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Most of this page is dedicated to installing LaTeX on a Windows machine. The reason is that on Mac OSX and on Unix / Linux installing LaTeX is a rather trivial exercise and a link to a standard website generally suffices even for a novice.
In any operating system, you might want to check if your installation actually works. If you don't have a latex source file handy try LatexExample.tex. After compilation, it should look like LatexExample.pdf. If your reference numbers are missing or all look like (0.0), compile it twice. This is a standard annoyance in LaTeX and has nothing to do with your system.
LaTeX for Windows
Installing LaTeX for Windows has traditionally been a somewhat cumbersome procedure. This has even lead to the emergence of PC TeX, a commercial product. However, nowadays, some free versions of LaTeX for Windows are available and quite straightforward to install. A good example is the ProText package which contains MikTeX (a freeware LaTeX implementation that has been around for quite a while now), a pretty decent flat text editor, and a couple viewers so that you can see the end result of your labor. To download, proceed as follows:
- Download ProText.exe; you can just dump it on your desktop. Be patient, it is an enormous file (671 MB).
- Run ProTeXt.exe. This will create a Folder called ProText on your desktop. In that folder, go to the folder called Install. In the Install folder, open the PDF file protext-install-en.pdf.
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Just go through the steps outlined in protext-install-en.pdf.
This document is a PDF file with working links.
- When installing MikTeX, you will be asked several questions. The standard answer is usually a good one; with two exceptions: choose "Complete MikTeX", rather then "Basic MikTeX" as this will avoid more download sessions in the future and choose "Letter" as main paper format and not "A4". A4 is the standard paper format used in most of the world, but not in the US.
- The installation of TeXnicCenter is a quick "click next" and confirm procedure and should take no more than a minute. The same is true for GhostScript and GSview.
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Now start TechnicCenter. It should show up as a darkish green icon on your desktop.
When you first start TechnicCenter, you'll be asked for the right path to TeX / LaTeX.
It's all in the protext-install-en.pdf file in paragraph "1.6.4 After The Installation".
The standard thing that you want to do is probably to compile a LaTeX document and then see the end result, preferably as PDF. To do this, go to the dropdown menu in the middle of TechnicCenter and set that to "LaTeX => PDF". Now load a test document (see above) or type in some LaTeX commands and compile. Compiling is done by pushing Ctrl-Shift-F5. Also the button with several papers and a looking glass will do this (it's the fourth button from the left).
For more information on TechnicCenter, check out their website: http://www.toolscenter.org/ - You can now remove Protext.exe and the Protext folder. Deleting them can take up to two minutes, because these things are huge.
Flat Text Editors for Windows
LaTeX has to be typeset in "flat text" or "pure ASCII", meaning that you should never use any editor that does any formatting like text in bold or letters in other colors, even the relatively modest "Rich Text" will not be compiled at all. This means that you have to use an ASCII editor. The editor that comes with ProText is pretty decent, but if you prefer to use another one, the following are valid options:
- NppInstaller475.exe: NPP stands for Notepad++. NPP understands the syntax of a multitude of scripts, parsers and programming languages. TeX / LaTeX text editing is one of it's many Language options.
- WinVi32.exe: As you can guess from the name, this is a Vi emulator for Windows. Vi is arguably the most efficient editor around, but has a bad learning curve. This option is mainly for people who have used vi before and want to stick with it.
- If you're an Emacs adept check out GNUEmacs and the XEmacs websites.
- Another fairly popular - and quite sophisticated - choice is WinEdit 2000.
LaTeX for Mac OSX
First, if you are using one of the Macs anywhere in the math department, then LateX is already fully installed, and you should not be installing it again. Installing LaTeX for Mac is a trivial exercise, just follow the instructions on the MacTeX website. MacTeX comes with the TeXShop editor that is also the standard editor on our Macs in the department.
LaTeX for Linux / Unix
If you have a Linux / Unix system, chances are pretty good that LaTex already came with it. If not, the teTeX website is a good place to look for releases.
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