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VISIBLE -- Advice for placing new LaTeX files.
Author: Uwe L"uck, http://www.contact-ednotes.sty.de.vu,
2004/10/18, updated 2008/04/02;
aided by Karl Berry.
--derived from a TUGboat (vol. 24) article on Ednotes.
Once there was a *problem* with placing new LaTeX files --
many people use MiKTeX nowadays which usually makes getting
and installing packages quite easy. See http://www.miktex.org,
or
http://www.tex.ac.uk/cgi-bin/texfaq2html?label=inst-miktex
which also gives some hints in case you even have problems with
MiKTeX. Don't read on this file if you are happy with this/
with MiKTeX.
* The problem: *
E.g., a user downloads a LaTeX file from CTAN. Or: often there
is a pair of a .dtx and an .ins file for producing a .sty file.
("Run LaTeX on the .ins file ..." This may be difficult enough,
but we assume now that the user manages this.) Typically the
user is told to put the (.sty) file to a folder "where LaTeX
can find it", or "visible to TeX". Indeed, the user cannot use
the file otherwise. However, some users have had no idea how to
arrange things so that (La)TeX finds the file.
Unfortunately, the procedure for this is somewhat non-trivial
indeed. It depends very much on the user's LaTeX installation,
so it is difficult to indicate a procedure that helps everyone.
* Principles for solutions: *
Technically, the searching agent is the TeX program, not LaTeX
--we choose our wordings accordingly here. LaTeX is rather a
kind of input ("format") to the TeX program. (If this doesn't
make sense to you, don't worry about it.)
I think of three kinds of approaches:
1. Put the file into the folder where the files you are editing
are (call them "job files" here). This is easy; but if the user
wants to use the file for another project pursued in a different
folder, the approach would require another copy of the file--or
a link! Therefore, it has been common to place macro (.sty) or
similar files in folders that TeX searches independent of the
folder containing the job files.
2. Put the file into a folder that TeX has searched so far.
3. Put the file anywhere (or into an extra folder newly created
with care)--and extend the set of folders that TeX searches
accordingly. The TeX installation ("shell") usually offers a
facility for this--which unfortunately is not always known to
the user.
* Advice from TeX Users Groups: *
I recommend to study the following web pages:
http://tug.ctan.org/installationadvice
http://www.tex.ac.uk/cgi-bin/texfaq2html?label=inst-wlcf
These prefer approach 3 of the above, especially the TDS
standard of arranging folders, see
http://www.tex.ac.uk/cgi-bin/texfaq2html?label=tds
* Easy tricks that I prefer: *
I must confess that I have never worked with the shells that are
chosen as examples on these web pages. Moreover, some Windows
users may find the examples little helpful. So my personal hints
use approach 2 of the above.
o Typically, the file is from CTAN folder
/tex-archive/macros/latex/contrib/, and you find a folder
.../latex/contrib/ in the installation at your workplace.
Then the latter should be a good guess for placing the new
file.
o You may find a folder .../texinput/ (or TeXinput!?) which
should be another good guess.
o Search your installation for files with the same file name
extension (usually `.sty'), try their folder.
(Updates are a special case of the last idea, of course.)
Ok, if all this doesn't help, you may ask at comp.text.tex
or your local TeX guru, or send an email to texhax -- see
http://tug.org/mailman/listinfo/texhax
Good luck!
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