[tex-live] config files read-only on Windows

[gnwiii at gmail.com]

On 2/27/06, Harriet Borton <bortonh at rpi.edu> wrote:
> Hi,
> I've installed TL2005 on my own WinXP machine and I'm encouraging faculty,
> staff, and students at RPI to do so.
> But I found something that is an inconvenience and causes many
> inexperienced users to get stuck.
>
> The config files for dvips and pdftex under the texmf-var tree are
> read-only, which means users can't edit them to change the paper size for
> letter size. The solution is to change the Windows properties of these
> files before trying to edit them, but this is an annoying extra step. I
> don't know how many of our users just gave up on making the changes and now
> their margins will be wrong when they print.
>
> I don't see how this can be changed at this point, but perhaps in the next
> TL distribution?
> Any other reports of this?

I think this is OK.  The original texmf trees should be "shareable".
Rather than change the original files, users should make copies in
their home texmf and
make any changes there.  It might help to put comments in the files:

# This is config.ps, the dvips configuration file.   Users are discouraged from
# customizing files in the system directories which will be overwritten when
# the system is upgraded.  Instead, users are encouraged to place customized
# versions of this file in one of their own "texmf.../dvips/config"
directories
# and run texhash to refresh the ls-R files.  To verify that the new
configuration
# file is being used, run the following commmand in a shell:
#
# kpsewhich --progname=dvips --format='dvips config' config.ps
#
# When the system is upgraded, users should compare their customized
# configuration files to the system versions and adjust accordingly.

--
George N. White III <aa056 at chebucto.ns.ca>
Head of St. Margarets Bay, Nova Scotia