Supported Targets

HTML

Everybody knows what HTML is. (hint: Internet)

Txt2tags generates clean HTML documents, that look pretty and have its source readable. It DOES NOT use javascript, frames or other futile formatting techniques, that aren't required for simple, techie documents. But a separate CSS file can be used if wanted. Txt2tags generates "HTML 4.0 Transitional" code.

Since version 2.0, the txt2tags HTML generated code is 100% approved by the w3c validator.

XHTML

It is the new generation of HTML, with more strict rules, as to close all the tags you open. This makes the code easier to parse and understand. For the general purpose, consider it HTML. Txt2tags generates "XHTML 1.0 Transitional" code.

Since version 2.0, the txt2tags XHTML generated code is 100% approved by the w3c validator.

SGML

It is a common document format which has powerful conversion applications ( linuxdoc-tools). From a single SGML file you can generate HTML, PDF, PostScript, Info, LaTeX, LyX, RTF and XML documents. The tools also does automatic TOC and break sections into subpages.

Txt2tags generates SGML files in the LinuxDoc system type, ready to be converted with linuxdoc-tools without any extra catalog files or any SGML annoying requirements.

LATEX

The preferred academic document format, it is more powerful than you ever wondered. Full books, complicated formulas and any complex text can be written in LaTeX. But prepare to lost your hair if you will try to write the tags by hand...

Txt2tags generates ready-to-use LaTeX files, doing all the complex escaping tricks and exceptions. The writer just need to worry about the text.

LOUT

Very similar to LaTeX in power, but with an easier syntax using "@" instead "\" and avoiding the need of braces in common situations. Its approach of everything-is-an-object makes the tagging much saner.

Txt2tags generates ready-to-use Lout files, which can be converted do PS or PDF files using the "lout" command.

MAN

UNIX man pages resist over the years. Document formats come and go, and there they are, unbeatable.

There are other tools to generate man documents, but txt2tags has one advantage: one source, multi targets. So the same man page contents can be converted to a HTML page, MagicPoint presentation, etc.

MGP

MagicPoint is a very handy presentation tool (hint: Microsoft PowerPoint), that uses a tagged language to define all the screens. So you can do complex presentations in vi/emacs/notepad.

Txt2tags generates a ready-to-use .mgp file, defining all the necessary headers for fonts and appearance definitions, as long as ISO-8859 accents support.

HOTSPOT 1: txt2tags created .mgp file uses the XFree86 Type1 fonts! So you do not need to carry TrueType fonts files with your presentation.

HOTSPOT 2: the color definitions for fonts are clean, so even on a poor color palette system (as startx -- -bpp 8), the presentation will look pretty!

The key is: convert and use. No quick fixes or requirements needed.

WIKI

You've heard about the Wikipedia, right? So you don't need to learn yet-another markup syntax. Just stick with txt2tags and let it convert your text to the Wikipedia format, called MediaWiki.

GWIKI

Now you can easily paste your project's current documentation into the Google Code Wiki.

DOKU

DokuWiki is a standards compliant, simple to use Wiki, mainly aimed at creating documentation of any kind. It is targeted at developer teams, workgroups and small companies. It has a simple but powerful syntax which makes sure the datafiles remain readable outside the Wiki and eases the creation of structured texts. All data is stored in plain text files - no database is required.

MOIN

You don't know what MoinMoin is? It is a WikiWiki!

Moin syntax is kinda boring when you need to keep {{{'''''adding braces and quotes'''''}}}, so txt2tags comes with the simplified marks and unified solution: one source, multi targets.

PM6

I guess you didn't know, but Adobe PageMaker 6.0 has its own tagged language! Styles, color table, beautifiers, and most of all the PageMaker mouse-clicking features are available on its tagged language also. You just need to access "Import tagged text" menu item. Just for the records, it's an <HTML "like"> tag format.

Txt2tags generates all the tags and already defines a extensive and working header, setting paragraph styles and formatting. This is the hard part. GOTCHA: No line breaks! A paragraph must be one single line.

Author's note: My entire portuguese regular expression's book was written in VI, converted to PageMaker with txt2tags and went to press.

TXT

TXT is text. The only true formatting type.

Although txt2tags marks are very intuitive and discrete, you can remove them by converting the file to pure TXT.

The titles are underlined, and the text is basically left as is on the source.