TeX/LaTeX for Windows

I am always happy on suggestions and notes on possible errors. When reporting, please always include the version number:
Revision: 1529 Date: 2009-06-12 22:22:28 +0200 (Fr, 12 Jun 2009)

This translation is at the beginning of its lifecycle. There will definitely be mistakes. I will do my best to find and fix them. If you feel to do so, give me hints how to improve.

Many thanks to a number of readers for suggestions and corrections.

This document exists in HTML as well as in PDF 1.5¹Â . The correct URLs are:

• http://schlosser.info/downloads/latexsystem-en.pdf for the PDF version and
• http://schlosser.info/latexsystem-en for the HTML-page.

A German version is available:
http://schlosser.info/latexsystem

Contents

1 Intention

LATEX is not just a program but a language and a methodology of describing documents and gets used via a LATEX system. With that not only scientific papers can be prepared, but also excellent letters, presentation and much more.

For all that have not worked with free software so far it may be strange in the beginning to have to integrate different components to a system on their own, and some will not easily have the heart to do so. For this I present my own environment that I use to generate from LATEX Postscript and PDF as well as HTML.

This is not a introduction to LATEX, there are some excellent documents available in the net as well as books are. For beginners the best will be the “Not so short introduction to LATEX2εâ€?, delivered with approximately every LATEX distribution in <texmf>/doc/guides/lshort-german/, or to be downloaded from CTAN.org²Â . Essential also is the UK TEX FAQ, to be obtained from the UK TeX Archive³Â . Then we should mention l2tabu, that lists obsolete commands and packages and their alternatives. Not to forget is the documentation of the KOMAScript bundle, a widespread class library, that answers additionally a lot of typographic questions. It can be found in every better LATEX distribution in <texmf>/doc/latex/koma-script/.

If you have severe problems with installation although using this tutorial, or have another question related to LATEX, should not write to me personally but search in the Internet and the FAQ. In case of continuous confusion you can post in the newsgroup comp.text.tex⁴ . Most questions can be answered there, and also concerning Windows installation this is preferrable, because answers are for everyone’s benefits and numerous competent users and developers read along.

A last important note: This tutorial is not a substitute for the original documentations of the particular programs and building blocks ⁵ . In case of errors or warnings, consult the documentation of the particular program. This tutorial exclusively cares for the mentioned programs. Sections concerning EMACS, as an example, cannot be transferred for XEmacs without special care. More recent versions of programs usually are no problem (without guarantee).

2 Overviewing the used Software Packages

In order to be able to work efficiently, besides the main TEX distribution different components are needed. A summary of all programs installed at my site and their versions can be found in section 2.5.

2.1 LATEX Distribution: MiKTEX

The LATEX distribution is the core of the system. It contains the most important programs needed for generation of DVI, Postscript and PDF, and all additional packages that offer extended possibilities as e.g. musical typesetting, standard layouts for different organizations, layout specialties, etc..

I use MiKTEX 2.7. In my opinion this distribution is easy to install, works quite good and is updated regularly. Depending on the user’s choice, 30 up to 500 MB are to be downloaded. Alternatively a—not always up to date— CD ROM can be ordered.

2.2 Editor

The distribution is only responsible to transform an input to an output. The input itself is created with the editor of your choice. My choice is GNU EMACS. Besides that I want to mention TEXMAKER.

2.2.1 Texmaker

For keeping the beginning with LATEX as simple as possible, I recommend TEXMAKER as Editor⁶ , differing from my personal setup.

For pure mouse oriented users TEXMAKER is likely to be the more comfortable Editor of the both mentioned here. TEXMAKER is well updated and convenient to use, because besides graphical menus for most mathematical symbols and all relevant commands it shows so called tool tips during typing of commands. Pre-defined output profiles and much more make it a quite usable editor. Especially for a newbie in LATEXTEXMAKER is recommendable if EMACS is unknown. Finally it is enough to have to learn one concept in the beginning. Later you can and should switch to the professional tool EMACS.

Nevertheless it has to be stressed that TEXMAKER misses many features that are ordinary in EMACS, e.g. a numerated table of contents view or a powerful handling of labels and cites. The integrated spell-checker also does not show the quality as ISPELL/ASPELL does for EMACS. The help function is present, but mainly bothers with LATEX, special hints on the editor are quite sparse.

2.2.2 Emacs + RefTeX + AUCTeX + Ispell

If you already have worked with LATEX under UNIX, you might have used EMACS, one of the most powerful GNU software.

