[Tex/LaTex] TeXShop: Change Stationery location

mactemplatestexshop

How can I change the folder in which the stationery files are placed? (By 'stationery' I mean templates, sorry for the confusion. The former is the TeXShop terminology.) I have several systems linked via dropbox like "windows" with "Texniccenter". So, I have created a general folder in which I save those. it was easy to set up the folder for Texniccenter – but what can I do about TeXShop?

Best Answer

The Stationery folder in TeXShop is stored in ~/Library/TeXShop and its location can't be changed because TeXShop will automatically recreate it from a backup if it is moved or deleted. However, as long as the folder exists, TeXShop will be content. So it's perfectly possible to create the folder somewhere else (like your Dropbox folder) and then place a symbolic link to that folder in the ~/Library/TeXShop folder.

Here's how to do this: (it might be wise to make a backup of your Stationary folder just in case.)

  1. Close TeXShop

  2. In the Finder, move the existing Stationery folder to your shared position and give it another name (this isn't necessary, but it helps keep the folders distinguished). For this example I will assume it is called SharedStationary and is in your Dropbox folder.

  3. Open a Terminal window and make the symbolic link:

     ln -s ~/Dropbox/SharedStationery ~/Library/TeXShop/Stationery

When you restart TeXShop, it will see the SharedStationery folder as its Stationery folder.

Update for MacOS 12.x

Changes to how Files on Demand are treated by the MacOS can lead to files in a Dropbox linked folder not loading, since although the files exist, their content doesn't. Because of this, it's best to set the ~/Dropbox/SharedStationary folder in my example to have a "Make available offline" status. This can be done using the Finder: right-click (or control click) on the folder icon and choose the "Make available offline" Dropbox item. See MacTex 2022 issues for more detail.

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