Re: Problem using mptopdf with Metapost containing LaTeX

[Sanjoy Mahajan <sanjoy@mrao.cam.ac.uk>]

> does adding a --latex directive help?

I also tried 'TEX=latex mptopdf thatfile.mp' but it didn't work,
though 'TEX=latex mpost thatfile.mp' worked.  Not sure if any of the
included post to c.t.t. is relevant, although I can no longer
reproduce this part -- not sure why:

  But setting the TEX env variable worked (without the %&
  line):

    TEX=latex mptopdf yourfile.mp

-Sanjoy

===========================================================

Date:    03 Jan 2007 16:47:11 GMT
From:    Sanjoy Mahajan <sanjoy@mrao.cam.ac.uk>
Subject: Re: Problems using mptopdf
To:      comp.text.tex

> I tried to add '%&LaTeX' after the verbatimtex line but it doesn't
> change anything.

Did you try %&latex ?  Not sure if the MacOS filesystem is case
sensitive, but on regular Unix/Linux it matters.

Does 'mpost yourfile.mp' work?  Even when I put in %&latex (lowercase)
after the verbatimtex, it didn't work at first here (Ubuntu 6.10,
mostly TeXLive 2005 with 2006.12.27 context, mpost 0.993, i386).  This
subcommand failed:

   tex --parse-first-line --interaction=nonstopmode mpxerr.tex

Running it by hand shows where the failure is:

  This is TeXk, Version 3.141592 (Web2C 7.5.5)
   %&-line parsing enabled.
  ---! /var/lib/texmf/web2c/latex.fmt was written by pdftex
  (Fatal format file error; I'm stymied)

The problem is that latex is nowadays a symlink to pdftex (or pdfetex)
so when latex.fmt was generated, it was generated by pdfetex.  Whereas
'tex' is still regular (non-pdf) tex, so when it reads the '%&latex'
line, it loads latex.fmt and cannot understand it.

So I made tex a symlink to pdfetex, and 'mpost yourfile.mp' worked
then.

But 'mptopdf yourfile.mp' fails in the same place as for you.  Not
sure why.  But setting the TEX env variable worked (without the %&
line):

  TEX=latex mptopdf yourfile.mp

You might post your example to the context mailing list
(ntg-context@ntg.nl), where you will get more expert assistance.

-Sanjoy

`Not all those who wander are lost.' (J.R.R. Tolkien)