%  MINUTES.TEX  ---  LaTeX input file for the documentation on the
%                    LaTeX style and associated files for
%                    producing Minutes and Agenda for meetings
\documentstyle{article}
\title{Producing Minutes and Agenda for meetings using \LaTeX}
%\author{P.G.N. Digby\\Statistics Department,\\Institute of Arable
%Crops Research,\\Rothamsted Experimental
%Station,\\HARPENDEN,\\Hertfordshire.\\AL5 2JQ\\
%{\tt DIGBY @ UK.AC.AFRC.RESC}}
\author{P.G.N. Digby\\
{\tt DIGBY @ UK.AC.AFRC.RESC}}
\date{19th November 1990}
\begin{document}
\maketitle

\tableofcontents

\begin{abstract}

This document describes a collection of files that have been
developed for producing the Minutes and Agenda for committee
meetings.  The supplied files will probably need to be changed to
suit the type of committee; however, they may provide a useful
basis for committee Secretaries.  An example is included based
loosely upon the Committee for which the `system' has been
developed.

\end{abstract}

\section{Introduction}

For some time I have been the Secretary of our local Computer
Users Group.  Although I have the benefit of a Minutes Secretary,
who is a member of our Computing Department and so is familiar
with much of the jargon, I prefer to produce the Minutes of
meetings, and Agenda for the next meeting, myself so that the
Chairman and I can be ensured of some degree of objectivity.
During that time I have developed a set of \LaTeX\ input and style
files that help me, e.g.\ with the production of an Agenda that
lists specifically the `Matters arising from the previous
Minutes'.

For distribution via the archive held at Aston I have (a)~changed
the names of some files, and (b)~within the examples and related
files, removed most references to specific individuals or items.
Therefore it will be necessary for any other person to modify the
files before putting them into definite use.

\section{Files distributed}

There are five files distributed with this `system' that are
needed for use of the `system' as it currently exists.  There are
also four files distributed giving an example.  There is also the
input file for the documentation.  Any of the five `system' files
may need to be changed, of which suggestions are given below, and
the `skeleton' input file given in the example will need to be
changed accordingly.  The files concerned are as follows.

\begin{description}

\item[MINUTES.STY] --- the main `style' file: this contains the
definition of the main parts of the minutes.

\item[MINS\_XTR.STY] --- the ancillary `style' file: this contains
\LaTeX\ commands for the members of the committee and other
commonly used phrases.

\item[MINS\_SET.TEX] --- a file of extra commands which depend on
the overall `styles' selected: this sets the layout of the text on
the page, and also pulls in \LaTeX\ labels from the Minutes of the
previous meeting.

\item[AGENDA.TOP] --- the file containing the initial part of an
Agenda;

\item[AGENDA.END] --- the file containing the final part of an
Agenda;

\item[EXAMPLE.TEX] an example of use of the `system';

\item[EXAMPLE.AUX] the {\tt .AUX} file from running {\tt
EXAMPLE.TEX} through \LaTeX;

\item[EXAMPLE.AGA] the {\tt .AGA} file from running {\tt
EXAMPLE.TEX} through \LaTeX\ --- this contains some of the items
to go in the Agenda for the next meeting;

\item[MINS\_OLD.AUX] the {\tt .AUX} file from running the previous
set of Minutes through \LaTeX.

\item[MINUTES.TEX] the \LaTeX\ input file for the documentation.

\end{description}

\section{Background}\label{bgrnd}

It may of use to anybody who considers using the `system'
described here if I describe what I use the `system' for.

Firstly, I get an ASCII file from my Minutes Secretary containing
a first draft of the Minutes.  This is then edited into the body
of a copy of a `skeleton' version of a main {\tt .TEX} file.  I
had hoped to get my Minutes Secretary to do this, but
unfortunately she is now a dedicated {\sf WordPerfect~5} user ---
oh well(!) --- but this is the reason for the copious comments in
the file {\tt EXAMPLE.TEX}.  When I am reasonably happy with the
Minutes I send a draft version to the committee Chairman, and also
to the Head of our Computing Department, for their comments and
corrections.  When their responses have been incorporated I issue
the Minutes to the committee members, together with a provisional
version of the Agenda for the next meeting.  The latter includes a
request for any specific items for the final Agenda, which I
normally produce (together with another set of Minutes) and
distribute about a week before the next meeting.

Therefore I need to be able to produce several versions of the
Minutes and Agenda.  The selection of version is controlled by
three `switches' in the main {\tt .TEX} input file.  I also find
it useful to semi-automate the `communication' between one set of
Minutes and the next: this is described in Section~\ref{coms}.
Section~\ref{runs} details how the switches are used for each
stage of the processing.

For the `draft' version that is sent to the Chairman I shift the
text towards the left-hand side of the page and use a wider line
spacing over a larger text-height.
These allow more space for amendments, and they
also allow me a greater margin-width into which to insert my own
queries to the Chairman and Head of Computing Department.  There
is a {\tt \verb!\query!} command defined in the file {\tt
MINUTES.STY} to make the latter a little easier.  The page layout
is specified in the file {\tt MINS\_SET.TEX}.

