743: Typesetting international documents with XeTeX

Document 743

Typesetting international documents with XeTeX

Version: 5.5 - Scientific WorkPlace & Scientific Word

You can create typeset PDF files of documents in non-Roman languages with XeTeX, an adaptation of TeX that is available with TeX Live 2007, a free TeX/LaTeX distribution providing a comprehensive collection of TeX programs, packages, and fonts, including support for many languages.

TeX Live 2007 is available from our webstore. It is also available to download as a disk image from TeX Live 2007 downloads. If you download, you must know how to work with a downloaded .iso disk image or burn a CD.

IMPORTANTTo use XeTeX, you must install TeX Live 2007 in the default directory, using the default installation choices. The installation requires approximately 500 MB of disk space. Also, you must follow the instructions below to edit the TeX Live 2007 configuration file to add information about the typesetting files included with SWP and SW.

Shells for using XeTeX to produce typeset PDF documents in Russian, Greek, Japanese, Korean, and Traditional and Simplified Chinese are available on this website. The shells include the word 'XeTeX' in the name and contain additional information. XeTeX doesn't produce typeset DVI documents.

To typeset with XeTeX using SWP or SW, Version 5.5

  1. Obtain TeX Live 2007 from our webstore or download it from http://www.tug.org/texlive/acquire.html.

  2. Install TeX Live 2007 using the default directories.

  3. Using an ASCII editor, modify the TeX Live configuration file:

    1. In the ASCII editor, open the file c:\TeXLive2007\texmf-var\web2c\texmf.cnf.

    2. At any point in the file, add this line to the file, being careful to type forward slashes:

      SWTEX=c:/swp55/tcitex

      If you have an earlier version or the program is not installed in c:\swp55 (for SWP) or c:\sw55 (for SW), substitute the appropriate directory name.

      NOTEA convenient spot for adding the new line is just before the line referenced in step 3c.

    3. Find the following line:

      TEXMF = {!!$TEXMFVAR,$TEXMFHOME,!!$TEXMFMAIN,!!$TEXMFLOCAL,!!$TEXMFDIST}

    4. Modify the line to read as follows:

      TEXMF = {!!$TEXMFVAR,$TEXMFHOME,!!$TEXMFMAIN,!!$TEXMFLOCAL,!!$TEXMFDIST,$SWTEX}

  4. Save the changes to texmf.cnf.

  5. Obtain new shells for typesetting with XeTeX:

    NOTE: This step can be skipped if you are using Version 5.5 Build 2960, the shells are included with this build. See Patch update 2960 for Version 5.5.

    1. Download XeTeXShells.exe from our website and save it to your SWP or SW directory.

    2. Run XeTeXShells.exe to expand the files in the self-extracting archive and add the XeTeX shell documents to the International shells directory.

  6. In SWP or SW, specify XeTeX as your PDF formatter:

    1. From the Typeset menu, choose Expert Settings and then choose the PDF Format Settings tab.

    2. In the Select a formatter box, select TeX Live 2007 XeTeX.

      If the XeTeX option isn't available, create it:

      NOTE: The TeX Live 2007 XeTeX selection is available if using Version 5.5 Build 2960. See Patch update 2960 for Version 5.5.

      1. Select TrueTeX pdfTeX to use as a template.

      2. Choose Add/Modify.

      3. In the box for Name for TeX to PDF Formatter, enter TeX Live 2007 XeTeX.

      4. In the box for Executable filename, enter the location of the installed XeTeX executable file:

        c:/TeXLive2007/bin/win32/xelatex.exe

      5. In the box for Command line to invoke formatter, enter %x "%f".

      6. In the box for Display appearance, enter XeTeX.

      7. Under Command Handling, check Run in new command console.

      8. In the box for Character set, select UTF8.

      9. Choose OK to return to the PDF Format Settings tab.

  7. Create your document using one of the XeTeX shells for International documents.

  8. Save the file, specifying the Portable LaTeX (*.tex) file type and the UTF8 character set.

  9. From the Typeset menu, choose Preview PDF or Print PDF to typeset your document.

    IMPORTANTTeX Live launches in a separate command prompt. To view the compilation process, click the icon that appears on the task bar If the process yields compilation errors, you must click the icon to open the command prompt and respond to XeTeX.

    Last revised 06/07/2010

    This document was created with Scientific WorkPlace.