code.delx.au - gnu-emacs-elpa/blob - packages/auctex/doc/faq.texi

   1 @ifset rawfile
   2 @include macros.texi
   3 @chapheading Frequently Asked Questions about @AUCTeX{}
   4 @end ifset
   5
   6 @c We should switch to sectioning commands instead of items when this
   7 @c list grows.  Keep in mind to formulate short questions because
   8 @c section headings will not be broken in contrast to items.
   9 @enumerate
  10 @item
  11 Something is not working correctly.  What should I do?
  12
  13 Well, you might have guessed it, the first place to look is in the
  14 available documentation packaged with @AUCTeX{}.  This could be the
  15 release notes (in the @file{RELEASE} file) or the news section of the
  16 manual in case you are experiencing problems after an upgrade, the
  17 @file{INSTALL} file in case you are having problems with the
  18 installation, the section about bugs in the manual in case you
  19 encountered a bug or the relevant sections in the manual for other
  20 related problems.
  21
  22 If this did not help, you can send a bug report to the @AUCTeX{} bug
  23 reporting list by using the command @kbd{M-x TeX-submit-bug-report RET}.
  24 But before you do this, you can try to get more information about the
  25 problem at hand which might also help you locate the cause of the error
  26 yourself.
  27
  28 First, you can try to generate a so-called backtrace which shows
  29 functions involved in a program error.  In order to do this, start Emacs
  30 with the command line @samp{emacs --debug-init} and/or put the line
  31
  32 @lisp
  33 (setq debug-on-error t)
  34 @end lisp
  35
  36 as the first line into your init file.  XEmacs users might want to add
  37 @code{(setq stack-trace-on-error t)} as well.  After Emacs has started,
  38 you can load a file which triggers the error and a new window should pop
  39 up showing the backtrace.  If you get such a backtrace, please include
  40 it in the bug report.
  41
  42 Second, you can try to figure out if something in your personal or site
  43 configuration triggers the error by starting Emacs without such
  44 customizations.  You can do this by invoking Emacs with the command line
  45 @samp{emacs -q -no-site-file}.  Once Emacs is running, copy the line
  46
  47 @lisp
  48 (load "auctex.el" nil t t)
  49 @end lisp
  50
  51 into the @samp{*scratch*} buffer and type @kbd{M-x eval-buffer RET}.
  52 This makes sure that @AUCTeX{} will be used for the file types it
  53 supports.  After you have done so, you can load the file triggering the
  54 error.  If everything is working now, you know that you have to search
  55 either in the site configuration file or your personal init file for
  56 statements related to the problem.
  57
  58 @item
  59 What versions of Emacs and XEmacs are supported?
  60
  61 @AUCTeX{} was tested with @w{Emacs 21} and @w{XEmacs 21.4.15}.  Older
  62 versions may work but are unsupported.  Older versions of XEmacs might
  63 possibly made to work by updating the @file{xemacs-base} package through
  64 the XEmacs package system.  If you are looking for a recommendation, it
  65 would appear that the smoothest working platform on all operating
  66 systems at the current point of time would be @w{Emacs 22.1}.  At the
  67 time of this writing, however, it has not been released and is still
  68 under development.  The quality of the development version is quite
  69 solid, so we recommend giving it a try.  With a developer version, of
  70 course, you have to be prepared to update in case you managed to get
  71 your snapshot at a bad time.  The second best choice would be the latest
  72 released @w{Emacs 21.4}.  However, Unicode support is less good, there
  73 is no version for the popular GTK toolkit, and the native versions for
  74 Windows and MacOS don't offer toolbar and @previewlatex{} support.
  75
  76 Our success with XEmacs has been less than convincing.  Under the
  77 Windows operating system, nominally the only option for a released,
  78 stable Emacs variant supporting toolbars and @previewlatex{} would be
  79 @w{XEmacs 21.4}.  However, code for core functionality like formatting
  80 and syntax highlighting tends to be different and often older than even
  81 @w{Emacs 21.4}, and Unicode support as delivered is problematic at best,
  82 missing on Windows.  Both @AUCTeX{} and XEmacs developers don't hear
  83 much from active users of the combination.  Partly for that reason,
  84 problems tend to go unnoticed for long amounts of time and are often
  85 found, if at all, after releases.  No experiences or recommendations can
  86 be given for beta or developer versions of XEmacs.
  87
  88 @item
  89 What should I do when @code{./configure} does not find programs like latex?
  90
  91 This is problem often encountered on Windows.  Make sure that the
  92 @env{PATH} environment variable includes the directories containing the
  93 relevant programs, as described in
  94 @ifset rawfile
  95 the file @file{INSTALL.windows}
  96 @end ifset
  97 @ifclear rawfile
  98 @ref{Installation under MS Windows,,,auctex,the @AUCTeX{} manual}.
  99 @end ifclear
 100
 101 @item
 102 Why doesn't the completion, style file, or multi-file stuff work?
 103
 104 It must be enabled first, insert this in your init file:
 105
 106 @lisp
 107 (setq-default TeX-master nil)
 108 (setq TeX-parse-self t)
 109 (setq TeX-auto-save t)
 110 @end lisp
 111
 112 Read also the chapters about parsing and multifile documents in the
 113 manual.
 114
 115 @item
 116 Why doesn't @code{TeX-save-document} work?
 117
 118 @code{TeX-check-path} has to contain "./" somewhere.
 119
 120 @item
 121 Why is the information in @file{foo.tex} forgotten when I save
 122 @file{foo.bib}?
 123
 124 For various reasons, @AUCTeX{} ignores the extension when it stores
 125 information about a file, so you should use unique base names for your
 126 files.  E.g. rename @file{foo.bib} to @file{foob.bib}.
 127
 128 @item
 129 Why doesn't @AUCTeX{} signal when processing a document is done?
 130
 131 If the message in the minibuffer stays "Type `C-c C-l' to display
 132 results of compilation.", you probably have a misconfiguration in your
 133 init file (@file{.emacs}, @file{init.el} or similar).  To track this
 134 down either search in the @samp{*Messages*} buffer for an error message
 135 or put @code{(setq debug-on-error t)} as the first line into your init
 136 file, restart Emacs and open a @LaTeX{} file.  Emacs will complain
 137 loudly by opening a debugging buffer as soon as an error occurs.  The
 138 information in the debugging buffer can help you find the cause of the
 139 error in your init file.
 140
 141 @item
 142 What does AUC stand for?
 143
 144 @AUCTeX{} came into being at Aalborg University in Denmark.  Back then
 145 the Danish name of the university was Aalborg Universitetscenter; AUC
 146 for short.
 147
 148 @end enumerate