\section{How it works}

I have taken advantage of several facilities provided by \LaTeX
/\TeX\ to make things as fully-automated as I can.  These are
described in the remainder of this Section.

\subsection{Use of fonts and other commands}

Because the committee, for which this `system' has evolved,
discusses computing facilities I have chosen to use different
\LaTeX\ fonts when writing specific items of hardware (the
small-caps font) and software (the sans-serif font); also the
typewriter font is used for phrases that would typically be typed
on a computer terminal.  These styles are defined in {\tt
MINUTES.STY}, and used extensively in {\tt MINS\_XTR.STY},
although in the file distributed here only a few specific items of
hardware and software are given.

In the former file I also define shorthands for the \LaTeX\ {\tt
\verb!\ref!} and {\tt \verb!\label!} commands.  The latter file
also includes commands for each member of the committee, and a
command to produce a complete list of members.  In the file
distributed here only a fictitious Chairman, Secretary and a
ficititous representative of the Computing Department are listed.

\subsection{Specification of {\it ACTION}\/s}\label{prog}

The committee for which this `system' has evolved is not an
executive committee, so I cannot mark items for `action' by
specific committee members.  However, I do mark, with a dagger in
the margin, specific items on which the Chairman and I think that
the committee needs a progress report at the next meeting.  This
could easily be changed to mark `actions': it would probably
require an extra, third, argument to the {\tt \verb!\progress!}
command, which is described below, to specify the relevant
committee member(s).

The {\tt \verb!\progress!} command, defined in {\tt MINUTES.STY},
specifies what is to happen for each item marked for a progress
report.  It has two arguments: a `title' to be used for the item,
and a `label' for the item.  As well as putting a dagger in the
margin the {\tt \verb!\progress!} command puts a \LaTeX\ label at
the item, and puts an entry into an extra file, here {\tt
EXAMPLE.AGA}, so that the `title' and item-number are included in
the ``Matters arising from the Minutes of the last meeting'' part
of the Agenda for the next meeting.  To assist in the production
of the next set of minutes a \LaTeX\ index file is also produced
containing a list of the `titles' and `labels'.

\subsection{Producing an Agenda}\label{agenda}

This `system' optionally produces an Agenda for the next meeting
at the end of the Minutes for each meeting.  I have chosen to
issue a provisional version of this Agenda at the same time as the
Minutes are distributed, and to form and distribute a final
version of the Agenda nearer to the date of the next meeting.
These facilities are controlled by switches in the main {\tt .TEX}
file --- {\tt EXAMPLE.TEX} here.

The contents of the Agenda come from the files {\tt AGENDA.TOP}
and {\tt AGENDA.END}, and are also produced from the main {\tt
.TEX} file.  These latter entries come from an extra file, here
{\tt EXAMPLE.AGA}: entries are put into this automatically by the
{\tt \verb!\progress!} commands described in Section~\ref{prog},
and also by specific commands within the main {\tt .TEX} file.

\subsection{`Communication' between sets of Minutes}\label{coms}

One part of the Minutes of any meeting will give a report of
``Matters arising from the Minutes of the last meeting''.  As
described in Sections~\ref{agenda} and~\ref{prog}, these items are
listed specifically in the Agenda for the next meeting, together
with their item-numbers in the previous Minutes.  To help with the
production of the next set of Minutes the \LaTeX\ index file can
be included into the main {\tt .TEX} file, after a little global
editing.  In the example included here each line in the file {\tt
EXAMPLE.IDX} needs to be changed as, e.g., from

{\tt \verb!\indexentry{matter Use of LaTeX old:ltx}!}

\noindent to

{\tt \verb!\matter{Use of LaTeX}{old:ltx} <report>!}

\noindent where {\tt \verb!<report>!} would be some suitable
description of what was said, e.g.\ ``Everbody is finding that
\LaTeX\ is wonderful''.

The {\tt \verb!\matter!} command, shown above, needs the
definition of a \LaTeX\ label, {\tt old:ltx} above, to give the
item-number from the previous set of Minutes.  The only way that I
have found to do this is to use the {\tt .AUX} file for the
previous set of Minutes: in the example included here this is {\tt
MINS\_OLD.AUX}.  This file is included in the input for \LaTeX\
from the {\tt MINS\_SET.TEX} file, so if its name is to be changed
then the {\tt MINS\_SET.TEX} file will need to be changed.  In
order to build the {\tt MINS\_OLD.AUX} file the main {\tt .TEX}
file for the previous set of Minutes should be processed without
producing an Agenda (see also Section~\ref{runs}): this will give
an {\tt .AUX} file, with suitable {\tt \verb!\newlabel!} commands,
that can be renamed to {\tt MINS\_OLD.AUX}.

