[OS X TeX] TeXShop not running the sepdflatexmk engine

[Herbert Schulz]

> On Jul 8, 2025, at 9:02 AM, Joshua Smith <smithjh at lafayette.edu> wrote:
> 
> Hi all,
> 
> I am using TikZ to create a plot using gnuplot, which I know requires --shell-escape.  I am trying to call the sepdflatexmk engine, so I used TeXShop’s Macros to insert the following at the top of my file:
> 
> % !TEX TS-program = sepdflatexmk
> 
> However, when I typeset the file, it just seems to call pdflatexmk.  I get the following in the Console:
> 
> Rc files read:
>   /Volumes/Home/Library/TeXShop/bin/latexmkrcedit
>   /Volumes/Home/Library/TeXShop/bin/tslatexmk/pdflatexmkrc
> Latexmk: This is Latexmk, John Collins, 15 June 2025. Version 4.87.
> Latexmk: applying rule 'pdflatex'...
> Rule 'pdflatex':  Reasons for rerun
> Changed files or newly in use/created:
>   09-10-2025 Lecture Slides.aux
>   09-10-2025 Lecture Slides.tex
> Category 'changed_user':
>   09-10-2025 Lecture Slides.tex
> Category 'never_run':
>   pdflatex
> 
> ------------
> Run number 1 of rule 'pdflatex'
> ------------
> ------------
> Running 'pdflatex  --synctex=1 --file-line-error  -recorder  "09-10-2025 Lecture Slides.tex"'
> ------------
> 
> And, when it gets to the TikZ code, I get the following error:
> 
> ./09-10-2025 Main.tex:233: Package pgfplots Error: Sorry, the gnuplot-result file '"09-10-2025 Lecture Slides.cosh.table"' could not be found. Maybe you need to enable the shell-escape feature? For pdflatex, this is '>> pdflatex -shell-escape'. You can also invoke '>> gnuplot <file>.gnuplot' manually on the respective gnuplot file..
> 
> What am I doing wrong?
> 
> Thanks,
> Josh

Howdy,

First, do you really have the sepdflatexmk engine enabled (i.e., is the sepdflatexmk.engine file in ~/Library/TeXShop/Engines folder)?

More important, recent version of the basic latexmk engines [(pdf/xe/lua)latexmk] are able to use shell-escape by using a TeXShop directive (magic comment):

% !TEX parameter = -shell-escape

to add that to parameter list. So the lines

% !TEX TS-program = pdflatexmk
% !TEX parameter = -shell-escape

shold do what you want. I.e., the `se' version of pdflatexmk is outmoded and is provided only for backward compatibility.

Good Luck,

Herb Schulz
herbs2 at mac.com