Options controlling Extensions and Special Features

The switches described here govern the type of HTML code that can be generated, and how to choose between the available options when there are alternative strategies for implementing portions of L^ATEX code.

-html_version (2.0|3.0|3.2)[,(math|i18n|table)]*

 
Same as setting: $HTML_VERSION = "... ";
This specifies both the HTML version to generate, and any extra (non-standard) HTML features that may be required.
The version number corresponds to a published DTD for an HTML standard (although 3.0 was never accepted and subsequently withdrawn). A corresponding Perl file in the versions/ subdirectory is loaded; these files are named `html<num>.pl'.

Following the version number, a comma-separated list of extensions can be given. Each corresponds to a file `<name>.pl' also located in the versions/ subdirectory. When such a file is loaded the resulting HTML code can no longer be expected to validate with the specified DTD. An exception is math when the -no_math switch is also used, which should still validate.

Currently, versions 2.0, 3.2 and 4.0 are available. (and also 2.1, 2.2, 3.0 and 3.1, for hoistorical reasons). The extensions i18n, tables, math correspond roughly to what used to be called versions `2.1', `2.2', `3.1' respectively, in releases of L<sup>A</sup>TEX2HTML up to 1996. Now these extensions can be loaded with any of `2.0', `3.2' or `4.0' as the specified standard.
The default version is usually set to be `3.2', within latex2html.config.

-no_tex_defs

Same as setting: $TEXDEFS = 0; (default is 1)
When $TEXDEFS is set (default) the file texdefs.perl will be read. This provides code to allow common TEX commands like \def, \newbox, \newdimen and others, to be recognised, especially within the document preamble. In the case of \def, the definition may even be fully interpreted, but this requires the pattern-matching to be not too complicated.

If $TEXDEFS is `0' or empty, then texdefs.perl will not be loaded; the translator will make no attempt to interpret any raw TEX commands. This feature is intended to enable sophisticated authors the ability to insert arbitrary TEX commands in environments that are destined to be processed by L^ATEX anyway; e.g. figures, theorems, pictures, etc. However this should rarely be needed, as now there is better support for these types of environment. There are now other methods to specify which chunks of code are to be passed to L^ATEX for explicit image-generation; see the discussion of the makeimage environment.

-external_file <filename>

Same as setting: $EXTERNAL_FILE = "<filename>";
Specifies the prefix of the .aux file that this document should read. The .aux extension will be appended to this prefix to get the complete filename, with directory path if needed.
This file could contain necessary information regarding citations, figure, table and section numbers from L^ATEX and perhaps other information also. Use of this switch is vital for document segments, processed separately and linked to appear as if generated from a single L^ATEX document.

-font_size <size>

Same as setting: $FONT_SIZE = "<size>";
This option provides better control over the font size of environments made into images using L^ATEX. <size> must be one of the font sizes that L^ATEX recognizes; i.e. `10pt', `11pt', `12pt', etc. Default is `10pt', or whatever option may have been specified on the \documentclass or \documentstyle line.
Whatever size is selected, it will be magnified by the installation variables $MATH_SCALE_FACTOR, $FIGURE_SCALE_FACTOR and $DISP_SCALE_FACTOR as appropriate.

Note: This switch provides no control over the size of text on the HTML pages. Such control is subject entirely to the user's choices of settings for the browser windows.

-scalable_fonts

Same as setting: $SCALABLE_FONTS = 1;
This is used when scalable fonts, such as PostScript versions of the TEX fonts, are available for image-generation.
It has the effect of setting $PK_GENERATION to `1', and $DVIPS_MODE to be empty, overriding any previous settings for these variables.

-no_math

Same as setting: $NO_SIMPLE_MATH = 1;
Ordinarily simple mathematical expressions are set using the ordinary text font, but italiced. When part of the expression can not be represented this way, an image is made of the whole formula. This is called ``simple math''. When $NO_SIMPLE_MATH is set, then all mathematics is made into images, whether simple or not.

However, if the math extension is loaded, using the -html_version switch described earlier, then specifying -no_math produces a quite different effect. Now it is the special <MATH> tags and entities which are cancelled. In their place a sophisticated scheme for parsing mathematical expressions is used. Images are made of those sub-parts of a formula which cannot be adequately expressed using (italiced) text characters and <SUB> and <SUP> tags. See the subsection on mathematics for more details.

-local_icons

Same as setting: $LOCAL_ICONS = 1;
A copy of each of the icons actually used within the document is placed in the directory along with the HTML files and generated images. This allows the whole document to be fully self-contained, within this directory; otherwise the icons must be retrieved from a (perhaps remote) server.

The icons are normally copied from a subdirectory of the $LATEX2HTMLDIR, set within latex2html.config. An alternative set of icons can be used by specifying a (relative) directory path in $ALTERNATIVE_ICONS to where the customised images can be found.

-init_file <file>

Load the specified initialisation file. This Perl file will be loaded after loading $HOME/.latex2html-init, or .latex2html-init in the local directory, if either file exists. It is read at the time the switch is processed, so the contents of the file may change any of the values of any of the variables that were previously established, as well as any default options. More than one initialisation file can be read in this way.

^98.1

-no_fork

Same as setting: $NOFORK = 1;
When set this disables a feature in the early part of the processing whereby some memory-intensive operations are performed by `forked' child processes. Some single-task operating systems, such as DOS, do not support this feature. Having $NOFORK set then ensures that unnecessary file-handles that are needed with the forked processes, are not consumed unnecessarily, perhaps resulting in a fatal Perl error.

-iso_language <type>

This enables you to specify a different language type than 'EN' to be used in the DTD entries of the HTML document, e.g. 'EN.US'.
^98.1

-short_index

Same as setting: $SHORT_INDEX = 1;
Creates shorter Index listings, using codified links; this is fully compatible with the makeidx package.

-no_footnode

Same as setting: $NO_FOOTNODE = 1;
Suppresses use of a separate file for footnotes; instead these are placed at the bottom of the HTML pages where the references occur.

When this option is used, it is frequently desirable to change the style of the marker used to indicate the presence of a footnote. This is done as in L^ATEX, using code such as follows.

\renewcommand{\thefootnote}{\arabic{footnote}}

All the styles \arabic, \alph, \roman, \Alph and \Roman are available.

^98.1

-numbered_footnotes

Same as setting: $NUMBERED_FOOTNOTES = 1;
If this is set you will get every footnote applied with a subsequent number, to ease readability.
^98.1

-address <author-address>

Same as setting: $ADDRESS = "<author-address>";
Sign each page with this address.
See latex2html.config for an example using Perl code to automatically include the date.

A user-defined Perl subroutine called &custom_address can be used instead, if defined; it takes the value of $ADDRESS as a parameter, which may be used or ignored as desired. At the time when this subroutine will be called, variables named $depth, $title, $file hold the sectioning-level, title and filename of the HTML page being produced; $FILE holds the name of the filename for the title-page of the whole document.

-info <string>

Same as setting: $INFO = "<string>";
Generate a new section ``About this document'' containing information about the document being translated. The default is to generate such a section with information on the original document, the date, the user and the translator. An empty string (or the value `0') disables the creation of this extra section.
If a non-empty string is given, it will be placed as the contents of the ``About this document'' page instead of the default information.