[OS X TeX] unable to use makebst

[Martin Costabel]

Denis Chabot wrote:
[]
> So now if I do:
> echo $PATH
> /usr/texbin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/texbin :/usr/X11/bin

Notice the space after /usr/texbin? It should not be there. If it is 
really there and not an artifact of the mailer program, it is fatal. 
When you did

> cd 
> cd Desktop 
> cat > TeX 
> /usr/texbin 
> 
> and then type control-D to complete the command. Now move this file to /etc/paths.d as follows
> sudo cp TeX /etc/paths.d 

you probably had a space at the end of the "/usr/texbin" line, and 
Apple's dumb path_helper script copied that space into the PATH 
variable. This is a bad feature of the path_helper script. But it shows 
also a default of these instructions in the FAQ (which I can't currently 
check, because the server doesn't answer). Why don't they just recommend 
the one-liner

  sudo echo "/usr/texbin" > /etc/paths.d/TeX

which is simpler, doesn't leave garbage on the Desktop, and is less 
error-prone?

-- 
Martin