Bypass % !TEX TS-program =

Question

Some LaTeX editors (TeXShop and TeXworks, for instance) allow a special comment line to define a default engine to use with a current document, like this :

% !TEX TS-program = pdflatex

It's really useful when working on the main document but question comes when I need to call other commands (Biber, MakeIndex, etc.).

Concrete situation : I typeset a pdfLaTeX document, but I sometimes need to call Biber, MakeIndex, etc. If a % !TEX TS-program = pdflatex comment is present, compiling will run pdfLaTeX engine, even if I asked for Biber or MakeIndex. I have to remove temporarily this special comment to use another engine.

Is it a way to temporarily bypass that special command without removing it each time I want to use Biber or MakeIndex on that document ? In other words, how could I keep the comfort of the % !TEX TS-program =... system while being able to sometimes run other commands ?

I guess LaTeXmk (or a makefile) is a solution, but I would like to know if other solutions are possible.

Thanks for your ideas.

Answer 1

Which editor and version are you using? In TeXworks, the 'magic comment' only sets the default to run. You can happily change the program to be run after loading a file.