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\title{Editorial Comments}
\author{Barbara Beeton}
\address{American Mathematical Society\\
        201 Charles Street\\ Providence, RI 02904 USA}
\netaddress{bnb@ams.org}

\begin{document}

\maketitle

When asked what features they would find most useful in \TUB,
members frequently mention ``things they can use right away''
and ``how-to information''.

This issue is devoted to a single ``how-to'' manual, ``Formatting
Information'', by Peter Flynn.  Subtitled ``A beginner's introduction
to typesetting with \LaTeX'', this manual covers much more than just
the basics.  It is directed especially toward authors who are
undertaking larger projects, such as books or highly-structured
documents that might be generated from databases.  It starts with
the assumption that a user has chosen the \TeX\,Live distribution
but has not yet installed it.

Topics include:
\begin{itemize}
\item installation overview for Windows and Unix systems;
\item recommendations for editing software;
\item fine tuning\Dash fonts, stylistic details;
\item converting into/out of \LaTeX;
\item pointers to ``other systems'', e.g., \acro{XML}.
\end{itemize}

You may know Peter from his column ``Typographers' Inn''.
Peter has been acquainted with typography and printing since the
days of ``ink under the fingernails'', and is well qualified to
communicate the traditions and present recommendations for
formatting, font selection, and other niceties that characterize
well-made documents.

Including the manual in \TUB{} required a few minor modifications.
We have retained the fonts used in the original, and thank Peter
for generating the final copy for the printer.
The original was formatted for A4 paper, while \TUB{} is letter
size; the margins are changed only slightly, but the pagination
is substantially different from the original.  The main difference
is the absence of color\Dash the cost of printing color is
substantial, funds we felt could better be applied to other projects,
so this edition is black and white only.  However, the \acro{PDF}
file posted on the \TUB{} web site will contain all the hues of the
original.  Look for it at
\url{http://www.tug.org/TUGboat/Contents/contents23-2.html};
it is being posted at the same time this issue is sent to the printer.

\newpage

\section{Future plans}

We had hoped to include another manual in this issue\Dash
``The font installation guide'', by Philipp Leh\-man.  This guide
covers nearly all the information needed to set up Type~1 fonts
for use with \La(\TeX); the separate \textsf{fontinst} manual and
the \LaTeX{} font selection guide provide the rest.  Unfortunately
for our schedule, a new version of \textsf{fontinst} was under
construction at the same time, and we considered it unwise to
publish a version of the manual that would be obsolete as soon
as it came off the press.  We will follow the manual's progress,
and hope to include it in a future \TUB{} issue.

\section{Suggestions, please!}

Perhaps you know of another good manual on a \TeX-related topic.
We are open to suggestions and recommendations.  We ask only that
the document is of general interest, is not subject to any restrictions,
and can be posted as a \acro{PDF} file on the \acro{TUG} web pages
as well as published in \TUB.  Both ``Formatting information'' and
``The font installation guide'' are distributed under the \acro{GNU}
free documentation license, which is a good model.

Let us hear your suggestions.

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