Macros

TEX macro files shall be stored in separate directories, segregated by TEX format and package name. (We use `format' in its traditional TEX sense to mean a usefully ||-able package.)

format

is a format name (examples: |plain|, |amstex|, |texinfo|, |latex|). By providing a format directory, path searching can be limited to only those directories that contain relevant files.

The TDS allows distributions that can be used as either formats or packages (e.g., Texinfo, Eplain) to be stored at either level, at the option of the format author or TEX administrator. We recommend that packages used as formats at a particular site be stored at the format level: by adjusting the TEX inputs search path, it will be straightforward to use them as macro packages under another format, whereas placing them in another tree completely obscures their use as a format.

The TDS reserves the following format names:

• |generic|, for input files that are useful across a wide range of formats (examples: |null.tex|, |path.sty|). Generally, this means any format that uses the category codes of Plain TEX and does not rely on any particular format. This is in contrast to those files which are useful only with Plain TEX (which go under |texmf/tex/plain|), e.g., |testfont.tex| and |plain.tex| itself.

• |local|, for local additions. See Section 2.3.

Thus, for every format, it is correct to search at least the format directory and then the |generic| directory (in that order). Other directories may need to be searched as well, depending on the format. When using , for example, the |amstex|, |plain|, and |generic| directories should be searched, because is compatible with Plain.

package

is a TEX package name (examples: |texdraw|, |babel|). The TDS reserves the following package names:

• |base|, for the base distribution of each format, including files used by when dumping format files. For example, in the standard L^ATEX distribution, the |ltx| files created during the build process shall be stored in the |base| directory.

• |hyphen|, for hyphenation patterns, e.g., |hyphen.tex|. These are typically used only by . In most situations, this directory need exist only under the generic format.

• |images|, for image input files, such as Encapsulated PostScript figures. Although it is somewhat non-intuitive for these to be under a directory named ``|tex|'', TEX needs to read these files to glean bounding box or other information. A mechanism for sharing image inputs between TEX and other typesetting programs (Interleaf, FrameMaker, etc.) is beyond the scope of the TDS. In most situations, this directory need exist only under the generic format.

• |local|, for local additions and configuration files. See Section 2.3.

• |misc|, for packages that consist of a single file. An administrator or package maintainer may nevertheless choose to create directories even for single-file packages at their discretion.

In the case where a format consists of only a single file and has no auxiliary packages, that file can simply be placed in the format directory, instead of format|/base|. For example, Texinfo goes in |texmf/tex/texinfo/texinfo.tex|, not |texmf/tex/texinfo/base/texinfo.tex|.