Compiling TeX/LaTeX on Os X for unix/linux X11 users

• TeX/LaTeX:
  Install MacTeX from www.tug.org/mactex

  This includes Dick Koch's very nice TeX interface: Texshop.

• Os X's terminal program called Terminal (unix users want to be able to get to the command line) is at /Applications/Utilities/Terminal.

• Emacs:

  Os X ships with emacs, but it isn't aware of the mouse, or of Aqua. So the version that ships with Os X seems to runs only in a terminal window (by typing emacs at the prompt), but will disappoint people used to the version of emacs which runs under X11.

  Such people will want an Aqua-aware emacs. There are various choices available. I use and like this one, which is kept on Apple's website: Carbon Emacs.

  There are others that are surely just as good, and someone who likes fiddling can just download the source and compile from source!

• Multiple desktops:
  Leopard allows multiple desktops which is a feature many unix/X users are used to. One wants to enable Spaces, and select the number of desktops one likes.

• Displaying TeX output on Os X. At least four good ways to do this.
  1. simplest: run pdflatex or pdftex (distributed in MacTeX) and use Preview (part of Os X) to display.
  2. my favorite: run pdflatex or pdftex and use TeXShop to display output (more on why I like this below).
  3. edit, compile and view the file in TeXShop.
  4. start up X11, and use xdvi (which needs to be installed).

  More details on options for displaying TeX output:

  1. is a lot like what many unix users already do.
     In particular, you follow the following sequence of steps:
     • Step 1: edit your .tex file.
     • Step 2: in Terminal, type pdflatex filename.tex
     • Step 3: in Terminal, type open filename.pdf
     This is very much like what some of us have done under X11:
     • Step 1: edit your .tex file
     • Step 2: type in an xterm latex filename.tex
     • Step 3: in an xterm, type xdvi filename.dvi)
     So for some people this will feel very familiar.
  2. is like what I used to do under X11.
     • Step 1: I edit my .tex file in emacs.
     • Step 2: when I want to compile it, I've configured emacs so that control-c control-c pd compiles the file with pdflatex.
     • Step 3: when I want to view it, I've configured emacs so that control-c control-c v views the file with TeXShop.
     I've attached my .emacs file which does this configuration at the end of this note.
  3. I can't say anything about since I have no experience with this.
  4. This is what I did when I first started using Macs, but I don't do this anymore. This involves installing X11, and xdvi, and probably an X11 aware version of emacs.
     • Installing X11: (also known as Xwindows). It may already be installed in /Applications/Utilities if you are using a recent version of Os X. If not, install from the install disk (it is one of the optional installs I think).

       This will also install xterm, but very few other clients.

     • Installing xdvi and an x-aware emacs:

       This is the hardest thing, though it isn't that hard. If I feel the need to do this (I generally don't anymore), then I install fink, which is a program which ports standard unix tools to OS X, and then use fink to install xdvi and emacs.

       Fink is pretty much a one-click install, but then there is a process to make sure it is up-to-date, which is detailed on that page. Under step 6. I use the "use apt-get" method since I find fink-commander too confusing, and compiling from source unnecessary.

       After this, you will want to do: sudo apt-get emacs and sudo apt-get xdvi to get emacs and xdvi.

       Then you should be set, although it may be necessary to set some preferences in X11 so that things like the delete key have the desired effect, and to set the PATH variable so it knows where to look for various X applications (/usr/X11/bin).

       Sample .emacs file that I use.

       (custom-set-variables ;; custom-set-variables was added by Custom. ;; If you edit it by hand, you could mess it up, so be careful. ;; Your init file should contain only one such instance. ;; If there is more than one, they won't work right. '(TeX-command-Show "open -a /Applications/Preview %r") '(TeX-command-list (list (list "TeX" "tex '\\nonstopmode\\input %t'" (quote TeX-run-TeX) nil t) (list "TeX Interactive" "tex %t" (quote TeX-run-interactive) nil t) (list "LaTeX" "%l '\\nonstopmode\\input{%t}'" (quote TeX-run-LaTeX) nil t) (list "LaTeX Interactive" "%l %t" (quote TeX-run-interactive) nil t) (list "LaTeX2e" "latex2e '\\nonstopmode\\input{%t}'" (quote TeX-run-LaTeX) nil t) (list "PdfLaTeX" "/usr/texbin/pdflatex '\\nonstopmode\\input{%t}'" (quote TeX-run-LaTeX) nil t) (if (or window-system (getenv "DISPLAY")) (list "View" "open -a /Applications/TeX/TeXShop.app %s.pdf" (quote TeX-run-background) nil t) (list "View" "dvi2tty -q -w 132 %s " (quote TeX-run-command) t nil)) (list "Print" "%p " (quote TeX-run-command) t nil) (list "Queue" "%q" (quote TeX-run-background) nil nil) (list "File" "dvips %d -o %f " (quote TeX-run-command) t nil) (list "BibTeX" "bibtex %s" (quote TeX-run-BibTeX) nil nil) (list "Index" "makeindex %s" (quote TeX-run-command) nil t) (list "Check" "lacheck %s" (quote TeX-run-compile) nil t) (list "Spell" "" (quote TeX-run-ispell) nil nil) (list "Other" "" (quote TeX-run-command) t t) (list "Makeinfo" "makeinfo %t" (quote TeX-run-compile) nil t) (list "AmSTeX" "amstex '\\nonstopmode\\input %t'" (quote TeX-run-TeX) nil t))) '(TeX-expand-list (quote (("%p" TeX-printer-query) ("%q" (lambda nil (TeX-printer-query TeX-queue-command 2))) ("%v" TeX-style-check (("^a5$" "xdvi %d -paper a5") ("^landscape$" "xdvi %d -paper a4r -s 4") ("." "xdvi %d"))) ("%l" TeX-style-check (("." "latex"))) ("%s" file nil t) ("%t" file t t) ("%d" file "dvi" t) ("%f" file "ps" t) ("%r" file "pdf" t)))))