Date: Mon, 17 Aug 1992 19:12 CST
From: DARREL HANKERSON <HANK AT DUCVAX DOT AUBURN DOT EDU>
Subject: TeX -> ASCII
To: SONNTAJM AT CRF DOT CUIS DOT EDU
Cc: djgpp AT sun DOT soe DOT clarkson DOT edu

Jon Sonntag writes:
>So.. The next question is, is there any way to convert .TEX files to ascii
>text?  Or, it there some viewer to read them online?  I remeber reading about
>something like that but can't remember where.

You need to determine if the file is a TeX or Texinfo file (look at first 
few lines for '\input texinfo'). 
1. If Texinfo, then it can be converted to on-line man with makeinfo or
Emacs. Look for makeinfo at ftp-os2.nmsu.edu in pub/os2/all/gnu/gnuinfo.zoo
(or something like that). This is a DOS/OS2 port from Kai Uwe Rommel. Emacs
for OS2 2.0 is available at the same site.

2. If it is a TeX file, you could, of course, "TeX" it and then use a
screen previewer. emTeX is a good choice for this. This is a big install.
If you must have ASCII, you may be able to use the dvispell (beta, with the
emTeX stuff) to convert the dvi file (you still need TeX to get the dvi file).
This won't convert dvi files with, say, math.

--darrel hankerson hank AT ducvax DOT auburn DOT edu