[OS X TeX] simple question: where are the tex directories on a mac?

[Richard Koch]

Dieter,

If you installed MacTeX, then go to

	/Applications/TeX

Inside, you will find a document "What Is Installed.pdf" which explains where everything is installed.

We install TeX in a directory owned by root, so you cannot write to that location without using
(easy) Unix tricks. But you can look at TeX by going to /Library/TeX/Root, which will
then make visible the entire elaborate directory structure of TeX. This Root folder is a symbolic
link to

	/usr/local/texlive/2009

where TeX is actually installed. 

Here /Library is not the Library folder in your home directory, but instead the system Library
folder visible by clicking on the icon for your hard disk.

You'll add files by putting them in ~/Library/texmf. This time ~/Library is the Library folder in your
home directory, so you have write access there and can just drag files there. Put files used by
LaTeX in

	~/Library/texmf/tex/latex

or subfolders of this location. You'll have to create the folders texmf, tex, latex.

You'll find more details about adding your own style files, etc, in the "What Is Installed" document
mentioned earlier.

For a much simpler introduction to the installation, read "READ ME FIRST.pdf" in
/Applications/TeX.

Dick Koch