[OS X TeX] broken tex distribution

[Herbert Schulz]

On Aug 10, 2009, at 8:16 AM, Martin Costabel wrote:

> Shawn Allgeier wrote:
>> My TeXshop stopped working.  When I try to compile I receive the  
>> following message:
>> -----
>> Can't find required tool
>> (null) does not exist.
>
> This indicates that you erased the pdflatex field in the Engine tab  
> of the TeXShop preferences. Reset to the default values or write  
> "pdflatex --shell-escape" in that box.
>
> -- 
> Martin


Howdy,

Don't write pdflatex --shell-escape" in that box. It is supposed to be  
path to the binaries (xetex, simpdftex, etc.) not a specific program.  
The information about what programs are to run are below that item.

Good Luck,

Herb Schulz
(herbs at wideopenwest dot com)