The VTeX Document Compiler

The default document compiler is a Windows GUI program. For people who prefer the command line interface VTeX also includes a command-line (or console) version of the compiler, VTEX3H.EXE. Both programs are almost identical in terms of what they can do, with the following exceptions:

The GUI compiler is more suitable for working under the VTeX environment.
The console mode compiler is suitable for calling from batch files.
The console mode compiler is faster. On computers with high-resolution displays it can be easily twice faster.

Both the console and the GUI compilers implement so-called "Huge" or "Dynamic" TeX: they can grab more memory if this is needed to handle an unusually complicated document. The letter "H" in their names stands for "Huge."

Direct HTML-generating mode

Beginning with version 5.0, the VTeX Typesetter includes HTML-output generating mode. HTML generation is supported for all LaTeX-based formats. An HTML-enabled version of the VTeX typesetter is also available as a separate product, the TeXpider. HTML mode supports many VTeX features and enhancements, including

Font effects
Inclusion of graphics in many bitmapped formats: BMP, PCX, GIF, JPEG, TARGA, PNG, TIFF
Inclusion of EPS graphics
Automatic conversion of math formulas and other TeX features that cannot be properly formatted in HTML to anti-aliased GIF's.
Automatic generation of HTML hyperlinks, using either the vtexhtml or the hyperref styles.

For additional information, see the TeXpider description.

Beginning with version 6.0, the VTeX Typesetter supports PDF-output generating mode.

Direct PDF-generating mode

Beginning with version 6.0, the VTeX Typesetter supports PDF-output generating mode. Since PDF has become de-facto standard for publishing scientific documents online, this advance feature should prove of great benifit to users. PDF support is fully intergrated into VTeX IDE and creation of PDF files from existing documents in TeX and LaTeX is transparent. Graphics in many formats, hyperlinks and outlines are fully supported.

Versions 7.0 and 8.0 added direct PS and PDF generations; all within the same intuitive and convenient environment.

Unlike other TeX systems, supporting PDF outputs, we build the PDF directly from TeX/LaTeX source by typesetter. No need for indirect conversion procedures (like TeX->DVI->PostScript->PDF or TeX->DVI->PDF). We incorporate Type1 and IF4 fonts directly; this generally results in more compact and better PDF outputs. To ensure high quality of produced PDF files, VTeX includes about 1000 Type1 fonts, many not available anywhere else.

All the documentation, that we provide in PDF format (more than 50 Mbytes in standard distribution) was built by VTeX.

GeX: Direct PostScript Graphics

Version 6.2 of VTeX introduces another major enhancement to TeX: an integrated PostScript processor/PDF translator. This allows easy one-pass handling of

Encapsulated PostScript files (.eps).
Direct support for PSTricks and PSFrag.
Other kinds of inline PostScript code, including feedback of information from PostScript to the TeX processor.

The most important feature of GeX is that in most cases there is nothing new to learn: GeX will take graphicx, PSfig, PStricks, or PSFrag code without any changes. But there is even more to GeX: with PostScript feedback, entirely new macro packages become possible. For preliminary GeX documentation (for TeX-nically minded), click here

Huge TeX

VTeX uses by default a HugeTeX version of the typesetter, which does away with many of traditional TeX limits. String, pool, and hypenations space, for example, are now limited only by the physical available memory. Perhaps the most irritating of TeX limits is the 256-font limit, which is no longer present:

You can easily produce documents with thousands of fonts. For example, the font sample reference supplied in the distribution (fsample.pdf) includes several thousands of fonts.

Unlimited registers

In a conventional TeX the limit of 256 registers often causes difficulties in macro programming. VTeX automatically allocates more registers if needed, up to 65536 in each category. If you need 1000 boxes or 500 counters, it is not a problem.

Background Typesetting

Background typesetting is indispensable when you are correcting a document. Here is how it works:

You open the previewer in split screen mode: one window shows the previewed image while the other is the source of the document. The windows are synchronizes with our exclusive debugging facility so you can see both the image and the source at the same time. Whenever you make corrections to the source, you can recompile the document in the background: this does not slow you down and background recompilation will automatically update the previewer window. Background recompilation is very fast; but even when it is slow (say, document contains many hundreds of pages) you can continue your work unhampered while recompilation goes.

Background typesetting is supported in all three modes: .dvi, .pdf, and .html

Text Rotation

VTeX typesetter and drivers support text rotation. Here are a couple of examples of what you can do:

Hollow Paragraphs

Besides many other improvements, VTeX enriches the syntax of the \parshape command to allow hollow paragraphs like the one below: