[OS X TeX] Questions about updating

[Herbert Schulz]

On Jul 19, 2009, at 3:09 PM, R Martinez wrote:

> All,
>
> I last updated my full LaTex/TeX distribution in early 2008. Engine  
> files such as latexmk.engine are dated 10/07. I have since followed  
> up by updating TeXShop regularly; I use version 2.25.
>

Howdy,

Any reason you're not using TeXShop 2.26?

> My current installation seems to work fine. But I've been reading on  
> the list that there have been significant changes in the more recent  
> distributions. So I'm wondering if it is time to bite the bullet and  
> update the full distribution.
>

MacTeX/TeX Live 2009 is in the testing phase so there are bound to be  
glitches. It's actually too bad that this list has been informed about  
it without a warning.

I'd wait until MacTeX 2009 is actually released before updating. I'm  
sure you'll hear about that here.

> I regularly read the list and have seen a fair amount of traffic  
> relating post-update problems, so I have been hesitant to update  
> lest I break something.
>

Some of the changes, e.g., to the graphics system, are a bit  
disrupting but they are getting fixed quite rapidly. As I said MacTeX/ 
TeX Live 2009 is still in the testing stage.

> Although many helpful posts have been published addressing various  
> installation/update issues, I haven't seen one comprehensive post  
> that: (1) recommends updating, and (2) identifies potential  
> pitfalls  with the update.
>
> If I were to update, I would prefer to keep my current distribution  
> in its current state for a while until I am sure that the new  
> distribution is working for me.
>

When you update with MacTeX both your original 2008 and 2009  
distributions will coexist. You change the active distribution via the  
TeX Distributions System Preference Pane. That way any time you run  
into a problem you can always change back to your known stable  
distribution.

The bad thing about this is that each distribution takes up ~1.3GB so  
you've got to have the disk space available to them to coexist.

Finally, if you have files in the texmf-local branch and/or your  
personal tree they will be used with whichever distribution it active.

> I will appreciate (and hopefully others do also) if the experts out  
> there can provide recommendations and suggestions about updating.
>
> I use a MacBook Pro with MacOS 10.5.7.
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
> Raul Martinez
>


Hope this helps.

Good Luck,

Herb Schulz
(herbs at wideopenwest dot com)