Difference between revisions of "TeX"

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TeX (pronounced /ˈtɛx/, as in Greek, often /ˈtɛk/ in English; written with a lowercase 'e' in imitation of the logo)[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TeX] is a typesetting system. It has been used successfully since the eighties and produces the highest quality output available from a free system. It is published under and [[Open Source]] license. Help about using the PM&C styles is given below in the code snippets section. [http://www.ee.up.ac.za/LaTeX/ This] is also a good local resource.
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TeX (pronounced /ˈtɛx/, as in Greek, often /ˈtɛk/ in English; written with a lowercase 'e' in imitation of the logo)[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TeX] is a typesetting system. It is most commonly used with the LaTeX macros. It has been used successfully since the eighties and produces the highest quality output available from a free system. It is published under and [[Open Source]] license.
  
== Installing TeX ==
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== Installing TeX/LaTeX ==
  
To install a copy of [[MiKTeX]] on your system, follow the following steps:
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A full LaTeX system is made up of many programs working together, along with a large number of additional packages. When these are combined they are known as a distribution.
* Download the [http://ragnarok.up.ac.za/programdownloads/miktex.zip <tt>miktex.zip</tt>] file. Extract to a temporary folder. Note that this is the (2.4) version.
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* It might be faster for advanced users to download [ftp://ftp.up.ac.za/mirrors/miktex.com/miktex/pub/setup/wget.exe <tt>wget.exe</tt> and then open a command window and type the following (in an empty folder):
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wget -r --no-directories <nowiki>ftp://ftp.up.ac.za/mirrors/miktex.com/tm/packages</nowiki>
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wget -r --no-directories <nowiki>ftp://ftp.up.ac.za/mirrors/miktex.com/setup</nowiki>
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This also ensures you get the latest packages. If you don't understand that, skip it.
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* Locate and run the setup.exe in the folder you just extracted (or downloaded).
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* Follow [http://ftp.up.ac.za/mirrors/miktex.com/miktex/pub/setup/install.html these instructions], which include screenshots (you can leave out the downloading part).
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If you didn't follow those instructions, the gist of it is
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We recommend the [https://miktex.org/howto/install-miktex MiKTeX] distribution for Windows users and [http://www.tug.org/mactex/ MacTeX] for Mac users. If you use Linux, you can usually install a packaged version of texlive using your package manager.
* determine which option you want to install (small, medium, large). The disk space requirements vary from 200 to about 500 MB. The large option contains all the options you might need, and some you'll never use!
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* select the install option on the first page and then click the defaults for the rest of the options.
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* Go get some coffee, smoke a cigarette, do some other work. Perhaps wait for lunch before attempting this. The install takes ages (up to an hour on an oldish computer).
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When the install has finished, you will have a working TeX system.
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The [https://www.latex-project.org/get/ LaTeX project website] also maintains an up-to-date list of distributions.
* Now learn TeX by reading [http://ragnarok.up.ac.za/documents/lshort.pdf this] and have a look at the code snippets section
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The next step is to install an editor and some [[PostScript]] tools.
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== Learning to use LaTeX ==
 
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Please read the [http://mirrors.ctan.org/info/lshort/english/lshort.pdf The not so Short Introduction to LaTeX] before you start editing LaTeX documents. It should take about 2 hours and gives an excellent guide of the concepts.
== Installing Postscript tools ==
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PostScript tools for lab users. Simply install:
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* [http://ragnarok.up.ac.za/programdownloads/PStools/gs800w32.exe Ghostscript] and
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* [http://ragnarok.up.ac.za/programdownloads/PStools/gsv43w32.exe Ghostview].
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Use all the defaults and not much can go wrong.
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== Installing LaTeX editors ==
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The best IDE for new LaTeX users is TeXNicCenter (http://ragnarok.up.ac.za/programdownloads/latexide).
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Just follow the [http://ragnarok.up.ac.za/programdownloads/latexide/README.txt instructions] on that page to install the editor and the UK (en_GB) spellchecker files. When you run the editor it will ask you to choose an environment. Remember that you are using MiKTeX, so you can use the default settings. It might ask you for the "DVI editor". You will have to navigate to the folder where you installed MiKTeX (default is <tt>c:\texmf\miktex\miktex\bin\yap.exe</tt>).
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If you have more courage and are mildly insane, you can try the best editor in existence, originally coded by Richard Stallman himself. Try [[Emacs|Installing Emacs on Windows]]. You know you want to.
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== References ==
 
== References ==
 
# http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TeX
 
# http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TeX

Latest revision as of 10:49, 22 April 2018

TeX (pronounced /ˈtɛx/, as in Greek, often /ˈtɛk/ in English; written with a lowercase 'e' in imitation of the logo)[1] is a typesetting system. It is most commonly used with the LaTeX macros. It has been used successfully since the eighties and produces the highest quality output available from a free system. It is published under and Open Source license.

Installing TeX/LaTeX

A full LaTeX system is made up of many programs working together, along with a large number of additional packages. When these are combined they are known as a distribution.

We recommend the MiKTeX distribution for Windows users and MacTeX for Mac users. If you use Linux, you can usually install a packaged version of texlive using your package manager.

The LaTeX project website also maintains an up-to-date list of distributions.

Learning to use LaTeX

Please read the The not so Short Introduction to LaTeX before you start editing LaTeX documents. It should take about 2 hours and gives an excellent guide of the concepts.

References

  1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TeX