I did not only decide to switch to EMACS due to the core editor but because of the add-ons AUCTEX and REFTEX. AUCTEX offers keyboard shortcuts for all important LATEX constructs, speeding up work significantly. On insertion of cross references, REFTEX lets the user select one out of a list of all existing labels, and does help with generation of these labels. Insertion of bibliographic cites is much more efficient and fast with REFTEX, too.

In any case it is a good idea to read introductions or tutorials for EMACS and AUCTEX and to get the Emacs reference card from www.refcards.com. The initial learning effort pays out, it is more that compensated by fast and efficient working.

Moreover you do not have to miss a spell checker in EMACS. It is called ISPELL and integrated into the editor quite good. A Windows port that I equipped with an installer for easier usage can be downloaded from my home page⁷ . It contains dictionaries for English and German. Additional languanges like “newâ€? German, French, Italian, etc. can easily be found in the net.

The last add-on to be mentioned is the WYSIWYG⁸  plugin PREVIEW-LATEX, which shows a preview of formulas, graphics and tables as they will look later on in the generated document. This merges the best from both worlds WYSIWYG and offline editing⁹ . Formulas, e.g. are edited in the powerful LATEX syntax but shown as preview immediately after editing them, so it is more simple to navigate within the document and to cross-read without the need to open a second window with the generated output of the document. For the installation of PREVIEW-LATEX, besides GHOSTSCRIPT, a shell environment is needed. For this MSYS from the Minimalist GNU for Windows project (MinGW) is perfectly appropriate.

EMACS offers e.g. a button bar and is fully configurable by menus, completed by a fabulous online help.

2.3 Graphics in Postscript with Ghostscript

For UNIX users it is unquestionable, for Windows users initially strange: The usage of Postscript as exchange format for vector graphics of every kind. Following this paradigm, it is best to link graphics as (Encapsulated) Postscript (PS/EPS) in LATEX.

From all Windows applications with their file formats, e.g. existing Word- or PowerPoint drawings, Bitmaps or vector files like CorelDraw, Postscript can be generated without problems even if the application does not support this directly. It becomes possible by printing through a Postscript printer driver into a file, particularly the driver for the Apple Color LaserWriter 12/600.

For viewing existing Postscript files and to make small changes you need GHOSTSCRIPT with its graphical front-end GSVIEW.

With these first three components the primary task of LATEX can be solved perfectly: The generation of printer- and camera-ready, perfectly typesetted documents.

2.4 HTML translation

TEX4HT has the advantage that it is contained as package in the MIKTEX distribution¹⁰ . Though, if you want the absolutely most recent version, you should and can install it without problems. Usually this is not necessary, but can be useful if you want or have to get updates even before they appear in MIKTEX.

TEX4HT, regardless whether packaged or self-installed, needs the program IMAGEMAGICK for graphics conversion, which is installed very quickly and easily.

2.5 Summary

The included package sizes mean the download sizes, not the space needed for installation.

2.6 Licensing

All of the programs mentioned in this tutorial are at least free of charge, in most cases even free software¹¹Â . All licenses state that the distribution is allowed. Most of them allow furthermore to change the source code, whereas some of them prohibit commercial sale.

Despite the basic free-of-chargeness you have the possibility to reciprocate the individual projects financially. See the projects’ web pages.

3 Installation and Configuration

My system runs on Windows 2000 Professional. Some access paths to certain configurations may deviate under Windows 98/ME from the described. For Windows XP it should be widely identical.

Access paths denominate entries in the start menu, buttons and menu entries with their particular captions.

3.1 Download and install MiKTEX

First of all get the web installer from http://www.miktex.org and run it. Now you have to think on what you want, because there are the alternatives Basic and Complete. If you are connected to the Internet with broadband, it is best to get Complete, otherwise the other one. When you get more familiar with MikTEX, you can download single packages on request, so that limited connection to the Internet is no obstacle. Alternatively you can order a CD"=ROM of MikTEX, updated several times per year.

The installation itself is quite easy: Simply click on continue until the installer finishes, accepting all defaults. All programs can then be started directly from command line.

Those peferring some pictures in install manuals can also take¹²Â  into account for installing MIKTEX.

3.2 Graphics Preparation and Conversion

You best start with the Postscript printer driver. It gets configured by Start → Settings → Printers → Add Printer. First you select local printer and as adapter the FILE port, the right printer driver is the Apple Color LaserWriter 12/600. The printer name is best set to “Postscript File�.

