README for thumbs package, 2026-01-18, v1.1d


TABLE OF CONTENTS
=================

1 Introduction
2 Download
3 Installation
4 Additional Packages
5 Package Compatibility
6 Author/Maintainer
7 Bug Reports
8 Known Problems


1 INTRODUCTION
==============

This package puts running, customizable thumb marks
in the outer margin, moving downward as the chapter number
(or whatever shall be marked by the thumb marks) increases.
Additionally an overview page/table of thumb marks can be
added automatically, which gives the respective names of the
thumbed objects, the page where the object/thumb mark first
appears, and the thumb mark itself at the respective
position. The thumb marks are probably useful for documents,
where a quick and easy way to find e.g. a chapter is needed,
for example in reference guides, anthologies, or quite
large documents.

This material is published under the LPPL 1.3c: This work
may be distributed and/or modified under the conditions of
the LaTeX Project Public License, either version 1.3c
of this license or (at your option) any later version.
This version of this license is in
https://www.latex-project.org/lppl/lppl-1-3c.txt
and the latest version of this license is in
https://www.latex-project.org/lppl.txt
and version 1.3c or later is part of all distributions of
LaTeX version 2005-12-01 or later.


2 DOWNLOAD
==========

"thumbs" is available on CTAN:
https://ctan.org/pkg/thumbs

Also a ZIP file is provided that contains the files:
the manual (thumbs.pdf),
the example (thumbs-example.tex),
the compiled example (thumbs-example.pdf),
driver (thumbs.drv), thumbs.dtx,
installation file (thumbs.ins), 
the style file (thumbs.sty),
and this README, already sorted in a TDS tree:
https://mirror.ctan.org/install/macros/latex/contrib/thumbs.tds.zip


3 INSTALLATION
==============

Installation with ZIP file in TDS format
----------------------------------------
The ZIP file "thumbs.tds.zip" contains the files
sorted in a TDS tree. Thus you can directly unpack the
ZIP file inside a TDS tree.
See https://ctan.org/TDS-guidelines for an explanation
of TDS.
Example:
  cd /...somewhere.../texmf
  unzip /...downloadpath.../thumbs.tds.zip
Do not forget to refresh the file name database of this
TDS tree.
Example:
  texhash /...somewhere.../texmf

Manual installation
-------------------
a) Download the thumbs files from CTAN.
   If necessary, unpack them.
b) Generate the package and driver files, if necessary:
     tex thumbs.dtx
c) Install the file "thumbs.sty" in your TDS tree:
     cp thumbs.sty TDS:tex/latex/thumbs/
   Replace "TDS:" by the prefix of your TDS tree
   (texmf directory).
d) Create the documentation, if necessary, e.g.
     pdflatex thumbs.dtx
     makeindex -s gind.ist thumbs.idx
     pdflatex thumbs.dtx
     makeindex -s gind.ist thumbs.idx
     pdflatex thumbs.dtx
e) Update the databases, if necessary, e.g. for TeXLive:
     texhash or mktexlsr.
f) Create the thumbs-example.pdf, if necessary, e.g.
     pdflatex thumbs-example.tex
     pdflatex thumbs-example.tex
     pdflatex thumbs-example.tex
     pdflatex thumbs-example.tex
g) Copy the documentation files to
   "TDS:doc/latex/thumbs/":
   README, thumbs.pdf, thumbs-example.tex,
   thumbs-example.pdf.


4 ADDITIONAL PACKAGES
=====================

The thumbs.sty for LaTeX2e (i.e. all documents using the
thumbs package) requires:
- TeXFormat LaTeX2e, 2025-06-01 or newer
- package xcolor, https://ctan.org/pkg/xcolor
- package picture, https://ctan.org/pkg/picture
- package alphalph, https://ctan.org/pkg/alphalph
- package rerunfilecheck, https://ctan.org/pkg/rerunfilecheck
- package pagecolor, https://ctan.org/pkg/pagecolor
- package undolabl, https://ctan.org/pkg/undolabl

The thumbs-example.tex requires the same files as all
documents using the thumbs package, and additionally:
- class article, from classes.dtx: https://ctan.org/pkg/classes
- package lipsum,   https://ctan.org/pkg/lipsum
- package eurosym,  https://ctan.org/pkg/eurosym
- package hyperref, https://ctan.org/pkg/hyperref,
  alternatively package url, https://ctan.org/pkg/url
- package geometry, https://ctan.org/pkg/geometry
- if enabled: package crop, https://ctan.org/pkg/crop
- package thumbs,   https://ctan.org/pkg/thumbs
  (Well, it is the example file for this package, and because
   you are reading the README for the thumbs package,
   it can be assumed that you already have some version of it
   - is it the current one?)
which again load other packages (see the result of the
\listfiles command in the log-file of the example).

Also the thumbs.dtx loads other packages
(for unpacking and constructing the documentation),
see "6.1 Downloads" in the manual
https://mirror.ctan.org/macros/latex/contrib/thumbs/thumbs.pdf


5 PACKAGE COMPATIBILITY
=======================

thumbs should be loaded AFTER the required packages,
but loading it before those packages should be possible, too.
Thumbs MUST be loaded AFTER packages handling the page size,
for example geometry.


6 AUTHOR/MAINTAINER
=====================

H.-Martin Münch


7 BUG REPORTS
==============

A bug report should contain:
* Comprehensive problem description. This includes error or
  warning messages.
* \errorcontextlines=\maxdimen can be added in the
  TeX code to get more information in TeX error messages.
* Minimal test file that shows the problem,
  but does not contain any unnecessary packages and code.
* Used drivers/programs.
* Version information about used packages and programs.
* If you are using LaTeX, then add "\listfiles" to the document.
  Then a list of version information is printed at the end
  of the LaTeX run.
* Please no other files than the minimal test file.
  The other files .log, .dvi, .ps, .pdf are seldom
  necessary, so send them only on request.
* Please .zip or .tar.gz your file(s) before sending them!

Bug address
-----------
Bug reports (English or German language) can be send to the
maintainer:
  H.-Martin Münch
  <Martin [dot] Muench [at] Uni-Bonn [dot] de>


8 KNOWN PROBLEMS
================

When the text for a thumb mark is too wide,
the text is either split over two lines or it is written over
the border of the thumb mark. When the text is too wide for
the thumb mark and cannot be split, LaTeX might nevertheless
place the text into the next line. By this the text is
placed too low. Please see the example file for information
about possible solutions.