[tex4ht] How to control/optimize the number of times make4ht runs dvilualatex?

[Michal Hoftich]

Hi Nasser,

> For tex4ht, it seems to always run 3 times. Even for the most
> simple files. Here is an example

Yes, make4ht runs latex three times, same as htlatex did.

>
> Running the command (all on one line)
>
> time make4ht -ulm default -a debug report.tex "mathjax,htm"

User the -ulm draft option to compile your file only once. If you
don'ŧ remove temporary files between make4ht, it should suffice.

> My question is: how does make4ht decide it needs to run 3 times
> each time? Is it possible to make it more optimal? How would the
> user control this from outside?

There is only one built-in mode, draft. If you use it, it will call
LaTeX once. In every other case, it calls it three times. You can of
course change that using a build file, where you can declare your own
modes and declare commands to be executed.

The default is this:

if mode=="draft" then
  Make:htlatex{}
else
  Make:htlatex{}
  Make:htlatex{}
  Make:htlatex{}
end

Best regards,
Michal