[XeTeX] "I can't find the format file `xetex.fmt'!"

[Stephen Moye]

On Oct 9, 2005, at 5:19 AM, Jonathan Kew wrote:

> On 9 Oct 2005, at 8:57 am, Stephen Moye wrote:
>
>
>>
>> On Oct 8, 2005, at 9:22 PM, Herbert Schulz wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>>
>>> On Oct 8, 2005, at 5:56 PM, Stephen Moye wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>> It has been a long day. I just installed the latest update of  
>>>> gwTeX, reinstalled XeTeX, and now I am confronted with this  
>>>> error message:
>>>>
>>>> This is XeTeX, Version 3.141592-2.2-0.95 (Web2C 7.5.3)
>>>> kpathsea: Running mktexfmt xetex.fmt
>>>> fmtutil: format directory `/Users/smoye/Library/texmf/web2c' is  
>>>> not writable.
>>>> I can't find the format file `xetex.fmt'!
>>>> tcsh: rm: No match.
>>>>
>>>> What am I doing wrong?
>>>>
>>>> Thanks.
>>>>
>>>> SGM
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>> Howdy,
>>>
>>> did you download the new XeTeX i-package?
>>>
>>>
>>
>> Yes.
>>
>>
>>
>>> It should be trying to install in texmf.local/web2c using fmtutil- 
>>> sys rather than in ~/Library/texmf/web2c/. You'll also need to  
>>> remove any format files in ~/Library/texmf/web2c/.
>>>
>>>
>>
>> The only thing there is fmtutil.cnf -- do I remove that? I've  
>> already tried that and had to enter a password to do it. And, once  
>> again, had to clear the font caches.
>>
>
>
> I'm not sure I fully understand what went on for you, but one  
> factor may be if you had at some point installed a recent gwTeX/ 
> TL2005 system (recent enough to include the "personal  
> configuration" stuff, and to require the use of fmtutil-sys for  
> "normal" system-wide setup), and then tried to install a pre-0.95  
> XeTeX package.

Entirely possible. I do know that the ~/Library/texmf/web2c/  
directory made its appearance quite recently

>
> The result of this is that the xetex installation script, because  
> it uses fmtutil (rather than fmtutil-sys), will try to create  
> formats, etc., in ~/Library/texmf. If that folder doesn't exist at  
> all, it will get created, owned by root, and not readable by anyone  
> else - and so in normal use you'll get errors because the files  
> can't be found.
>
> You really don't want these there, unless you're sure you know what  
> you're doing (and are properly managing a personal configuration).  
> But reinstalling gwTeX and (new) XeTeX won't remove them, because  
> they're in your personal space, not the shared texmf tree that  
> gwTeX owns. Therefore, some manual cleanup may be needed.
>

"...some manual cleanup": Is this limited to the contents of ~/ 
Library/texmf/web2c/, or can the directory be deleted (I don't use  
it)?. Is there anything else to clean up?

> It may be possible to get the XeTeX installer to check for some of  
> these problems and tidy things up, but it's a little tricky because  
> some users may legitimately have their own stuff there and want to  
> keep it!
>
> JK
>

To answer a question that you put to me a while ago: Yes, I am using  
Tiger. The problem with font caches is very recent, and seems (I say  
again: seems) to have started recently when I began reinstalling XeTeX.

Thank you.

SGM