Support for MacPorts users

Scott Webster | 1 Oct 2011 06:11

Re: MacTex vs MacPorts

I don't claim to have all the answers, but recently when I had to
compile a "new" latex document I got from a colleague I found that it
was not compatible with the macports versions.  So I installed
MacTex2011.  It has a great prefpane to let you switch which tex
distribution you want to have active (macports/mactex etc.).  You can
also choose exactly what you want to install when you install it.  So
I chose not to install ghostscript for instance, because I already had
it via macports.

I'm writing off my memory so hopefully I'm not too wrong, but in
general it seems they can coexist reasonably well.  If I only needed a
few latex things I would probably just use macports, but I'm writing a
thesis in latex right now and find the selection in MacTex helpful.
In your case you might want to wipe out your (likely obsolete) MacTex
and then only install the newer one if you need it... and when you do,
customize the install to not interfere with macports.

Anyway, just my 2 cents,

Scott

On Fri, Sep 30, 2011 at 9:03 PM, Sam Kuper <sam.kuper <at> uclmail.net> wrote:
> Dear all,
>
> This thread was prompted by another thread I started recently, which
> has since been resolved:
> http://lists.macosforge.org/pipermail/macports-users/2011-September/025653.html
>
> I installed MacTex a couple of years ago, and although I'm not
> currently using LaTeX for anything, I may want or need to use it again

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Sam Kuper | 28 Jun 2012 19:03

Re: MacTex vs MacPorts

On 1 October 2011 05:11, Scott Webster <sewebster <at> gmail.com> wrote:
> I don't claim to have all the answers, but recently when I had to
> compile a "new" latex document I got from a colleague I found that it
> was not compatible with the macports versions.  So I installed
> MacTex2011.  It has a great prefpane to let you switch which tex
> distribution you want to have active (macports/mactex etc.).  You can
> also choose exactly what you want to install when you install it.  So
> I chose not to install ghostscript for instance, because I already had
> it via macports.
>
> I'm writing off my memory so hopefully I'm not too wrong, but in
> general it seems they can coexist reasonably well.  If I only needed a
> few latex things I would probably just use macports, but I'm writing a
> thesis in latex right now and find the selection in MacTex helpful.
> In your case you might want to wipe out your (likely obsolete) MacTex
> and then only install the newer one if you need it... and when you do,
> customize the install to not interfere with macports.

A very belated reply, but many thanks to you and others who answered my query.

I got rid of the old version of MacTex I had installed, and in the
process I became unimpressed with the uninstallation procedure MacTex
provides.

For the time being I'm going to see how I get on with the default
Macports TexLive installation plus whichever MacPorts packages the
page at https://trac.macports.org/wiki/TeXLivePackages tells me are
necessary for the TeX packages I want.

Regards,

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