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I have a MacTex/TexShop distribution running under Yosemite on an iMac.

Under a 2010 distribution I managed to create a docfmt.fmt file of my own macros and use it as a typesetting program. The format file 'docfmt' could be selected in the program dialogue box.

Now I have upgraded to a 2015 distribution and Texshop cannot find the docfmt.fmt file even though the program name still appears in the dialogue box.

I have forgotten how to create the fmt file so I would appreciate step-by-step instructions as to how I can generate the folders and files necessary to recover the situation.

Many thanks

Tony Norris

Tony Norris
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    Welcome! Does http://tex.stackexchange.com/questions/49388/custom-format-file-how-to-automate-the-generation-of-the-precompiled-preamble?rq=1 help? (The question rather than the answer.) – cfr Oct 02 '15 at 03:12
  • I don't really understand the question. – Tony Norris Oct 03 '15 at 03:17
  • My guess is that installing MacTex 2015 has broken a link to the format file which still exists somewhere. Does 2015 look in different folders from previous versions? I m using v3.54 of TexShop. Thanks – Tony Norris Oct 03 '15 at 03:22
  • Well, it seems to explain how to do what you want. It asks how to automate it, which you don't want, but the non-automated method in the question seems to be what you are looking for? – cfr Oct 03 '15 at 03:22
  • It doesn't much matter if it exists, I don't think. You need to generate it anew. Note that TeX Live often regenerates formats even when just updating within a version. TEXMFHOME and TEXMFLOCAL remain the same, but the other directories are different, yes. This allows you to switch between different versions easily. When you switch back to 2013, say, you get the binaries, formats, packages etc. for that version. – cfr Oct 03 '15 at 03:25
  • But .fmt files are not themselves executables. You can't compile with a .fmt. You can load it, but you are still compiling with, say, pdflatex. For example, the .fmt files in texmf-var/web2c/pdftex/ are just regular files - binary, but not executable. – cfr Oct 03 '15 at 03:27
  • Whilst I am grateful for the help it builds upon try setup and UNIX terminology that I am not familiar with so let's try another angle. – Tony Norris Oct 03 '15 at 07:31
  • How do I create a new format file and any necessary engine and which folders should the files go into in Yosemite? Thanks. – Tony Norris Oct 03 '15 at 07:33
  • I think you only need the stuff in the question i.e. pdflatex -ini -jobname=main "&pdflatex preamble.tex\dump" and pdflatex -fmt main main. But I've never done this, so better wait for somebody else to say so. I think the .fmt will probably be created in the appropriate location, but I'm not certain. (Probably in the Mac equivalent of ~/.texlive2015.) Or you can use fmtutil but I'm not sure if you should use fmtutil-sys in that case. – cfr Oct 03 '15 at 10:14

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