Re: Future of MiKTeX

There is a way to use fonts in a portable way.
It makes use of the PortableApps.com platform, other programs might also 
exist. (I am in no way affiliated with the product - I just use it 
personally very often.)

1. Download the PortableApps.com platform: http://portableapps.com/
2. Create the following folder (I chose G/my flash drive as my root 
folder of the PortableApps installation): 
G:\PortableApps\PortableApps.com\Data\Fonts
3. Copy and paste your font files in there.
4. Restart the PortableApps.com platform (i.e. restart the "Start" 
application/the "start menu") or just unplug your flash drive.
5. Restart all applications which are supposed to have access to the 
font files.

The only "annoying" step is to remember that you have to start the 
PortableApps.com platform before you start any applications planned to 
make use of the font files.

I used it for Adobe InDesign and Inkscape. I haven't tested LaTeX yet.


Not long ago I found a way of providing local font files There is a way
Am 24.10.2014 um 12:49 schrieb George N. White III:
> On Thu, Oct 23, 2014 at 7:57 PM, Dr. Dietrich Grau <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> Dear list members and friends of MiKTeX
>>
>> 1)    MiKTeX 2.9 bugfixing ends 12/31/2014, that is in two months
>>
>> 2)    MiKTeX 3.0: so far no release date and a roadmap that contains not
>> even one point for Windows user
>>
>> 3)    Until now MiKTeX has only LuaTeX beta-0.76.0-2013062821 (rev 4627)
>> whereas TeXLive 2014 has already since months beta-0.79.1-20140329 (rev
>> 4971)
>>
>> Can anybody ask my question: Is there a future for MiKTeX or do we all have
>> to migrate to TeXLive?
>>
> Are you interested in LuaTeX because you want to use "System" fonts?
>
> There is a long history of TeX systems (Y&Y TeX, emTeX, 4allTeX, fpTeX,
> ...)
> that were very useful but proved unsustainable over the long run because
> they were trapped by dependencies on API's that didn't last.
>
> Where I work we have both MiKTeX and TeX Live (TL).  The biggest problem
> for
> Windows users has been increasingly restrictive limitations on
> administrative
> access by users, making it difficult to manage any TeX installation on
> Windows.
> We also have  Apple OS X systems with MacTeX, which is based on TL.
> This means it is possible to have Windows binaries of TeX Live on a network
> drive accessible to Windows, but managed using OS X.  The same can be
> done using Linux.
>
> With our Windows corporate policy, users to\\are no longer able to install
> "System" fonts to be used with apps such as Adobe Illustrator as well as
> LaTeX.  OS X and linux allow each user to install "personal" fonts without
> the requirement for "admin" privileges.
>
> At present, many users in large organizations are unable to install
> "System"
> fonts.  Until Windows includes a way to install "personal" fonts, users who
> require extra fonts have to use linux or OS X (and if they need fonts in
> LaTeX
> and Adobe apps, only OS X).  That leaves MiKTeX for individual users who
> administer their own systems, which may not be a large enough base to
> support future development.  Because much of the work needed to maintain
> TL helps users on all supported platforms, Windows users who administer
> their own systems can benefit, but will also suffer a) from the compromises
> needed
> by TL to support a range of platforms using mainly non-proprietary
> cross-platform
> API's and b) from problems specific to Windows that go undetected due to the
> limited user base.
>


------------------------------------------------------------------------------