[OS X TeX] New Macros, new Engines, new TeXShop versions, and all that

[Peter Dyballa]

Am 22.02.2010 um 01:43 schrieb Richard Koch:

> Take as a specific example the Engines folder. Are you saying that  
> all Engines included in TeXShop should appear in /Library/ 
> Application Support, and that ~/Library/TeXShop/Engines should be  
> reserved for engines which individual users invent?

Yes, that's my opinion.

> In that case, are you saying that all engines included with TeXShop  
> should
> automatically show up in the pulldown menu on the toolbar?

Maybe not (OTOH, all Mac TeX utilities appear at once, upon  
installation, in PATH and their documentation in MANPATH), maybe you  
should improve your TeXShop's user interface. The TeXShop  
documentation (contributed by the macro authors) would actually  
document (and explain the use or purpose of) the included macros and  
the means to activate groups of them. And also to deactivate them (via  
an Options menu?). The activation status can be recorded in files in  
user space. (Theoretically there can be, outside inner application  
bundle and user space, also a system space into which a nice system  
administrator can put additions or extensions.)

> Or when a user upgrades, they should automatically see any new  
> engine that has been included?

Yes, definitely. A message about this would really be user friendly.  
GNU Emacs has the NEWS file (similar to the new About This Release  
menu item), which is accessible from the Help menu, which explains  
what has changed since the last release. And it's rather detailed...

>
> And if not, then should users activate new engines before they see  
> them? Then how is that different than the current situation, except  
> that users have to understand TWO locations, ~/Library/Application  
> Support and ~/Library/TeXShop.  I have never looked in ~/Library/ 
> Application Support in my life.


The current situation is that I don't receive updates. They come in,  
more or less undocumented, when I first trash my own stuff. This is a  
bit too complicated, sometimes juggling with a few open Finder windows  
on limited screen estate when one tries to copy new versions into  
one's home directory.

--
Greetings

   Pete

Mac OS X is like a wigwam: no fences, no gates, but an apache inside.