Bug#109977: tetex-bin: dvips -E

["C.M. Connelly" <cmc@debian.org>]

severity 109977 wishlist
retitle 109977 dvips manual should explain EPS creation process
thanks

What you've described isn't really a bug in dvips, but a
misunderstanding of how EPS files work.  EPS files are a special
kind of PostScript file that have restrictions that regular
PostScript files don't -- in particular, EPS files must be a
single ``page'' and must not use certain special operators (such
as setpagedevice).  In addition, the EPS file must specify where
in the PostScript coordinate system the image is to be drawn (via
the %%BoundingBox DSC comment).

The concepts of ``portrait'' and ``landscape'' have nothing to do
with EPS files -- they apply to an entirely different level of
document structure.

Note that because EPS files are restricted to be a single page and
(La)TeX documents are often multiple pages, dvips provides an
option (the ``-i'' flag) to generate multiple output files (one
per page) from a single input file.

Take a look at the dvips manual in
/usr/share/texmf/doc/programs/dvips.dvi.gz (or type ``texdoc
dvips'') for more information.

I'm leaving your report open as a wishlist bug because it might be
nice if the manual and man page were more explicit about the
interaction between options or the process of making EPS files.

   CMC

+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
 Behind the counter a boy with a shaven head stared vacantly into space, 
 a dozen spikes of microsoft protruding from the socket behind his ear.
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
   C.M. Connelly               cmc@debian.org                   SHC, DS
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+