[OS X TeX] TeXShop not running the sepdflatexmk engine

[Joshua Smith]

> On Jul 8, 2025, at 10:59 AM, Herbert Schulz via MacOSX-TeX <macosx-tex at email.esm.psu.edu> wrote:
> 
> 
>> 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


Hi Herb,

I found my problem.  I was using a root/child file structure, and I had placed the command 

% !TEX TS-program = pdflatexmk

in the root file.  Later, I was adding

% !TEX TS-program = sepdflatexmk

to the child file, but it was being overwritten by the command in the root file.

Thanks,
Josh