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ETH Zurich - Department of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering - Computer Vision Laboratory

BIWI Computing FAQs

Have also a look at the ITET.EE Computing FAQ

A Anonymous FTP or http download
Archive server, using (jabba)
B Backup server, using
biwilet, the BIWI Letter class for LaTeX
C CGI scripts, how to write your own
D Dot-files, understanding and changing
DVD-Burning at BIWI
E ETH logo, including on LaTeX documents
EXABYTE drives, using
F FTP (anonymous) Transfer from BIWI
H How to Record a S-VHS movie directly from screen
How to make a PDF-file compatible with IEEE requirements under Linux
I Include graphics in LaTeX, how to
Includegraphics problems in LaTeX
J jabba
L LaTeX, the BIWI Letter class "biwilet" for
LaTeX, how to include graphics in
LaTeX, including the ETH logo
LaTeX, problems with Includegraphics
LaTeX, special characters in
LaTeX, Creating Acrobat PDF files
LaTeX, how to change background color
Libraries, online access to
M MO Drives, using
P PDF, Creating Acrobat PDF files with Latex
Phonebooks
PMOs, using
Posters, previewing and printing
Publication database, adding and modifying entries
R Removable media, using
S Special characters in LaTeX
Semester- and Diplomaworks, adding and modifying works
U UNIX varia
W Wincenter (WinNT)

UNIX varia/shell

Understanding and changing dot-files

The so called "dot-files" (e.g. .login) are used to automatically configure your personal working environment (like terminal settings, search paths and utility functions) on a UNIX workstation.
As a general rule of thumb, don't change anything in a dot-file except you really have to and you know exactly, what you're doing. And since it is not always possible to predict all consequences, always create a copy of a dot-file before changing it (`cp aDotFile aDotFile.orig`).

the dot-files will be sourced in following order: 1./etc/cshrc 2./etc/login 3.$home/.cshrc 4.$home/.login Dot-files can be found at the following locations:

Phonebooks

Online access to libraries

Using the archive- and backup-server "jabba"

Adding and Modifying Entries in the Publication Database

Semester- and Diplomaworks, adding and modifying works

How to write your own CGI scripts

How to include graphics (PostScript) in LaTeX:

There are many ways to include PostScript into LaTeX documents, one of the best is probably:
  1. Generate your PostScript graphics (of course), e.g. using ras2ps, tiff2ps or just xv.
  2. Make a subdirectory in your current LaTeX document directory (preferably with a short name, see also LaTeX problems: pool size overflow) and copy or symlink the PostScript file into it. Hint: Also have a README file in this directory which explains the graphics shortly! It's great for recycling your images.
  3. Compress larger PostScript files using bobox -Z filename
    This compresses the PostScript file using gzip and generates a auxiliary file used by LaTeX to read the bounding box (extension .bb).
  4. Use something like the following latex code to include a graphic as a floating figure: 
    	\documentclass{article}
	\usepackage{graphicx}
	
	\begin{document}
	
	\begin{figure}[htbp]
	  \begin{center}
	    \includegraphics{filename}
	      \caption{This is my first figure}
	      \label{fig:first}
	  \end{center}
	\end{figure}
	
	\end{document}
    Note: If you don't specify the extension, LaTeX will find the file automatically. This has the advantage that you can compress files later without changing your LaTeX file. (If you plan on including hundreds of images, see the entry about the pool size overflow problem below.)

Problems with includegraphics (pool size overflow) in LaTeX:

Special characters in LaTeX:

How to make a PDF-file compatible with IEEE requirements under Linux

Including the ETH logo on LaTeX documents

The package ETHlogo.sty provides an easy way for including the ETH logo on a LaTeX document. As a convenience, the package BIWIlogo.sty defines the correct settings for the BIWI institute.

The BIWI Letter class "biwilet" for LaTeX

Writing letters with LaTeX can be annoying when you have to design it every time by yourself. Thus you need a somewhat customizable letter style or class, that suits your needs in most cases.

For the old LaTeX 2.09 existed such a style, with the little drawback that the logo wasn't very nice. Now the new LaTeX2e is available, and some new document classes for letters as well. In order to design a specific class for our institute, I chose the ifelet.cls (credits go to Tobias Oetiker), adapted it to our needs and improved the interface a little. Out came the new document class biwilet.cls.

As a "side effect", a package BIWIlogo.sty is now also available and can be used to place a ETH logo on a page (see also including the ETH logo on LaTeX documents).

Previewing and Printing Posters

Anonymous FTP Transfer from BIWI

If somebody needs to download some of your files. There are two possibilities:

Using the Wincenter (zhadum.ee.ethz.ch)

Creating Acrobat PDF files with LaTeX

Introduction

The most simple way, of converting a document is to just use 'pdflatex' instead of 'latex' to compile it. But there is more, you can have Hyperlinks and a clickable Table of Contents in your document.

