<html><head><meta name="color-scheme" content="light dark"></head><body><pre style="word-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;">%  
%  \iffalse 
% 
%    The first part is a comment to the reader(s) of `dropping.dtx'. 
% 
%  dropping.dtx    Version 0.12a, June 12, 1997 
%  (c) 1997-98 by Mats Dahlgren  (matsd@sssk.se) 
% 
%  Please see the information in file `dropping.ins' on how you 
%  may use and (re-)distribute this file.  Run LaTeX on the file  
%  `dropping.ins' to get a .sty-file and then on `dropping.dtx' 
%  to obtain instructions.  
% 
%  This file may NOT be distributed if not accompanied by 'dropping.ins'. 
% 
%&lt;*driver&gt; 
\documentclass[a4paper]{ltxdoc} 
\usepackage{dropping} 
\textwidth=150mm 
\textheight=210mm 
\topmargin=0mm 
\oddsidemargin=5mm 
\evensidemargin=5mm 
  \DocInput{dropping.dtx}  
%  \PrintChanges 
\end{document} 
%&lt;/driver&gt; 
%  \fi 
%  
%  \CheckSum{286} 
%  
%  \def\filename{dropping.dtx} 
%  \def\fileversion{1.0} 
%  \def\filedate{1997/07/12}\def\docdate{1998/06/05} 
%  \MakeShortVerb{\|} 
%  \date{\docdate} 
%  \title{\textsf{dropping} -- a \LaTeX{} Macro for Dropping the 
%  First Character(s) of a Paragraph\thanks{This document describes 
%  \textsf{dropping} version 
%  \fileversion , and was last updated \docdate .}} 
%  \author{Mats Dahlgren\footnote{Email:\ \texttt{matsd@sssk.se}\ \ \ 
%  Web:\ \texttt{http://www.homenet.se/matsd/}}}  
%  \begin{document} 
%  \maketitle 
%  \begin{abstract} 
%  This document describes the \textsf{dropping} package, which 
%  defines a command, |\dropping|, to drop the first character(s) of 
%  a paragraph.  It is based on Fred~J.\ Lauwers's 
%  \texttt{dropcaps.sty}.  In short, \textsf{dropping} is an 
%  automatization of |dropcaps| in that the user does not need to 
%  know the internal name of the font file (the |.tfm|-file) but can 
%  control this via the ordinary \LaTeXe{} commands `|\rmfamily|' 
%  \textit{etc.} 
%  \\ This file and the package:\ 
%  Copyright \copyright\ 1996-1998 by Mats Dahlgren.  All rights 
%  reserved. 
%  \end{abstract} 
%   
%  \section{Introduction} 
%  \textsf{dropping} is a \LaTeX{} package which makes it easy to 
%  start a new paragraph with a dropped letter or letters.  The lines 
%  following the dropped letter are indented so no over-writing is to 
%  occur.  
%   
%  This userguide is also available in \texttt{.pdf}-format 
%  on the internet.  It is found from my \LaTeX\ web page: 
%  \texttt{http://www.homenet.se/matsd/latex/}
%    
%  \section{Userguide} 
%  \subsection{Requirements} 
%  The file |dropping.sty| must be available in the user's 
%  |TEXINPUTS| directories. 
%  It requires \LaTeXe{} of 1996/12/01 (or newer).  
%  \textsf{dropping} works best with |dvips| and |MakeTeXPK| 
%  installed, although not formally needed.  Without these, the 
%  output may not be as good as expected.  
%  
%  \textsf{dropping} v.\fileversion{} has been tested using 
%  MiK\TeX{} 1.07, including \LaTeXe{} of 1997/06/01 
%  and \TeX{} 3.14159, under Win95.  Only change relative previous 
%  version is a bug/typo fix.  
% 
%  \subsection{Usage} 
%  The package is included by stating\\ 
%  |  \usepackage{dropping}| \\ 
%  In the document preamble.  The package recognizes the same 
%  options as the \textsf{graphics} package v.1.0 (1996/05/29) by 
%  D.~P.\ Carlisle and S.~P.~Q.\ Rahtz. Which is used is assumed to 
%  be controlled via the existence of a 
%  |graphics.cfg| file in the \LaTeX{} installation.  
