CTAN install: yes or no? [was Re: Installing Latex in XP]

[Don R. Robinson]

My preference is to make it easier to install the additional stuff from CTAN.

Personally, I have bee using metapost for a couple of years to produce
encapsulated postscript files of graphs (normal distributions,
t-distributions, and the like).  While they do not show up in dviwindo
previewer, I print using distiller (I actually purchased Adobe Acrobat 5.0)
and create pdf files with minimal trouble.  I have seen the metapost
package in YandY's installation but until recently found that I needed
several *.mp files to get metapost to work properly.  I had to create the
eps files from the version distributed with TeXLive# and then copy them
over to c:\yandy\texinputs.

Within the past two weeks I have had to rebuild my computer's operating
system (Windows XP professional became corrupted) because Windows would not
even load in safe mode allowing me to copy data files created since about a
year ago.  I have been keeping track of the current dialogue on installing
LaTeX on Windows XP and will find it useful when I get a break and
re-install fonts and YandY stuff.

Don



At 08:31 PM 10/24/2003 -0400, you wrote:
>Notice that I've changed the subject line on this one ...
>
>Ch.
>
>======
>
>dswanson writes:
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > [helpful comments from Christina Thiele snipped...]
> >
> > Thanks Christina.  Now Dviwindo is working correctly and
> > I have all the CTAN packages installed.  One further
>
>Fabulous! I'm delighted to hear this!
>
> > comment... when I installed Latex the installer placed
> > an AMS directory in c:\yandy\tex\latex which contained
> > old (circa 1996) version of amsmath packages.  This
> > directory should be deleted entirely once the amslatex
> > folder (containing the more recent files) is correctly
> > installed in c:\yandy\tex\latex\required.
> >
> > Dave
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > No banners. No pop-ups. No kidding.
> > Introducing My Way - http://www.myway.com
> >
>
>Euh, yeah ... ;-) That's pretty much the first item on our list of
>upgrades, believe it or not!
>
>
>Now, here's a good question for all of you folks on this list.
>
>The CTAN portion of installation is really just a service, in a sense
>-- it's not necessary in order for LaTeX to work. There's always been
>a CTAN folder on the CD, to make it easier to find stuff to add to the
>c:\yandy tree; that it became part of the installation process is a
>fairly recent modification.
>
>Leaving aside for the moment this boites.sty snag ... ;-)
>
>    Would you prefer to have CTAN materials just left on the CD (and of
>    a fairly recent vintage) or do you like that it's part of the
>    installation?
>
>Ch.