[OS X TeX] %&format under pdftex 1.20a/TL 2004

[Gerben Wierda]

On 11 Nov 2004, at 20:47, Maarten Sneep wrote:

> On 11 nov 2004, at 20:14, Ludger Hentschel wrote:
>
>> If I say "pdftex file" and file.tex has %&format as the first line, 
>> pdftex does not find the compiled format
>
> This feature can be activated if so desired with from the 
> configuration file:
>     /usr/local/teTeX/share/texmf/web2c/texmf.cnf
>
> Change
>     parse_first_line = f
> to
>     parse_first_line = t
>
> (by default it is off).

It is better to add this to /usr/local/teTeX/texmf.cnf than changing 
the one Maarten points to. The one Maarten points to is overwritten on 
every install of TeX Programs. The one in /usr/local/teTeX/texmf.cnf is 
saved as a copy when you configure TeX and it has been changed with 
respect to the default one. The /usr/local/teTeX/texmf.cnf contains 
overrides for the one Maarten is writing about.

G

>
> Furthermore, Gary Gray chimes in with:
>
>> I don't know if this helps, but on the page (TeXShop 1.35 changes):
>>
>> <http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~koch/texshop/changes.html>
>>
>> Dick says:
>>
>> "In previous TeXShop versions, the typesetting program can be set in 
>> the first line  of the source code by writing %&tex, %&latex, 
>> %&pdftex, etc. For compatibility reasons,  this still works, but the 
>> preferred syntax is now %&program=tex, %&program=latex,  
>> %&program=pdftex, etc. This new syntax also works for any new 
>> typesetting engine  added to ~/Library/TeXShop/Engines. For example, 
>> %&program=xelatex chooses  XeLaTeX."
>
> This is obviously totally incompatible with activating the 
> parse_first_line option in the texmf configurations files. Make a 
> choise (one or the other) and stick to that. Since it seems to me that 
> you already have quite some files that use teh old construct, stick to 
> that...

It is sad that TeXShop keeps to an incompatible way of using the first 
line which is in conflict with the (deprecated) parse first line of 
TeX.

TeXShop should have used something like %!program instead of %&program 
so it is not in conflict with TeX itself.

G

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