Lightweight LaTeX installation for Mac OS X
Thursday, 23. April 2009, 12:41:44
You probably think the 1.2 GB package of the default MacTeX-Distribution is overkill. In my opinion, that is really a bit of a problem on mobile devices such as Macbooks, especially if you're using several operating systems. I show you a simple and effective way to install a basic MacTeX-Distribution on Mac OS X and how you can organize and add your individual necessary packages you need extra. I'm personally in a way a minimalist and don't use so many packages, maybe you too?
Overview of the software you are using:
That makes a total download size of, let me guess, unbelievable 60.6 MB! That's even a smaller file size than the popular MiKTeX-Installer from Windows with around 80 MB. If you're looking for an alternative to MiKTeX on OS X, this is the best solution.
Once you have installed the BasicTeX-Distribution you can easily add and update necessary packages with the TeX Live Utility. In fact, all this can be done with a command-line tool (tlmgr), but the TeX Live Utility is much easier if you don't know all the commands and it comes with a nice user-friendly GUI:
Overview of the software you are using:
-
BasicTeX-2008 (54.1 MB), a minimal MacTeX-Distribution
-
TeX Live Utility (1.4 MB), GUI-Program for managing and updating packages
- Your favorite text editor, e.g. I prefer Smultron (5.1 MB)
That makes a total download size of, let me guess, unbelievable 60.6 MB! That's even a smaller file size than the popular MiKTeX-Installer from Windows with around 80 MB. If you're looking for an alternative to MiKTeX on OS X, this is the best solution.
Once you have installed the BasicTeX-Distribution you can easily add and update necessary packages with the TeX Live Utility. In fact, all this can be done with a command-line tool (tlmgr), but the TeX Live Utility is much easier if you don't know all the commands and it comes with a nice user-friendly GUI:
WIDGETIZE