[XeTeX] xelatex does not find pdf graphics ?

[Ross Moore]

Hi Michael,

On 22/09/2004, at 3:25 PM, Michael Gedalin wrote:

> pdftex and latex look first for files residing in the current 
> directory, then in ~/Library/texmf/(subdirectories), and in the end in 
> the tetex tree. If you use the Gerben Wierda's tetex distribution 
> (i-Installer), the description of the search algorithm is in the file 
> /usr/local/teTeX/share/texmf.gwtex/README.howtexfindsfiles.txt. 
> Graphics files are searched in the same way as all other files (tex, 
> sty, fd, tfm, etc.). This is very wise, since at allows to make 
> site-wide files (including graphics) which could be put in various 
> directories and used without any necessity to remember where they are 
> (if one wishes he/she can see the exact location during  typeset of 
> look in a .log file).

This is "wise" only if you are never going to use these images in any 
other way
than that for which you set them up.
For example, if you want to share a document with someone else, so that 
they
cam typeset it too, then now you have to
  a.  go and find those images;
  b.  send a complicated archive with several directories or levels of 
directory; or
  c.  write instructions on where to put the images; and
  d.  perhaps document your source with extra comments about how to find
      the missing images when they've not been installed correctly.

The  \graphicspath  command is a much better way to do it.

It can be made even better still using symbolic linking on your
Mac OS X (or other Unix) platform.
e.g.
   use  \graphicspath{{figures/}}

where figures need not be a directory per se,
but a symbolic link to where you keep those images.
Make the link using:

     ln -s  path-to-figures-location  ./figures

on a command-line at the correct working directory.

To send the whole TeX project to someone else, you can
create a  tar-archive  using the  -h  switch to  tar .
This causes symbolic links to be followed, so that the
archive will contain the actual image-directory's contents,
rather than just place a link to a directory.
( -dereference  is the same as  -h  for  tar )


This gives you more flexibility than what you seem to be
asking for, with none of the drawbacks; i.e. the best
of all possible worlds --- with the proviso that you
are prepared to use the command-line a little bit.



Hope this helps,

	Ross


> ******************************************
> * Michael Gedalin
> * Department of Physics
> * Ben-Gurion University
> * 84105 Beer-Sheva, Israel
> * tel: 972-8-6461645
> * fax: 972-8-6472904
> * email: gedalin at bgumail.bgu.ac.il
> * http://burster.bgu.ac.il/~gedalin
> *******************************************
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Ross Moore                                         ross at maths.mq.edu.au
Mathematics Department                             office: E7A-419
Macquarie University                               tel: +61 +2 9850 8955
Sydney, Australia                                  fax: +61 +2 9850 8114
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