3

I am using VTEX (visual Tex). When I run this program, it shows a error message that is 

! Undefined control sequence.
\convertto #1#2->\strip@pt \dimexpr 
                                    #2*65536/\number \dimexpr 1#1
?

But this program runs in LaTeX successfully. How can I solve this error?

\documentclass{article}

\makeatletter
\def\convertto#1#2{\strip@pt\dimexpr #2*65536/\number\dimexpr 1#1}
\makeatother

\begin{document}
\newdimen\mylength
\mylength=1in
\convertto{cm}{\the\mylength}cm
\end{document}

Output: 2.54 cm

darthbith
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enadul shaheen
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1 Answers1

5

The error occurs as VTeX does not have the e-TeX extensions enabled. These extensions to Kunth's TeX (TeX90) provide for example \dimexpr as a primitive. The extensions were finalised in 1999 and are available in all major (free) TeX systems available today. However, according to http://www.micropress-inc.com/new.htm the last update to VTeX was around 10 years ago and does not feature these. Thus you cannot use any code which needs the extensions: they are increasingly commonly used.

Joseph Wright
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  • See for example http://tex.stackexchange.com/questions/13593/the-differences-between-tex-engines/13601 and http://tex.stackexchange.com/questions/88344/references-for-dimexpr-numexpr/88346 for more on e-TeX. – Joseph Wright Apr 20 '15 at 17:02
  • So how can i fixed this error or how can i do this program in VTEX? @Joseph Wright – enadul shaheen Apr 20 '15 at 17:07
  • @enadulshaheen It's been pointed out to me that http://freecode.com/projects/vtex suggests VTeX should have e-TeX available, but I've no idea how to use it with the IDE. I suggest asking a new question about how to do the calculation, which links to this one but is not about the error but rather what you want to do. (The answers are rather different.) – Joseph Wright Apr 20 '15 at 17:10
  • I am new to VTEX and suggest me how to solve this error? Thanks Joseph for helping me – enadul shaheen Apr 20 '15 at 17:23
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    @enadulshaheen I don't think I'd pick VTeX for new work! In any case, as I say this is really a separate question. In particular, if all you need to do is typeset the results then http://tex.stackexchange.com/a/8263 covers it already. – Joseph Wright Apr 20 '15 at 17:42