[OS X TeX] problem with running project root file

[Bruno Voisin]

Le 21 août 08 à 23:41, Sheetal Silal a écrit :

> I thought that would be the case. Sad thing is I made changes since  
> my last backup and  it did this to two chapters. Well, gonna have to  
> start the updating! Thanks for all your help!

The problem is we've still absolutely no idea what you've been doing.  
How is your main file structured? How are you chapters structured?

A typical main file thesis.tex should look like:

\documentclass{book}
\usepackage{<some-package>}
\title{My thesis}
\author{Me}
\includeonly{chapter1}
\begin{document}
\include{chapter1}
\include{chapter2}
\end{document}

And a typical chapter file chapter1.tex should look like:

\chapter{Introduction}
This is how it all began.

As others have already diagnosed, what you said your chapter has been  
reduced to is the auxiliary file (with .aux extension) produced when  
processing your thesis. In no case this .aux file should overwrite  
your original chapter file (with .tex extension).

Without knowing more details on how your files are named, how they are  
arranged in directories (all within the same directory, or chapters  
inside subdirectories of the main file directory), what's inside your  
main file, what's inside your chapter file, it's impossible to figure  
out what has happened.

Bruno Voisin