(eplain.info)Paths

---

Next: Logos Prev: Fractions Up: User definitions

---

Enter node , (file) or (file)node

4.19 Paths
==========

When you typeset long pathnames, electronic mail addresses, or other
such "computer" names, you would like TeX to break lines at punctuation
characters within the name, rather than trying to find hyphenation
points within the words. For example, it would be better to break the
email address 'letters@alpha.gnu.ai.mit.edu' at the '@' or a '.', rather
than at the hyphenation points in 'letters' and 'alpha'.

   If you use the '\path' macro to typeset the names, TeX will find
these good breakpoints. The argument to '\path' is delimited by any
character other other than '\' which does not appear in the name itself.
'|' is often a good choice, as in:

     \path|letters@alpha.gnu.ai.mit.edu|

   You can control the exact set of characters at which breakpoints will
be allowed by calling '\discretionaries'. This takes the same sort of
delimited argument; any character in the argument will henceforth be a
valid breakpoint within '\path'. The default set is essentially all the
punctuation characters:

     \discretionaries |~!@$%^&*()_+`-=#{}[]:";'<>,.?\/|

   If for some reason you absolutely must use '\' as the delimiter
character for '\path', you can set '\specialpathdelimiterstrue'. (Other
delimiter characters can still be used.) TeX then processes the '\path'
argument about four times more slowly.

   The '\path' macro comes from 'path.sty', written by Nelson Beebe and
Philip Taylor and available at
<http://www.ctan.org/tex-archive/macros/latex/contrib/misc/path.sty>.