[OS X TeX] Where to put local additions to texmf?

[Bruno Voisin]

Until a few minutes ago I thought the recommended place for putting  
system-wide local additions to the texmf trees was:

- In gwTeX, /usr/local/gwTeX/texmf.local, with the similar directory / 
usr/local/gwTeX/texmf.pkgs reserved for additions managed by i- 
Installer (such as the CM-Super and TeX-Gyre i-Packages).

- In TeXLive, /usr/local/texlive/texmf-local, with the similar  
directory /usr/local/texlive/2007/texmf-var (say) reserved for files  
(such as format files, and the config files updmap.cfg and  
fmtutil.cnf) built locally by the various TeX-related tools.

Alas, after reading /Library/TeX/Distributions/TeXDist- 
description.rtf (and not understanding much, I must admit, given the  
highly technical content), I'm starting to think I was wrong. Based  
on the extract:

> - A TexmfLocal symbolic link. The TexmfLocal directory is where  
> local additions are kept that are normally independent from the  
> distribution version. On a pre-2006 gwTeX this is ../Root/share/ 
> texmf.local, on TeX Live the default for this is ../Root/../texmf- 
> local and on a current gwTeX this is ../Root/texmf.pkgs
>
> - A TexmfSysVar symbolic link. The TexmfSysVar directory is where  
> distribution-dependent files are kept, amongst which the results of  
> the updmap, fmtutil, texconfig, etc. commands as well as the  
> compiled formats. On a pre-2006 gwTeX this is ../Root/share/ 
> texmf.local, on TeX Live this is ../Root/texmf-var and on a current  
> gwTeX this is ../Root/texmf.local (note that gwTeX and TeX Live  
> both did split the texmf-local tree, but that they both use texmf- 
> local for a different part of the split. The abstraction offered  
> here (TexmfSysVar and TexmfLocal) hides that distinction.

and on the belief that TexmfLocal is were local additions should go,  
I am under the impression that these additions should go to /usr/ 
local/gwTeX/texmf.pkgs for gwteX and /usr/local/texlive/texmf-local  
for TeXLive.

On the other hand, based on the criterion that the local additions  
should go to the one place that is in no case erased or overwritten  
by either installer package (the TeX i-Package, or the TeXLive-200*  
MacTeX package), then one is back to /usr/local/gwTeX/texmf.local for  
gwTeX, and /usr/local/texlive/texmf-local for MacTeX.

There must be a flaw somewhere in this reasoning, but where?

Bruno Voisin

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