%  
%   \newpage
%  \subsection{Commands}         
%   
%  \DescribeMacro{\dropping}
%  The command |\dropping| is the main feature of the package.  This 
%  command takes two mandatory and one optional argument:\\
%  |  \dropping[|\textit{len}|]{|\textit{numb}|}{|\textit{text}|}|\\
%  The \textit{len} argument is a \LaTeX{} length (with unit) which 
%  states how far from the left margin the dropped text should start.  
%  A positive number corresponds to an indentation rightwards, a 
%  negative number will force the dropped text to start to the left 
%  of the paragraph.  The default value is |0pt|, meaning the dropped 
%  text will be aligned with the rest of the paragraph.  The 
%  mandatory \textit{numb} argument should be an integer number which 
%  states how many lines tall the dropped text should be.  The last 
%  argument, \textit{text}, is the text which should be dropped.  
%  This argument may either be a single letter or several letters 
%  without any formatting information, or the argument may start with 
%  a font-changing command of the type |\rmfamily|.  In the former 
%  case, there are no special things to think about, and the dropped 
%  text will be type-set in the document's default font.  However, if 
%  a font-changing command is used, there are two things to be aware 
%  of:  \textbf{1.} You can only use the font-changing commands 
%  |\rmfamily|, |\sffamily|, |\ttfamily|, |\mdseries|, |\bfseries|, 
%  |\upshape|, |\itshape|, |\slshape|, or |\scshape| (\textit{i.~e.}
%  \emph{not} the |\text|\textit{xx} commands).  \textbf{2.} The 
%  font-changing command(s) must be followed by a pair of braces, |{}|, 
%  and a blank space 
%  for the internal stripping routines to work.  Several 
%  font-changing commands may be used in series.  Thus, both 
%  |{This}|, |{\bfseries{} this}|, and |{\ttfamily\itshape{} this}| 
%  are examples of valid \textit{text} arguments to |\dropping|.  
%  Note that the construct
%  |\textit{\dropping[|\textit{len}|]{|\textit{numb}|}{|\textit{text}|}}|
%  does \emph{not} work properly. 
%  
%  \DescribeMacro{\bigdrop}
%  Fred~J.~Lauwers's command |\bigdrop| is also available if the 
%  \textsf{dropping} package is loaded.  It has exactly the same 
%  syntax as if \textsf{dropcaps} is loaded, that is:\\
%  |  \bigdrop{|\textit{len}|}{|\textit{numb}|}{|\textit{font}|}{|\textit{text}|}|\\
%  where the arguments \textit{len} and \textit{numb} are exactly the 
%  same as for |\dropping| (in fact, these two arguments are passed 
%  directly from |\dropping| to |\bigdrop|).  The \textit{font} 
%  argument is the internal font name to be used for the dropped 
%  text, \textit{i.~e.\ } the |.tfm|-file name (|cmsl10| is an example 
%  of a valid \textit{font} argument).  The fourth argument, 
%  \textit{text}, is the text to be dropped (only plain text is valid 
%  here!).  For further details, please see the \textsf{dropcaps} 
%  documentation.
%  
%  \section{Examples}
%  
%  \dropping{3}{\itshape{} This}section gives some simple examples 
%  of the use of \textsf{dropping}.  As a first example, this very 
%  paragraph was started by stating the command\linebreak 
%  `|\dropping{3}{\itshape{} This}|' 
%  in the beginning.  Notice the braces (`|{}|') and the space before 
%  `This'!  
%  
%  \dropping[-6pt]{2}{\slshape\sffamily{} I}n addition, this 
%  paragraph gives an example where the optional first argument of 
%  |\dropping| is used.  The paragraph was started by 
%  `|\dropping[-6pt]{2}{\slshape\sffamily{} I}n|', and as you 
%  (hopefully!) can see, it works fine to have several font-changing 
%  commands in one |\dropping| command.  