At the moment, pdftex does not allow to include eps images directly. You must convert the eps files to pdf format to have them included into your documents.

A Simple Example

First you have to convert your graphics into the pdf format. To do this you can use the command: 
epstopdf mygraph.eps
or if you have more than one graphic, use such a tcsh script: 
foreach file (*.eps)
epstopdf $file
end


Then add in your LaTeX preamble this few lines: 
	\documentclass[YourOptions]{YourClass}

	%% are we using pdftex or normaltex
	\newif\ifpdf
	\ifx\pdfoutput\undefined
		\pdffalse
	\else
		\pdftrue
	\fi

	%% load packages
	\usepackage{graphicx}
	\usepackage{WhatElseYouNeed}

	%%uncomment the following if you want to build an index
	%\usepackage{makeidx}
	%\makeindex

	%%add PDF-Stuff
	\usepackage{url}
	\ifpdf
		%% load hyperref package: add option 'hyperindex' when building an index
		\usepackage[colorlinks,urlcolor=blue]{hyperref}
		\pdfcompresslevel=9  % 1 is fastest, 9 is best compression (the default)
	\fi
	
	\begin{document}

Using Graphics

\includegraphics[YourOptions]{YourFile}
Please note that YourFile is just the filename. Depending on whether you are running latex or pdflatex, the system will automatically append .eps or .pdf accordingly.

Remark

When compiling a Document with pdflatex which has been compiled with normal latex, and vica-vesa, make sure you remove all the old *.toc *.ind *.aux files before you remake ...

How to change background color in a LaTeX document:

How to Record a S-VHS movie directly from screen

  1. Take the video tower with the Panasonic video player with you.
  2. Sit in front of ametrine (the SGI O2 with the ZIP-drive) and log in.
  3. Connect the S-VHS output (on the left output panel of the O2) with the S-VHS input of the video player (close the front cover, open the small cover in the lower left).
  4. Power on the TV and the video player; if the video display does not show A3 on the left, use the^ andv buttons in the video player front cover to switch the input channel to A3.
  5. Make sure that S-VHS is enabled (small swich in the front of the video player).
  6. To framelock the video signal and the graphic signal, type the following in a shell:
    • /usr/gfx/setmon -Fg 50
    • /usr/gfx/setmon -Fi 50
  7. Start the video control by typing videopanel.
  8. Set the video output source to Square PAL (625)
  9. In the menu Utilities, activate Live Video Output. This starts a program drawing a rectangular frame that can be dragged around with the left mouse. Exactly the region inside the rectangle will be transmitted to the video player and should now be visible on the TV screen. If it's not visible, use the ->[] button of the TV remote control to switch the input channel of the TV until the image corresponds with what you expect.
  10. Record the movie!

DVD, burning at BIWI

Log on to etchells2 (in room ETF-C110) with the administrator's username and password. Place your files in a folder on drive D: and delete it when finished!

How to create a Data DVD-R
  1. Media type needed: DVD-RG (DVD-R for General use) 4.7GB, sometimes also referred to as 'DVD for Data', ie. Pioneer DVS-R470SD
  2. start InstantCD+DVD
  3. choose Instant Disc
  4. start the disc creation wizard or choose the appropriate Disc type (ie. Data disc)
  5. follow the instructions and write the DVD


How to create a Video DVD-R Use the InstantCD+DVD Instant Video Tool for authoring your DVD. Since there aren't any experiences available yet, this section will be updated at a later time.

How to create a DVD-RW
  1. Media type needed: DVD-RW ver. 1.1, ie. Pioneer DVS-RW470SD (note the '-' sign, DVD+RW is not compatible with our DVD writer)
  2. Formatting the DVD-RW: Click on 'My Computer', select drive E: and click the right mouse button to open the context menue. Choose 'Instant Write DVD-RW Format...'.
    Format:
    1. Data DVD (Random access): Use your DVD-RW like a floppy disc. It can't be read on DVD-ROM drives, but has the advantage that deleting files will restore space on the disc.
    2. Data DVD (Incremental). The DVD-RW can be read on any standard DVD-ROM drive if it has been finalized. If not, it can only be read when an appropriate UDF driver is installed on the particular machine. Deleting files will not restore space on the disc unless you reformat it. Formatting speed & time: 1x, whole DVD-RW: appr. 2h.
      Format type: Select 'Erase and format (complete)', the others don't work...
  3. Copying data to the DVD-RW:
    1. Random access formatted: via drag and drop.
    2. Incremental formatted: Use the InstantCD+DVD tool. You may either choose the wizard or select the desired disc type (ie. Data or Data UDF). Finalize your DVD-RW if you want to use it on machines without an UDF driver.