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In I want to start using LaTeX on Mac OS X. Where do I start?, the OP asked about a recommendation for a set of tools to use LaTeX on a Mac. But that was 4 years ago, and the landscape may have changed.

I'm hoping to install LaTeX on a Mac as well. I have a few idiosyncracies:

  • I will be working on a book, on homework assigments for a course, and for materials unrelated to each of these. When I work on the book (think "a thousand pages, with diagrams and photos on most pages"), I will want to use certain macros; when working on homework assignments, I'll need to use others; when working on the outside materials, I'll need a third. (Working under Linux, I used to do things like set my TEXINPUTS environment variable to handle this, but that's not so easy to do on a project-by-project bases with something like TeXworks, for instance.

  • I'd prefer an integrated environment if possible. I like things like Kile under linux, in which when you type "\begin{align}" automatically fill in the "\end{align}" for you, and I've found working with Texworks under windows has been OK as well (aside from the problem mentioned above).

I've found that working with XEmacs makes my hands and wrists hurt, so AucTex, nifty though it is, isn't really a good alternative.

Does anyone have suggestions about reliable, well-maintained systems that run on a mac, and which might be well suited to my needs as described above?

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    As far as I know, MacTeX is still the recommended choice on Mac.
    – Paul Gessler
    Mar 13, 2015 at 21:27
  • Indeed, on Mac OS X, there is not many alternatives to MacTeX, which is in fact TeX Live packaged in Mac OS X-style. It comes with an (La)TeX-dedicated text editor, TeXShop, which has its own PDF viewer, and with a bunch of other programs, each one more useful than the other. See its website: tug.org/mactex
    – Franck Pastor
    Mar 13, 2015 at 21:35
  • TeXShop (which comes with MacTeX) has command completion, but must be triggered with the Escape or Tab key.
    – erik
    Mar 13, 2015 at 21:41
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    For your TEXINPUTS problem, I'd suggest putting your groups of macros into packages, e.g. johnhw.sty, johnoutside.sty and place them in $TEXMFHOME. Then you can access them from any document with \usepackage{johnhw}, \usepackage{johnoutside}, or combinations thereof. Note that it's best to ask a single question per, well, question, because it's difficult to formulate comprehensive answers to questions on multiple topics.
    – Paul Gessler
    Mar 13, 2015 at 22:04
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    This looks like a dupe to me: if an older question might need updating, the right way to handle things is to add a bounty to it.
    – Joseph Wright ♦
    Mar 13, 2015 at 22:06

2 Answers 2

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I'm using Emacs (Aquamacs) for working with LaTeX on MacOS X and AUCteX is really great, but you seem to look for another alternative.

Did you already check the comprehensive list of LaTeX editors? LaTeX Editors/IDEs

The answers there also describe their features and advantages, so it's very interesting and a really really long list.

For MacOS X available are e. g. (in the order of upvotes)

Exclusively for MacOS X, there's

I'm sorry, I can not comment on your TEXINPUTS question, as I do use only one such setting up to now.

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  • Thanks; the pointer to the list of Editors/IDEs was very helpful. I'm hoping that positive votes tend to indicate the the projects are "live" (i.e., someone's maintaining them enough that they'll survive the next OS upgrade, etc.).
    – John
    Mar 14, 2015 at 12:01
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    The link for TeXstudio currently points to Texmaker.
    – Franklin Yu
    Oct 8, 2016 at 22:10
  • @FranklinYu: thanks - I've corrected the link.
    – MostlyHarmless
    Oct 8, 2016 at 23:44
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Kile will run on a Mac http://kile.sourceforge.net/, TexMaker also http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/14641/texmaker When I taught LaTeX at the university level TexMaker was the IDE we used with MacTex on a Mac and also TexMaker have versions for Linux and Windows paired with the appropriate LaTeX/TeX distribution.

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