I have recently discovered the TikZ packages for LaTeX:
http://altermundus.com/pages/tkz/index.html
I have run the examples for tkz-euclide
with success.
I would also like to use the tkz-fct
package for plotting curves.
Since I have not previously installed Gnuplot, when I compile examples using the tkz-fct
package I get the error message: Plot data file `filename.tkzfct.table' not found.
I have read several web pages that describe how to compile the source for Gnuplot for Mac OSX and also some explanations on how to obtain binaries as part of other packages such as Octave and others. I have not tried these procedures yet, as they seam complicated and I am a novice at Mac OSX details.
What is the best practice for how to install Gnuplot for use with TexShop with MacTex 2012 distribution, on Mac OS-X 10.8.2 Mountain Lion for use with 'tkz-fct' package.
I apologize if a similar question was answered already, but there are so many different answers and many are a few years old.
Best Answer
Most of the the answer to this is contained in the following question:
However, depending on how your system is set up you may need to do some extra things.
First, compiling source code on a Mac requires you to install XCode from the App store (it's free). See the following link for a nice description:
Second, you also need to allow TeX to run external programs like GnuPlot. Typically the way to do this is to run programs with the
--shell escape
option. However, recent version of TeX Live have created a system of so-called "restricted" shell escape, which allows you to add programs to a global list of external programs to minimize the security issues of using unrestricted shell escape.There are a number of different ways to implement this on a Mac.
Create a TeXShop engine file for
--shell-escape
The simplest way is probably to create a new TeXShop engine file which runs the appropriate LaTeX command with the
--shell-escape
option enabled. See:Create a config file in your
texmf-local
folderIf you are using
gnuplot
capabilities a lot, it might be easiest to addgnuplot
to your list of allowable programs. This can be done by creating a localtexmf.cnf
file. Create the following file:The file must end with a blank line. Save or copy this file into the following directory: (you will need administrator access to do this.)
Then run
texhash
to update the TeX database.Now you should be able to use
gnuplot
from within your TeX documents.