[OS X TeX] Beginner help with TeXshop/MacTex needed

[Rowland McDonnell]

> 
> On Aug 25, 2006, at 8:19 AM, Rowland McDonnell wrote:
> 
> >> On Aug 25, 2006, at 5:01 AM, Rowland McDonnell wrote:
> >>
> >>> Firstly, how do I tell TeX where to look for TeX input files?  I
> >>> need to be able to add a directory tree to the list - I need to
> >>> have system- wide TeX inputs available, not just on a user by
> >>> user basis.
> >>
> >> Read README.howtexfindsfiles.txt available in:
> >>
> >> /local/teTeX/share/texmf.gwtex (there's a link to teTeX in
> >> //Library)
> >
> > Aha!  Great - thanks.  Okay, so that file tells me what file the
> > settings are made in - I need to edit
> > </usr/local/teTeX/share/texmf/web2c/texmf.cnf>
> >
> 
> Howdy,
> 
> If you intend to move files to their proper location in the gwTeX  
> hierarchy there is no need, nor should you, edit texmf.cnf.

Righto - thanks.  I actually meant I thought I needed to create a
/usr/local/teTeX/texmf.cnf file - a slip of the brain, I'm afraid.

> > Is there some documentation which explains the syntax of the
> > entries in the file, and how teTeX interprets them? 
> > (README.howtexfindsfiles.txt doesn't actually explain any of that)
> > - I've had a look in
> >
> > /usr/local/teTeX/share/texmf/web2c/texmf.cnf
> >
> > and it doesn't explain these issues; it does make reference to a
> > file README.gwtex, but there doesn't seem to be such a file
> > installed anywhere (visible or invisible).  If there is, Spotlight
> > can't find  
> > it.
> 
> There is a README.texmf.gwtex in /usr/local/teTeX/share/texmf.gwtex/.

Aha!  Yes, so there is.  I assume that this is the file that I'm
supposed to look at instead of README.gwtex?

> By default Spotlight won't index anything in /usr/* (which is really  
> a link to /private/usr/*). Although you can force this from the  
> command line I use SpotlightIndexer <http://www.kelleycomputing.net: 
> 16080/spotlightindexer/> to do it (Make sure you set the "Force  
> import" check box in Preferences) and have it index /usr/local/ 
> teTeX/. If things change in /usr/local/teTeX/ you'll have to manually  
> run SpotlightIndexer again but those changes happen slowly so I don't  
> find it too much of a hassle (is there some command I can use to  
> force Spotlight indexing automatically?).

Righto.  Oh boy...  Spotlight is one of the reasons I've not upgraded
the Mac I'm using from 10.3.9.  Well, 10.4 came on the new G5, so I
suppose I'll have to learn about it (and yes, I have just bought a new
quad G5 - ordered on the last day of availability).

> >>> (I need to add some PS T1 founts with their support files at some
> >>> point
> >>> too - any hints?)
> >>
> >> Get Philipp Lehman's nifty Type 1 Font Installation Guide:
> >>
> >> http://www.ctan.org/tex-archive/info/Type1fonts/ 
> >> fontinstallationguide/
> >> fontinstallationguide.pdf

(I've just printed that document out - at 1200dpi, I think I've fallen
in love)

> > Righto - thanks.  Umm.  I've not read it all the way through yet -
> > does it explain where I need to put the files for them to be
> > recognised, and what config files need editing and how?  The point
> > is that I've got working (with CMacTeX's pdfTeX) setups for many
> > additional founts and it strikes me that I should be able to `just
> > copy over the required files' if only I could figure out where to
> > put 'em.
> 
> Look at the structure of the branches already there in /usr/local/ 
> teTeX/share/: texmf, texmf.tetex, texmf.gwtex and texmf.local.

Umm.  I really need something to explain things explicitly as well.  Is
tds.dvi the file I need (version 1.1, 2004-06-23)? I hope so, 'cos I've
just printed it out ;-) (not the world's most entertaining read, it's
got to be said).

> For  
> files that will be accessed by all users of the system use the  
> texmf.local branch. LaTeX packages should go into .../texmf.local/tex/ 
> latex/ (and sub-directories for neatness), fonts in /texmf.local/ 
> fonts/... (e.g., map files in the .../map/ sub-directory, etc.).

Gotcha.  Ta.

> The  
> last step, before testing, is to run
> 
> sudo texhash
> 
> or
> 
> sudo mktexlsr
> 
> so the files can be quickly found. 

Okay - thanks.  Is there a significant difference between the results
produced by the two different methods?

>To install fonts the map files  
> also have to be integrated into the system:

Umm...  I'm not sure what you mean by that.  Are you saying that I need
to put the existing .map file in a place where teTeX expects to find it?

> see the  
> fontinstallationguide for more documentation on that.

Well, yes, but it's a hundred page highly technical document which'll
take a few weeks for me to read and digest (it takes me a lot of work to
get my head round that sort of stuff - and yes, I have started to read
the thing), and I can't help feeling that there's an easier way of
getting the information I need.

> (NOTE: If you  
> recently installed MacTeX [the TeX distribution in that is Gerben  
> Wierda's gwTeX i-installer version], post 06/2006, using updmap will  
> put files in the proper place --- for a while you had to use updmap- 
> sys for access by all users.)

Okay - thanks.  How can I find more about updmap (and/or updmap-sys)?
(I can't find anything useful by searching since Spotlight ignores the
relevant directories - argharghargh).

[snip]

> >> or you could use XeTeX which has become
> >> amazingly mature:
> >>
> >> http://scripts.sil.org/xetex
> >
> > Well, perhaps - but I'd have to learn an entirely new way of
> > working, wouldn't I?  And re-work my fount installations, running
> > into backwards compatibility problems?
> 
> Somewhat, but the fontspec, xunicode and xltxtra packages make it  
> almost painless to use the Mac's fonts in LaTeX.

Righto - sounds pretty good in some ways, but I do like my current setup
of `Here's a *.pfb, here's a *.vf, here's a *.tfm, here's an *.fd, and
here's a *.map' because you can stick it on any TeX system and it'll
`just work'.  On the other hand, it *is* a major pain to set all that
lot up by hand, isn't it?

> Maths is getting  
> there 

Good stuff.

[snip]

> Yes, this would be nice! I think we need a real "Beginner's Guide to  
> LaTeX on the Mac using TeXShop" to get complete newbies up to their  
> first document 

Big time `yes'!

If it helps, I had to email the author to find out why it was that my
\documentclass command in  my first TeXShop test document ended up with
red dotted underlining.  Quite bizzare - I had no idea at all what was
going on.  Stuff like that needs dealing with.

>(there are some very good LaTeX intros after that) and  
> a complete "TeXShop Users Guide" for all levels of users (lots of  
> things there that many folks might find handy). Ummm... any  
> volunteers!? :-)

[snip]

<crooked grin>  If you want to find out about clueless newbie confusions
that need explaining, you can ask me, but I don't think I'd be any use
writing such a document for a few months yet.

Rowland.
------------------------- Info --------------------------
Mac-TeX Website: http://www.esm.psu.edu/mac-tex/
          & FAQ: http://latex.yauh.de/faq/
TeX FAQ: http://www.tex.ac.uk/faq
List Archive: http://tug.org/pipermail/macostex-archives/