[OS X TeX] personal package : following 2

[Adam M. Goldstein]

On Dec 25, 2010, at 10:20 AM, Alan Munn wrote:

> On Dec 25, 2010, at 9:46 AM, Herbert Schulz wrote:
> 
>>> 
>>> On Dec 23, 2010, at 20:18, Alan Munn wrote:
>>> 
>>>> Since this is a problem that comes up from time to time, would it be possible for the MacTeX installer to check if the ~/Library/texmf folder exists, and if it doesn't create one with the appropriate folder structure?
>>> 
>> 
>> Howdy,
>> 
>> I'm not sure why a referral to the answer to QM.04 on the MacTeX FAQ, <http://www.tug.org/mactex/2010/faq/>, isn't enough.
> 

> QM.04: 	Where to put personal additions in the texmf tree 


Seriously...the suggestion is that a new user is supposed to know that *this* tells someone how to add in a package that's not part of the MacTeX installation? Supposing "personal additions" is recognized by the user as relevant, "texmf tree" is going to throw the person off the trail right away. It is not very mac-like to have to create a folder hierarchy and put things there, even if it is easy to do. Otherwise ~/Library would not be full of things none of us remember putting there. For example BibDesk has a mac-style file choosing interface to the folder where the templates for exporting to .doc, .rtf, etc are kept. The user is also asked in the same way where the .bib file that should be used is to be found. Come to think of it, why shouldn't TeXShop have a preference pane for "add local packages" or something to that effect, which provides a way of choosing a personal package, which is then copied to the right place, the tree being created if necessary.

This is probably a good topic for the wiki. I suppose since I am suggesting it I will try to add something with step-by-step instructions to it.

Adam

PS Not trying to be confrontational or critical. 

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Adam M. Goldstein PhD, MSLIS
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