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I am trying to prepare a manuscript to submit to MSCS. I have downloaded the MSCS LaTeX style package (as suggested at the author instructions page). However, I cannot compile even the MSCguide.tex file included in the package.

The first error that I receive is about the mtsy font:

[...]
kpathsea: Running mktextfm mtsy
mktextfm: Running mf-nowin -progname=mf \mode:=ljfour; mag:=1; ; nonstopmode; input mtsy
This is METAFONT, Version 2.7182818 (TeX Live 2020/Arch Linux) (preloaded base=mf)

kpathsea: Running mktexmf mtsy
! I can't find file `mtsy'.
<*> ...:=ljfour; mag:=1; ; nonstopmode; input mtsy


Please type another input file name
! Emergency stop.
<*> ...:=ljfour; mag:=1; ; nonstopmode; input mtsy


Transcript written on mfput.log.
grep: mtsy.log: No such file or directory
mktextfm: `mf-nowin -progname=mf \mode:=ljfour; mag:=1; ; nonstopmode; input mtsy' failed to make mtsy.tfm.
kpathsea: Appending font creation commands to missfont.log.


! Font \mtsyfont=mtsy at 5.35pt not loadable: Metric (TFM) file not found.
l.4166 \font\mtsyfont = mtsy at 5.35pt


?

I have found a mtsy.tfm file online, so I placed it in the same folder, and now I receive the following error message:

[...]
(./MSCguide.aux) (/usr/share/texmf-dist/tex/latex/psnfss/ot1ptm.fd)
(/usr/share/texmf-dist/tex/context/base/mkii/supp-pdf.mkii
[LoadingMPStoPDFconverter(version2006.09.02).]
! Missing number, treated as zero.
<to be read again>
                   \relax
l.136 ...csname newcount\endcsname \scratchcounter

?

I cannot make sense of these errors, since I am compiling the MSCguide.tex included in the package.

Here is the output of pdflatex --version:

pdfTeX 3.14159265-2.6-1.40.21 (TeX Live 2020/Arch Linux)
kpathsea version 6.3.2
Compiled with libpng 1.6.37; using libpng 1.6.37
Compiled with zlib 1.2.11; using zlib 1.2.11
Compiled with poppler version 20.08.0
Alejandro DC
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    there is no mtsy.tfm in the standard distributions so it's not surprising it fails, it is surprising that they use it in an author guide but that's not a technical question that can be answered. – David Carlisle Oct 05 '20 at 15:09
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    This style is a mess. I just tried a minimal example with \documentclass{msc} followed by \begin{document} Nothing \end{document} and still have errors. Can't believe that a good journal as MSCS from a good university as Cambridge have such a sloppy "instruction to authors". – Alejandro DC Oct 05 '20 at 15:12
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    @DavidCarlisle Oh, you're right. Sorry for the confusion, I have deleted the corresponding comment. – Nico Oct 05 '20 at 16:02
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    the class fails (and even more drastically with a new latex) as it redefines @pushfilename in a incompatible way. Beside this it shouldn't load etex, and not use local fonts, and it should check its various redefinition of internal commands like @outputpage. Write to the authors. – Ulrike Fischer Oct 05 '20 at 16:02

0 Answers0