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.
latexmk
would solve your problem?