Re: color band

[Guy Worthington <guyw@multiline.com.au>]

Idris S Hamid <ishamid@lamar.colostate.edu> writes:

> Dear syndicate,
> 
> For a book cover I want a green-colored rectangular band, centered, at
> the very top of the page, with text in some other color (to be
> determined) overlapping the band. The band is small, just, say, 2cm
> high and 12 cm wide. Since it's at the top it is surrounded by white
> on only three sides. I'm not even sure where to get started here (I
> don't think the LaTeX Graphics Companion will be much help:->)

The LaTeX Graphics Companion always helps; in this case chapter 3.  In
chapter 3, you'll find an excellent package called mfpic (I've been
meaning to trial it with ConTeXt, but have just put it off).  The
package mfpic is plain-compatible and is a much better solution to the
one I'm posting.  Note: this is a plain-TeX file and should be run
with command the pdfTeX.

If this file doesn't work on your system, it's because to get the kind
of access privileges to run it, you may have to sleep with your
computer technician.  

-----

%output=pdf
\input supp-pdf
\immediate\openout0=\jobname.mp
\toks0={beginfig(1)
          verbatimtex
            \font\titlefont=cmr7 scaled \magstep 5
          etex ;
          fill unitsquare xscaled 12cm yscaled 2cm withcolor 0.5green ;
          label.top(btex \titlefont My label etex,(6cm,0.5cm))
               withcolor white; 
        endfig; 
        end .}
\immediate\write0{\the\toks0}
\immediate\closeout0
\immediate\write18{mpost \jobname.mp}

\centerline{\convertMPtoPDF{\jobname.1}{1}{1}}

\vskip 3cm

\noindent MY ABSTRACT


\bye

-----

Although the metapost graphic looks imposing, it is fairly
self-contained, with the title font switch (\titlefont) declared in
the verbatimtex block, and the position of the title text inside the
green rectangular band being positioned manually at (6cm,0.5cm).
Similary, I've chosen the color of the rectangle by eye (0.5green) and
the color of the text (white).

> [snipped]

If you're having trouble with the \shipout routine, best follow up to 
comp.text.tex (even though Hans Hagen's handle on plain-TeX is second
only to DEK's).