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!