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Date: Sat, 15 Apr 1995 10:07:39 -0400
From: bbeeton <BNB@MATH.AMS.ORG>
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he qing asks
    How to get AMSLaTeX v1.2 and LaTeX2e package.

all of latex2e is available from ctan (the comprehensive tex archive
network); the principal sites are
    ftp.dante.de    heidelberg, germany
    ftp.shsu.edu    texas, u.s.
    ftp.tex.ac.uk   cambridge, u.k.
and additional mirror sites are reported if you request
    finger ctan_us@ftp.shsu.edu
whenever possible, you should go to the site nearest you.

latex2e is in the area tex-archive/macros/latex and subdirectories.
the most important subdirectories are
    base                the latex2e kernel (1)
    doc                 documentation (2)
    packages/tools      utility packages (1)
    unpacked            versions of the kernel and tools, already unpacked (1)
    packages/graphics   graphics support
    packages/psnfss     support for postscript fonts

notes:
(1) the files in the base and tools areas are in .dtx form, and must be
    run through latex to be transformed to usable .cls and .sty form.
    the "unpacked" .cls, .sty, etc., versions are in the unpacked area
    for convenience in installation.
(2) the documentation in this area should not be considered "complete".
    you will still need a good latex manual; lamport's "latex: a
    document preparation system" (2nd edition) is the canonical one.
    "the latex companion", by goossens, mittelbach and samarin, covers
    additional topics and identifies packages available to do many
    useful things that aren't explained in the basic manual.

ams-latex 1.2 is mostly available from ctan as well, but there were
problems in the installation, resulting in the loss of all readme
files, which contain the installation instructions.  the most reliable
source for ams-latex, until further notice, is e-math.ams.org, where
it can be found in /pub/tex/amslatex and subdirectories.  some useful
options for using the amsfonts which are latex-specific but don't
depend on ams-latex can be found in /pub/tex/amsfonts/latex .  the
ams-latex user's guide, amsldoc.tex, contains only information on
using the mathematical features of ams-latex.  a guide to using the
different document classes of ams-latex, instr-l.tex, can be found
in /pub/author-info/documentation/amslatex , as can a handbook for
ams authors which, though designed particularly for authors submitting
papers and monographs to ams, does contain information useful to any
author who will be submitting an ams-latex document in electronic
form to a publisher.
                                                -- bb