🚀 go-pugleaf

Further experimentation (and helpful responses from a couple of folks
on this list) reveals that the following is an easy way to generate a
format file for AMS-LaTeX with the amsart documentstyle preloaded.

I'm assuming here that you know how to dump a LaTeX format with the
New Font Selection Scheme installed (this is required to use the
AMS-LaTeX documentstyles amsart and amsbook).  If so, create a file
named amsart.ini, containing the following:

%%% amsart.ini
%%%
%%% This is a file to create a format file for LaTeX with NFSS installed
%%% and the amsart documentstyle preloaded.
%%%
\input lplain
\documentstyle[12pt,amscd]{amsart}

Run initex on this file, and it will dump a format amsart.fmt that
has amsart.sty, amsart12.sty and amscd.sty preloaded.  (You need to
include the optional arguments here because when you use this format,
it notices that amsart.sty is already loaded before it gets to where
it will read in amsart12.sty and amscd.sty.)

If you want to have versions for both 10 point and 12 point, then
name the above amsart12.ini, and create an analogous amsart12.ini.
(Similar remarks apply if you don't want amscd.sty.)

Phil Hirschhorn