\subsection{Processing the main {\tt .TEX} file}\label{runs}

There are three commands in the main {\tt .TEX} file that operate
as `switches' to control which version of the Minutes and Agenda
is to be produced, as mentioned in Section~\ref{bgrnd}.  The
commands are {\tt \verb!\DRAFT!}, {\tt \verb!\AGENDA!}, and {\tt
\verb!\FINAL!}.  I use them as follows.

\begin{enumerate}

\item To get a draft version for the Chairman (see
Section~\ref{bgrnd}) I set both {\tt \verb!\DRAFT!} and {\tt
\verb!\AGENDA!}, but not {\tt \verb!\FINAL!}.

\item For the version to be distributed to the committee members I
set only {\tt \verb!\AGENDA!}.

\item For a final version of the Agenda for the next meeting I set
{\tt \verb!\AGENDA!} and {\tt \verb!\FINAL!}.  This also provides
me with another copy of the Minutes, in case I need it for the
next meeting.

\item In preparation for producing the next set of Minutes I
reprocess the main {\tt .TEX} file with none of the `switches'
set.  This generates a {\tt .AUX} file which is then renamed to
{\tt MINS\_OLD.AUX} to be used as input for the next set of
Minutes to provide the item-numbers for the ``Matters arising from
the last meeting''.  This is also a convenient stage to modify the
{\tt .IDX} file ready for the next set of Minutes, as described in
Section~\ref{coms}.

\end{enumerate}

In order to get all the cross-referencing to tie together it is
normally necessary to process each of these stages twice.  In
particular, note that the item-labels are different depending on
whether the {\tt \verb!\AGENDA!} switch is on or off.  The actual
label used by, e.g., the command

{\tt \verb!\progress{Shortage of aardvarks}{rdvrks}!}

\noindent will be {\tt it:rdvrks} if an Agenda for the next
meeting is being produced, but will be {\tt old:rdvrks} from the
fourth stage above.  This is to avoid any confusion between labels
in the current set of Minutes and those referring to the previous
set.

\section{Summary of use}

Before using this set of files make any obvious changes to the five
master files that control the operation of the 'system' {\tt
(MINUTES.STY, MINS\_XTR.STY, MINS\_SET.TEX, AGENDA.TOP, {\rm \&\ }
AGENDA.END)}. It would be
sensible to have
a skeleton input file for your committee, although it may take some
experience of using this set of files to decide what it should
include: initially the {\tt EXAMPLE.TEX} file can be used without
needing to remove too much material.

\begin{enumerate}

\item\label{getoldaux} Make sure that you have a {\tt MINS\_OLD.AUX}
file: this can
be empty, or simply contain a \LaTeX\ comment, although once you have
used this `system' for more than one meeting you should have the {\tt
.AUX} file from the previous meeting (see Sections \ref{coms} and
\ref{runs} for details, and see also step~\ref{makeoldaux}) which
should be renamed to {\tt MINS\_OLD.AUX}.

\item Edit your skeleton input file (the distributed file
{\tt EXAMPLE.TEX} will do, initially) to contain the Minutes of the
meeting.

\item\label{getdraft} If you need a draft copy of the Minutes (and
Agenda for the next meeting) set the switches in the input file as
{\tt \verb!\DRAFT! \verb!\AGENDA! \verb!% \FINAL!} and run \LaTeX\
twice.

\item To get a version of the Minutes, and a provisional Agenda, for
distribution set the switches in the input file as {\tt
\verb!% \DRAFT! \verb!\AGENDA! \verb!% \FINAL!} and run \LaTeX\ twice
(strictly speaking the second run may not be necessary, depending on
whether you have run step~\ref{getdraft}).

\item To get a final version of the Agenda (and an extra copy of the
Minutes) set the switches in the input file as {\tt
\verb!\AGENDA! \verb!\FINAL! \verb!% \DRAFT!} and run \LaTeX\ (once
{\em should} be enough, provided you have already processed the input
file through \LaTeX, but twice does no harm!).

\item\label{makeoldaux} At some convenient stage (but before you get
around to producing
the Minutes of the next meeting) set the switches in the input file as
{\tt \verb!% \DRAFT! \verb!% \AGENDA! \verb!% \FINAL!} and run \LaTeX\
(once should be enough). Now make a copy of the {\tt .AUX} file to use
as the {\tt MINS\_OLD} file for the next meeting (see
step~\ref{getoldaux}).

\end{enumerate}

\section{Caveat and Distribution notice}

This document describes the `system' that I have developed, and
the way that I use it for a specific committee.  I do not make any
promises or guarantees that it will work for any other committee.

The files for the `system' may be freely distributed amongst the
community of \LaTeX\ users.
However, if the files are changed prior to distribution then the
documentation
(in file {\tt MINUTES.TEX}) should be changed (a)~as appropriate to
the changes, and (b)~to indicate, as part of the author-field, the
name of the person making the change(s) and at the end of the Abstract
the fact that changes have been made to the `system', with appropriate
cross-references to the relevant part(s) of the documentation.

If improvements (cf.~changes appropriate to a different type of
committee) are made I would be grateful to be informed of them:
please use \mbox{e-mail} to \mbox{{\tt DIGBY@UK.AC.AFRC.RESA}}, or
submit an item in the weekly UK\TeX\ newsletter.

\end{document}
