[OS X TeX] TeXSwitcher

[Claus Gerhardt]

I am offering a small application TeXSwitcher for downloading

http://www.math.uni-heidelberg.de/studinfo/gerhardt/TeXSwitcher.dmg

A detailed ReadMe is contained. TeXSwitcher needs OS 10.4 or better  
and is a universal application. The symlink texprograms should exist,  
otherwise it will not start up.

Claus

{\TeX}Switcher allows to switch between several tex sources by  
setting a symlink \tit{texprograms} to the new tex source. The tex  
sources that are in prinicple available for the switches are \cqp 
{texlive/year}, \cqp{texlive2005}, and \cqp{tetex}, i.e., they are  
offered as possible options to switch to. Before {\TeX}Switcher takes  
any action to set the new symlink, which would also include removing  
the old symlink, it first checks, if the new tex source is available  
on your hard disk, i.e., it checks if the supposed source directory  
for the symlink exists. If this is not the case an error message will  
occur, but no action will have taken place.

Setting a symlink in \cq{/usr/local} requires administrator  
privileges, and you will be asked for your password before the old  
symlink will be removed and the new one will be set. At this stage  
you can still press the button \cq{Cancel} and nothing will happen.

Even after you made the switch you can easily revoke it, since {\TeX} 
Switcher checks your current tex source at start up, stores this  
information, and you can simply switch back to the original state.

Checking this current tex source requires that the symlink \tit 
{texprograms} already exists. If {\TeX}Switcher cannot get this  
information at start up it will show an error message and will  
immediately quit.

If any of the user's tex sources have been installed by the new  
MacTeX installer, or if the user has already used Richard Koch's own  
switcher, called \cq{TeX Switcher}, to switch between his tex  
sources, such a symlink has been automatically set by these  
applications.

The buttons are self-explanatory, the one named \cq{Hidden Files}  
starts a script that tells the Finder to display/hide hidden files.  
This is the only script that I didn't write myself, but copied from  
an unknown source on the internet.

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