[Tex/LaTex] Latexmk fails on Windows when output directory is specified

biberlatexmkmiktexwindowsxetex

Latexmk does not generate the output PDF with XeLaTeX and biber when an output directory is specified.

I am using an output directory specified by -outdir called build to keep my root directory tidy.

I am running MikTeX on Windows 7 x64. Latexmk is version 4.54c.

Here is an MWE.

test.tex contains the following:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage[backend=biber]{biblatex}
\addbibresource{publications.bib}
\begin{document}
\fullcite{InterestingArticle}
\end{document}

publications.bib contains the following:

@article{InterestingArticle,
  author    = {Andrew Bate},
  title     = {Interesting Article Title},
  journal   = {Interesting Journal},
  volume    = {999},
  year      = {1984}
}

When I run latexmk -xelatex -silent -outdir=build I get the following output, but no PDF in the build directory:

Use of uninitialized value $separator in regexp compilation at C:\Program Files\MiKTeX 2.9\scripts\latexmk\latexmk.pl line 8553.
Use of uninitialized value $separator in regexp compilation at C:\Program Files\MiKTeX 2.9\scripts\latexmk\latexmk.pl line 8554.
Use of uninitialized value $search_path_separator in concatenation (.) or string at C:\Program Files\MiKTeX 2.9\scripts\latexmk\latexmk.pl line 1882.
Use of uninitialized value $search_path_separator in concatenation (.) or string at C:\Program Files\MiKTeX 2.9\scripts\latexmk\latexmk.pl line 2173.
Use of uninitialized value $print_cmd in string at C:\Program Files\MiKTeX 2.9\scripts\latexmk\latexmk.pl line 2713.
Latexmk: Run number 1 of rule 'xelatex'
This is XeTeX, Version 3.14159265-2.6-0.99998 (MiKTeX 2.9.6500 64-bit)
entering extended mode
Latexmk: fls file doesn't appear to have been made
Latexmk: Non-existent bbl file 'build/test.bbl'
 No file test.bbl.
Latexmk: ===For rule 'xelatex', actual output 'I:/bug-report/build/test.xdv'
       ======appears not to match expected output 'build/test.xdv'
Latexmk: Summary of warnings:
  Latex failed to resolve 1 citation(s)
Latexmk: Run number 1 of rule 'biber build/test'
Latexmk: Run number 2 of rule 'xelatex'
This is XeTeX, Version 3.14159265-2.6-0.99998 (MiKTeX 2.9.6500 64-bit)
entering extended mode
Latexmk: fls file doesn't appear to have been made
Latexmk: ===For rule 'xelatex', actual output 'I:/bug-report/build/test.xdv'
       ======appears not to match expected output 'build/test.xdv'
Latexmk: Run number 1 of rule 'bibtex I:/bug-report/build/test'
For rule 'bibtex I:/bug-report/build/test', running '&run_bibtex(  )' ...
Latexmk: Directory in file name 'I:/bug-report/build/test.aux' for bibtex
   but it is not the output directory 'build'
I found no \citation commands---while reading file I:/bug-report/build/test.aux
I found no \bibdata command---while reading file I:/bug-report/build/test.aux
I found no \bibstyle command---while reading file I:/bug-report/build/test.aux
(There were 3 error messages)
Collected error summary (may duplicate other messages):
  bibtex I:/bug-report/build/test: Bibtex errors: See file 'I:/bug-report/build/test.blg'
Latexmk: Use the -f option to force complete processing,
 unless error was exceeding maximum runs of latex/pdflatex.

Removing the -silent flag makes no difference (but obviously the output is longer).

If the -outdir flag is removed, then the PDF is generated correctly (but I would like to use an output directory).

The above example works correctly running on Linux (Ubuntu 17.10) with TeX Live and with latexmk version 4.54c (the same version of latexmk I used on Windows). On Linux, it works both with and without -outdir specified.

I am not using a .latexmkrc file.

Note the 'Use of uninitialized value' warnings. These don't appear on Linux, but I do not know if this is related.

Any help to get this working is greatly appreciated.

Update 2018-01-14: The issue only occurs when the source files are located in a directory on another computer on the network (e.g., a Windows mapped network drive).

The PDF is successfully generated when the source files are in a directory on the local filesystem.

Upgrading from version 4.54c to 4.54d (released 10 January 2018) removes some of the 'Use of uninitialized value' warnings, but the PDF file is still not generated when the source files are located in a network directory. I have filed a bug with John Collins, the author of latexmk.

Best Answer

This bug is corrected in latexmk v. 4.55. So just upgrade to the latest version.

Related Solutions

[Tex/LaTex] Using Biber with latexmk

exists $generated_log{"$bbl_base.bcf"} does a test if the list of files %generated_log includes an entry for "$bbl_base.bcf". From my point of view such an entry is missing in the list %generated_log, the reason why the call fails. If you test it with -e which does in general the same, it works in fact of the now missing check of %generated_log. You should report it to the author. It could also be possible that some of the Perl functions have not the same behaviour as with Linux.

[Tex/LaTex] AUCTeX -output-directory + copy *.pdf to working directory

If you want to use AUCTeX so desperately:

(add-hook 'LaTeX-mode-hook (lambda ()
                 (push 
                  '("Latex_outdir" "%`pdflatex --output-directory=/tmp %(mode)%' %t" 
                TeX-run-TeX nil (latex-mode doctex-mode) 
                :help "Run pdflatex with output in /tmp")
                  TeX-command-list)))

The question you linked to in your last comment is still unanswered, and will cause a serious problem with this setup: AUCTeX won't be able to locate your auxiliary files, and thus deduce the next step in the compilation step.

I suggest you use latexmk for the whole process instead:

(add-hook 'LaTeX-mode-hook (lambda ()
                 (push 
                  '("Make" "latexmk -outdir=/tmp %t" TeX-run-TeX nil t
                :help "Make pdf output using latexmk.")
                  TeX-command-list)))

Latexmk is aware of the option outdir, and will automatically search for the auxiliary files in this directory.

Either way, note the following point (from man latexmk):

Commonly, the directory specified for output files is a subdirectory of the current working directory. However, if you specify some other directory, e.g., "/tmp/foo" or "../output", be aware that this could cause problems, e.g., with makeindex or bibtex. This is because modern versions of these programs, by default, will refuse to work when they find that they are asked to write to a file in a directory that appears not to be the current working directory or one of its subdirectories. This is part of security measures by the whole TeX system that try to prevent malicious or errant TeX documents from incorrectly messing with a user's files. If for $out_dir or $aux_dir you really do need to specify an absolute pathname (e.g., "/tmp/foo") or a path (e.g., "../output") that includes a higher-level directory, then you need to disable the security measures (and assume any risks). This can be done by temporarily setting the operating system's environment variable openout_any to "a" (as in "all"), to override the default "paranoid" setting.

Another potential problem with this setting is that all your documents will share the same temporary directory, so you will need to make sure they all have different names.

For your cp step, you can use this line in your .latexmkrc:

$pdflatex .= ' && cp -v %Z/%D %D';

Note that most of this is untested, please let me know if it doesn't work.

Best Answer

Related Solutions

[Tex/LaTex] Using Biber with latexmk

[Tex/LaTex] AUCTeX -output-directory + copy *.pdf to working directory

Related Question