[OS X TeX] kpsewhich does not answer...

[Jonathan Kew]

On 6 Jun 2008, at 2:12 pm, Jacques André wrote:

> I wprk on Mac os x, 10.5
> Due to problems -- probably a doubled installation of mactex  both  
> in /usr/ and in /sw/ (why?)

The stuff under /sw was installed via Fink, whereas that under /usr  
comes from MacTeX. (If you didn't consciously install TeX using Fink,  
perhaps you installed something else that pulled it in as a dependency?)

> -- I have deleted all my texlive files including the directories
> /sw/share/texmf-local/
>  /sw/share/texmf/
>  /usr/local/texlive
>
> and Library/TeX

This didn't eliminate the Fink TeX-related programs in /sw/bin.....

>
> then I have reinstalled MacTex-2007 (dec. 2007) from CTAN through i- 
> Installer, on the mac HD.
> TeXShop seems to work,

(because it uses its own explicitly-set paths,

> but from the terminal I cant run latex:

whereas the terminal/shell uses your $PATH, set in your shell's  
startup files)

>
>
> Actualy,  kpsewhich does not answer. Example :
>
> [Fertel:~] jandre% which kpsewhich
> /sw/bin/kpsewhich

....which is still Fink's kpsewhich, but all its texmf stuff was  
deleted so it can't find anything.

> [Fertel:~] jandre% kpsewhich texmf.cnf
>  => no answer, but

If you were to run /usr/texbin/kpsewhich texmf.cnf, it would find the  
expected file.

> What's wrong. More precisely, how to know what's wrong in my  
> installation?

What's wrong is that there are remnants of the Fink installation, and  
Fink has put its bin directory at the front of your PATH, so these  
remnants mask the MacTeX/texlive programs in /usr/texbin.

Solution: fully remove the Fink TeX packages (should be possible via  
Fink's package manager, rather than by manually deleting files), and/ 
or ensure that /usr/texbin comes before /sw/bin in your PATH.

JK