[texhax] Migrating from Windows to Mac

[Herbert Schulz]

On Dec 14, 2009, at 2:55 PM, Alan T Litchfield wrote:

> 
> On 15/12/2009, at 9:31 AM, Tom Backer Johnsen wrote:
>>> 
>> Dear me.  Others have suggested that, but I had difficulties in believing that.  Why should one not want to use LaTeX?  I have made the assumption that when some Tex editor is downloaded (like TexShop), it would install Latex and use by default.  As a matter of course.  At least, that is the case for any of the Windows editors I have tried and used for several years, like WinEdt and TeXnicCenter.  Nevertheless it is obvious that you are right.
>> 
>> But at least I have come one step further.  I have tried TextMate, ands at least that one lets me beyond the first line.  Evidently it does not install packages on the fly, but at least that is one less serious problem than I have had with TexShop and the like.
>> 
>> Thanks for the assistance. Apart from having owned an Apple IIe in the early eighties, I am in my second week of learning how to use a Mac.  It is obvious that there is a lot to learn and unlearn.
>> 
>> Tom
>> 
>> 
> 
> 
> You need to check what you have defined in the applications' preferences. TeXShop does tend to make use of PDFLaTeX by default, I think. I have no idea about TextMate.
> 
> There are a range of options available to you, whatever is your choice of operation. Those options are also available in WinEdt and TeXNicCenter, but likely in different places.
> 
> In TeXShop choose TeXShop > Preferences. In there, click on the Typesetting and Engine tabs to make certain you are using LaTeX and that your path is correctly defined.
> 
> Alan
> 

Howdy,

The default compile with TeXShop (and TeXworks too) is pdflatex so you may have something in your file that tells TeXShop to use something else, e.g.,

%& xxxxxx

tells TeXShop (and TeXworks too I believe) to execute the xxxxxx ``engine'' to compile the file. If the xxxxxx engine does not exits for that editor (TeXworks doesn't know about latex->dvips->ps2pdf processing by default, neither of them will understand something exotic that existed under MikTeX) I'm not sure what gets executed.

In TeXShop check TeXShop-Preferences->Typesetting; the Default Command should be LaTeX and the Default Script should be Pdftex.

By the way, I'd send you all of this off-list but my e-mails directly to you were bounced.

Good Luck,

Herb Schulz
(herbs at wideopenwest dot com)