Get TeX and LaTeX operational. Become familiar with creating
simple TeX and LaTeX documents with your screen editor or word
processor. Learn how to print TeX documents and/or how to view them on
the screen.
Get the compuscript toolbox. This contains the following:
General files: README, revtex.sty, manintro.tex (this file), and manend.tex.
Society specific files: Listed in society-specific chapters of this
document.
Read the README file thoroughly!
Follow installation instructions in README file.
Read this document thoroughly. Scan the appendixes; they are provided
for reference purposes, but if you look at them now you'll know where to
find the information later.
Read thoroughly the society-specific chapter of this document that
is of the most interest to you, but try to at least scan all the
society-specific chapters.
Now focus on one society-specific chapter. Copy the template file for
that society into a junk file for some experimenting.
Edit the junk file to create an experimental manuscript. Maybe try to
prepare one of the sample documents that have been provided; this way, if
you get ``stuck,'' you can consult the documentation for help.
Try to create a new document. If you are a new TeX user, you may
want to try to recreate an old document rather than a current one.
When you have a document that is ready for submission to the
editorial office of interest, review the policies for submission in the
society-specific chapter. Individual editorial offices have differing
requirements for when you should provide the REVTeX file. For example,
most editorial offices currently require that hard copy (paper copy) be
provided for original submission, but APS offices encourage original
manuscript submissions to be electronic. See the Reminder below.
Reminder: The society-specific chapters are provided because each
organization has different policies and processing procedures for
compuscripts. Please make sure that you review the appropriate chapter even
if and when you are an expert REVTeX user!