%  
%  \dropping{4}{T}he third example is an example where the default 
%  document font is being used.  By now, you probably have figured 
%  out that this paragraph is started with `|\dropping{4}{T}he|'.  For 
%  you to see the full effect of the dropping, there has to be at 
%  least four complete lines in the paragraph, and so this text 
%  with not so much to say the \LaTeX{} user is going on and 
%  on and on and on and on and on\ldots  
%   
%  \section{Known Problems}  
%  
%  \begin{itemize}
%  \item 
%  If |\dropping| is used to start a paragraph which itself 
%  starts close to the bottom of a page, the 
%  dropped text will hang down into the footer and give a rather weird 
%  impression.  Avoid this by some (unfortunately manual) 
%  page-breaking.  
%  \item
%  Really large (more than two lines tall) dropped text is not 
%  very beautiful unless the |graphics.cfg| files specifies |dvips| 
%  as the default graphics' driver (or an option which in turn 
%  calls the |dvips| option).
%  \end{itemize}
%  
%  \section{Acknowledgements}
%  
%  First and most of all, I want to acknowledge Fred~J.\ Lauwers for 
%  providing the \textsf{dropcaps} package and letting me use the 
%  code thereof (according to the copyright notice in the 
%  |dropcaps.sty| file; see also |dropping.ins|).  
%  \textsf{dropping} would of course not be 
%  what it is today without Fred's work.  (Unfortunately, I do not 
%  have any current e-mail address of Fred's.)  
%  
%  I also want to thank Donald Arsenau (|asnd@reg.triumf.ca|)
%  and Robin Fairbairns\linebreak (|Robin.Fairbairns@cl.cam.ac.uk|) for 
%  answering my question to |comp.text.tex| about conditional 
%  stripping of strings, as well as Piet van Oostrum (|piet@cs.ruu.nl|) 
%  and Alain Ketterlin (|alain@ia1.u-strasbg.fr|) for 
%  answering my ``splitting of a string'' question.  
%  
%  \section{Sending a Bug Report}
%  \textsf{dropping} is likely to contain bugs.  Although, I do 
%  not consider this to be a ``supported'' package, 
%  reports of bugs in the package are most welcome.  
%  Before filing a bug report,
%  please take the following actions:
%  \begin{enumerate}
%  \item Ensure your problem is not due to your own input file, 
%     package(s), or class(es);
%  \item Ensure your problem is not covered in the section 
%     ``Known Problems'' above;
%  \item  Try to locate the problem by writing a minimal 
%     \LaTeX{} input file which reproduces the problem.  
%     Include the command\\ 
%     |  \setcounter{errorcontextlines}{999}|\\ 
%     in your input;
%  \item Run your file through \LaTeX ;
%  \item Send a description of your problem, the input file 
%     and the log file via e-mail to:\\
%     \hspace*{5mm} \texttt{matsd@sssk.se}.
%  \end{enumerate}\bigskip
%  
%  \noindent{\itshape Enjoy your 
%  \LaTeX!\raisebox{-\baselineskip}{mats d.}}
% \StopEventually{\vfill\hfill\scriptsize Copyright \copyright 
%  1997-98 by Mats Dahlgren}
%  \newpage 
%  
%  \section{The Code} 
%  For the interested reader(s), here is a short description 
%  of the code. 
% \iffalse
%&lt;*paketkod&gt;
% \fi
%  First, the package is to identify itself:  
%    \begin{macrocode} 
\NeedsTeXFormat{LaTeX2e}[1995/12/01]
\ProvidesPackage{dropping}[1997/06/12 v.0.12]
%    \end{macrocode}
%  Then, some counters, dimensions and a boolean are set:
%    \begin{macrocode} 
\newcount\bigscale
\newcount\down
\newdimen\saveunitlength
\newdimen\wantedheight
\newif\ifstrtcmmnd \strtcmmndfalse
%    \end{macrocode}
%  
%  The differences between the different graphics' drivers are taken 
%  care of by means of options to the package.  First, the |dvips| 
%  option is declared (code greatefully taken from |dropcaps.sty|).
