[texworks] Why is $PATH ignored?

[gkv1 at mac.com]

>> Hi,
>>
>> Why does texworks ignore the PATH environment variable? My TeX Live
>> binaries are in /usr/local/texlive/2008/bin/x86_64-linux, and this
>> directory is in my PATH, but texworks won't find it until I set it in
>> the preferences dialog.
>>
>> I think the directories specified in this dialog should be added to  
>> the
>> regular PATH (preferably with lower priority), not override it.
>>
>> Manuel.
>>
>>
>
> TeXWorks does not ignore the PATH environment variable.
> As all desktop applications, it inherits the environment of the  
> launching process.
> This parent process is not a terminal, so it has no idea of  
> your .init files and its PATH is limited.
>
> Parsing the terminal config files would be a real pain,
> because those file differ depending on the system, the version, the  
> shell...
>

If you open texworks from a terminal, for example using 'open -a  
texworks file.tex', then texworks will inherit the PATH environments  
from the shell. Although this is perhaps a kluge in the Mac  
environment, it is a way that Texworks and other programs (e.g   
Texshop) can be aware of paths that might be set in your .cshrc file  
or similar. I always open Texworks this way when opening it the first  
time in a session, for exactly that reason.

Geoff Vallis