[OS X TeX] Simple(?) MacTeX question

[Gerben Wierda]

On Sep 11, 2006, at 12:27, Victor Ivrii wrote:

>> Also: I don't seem able to get TeXShop 2.09d to print a dvi file.
>> Double-clicking (for example) tb1401.dvi (part of the Babel
>> documentation) gives me a pdf version of the dvi file, but the `Print'
>> command doesn't do a thing when I try it.  MacOS X 10.4.7, quad G5.
>> (printing does generally work on that Mac in question).
>>
>> Does anyone have any ideas what I might try?
>
> Copy dvi files to some directory you can write [without using
> administrative power] and then open via TeXShop. You will be able to
> see other differences too: like saving will be enabled. I *cannot*
> explain why TeXShop behaves differently opening .dvi files located in
> the directories where one cannot write but this is a fact.

TeXShop calls simpdftex in the background afaik. simpdftex is a script 
that runs tex+dvips+distiller (e.g. pstopdf from ghostscript) on a .tex 
file (mimicking pdftex) or dvips+distiller on a .dvi file. The 
resulting .pdf is normally written in the same directory as the .dvi or 
.tex and if that directory is not writable I think it would be user 
friendly is TeXShop were to present an open directory panel to select a 
directory to write the output in and use --outdir from simpdftex. Or 
TeXShop could simply detect that the dir is unwritable and take some 
default location (/tmp or ~/Desktop) to write instead and open the 
resulting .pdf.

 From simpdftex --help:

         --outdir dir
                 Write files here *if* our current directory is 
unwritable. This
                 mimicks the TEXMFOUTPUT environment variable of TeX, but
                 differently. The current dir becomes the value of 
--outdir and
                 the directory where the old current dir is added to 
TEXINPUTS.
                 This is more robust for reading and locating files.
                 You can also set TEXMFOUTPUT instead, but with a 
disadvantage:
                 you will be running TeXin the current dir. And you will 
not be
                 able to read files in the outdir unless you also adapt
                 TEXINPUTS.

G

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