[tex-live] TL 2010 : Does XeLaTeX search for Emacs, and if so, why ?!

[Philip Taylor (Webmaster, Ret'd)]

Norbert Preining wrote:
>
>> 1) The TeXlive Installer does not ask the user which editor
>> he or she prefers to use (I think it should), and
>
> Please, no more questions ... how many people use E,
> and burden all of them with another question at install
> time ...

Many many people use "E", entirely accidentally, thinking
that it is "E" for "Exit", not "E" for "Edit".  When they
do so, the last think they will expect under Windows is
to be told that Emacs is not in their path.  And what
(as I suggested earlier) if there /is/ an "Emacs" in
their path, but it is (e.g.) a Trojan horse ?  A simple
user error ("E" for "Exit" rather than "E" for "Edit")
should not lead to the execution of an arbitrary program
or script of which the user may well be completely unaware.

** Phil.