INSTALLING & RUNNING LATEX2e
ON WINDOWS 98


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INSTALLED COMPONENTS

  • MiKTeX 2.1
  • Ghostview 7.03
  • GSView 4.0
  • WinEdt 5.2
  • Yap 0.98 (Yap comes included with one of the programs)

DOWNLOAD

  1. Download MiKTeX 2.1 , either small or large 'package' plus setup.exe file, from MiKTeX Website . I downloaded the small package into the directory c:\latex\miktex2.1\.
  2. Download Ghostview 7.03 from Ghostview Website.
  3. Download GSView 4.0 from GSView Website.
  4. Download WinEdt 5.2 from WinEdt Website.

INSTALLATION

  1. Install MiKTeX by double clicking on the setup.exe file, wherever you put it. The installation wizard guides you through the installation process. Choose all default settings. The program gets placed in the default directories c:\texmf\ and c:\localtexmf\. (The Installation wizard needs to know 'the local repository for the package you are installing', ie. the directory path to all the files are you have downloaded and want to install.)
  2. Install Ghostview by double clicking on the file \gs703w32.exe (the file with the ghost icon). Choose all default settings. The program gets placed in the default directory c:\gs\. NOTE: You must install Ghostview before installing GSView.
  3. Install GSView by double clicking on the file \gsv40w32.exe (the file with the ghost with red spectacles icon). Choose all default settings. The program gets placed in the default directory c:\ghostgum\.
  4. Install WinEdt. Double click on Setup.exe (the file with the computer icon) and let Install Shield guide you through the rest of installation. Choose all default settings. The program gets placed in the default directory c:\Program Files\WinEdt.
WinEdt, during installation, automatically finds MiKTeX, Yap, Ghostview and GSView.

(Even though WinEdt Configuration Wizard 'Search for Executables' said it couldn't find gswin32c.exe, the file was in c:\gs\gs7.03\bin\. In any case, GSView seems to work just fine.)

WORKING WITH DOCUMENTS

When WinEdt opens for the first time, it automatically opens the Configuration Wizard (Help Menu > Configuration Wizard). The information contained here is very helpful. "Searching For Executables" is a useful for seeing what .exe files WinEdt can find and cannot find. This area also provides some guidance for fixing things.

WinEdt comes with sample documents as well as explanation on how to generate a .dvi file and then a .ps file, providing all the necessary components are correctly installed (see Installation).

In WinEdt, you can easily open or copy and paste .tex files.

PUZZLES & QUESTIONS

I'm not sure what the difference is between c:\localtexmf\ and c:\texmf\. During the Installation I was offered options re. these directories. I chose the default settings. The Configuration Wizard might have some help on this.

How can I change the default typeface (font) for the whole document?

FILE LOCATIONS

  • Latex2e.exe lives in c:\texmf\miktex\bin\.
  • There are lots of .exe files in c:\texmf\miktex\bin\.
  • There are lots of .sty files in c:\texmf\tex\latex\ltxmisc\.
  • Installing a 'packagename'.sty file you put it in c:\localtexmf\tex\latex\'stylename'\.
  • I am saving my .tex files in ...\my documents\...
  • The .cab files are a type of .zip files. These are types of 'packages'.
  • There are lots of .hlp (Help) files in c:\texmf\doc\. These files are .dvi. If you double click on them, they open in Yap.

INSTALLING NEW PACKAGES

This is how to install .sty or other 'package' files.

  1. Create the following directory: c:\localtexmf\tex\latex\'stylename'\ (eg.: to install the style called booktabs, create the directory c:\localtexmf\tex\latex\booktabs\).
  2. Put 'stylename'.sty file in this folder. (If a .sty file has not been offered to you but you have been offered a .dtx file, there is a special installation process - see my Tex notes file).
  3. From Windows Start Up, run MiKTeX Options > Refresh the file name database. If you cannot find an icon for MiKTeX Options, it is the file c:\texmf\miktex\bin\mo.exe.

INSTALLING TtH

I tried to run TtH from WinEdt, but in the pop-up TtH DOS window I got the error message 'Bad command'. I was puzzled, as the Accessories Menu > HTML offered the option TtH. After much searching I figured out that the 'package' TtH was not installed, and that the TtH.exe file was not on my computer. Eventually I found the TtH Home Page from which I downloaded an .exe file in a .zip form.

I copy and pasted TtH.exe to the directory c:\texmf\miktex\bin\. I then went to MiKTeX Options and ran the Filename Database Update. NOW, I am given the option Accessories Menu > HTML > HTML Preview. BUT, all the html codes are showing, not acting like html codes. Either I need to learn more about how to correctly format a Tex document and/or I need to do a better job installing TtH.

TtHGold, availabe from Digibuy for $60.00, has a full Windows installation element.

DECLARATIONS, COMMANDS AND OTHER LATEX2E STUFF

\bf = bold face
% = Start a line with % to write notes to yourself which will not appear in your document.
New Paragraph = Leave a blank line to start a new paragraph
& in output = \& in input
\newpage = page break command

ADDITIONAL HELP

Reference books (available @ amazon.co.uk):

  • Latex Line By Line, by Antoni Diller
  • Latex, A Document Preparation System, by Leslie Lampton
  • A Guide To Latex, by Kopka & Daly

Helpful web sites include:

 

(c) 2001 Kele Baker