[OS X TeX] 1999

[Ross Moore]

Hi Chris, and George

On 02/05/2013, at 10:44 AM, Chris Goedde wrote:

> On May 1, 2013, at 7:05 PM, George Gratzer <gratzer at me.com> wrote:
> 
>> I'm trying to typeset a book I wrote in 1999. 
>> 
>> I get an error message:
>> 
>> (/usr/local/texlive/2012/texmf-dist/tex/context/base/supp-pdf.mkii
>> [Loading MPS to PDF converter (version 2006.09.02).]
>> /usr/local/texlive/2012/texmf-dist/tex/context/base/supp-pdf.mkii:140: Missing 
>> endcsname inserted.
> 
> This is a long shot, but do you have a log file lying around from a successful compilation from 1999?

   or the .aux  file from back then, when you last compiled it.

If you did, it may have been overwritten now.
But then just try again, so that any incompatibilities may have gone.

If you do still have an old .aux  then *rename it*  and run LaTeX again.
With any luck, it will compile OK, but without the references, etc.

> It might be constructive to compare that to the current console output.
> 
> One other thought; are you using pdfTeX? Were you using dvips back in 1999? That might account for the difference.

Here's the thinking:

 LaTeX loads supp-pdf.mkii  just in case you might need  metapost
support. It happens soon after the document's existing  .aux  file
has been read. Here's a .log snippet from one of my jobs:

>> (./237practical8.aux)
>> (/usr/local/texlive/2012/texmf-dist/tex/context/base/supp-pdf.mkii
>> [Loading MPS to PDF converter (version 2006.09.02).]
>> ) 

Things have changed quite a bit.
What worked in 1999, using stuff written into the .log file,
may not work now. Different stuff is written there.
Certainly  hyperref  has to do this kind of thing, depending
upon the driver being used.

So kill the old  .log  file before recompiling
 --- actually better to keep and rename it, so you can test
the theory.

Renaming an old  .log  file is a good idea too, so you
can check for other differences.

> 
> Chris


Hope this helps,

	Ross

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Ross Moore                                       ross.moore at mq.edu.au 
Mathematics Department                           office: E7A-206      
Macquarie University                             tel: +61 (0)2 9850 8955
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