Bug 4842

Summary: mark "config.ps" as a configuration file
Product: [Retired] Red Hat Raw Hide Reporter: Ben Liblit <liblit>
Component: tetexAssignee: Tim Waugh <twaugh>
Status: CLOSED NEXTRELEASE QA Contact:
Severity: medium Docs Contact:
Priority: medium    
Version: 1.0   
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OS: Linux   
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Last Closed: 1999-09-03 21:02:51 UTC Type: ---
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Description Ben Liblit 1999-09-02 00:29:44 UTC
The file "/usr/share/texmf/dvips/config/config.ps" defines,
among other things, the default page size.  As packaged by
RedHat this is initially A4.  Most American users will want
to edit the file to change the default to US letter sized
paper.

This is easy enough to do: move the line reading "@
letterSize 8.5in 11in" so that it appears before the line
reading "@ A4size 210mm 297mm".  Existing bugs 3379 and 3512
mention this issue.

However, "config.ps" is not marked as a configuration file
in tetex-dvips-1.0.6-4.  When upgrading to new versions of
that package, "config.ps" is silently replaced.  This is
rather annoying.

"config.ps" should be marked as a configuration file.
RedHat may also want to consider other approaches, such as
using virtual packages with A4 and letter variants, to make
it easier for novice users to get the right paper size
without studying dvips documentation.

Comment 1 Jeff Johnson 1999-09-02 14:43:59 UTC
This problem is fixed in #3397. Supply a DVIPS_OPTIONS="-t letter"
that is now honored AFAIK. Please reopen if #3397 does not actually
solve the problem and I'll try to get this sorted out.

Comment 2 Ben Liblit 1999-09-03 00:06:59 UTC
While bug #3379 is certainly related, the fix described there does not
address the problem documented here.  Bug #3379 is concerned only with
the RedHat printing infrastructure, and the suggested fix using
$DVIPS_OPTIONS only works in conjunction with RedHat's print filter
scripts.

The bug described here is more basic: that "dvips" cannot be
reconfigured to use a different paper size without those configuration
changes being undone by a subsequent RPM upgrade.  I am not talking
about using RedHat's print filters; I am simply talking about using
"dvips" to produce a PostScript file.  Note that there are many
instances where one will want to produce a PostScript file without
immediately printing it.  For example, PostScript documents are the
common medium of exchange for research papers in computer science, and
doubtless many other fields.  Thus, it must be possible to configure
"dvips" properly on its own.

I have no issue with RedHat's printing infrastructure per se.  But a
paper size solution that only works within that context is just not
sufficiently general.

Comment 3 Jeff Johnson 1999-09-03 21:02:59 UTC
/usr/share/texmf/dvips/config/config.ps is marked %config in
tetex-1.0.6-6.