problems with local user format files

[Ulrike Fischer]

Am Thu, 15 Oct 2020 22:47:08 +0900 schrieb Norbert Preining:

> Hi Ulrike,
> 
> I cannot add much to what Zdenek said. The only time I have seen this is
> with missing formats that are then auto-generated in $TEXMFVAR instead
> of $TEXMFSYSVAR.

Well it happens, and quite regularly. In the last months I deleted
more than once a format there - and I swear I didn't delete the
system formats before. And e.g just today Phelype had the problem
that he didn't see a fix because of a local format:

kpsewhich --all --engine=pdftex pdflatex.fmt
/home/phelype/.texlive2020/texmf-var/web2c/pdftex/pdflatex.fmt
/usr/local/texlive/2020/texmf-var/web2c/pdftex/pdflatex.fmt

I can't say if it is due to something new in texlive - it could be
that it only pop ups now more often as expl3 checks if the format
has the correct date. 

> 
> Possible ways to disable this behaviour are:
> - set MKTEXFMT=0 in texmf.cnf and disable automatic format generation
>   completely

Thanks I will try this. 




-- 
Ulrike Fischer 
http://www.troubleshooting-tex.de/