%    \begin{macrocode} 
\DeclareOption{dvips}{%
\newcount\wantedcount
\newcount\actualcount%
\newdimen\actualheight%
\def\findsize#1#2{%
\bigscale=1000%
\font\BIG=#1 scaled \bigscale%
\setbox0=\hbox{\BIG #2\/}%
\actualheight=\ht0%
\wantedcount=\wantedheight \actualcount=\actualheight%
\advance\actualcount by 50%
\divide\actualcount by 100%
\multiply\wantedcount by 10%
\divide\wantedcount by \actualcount%
\font\BIG=#1 scaled \wantedcount%
\setbox0=\hbox{\BIG #2\/}%
\bigscale=\wantedcount}}
%    \end{macrocode}
%  Next, the ``non-|dvips|-users'{}'' code from |dropcaps.sty| is 
%  declared to be an option, ``|other|'':
%    \begin{macrocode} 
\DeclareOption{other}{%
\def\nextmagstep#1#2#3{%
\bigscale=#3%
\font\BIG=#1 scaled \bigscale%
\setbox0=\hbox{\BIG #2\/}}%
\def\findsize#1#2{%
\nextmagstep{#1}{#2}{\magstep0}%
\ifdim\ht0&lt;\wantedheight%
\nextmagstep{#1}{#2}{\magstephalf}%
\ifdim\ht0&lt;\wantedheight%
\nextmagstep{#1}{#2}{\magstep1}%
\ifdim\ht0&lt;\wantedheight%
\nextmagstep{#1}{#2}{\magstep2}%
\ifdim\ht0&lt;\wantedheight%
\nextmagstep{#1}{#2}{\magstep3}%
\ifdim\ht0&lt;\wantedheight%
\nextmagstep{#1}{#2}{\magstep4}%
\ifdim\ht0&lt;\wantedheight%
\nextmagstep{#1}{#2}{\magstep5}%
\fi\fi\fi\fi\fi\fi}}
%    \end{macrocode}
%  Following this, the various other graphics' drivers as recognized 
%  by the \textsf{graphics} package are declared.  The |xdvi| option 
%  just calls |dvips| (as in \textsf{graphics}), and so does the 
%  |oztex| option\footnote{Thanks to Johan Fr\"oberg 
%  (\texttt{emgion@physchem.kth.se}) for testing \textsf{dropping} on 
%  his Macintosh.}  (a recent release of Oz\TeX{} contains a 
%  |graphics.cfg| which calls the |dvips|-option of 
%  \textsf{graphics}).  All other options  
%  call the |other| option.  \textbf{Note} if some user(s) find that
%  an option should use |dvips| instead of |other|, please feel free
%  to change in your local |dropping.sty| file as long as you also
%  inform me (via e-mail to |matsd@sssk.se|) of the
%  appropriate change! 
%    \begin{macrocode} 
\DeclareOption{xdvi}{\ExecuteOptions{dvips}}
\DeclareOption{dvipsone}{\ExecuteOptions{other}}
\DeclareOption{dviwindo}{\ExecuteOptions{other}}
\DeclareOption{emtex}{\ExecuteOptions{other}}
\DeclareOption{dviwin}{\ExecuteOptions{other}}
\DeclareOption{oztex}{\ExecuteOptions{dvips}}
\DeclareOption{textures}{\ExecuteOptions{other}}
\DeclareOption{pctexps}{\ExecuteOptions{other}}
\DeclareOption{pctexwin}{\ExecuteOptions{other}}
\DeclareOption{pctexhp}{\ExecuteOptions{other}}
\DeclareOption{dvi2ps}{\ExecuteOptions{other}}
\DeclareOption{dvialw}{\ExecuteOptions{other}}
\DeclareOption{dvilaser}{\ExecuteOptions{other}}
\DeclareOption{dvitops}{\ExecuteOptions{other}}
\DeclareOption{psprint}{\ExecuteOptions{other}}
\DeclareOption{pubps}{\ExecuteOptions{other}}
\DeclareOption{ln}{\ExecuteOptions{other}}
\DeclareOption*{\ExecuteOptions{other}}
%    \end{macrocode}
%  Now it is time to load the |graphics.cfg| file, and if it is not 
%  found send a warning to the user and assume |dvips| is 
%  around\ldots{}  Then in order to free some memory, any remaining
%  option is processed.
