Hi Folks,
I customized some of the MMD Latex support files (e.g., mmd-article-begin-doc.tex), which live in the texmf directory (on a OS X 10.8 installation), and given them new names (e.g., mmd-article-begin-doc-custom.tex). In the metadata portion of the compile dialog, I specified several “latex input” fields, to load the right files.
However, Scrivener does not seem to find my new files. If I keep the metadata keys identical, but change the name of the values from, e.g., “mmd-article-being-doc-custom” to “mmd-article-begin-doc”, the file is found and is properly copied into the output directory. But when I use my custom files, no file is copied to the output directory.
I think, if I’m following you, what you are describing is normal. Scrivener will only copy files into the compile folder if they defaults, and I’m pretty sure it only does that if you do not have another set in the texmf/tex/latex/mmd folder. When it does this, it’s not actually copying them from your local distribution, but an internal copy of these files distributed with the software. Basically, it’s a failsafe for people that do not have their own MMD support files installed. This way we can provide easy class selection without having to point people toward download locations and install folders. If you make your own, or install your own MMD support files, then this failsafe will disable.
It sounds like you might not have the full MMD LaTeX support package installed (which is of course okay), and that is why they get copied in when you choose defaults. Either way, LaTeX should find the .tex files whether they are in the local folder or off in the texmf folder, so you shouldn’t run into any issues with your custom files being located in the texmf location. That’s the point of putting them there, so multiple .tex files can benefit from them without having to scatter copies everywhere.
However, what that does mean is if you’ve just forked a few of the boilerplates slightly, without copying all of the dependency chain into the texmf folder, you could run into issues. I would recommend installing the full MMD LaTeX support package if you intend to fork boilerplates like this as it will just make it easier. Otherwise you’ll need to copy that suite of -memoir- files around.
Thanks for the quick reply. I found the files within the Scrivener package soon after I wrote, and realized that these were the ones copied, not the ones in the latex tree. If the copy is just a failsafe, then no worries. Thanks!