Installer and "-gui tcl"

[Richard Koch]

Mac users who install with MacTeX will not see the default graphical interface activated this year;  I use it to create the MacTeX package but they just use that package. Therefore it falls to me to give a collective "THANKS!" to everyone who worked on the interface. It is is clear and intuitive. Small changes like this make a big difference for users.

Mac users who stick with older systems will see the interface; they will like it.

We do not put the full MacTeX on the DVD because that would essentially add a second copy of TeX Live to the disk and waste space. Instead we install GUI apps, Ghostscript, and the TeX Dist data with a much smaller installer, and then tell users to install TeX Live from a terminal using the command 

	cd /Volumes/TEXCOL2019/texlive
	sudo ./install-tl --profile /Volumes/TEXCOL2019/mactex/MacTeX-Install/TLprofiles/texlive.profile

I just tested this and it still works well. In past years, the installer's output appeared in Terminal. Now the installer puts up a window for output and the output appears in that window rather than in Terminal. That's not a problem.

There is one tiny glitch. If it could be fixed, that would be great, but if not, OK:

When the installer first runs, it puts up a picture of the TeX Lion. That picture is then removed during installation. But if installation uses a profile, then the interface to select various options never appears and so the Lion appears for a couple of seconds and immediately vanishes. This can puzzle users who are already scared that they are being forced to use a Terminal. Perhaps the Lion could remain hidden if a profile is provided.

Richard Koch