%    \begin{macrocode} 
\InputIfFileExists{graphics.cfg}{}{%
\PackageWarningNoLine{dropping}{%
You have no `graphics.cfg' file installed.\MessageBreak 
I will assume you are using `dvips'}
\ExecuteOptions{dvips}}
\ProcessOptions
%    \end{macrocode}
%  
%  \DescribeMacro{\bigdrop}
%  Next follows Fred~J.\ Lauwers's original command |\bigdrop| except 
%  that the |\typeout| statements have been removed.
%    \begin{macrocode} 
\def\bigdrop#1#2#3#4{%
\saveunitlength=\unitlength%
\unitlength=\baselineskip%
\setbox1=\hbox{\the\font I}%
\wantedheight=#2\baselineskip \advance\wantedheight by -\baselineskip%
\advance\wantedheight by \ht1% 
\findsize{#3}{#4}%
\hangindent=\wd0 \advance\hangindent by #1%
\hangafter=-#2%
\ifdim\dp0&gt;0.25\baselineskip% 
 \loop\ifdim\dp0&gt;\baselineskip
  \advance\baselineskip by \baselineskip
  \advance\hangafter by -1
 \repeat
 \advance\hangafter by -1
 \baselineskip=\unitlength
\fi%
\noindent%
\down=-#2 \advance\down by 1%
\begin{picture}(0,0)%
\put(0,\down){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\box0}}%
\end{picture}%
\unitlength=\saveunitlength}
%    \end{macrocode}
%  Now we define some internal macros to be able to automize the use 
%  of |\bigdrop|.  (Thanks to Donald Arsenau, Robin Fairbairns, Piet van 
%  Oostrum, and Alain Ketterlin!)
%    \begin{macrocode} 
\def\spltatspc#1 #2\spltatspc{#1}
\def\spltstrng#1{\expandafter\@split#1\end}
\def\@split#1 #2\end{\def\strngn{#1}\def\strngtw{#2}}
\def\isit#1{\expandafter\@isit\string#1\@null}
\def\@isit#1#2\@null{%
  \ifnum`#1=`\\
    \global\strtcmmndtrue
  \else
    \global\strtcmmndfalse
  \fi
}
%    \end{macrocode}
%  
%  \DescribeMacro{\dropping}
%  Finally, the macro |\dropping| is defined:
%    \begin{macrocode} 
\newcommand{\dropping}[3][0pt]{%
\get@external@font%
\edef\n@vf@nt{\expandafter\spltatspc\external@font \spltatspc}%
\setbox8=\hbox{#3\get@external@font%
\global\let\external@font@export\external@font%
\edef\n@vf@ntb@x{\expandafter\spltatspc\external@font \spltatspc}%
\global\let\n@vf@nt\n@vf@ntb@x}%  
\let\external@font\external@font@export%
\edef\xprt@rgtr{\expandafter\spltatspc\external@font\expandafter{} 
\spltatspc}
\def\spltslsk{#3}%
\isit{#3}%
\ifstrtcmmnd
\spltstrng\spltslsk%
\let\xprt@rgfr\strngtw
\else
\def\xprt@rgfr{#3}
\fi
\protect\bigdrop{#1}{#2}{\xprt@rgtr}{\xprt@rgfr}%
}
%    \end{macrocode}
%  This brings us to the end of \textsf{dropping}.  Hope you'll 
%  enjoy it!
% \iffalse
%&lt;/paketkod&gt;
% \fi
% \Finale
%
\endinput 
</pre></body></html>