docbook: Thread: SGML to PDF question (long one)

Hey there everyone,

I have all the tools that are in the Mandrake 8.2 distribution.  I found
out there were basically 3 commands for converting DocBook to PDF, and I
was able to run these successfully on 4.1 SGML, except for two
scenarios.  Let me explain:

The successful convert was DocBook 4.1 SGML with no graphics in it.  I
ran:  

1) openjade -t tex -d $SGMLHOME/path/to/dsl file.sgml.  This creates the
tex file.  Then I run 

2) tex "&jadetex" file.tex, which says to run several times until all
the errors work themselves out.  This works, and then finally I run 

3) pdfjadetex file.tex, and I get a PDF file.  

Problem is when I try to add jpg files.  I've tried using figure &
graphic tags, and tried screenshot & graphic tags, but it's something in
the tex "&jadetex" process that is having an issue with the dimensions. 
It will include one of the two jpgs in the PDF.  The one not working is
a screenshot of Windows Notepad and the one that works is the screenshot
of just the menu bar of the Notepad.  Although that one works, it's
tabbed over too far, but now that I think about it, it might be due to
placement (screenshot data should be flush to the left I think).

Now in the second scenario, I wanted to convert 4.1.2 XML to PDF.  This
did not work at all.  A PDF file is not even created, using the above
commands.  

I feel like I am so close, and I don't mind if I have to use SGML, I
only have to change pretty much just the doctype stuff, but I am still
having issues getting the graphics in.

Can anybody offer any suggestions to making PDF come out better from
DocBook?  If there are better Linux tools to do this I'm game, because I
want to ensure I don't have to rely on commercial software to make the
ones that need graphics. Maybe I'm not using the right tags in the
source?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!
-- 
Tabatha Persad
Web: www.merlinmonroe.com
Linux Documentation Project Editor (http://www.tldp.org)
Gnu Writing Movement Contributor (http://gwm.gnu.org)
Linux Counter Area Manager US:wa (http://counter.li.org)

On Thu, 2002-08-01 at 21:29, Tabatha Persad wrote:
> Hey there everyone,
> 
> I have all the tools that are in the Mandrake 8.2 distribution.  I found
> out there were basically 3 commands for converting DocBook to PDF, and I
> was able to run these successfully on 4.1 SGML, except for two
> scenarios.  Let me explain:
> 
> The successful convert was DocBook 4.1 SGML with no graphics in it.  I
> ran:  
> 
> 1) openjade -t tex -d $SGMLHOME/path/to/dsl file.sgml.  This creates the
> tex file.  Then I run 
> 
> 2) tex "&jadetex" file.tex, which says to run several times until all
> the errors work themselves out.  This works, and then finally I run 
> 
> 3) pdfjadetex file.tex, and I get a PDF file.  
> 
> Problem is when I try to add jpg files.  I've tried using figure &
> graphic tags, and tried screenshot & graphic tags, but it's something in
> the tex "&jadetex" process that is having an issue with the dimensions. 
> It will include one of the two jpgs in the PDF.  The one not working is
> a screenshot of Windows Notepad and the one that works is the screenshot
> of just the menu bar of the Notepad.  Although that one works, it's
> tabbed over too far, but now that I think about it, it might be due to
> placement (screenshot data should be flush to the left I think).

What markup are you using for your graphics?  

> Can anybody offer any suggestions to making PDF come out better from
> DocBook?  If there are better Linux tools to do this I'm game, because I
> want to ensure I don't have to rely on commercial software to make the
> ones that need graphics. Maybe I'm not using the right tags in the
> source?

Well, Ferg has been using htmldoc for eons, and it has pretty good
results.  I know I've got some markup around that's "known" to work with
Norm's stylesheets, I'll see if I can find it and post it.  I think
we've been converting our PNG images to EPS in order to facilitate PDF
and PS generation, as for some reason, PNG didn't work out well.
	Greg

-- 
Gregory Leblanc ####@####.####