> redefine <bibitem*|...> _itself_.
>
> This way you shunt completely the old code and start completely
> from scratch, instead of having to reason in detail about how
> a slight change to this old code operates.

Which finally made me realise what you were saying: just forget about 
the submacros <render-bibitem> and <transform-bibitem>, and make my own 
bibitem*! Explicitly:

<assign|bibitem*|<macro|text|<compound|margin-first-other|0mm|5mm|>>>

This is so obvious, you have my apologies for not seeing the light 
sooner. In your original reply you suggested:

<assign|bibitem*|<macro|x|<margin-first-other|0mm|5mm|{old code for 
bibitem*}>>

But, as you said in your last mail, the key is to start from SCRATCH, 
that is, don't bother with {old code for bibitem*}. Incidentally, this 
made me think twice (as I should have done to begin with) about what the 
'old code' actually DOES. And then I noticed that render-bibitem (called 
from bibitem*) is defined as:

<assign|render-bibitem|<macro|text|<compact-item|<transform-bibitem|<arg|text>>>>>

I had been missing that crafty compact-item! According to the manual:

"This inline macro is used to render {the argument} in a left-aligned 
way. As a consequence, text after such items may be indented by the 
width of {the argument}."

I think that, by retaining render-bibitem in the chain, this 
compact-item was what was ultimately causing some or all of the 
confusion. I think you were suggesting something along these lines in 
your last message by saying that there was another expansion of MFO 
under bibitem*?

However, just dispensing with all the old code in bibitem is a little 
drastic - for starters, it messes up the citation texmacs-labels 
(obvious enough, as this is the only other thing that bibitem* does 
apart from render the bibtex-label in text, cf. std-automatic.ts).

Because I'm happy with the first solution that works, this is what I've 
finally settled on.

Step 1: Change the above definition for render-bibitem to:

<assign|render-bibitem|<macro|text|<transform-bibitem|<arg|text>>>>

Step 2: Change transform-bibitem to:

<assign|transform-bibitem|<macro|x|<margin-first-other|0mm|5mm|>>>

Then, coming full circle in our discussion, bibitem* can stay unmodified!

Perhaps this isn't the best way to go about it, and I'm sure there's 
more to be said on the subject. Anyway, I'm happy. Many thanks for your 
patient assistance, Henri.

--
Andrew