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@@ -3,29 +3,24 @@
</head><body>
<h3>Which tree to use</h3>
<p/>In almost all cases, new material that you install should go into the
-&ldquo;local&rdquo; tree of your (La)TeX installation. The root directory
-will be named something like:
-<blockquote>
-<pre>
-teTeX or TeX-live: /usr/share/texmf-local/ or
- /usr/local/share/texmf/
-MiKTeX: c:\localtexmf\
-</pre>
-</blockquote><p>
-You can ask a Unix-alike system (such as teTeX or TeX-live) where
-it believes a local tree should be:
+&ldquo;local&rdquo; tree of your (La)TeX installation. (A discussion of
+reasons <em>not</em> to use the local tree appears below.)
+<p/>On a Unix(-alike) system, using teTeX or TeX Live, the root
+directory will be named something like <i>/usr/share/texmf-local/</i>
+or <i>/usr/local/share/texmf/</i>
+You can ask such a system where it believes a local tree should be:
<blockquote>
<pre>
kpsewhich -expand-var "\$TEXMFLOCAL"
</pre>
</blockquote><p>
-the output being the actual path, for example:
+the output being the actual path, for example (on the workstation the
+author is using today):
<blockquote>
<pre>
/usr/local/share/texmf
</pre>
</blockquote><p>
-on the workstation the author is using today.
<p/>In a MiKTeX installation, the location will in fact typically be
something you specified yourself when you installed MiKTeX in the
first place, but you may find you need to create one. The MiKTeX
@@ -37,24 +32,31 @@ first place, but you may find you need to create one. The MiKTeX
has a tab &ldquo;<code>Roots</code>&rdquo;; that tab gives a list of current
TDS roots (they&rsquo;re typically not called
<code>texmf</code>-anything). If there&rsquo;s not one there with
-&ldquo;<code>local</code>&rdquo; in its name, create an appropriate one (say
-&ldquo;<code>Local TeX Files</code>&rdquo;), and register it using the window&rsquo;s
-&ldquo;<code>Add</code>&rdquo; button. The
-<a href="http://docs.miktex.org/faq/maintenance.html">Miktex FAQ</a>
+&ldquo;<code>local</code>&rdquo; in its name, create an appropriate one (see below),
+and register it using the window&rsquo;s
+&ldquo;<code>Add</code>&rdquo; button.
+<p/>The
+<a href="http://docs.miktex.org/faq/maintenance.html">MiKTeX FAQ</a>
suggests that you should create
-<code>C:textbackslashLocal TeX Files</code>, which is good if you
+&ldquo;<code>C:\Local TeX Files</code>&rdquo;, which is good if you
manage your own machine, but often not even possible in corporate, or
-similar, environments where you will need to create a directory
-somewhere <em>you</em>, rather than the system, control).
-<p/>There are circumstances when you might not wish to do this:
+similar, environments ­&ndash; in such situations, the user may have no
+control over the hard disc of the computer, at all.
+<p/>So the real criterion is that your local tree should be somewhere that
+<em>you</em>, rather than the system, control. Restrictive systems often
+provide a &ldquo;home directory&rdquo; for each user, mounted as a network
+drive; this is a natural home for the user&rsquo;s local tree. Other (often
+academic) environments assume the user is going to provide a memory
+stick, and will assign it a defined drive letter ­&ndash; another good
+candidate location. Note that the semantics of such a tree are
+indistinguishable from those of a
+<a href="FAQ-privinst.html">&ldquo;home&rdquo; TEXMF tree</a>.
+<p/>There are circumstances when you might not wish to use the &lsquo;local&rsquo; tree:
<ul>
<li> if the package, or whatever, is &ldquo;personal&rdquo; (for example,
something commercial that has been licensed to you alone, or
something you&rsquo;re developing yourself), the package should go in your
<a href="FAQ-privinst.html">&ldquo;home&rdquo; TEXMF tree</a>;
-<li> if you have no privilege to write to the local tree, you are
- again unlikely to be able to put the package anywhere other than
- your home tree; or
<li> if you <em>know</em> that the package you are installing is a
replacement for the copy on the TEXMF tree of your (La)TeX
distribution, you should replace the existing copy in the