> xelatex "\def\istwocol{1} \input{./tmpmyfile.tex} -max-print-line=2048 -c-style-errors -interaction=batchmode" You are applying the options too late so they are ignored. xelatex -max-print-line=2048 -c-style-errors -interaction=batchmode "\def\istwocol{1} \input{./tmpmyfile.tex}" David