Problem changing TEXMFHOME setting

[Norbert Preining]

Hi Dan,

> No not at all, I am on LinuxMint 21.2 (Victoria), a distribution based on Ubuntu, that is what I said in a previous mail.

Ahh, that explains it, and then I also know what is going on.

> Yes, it is somehow ignored but didn't know how to check, thanks for the suggestion. Here is the output of the command
>     $ kpsewhich -a texmf.cnf
>     /etc/texmf/web2c/texmf.cnf
>     /usr/share/texmf/web2c/texmf.cnf
>     /usr/share/texlive/texmf-dist/web2c/texmf.cnf
> it does not show in the list.

Yes, because the search paths are set like this.

On Debian systems, configuration is different, to obey the strict
rules of Debian. That is, all configuration is in /etc/texmf.

Reading the file /etc/texmf/web2c/texmf.cnf you see:

	%%% This file is automatically generated by update-texmf
	%
	% PLEASE DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE DIRECTLY. It is meant to be generated from 
	% files in /etc/texmf/texmf.d/. 
	%
	% Therefore, if you want a smooth upgrade, please edit the files
	% in /etc/texmf/texmf.d, 
	% or create an additional one (with the extension '.cnf'),
	% and invoke update-texmf.
	%
	%%%

So you should follow that, that is, create

	/etc/texmf/texmf.d/20local.cnf

and put

	TEXMFHOME=...whatever you want...

there.

Then call as root

	update-texmf

(which is in /usr/sbin/).

> How can I fix this? Where in the documentation of the tlmgr, or TeXLive itself, shall I look into in order to correct this? In case the source of the problem is the packaging of the OS itself, what should I account to write down a useful bug report?

You are not using TeX Live itself. You are using the Debian packaging
of TeX Live.

No need to send a ug report either to us (not our business) nor Debian
(requirements due to Debian Policy).

Best regards

Norbert

--
PREINING Norbert                              https://www.preining.info
Mercari Inc.     +     IFMGA Guide     +     TU Wien     +     TeX Live
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