After installation do the following settings under Start → Settings → Printers → Postscript File → Printer → Printer Settings → Advanced → Document Options → Postscript Settings: Set Postscript-Output to “Optimal Portability� and TrueType Download to “Contour�. The ICM Color Matching should be deactivated for avoidance of color adulterations. The Print Quality Mode should be “Best�.

From now on every Windows application can produce Postscript files, simply by using the new printer. The generated file—which should be given the file extension .ps instead of the default .prn—can be viewed in GSVIEW and converted to EPS.

For automatic further processing it is best to install GHOSTSCRIPT, obtained from http://ghostscript.com/releases/. Nothing special to bear in mind (simply Enter until finished). Because of the possible wish to view Postscript file for checkup, get and install GSVIEW from http://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~ghost/gsview/, the graphical front end of GHOSTSCRIPT. During the installation, do set the directory to C:\Programme\Ghostscript, too, and also as program group specify the same as suggested during the installation of GHOSTSCRIPT.

It exceedingly useful to add GHOSTSCRIPT to the search path. So again, in Start → Settings → Control Panel → System → Advanced → Environment Variables add to the variable PATH the respective directory, e.g. C:\Programme\Ghostscript\gs8.54\bin, separated by a colon. Attention: No spaces before or after entries of the PATH variable!

In order to simplify work in the long run I recommend to setup an “EPS Printerâ€?, for this I have a short tutorial, too¹³Â .

3.3 Configure Texmaker

TEXMAKER, to be obtained from http://www.xm1math.net/texmaker/, is installed quite rapidly: Like with MIKTEX simply accept all installer defaults. At the first start TEXMAKER asks whether it should configure itself for usage with MIKTEX, which you affirm and accept all defaults.

3.4 Configure Emacs

EMACS is likely to be the most powerful editor of all, but requires several steps for installation, for that the installation is to be exercised.

For all environment variables it is to be reckoned that if you want to set an environment variable just for the current user, you create it in User Variables. If they should apply to all users, create them in System Variables. We need EMACS in its version 2.22, which we download from http://www.de-mirrors.de/gnuftp/emacs/windows/emacs-22.2-bin-i386.zip, and AUCTEX as precompiled package, to get from http://ftp.gnu.org/pub/gnu/auctex/auctex-11.85-e22.2-msw.zip. Unpack the EMACS archive emacs-22.2-bin-i386.zip into the programs directory, resulting in a directory like e.g. C:\Programme\emacs. In exactly this directory then unzip the archive auctex-11.85-e22.2-msw.zip, overwriting at least one file. Most unzippers ask before doing that.

For easier starting EMACS, in directory C:\Programme\emacs\bin run the installer addpm.exe and accept the settings. This creates a shortcut in the Windows start menu.

With this, Emacs is ready to run.

3.4.1 AUCTEX + RefTEX

The integration of AUCTEX with REFTEX has to be activated separatedly. For this, start EMACS and use it to create the configuration file .emacs within you HOME directory (UNIX shortcut name ~) with C-x C-f ~/.emacs RET¹⁷ . Here you add the following lines:

Then save the file by C-x C-s, close Emcas with C-x C-c, and the setup is completed. The installation was successful, if when opening a .tex file in the menu bar new entries “Previewâ€? and “LaTeXâ€? appear.

If you want faster and smaller preview images, you have to get an additional graphics library from XXXX.

When being in PDF mode (C-c C-t C-p), you now can call Preview-LATEX with C-c C-p C-d.

3.4.2 Ispell

ISPELL can be installed quite easily by means of my distribution¹⁸ . The suggested directory can be accepted confidently. Additionally the program gets o added to the search path. Attention: the environment variable HOMEmust already exist in advance.

3.5 Setup of the File Types

Only as a further simplification we create a new file type. First we need a little add-on to EMACS, allowing to open further files in an already running EMACS Window. The add-on is called EMACSSERV, and comes along with EMACS.

Now create a new file type. For this, open a command window and type¹⁹ :

Then we can assign several file name extensions to this type. We do this for .tex and .ltx by typing

From then on double clicking a .tex file leads to execution of EMACS.

TEXMAKER can do this setting on its own, you get asked at first start of the program.

The assoc command I additionally execute for the file name extensions .sty, .cls, .lco and .bib.

Now EMACS is completely configured and you can start working with the most powerful LATEX editor.

These were the last steps for configuring a system for generation of printer and camera ready documents in PDF or Postscript. If you do not want to generate HTML, you are basically done here.

3.6 Install latest TeX4ht

TEX4HT is included in MIKTEX and, if you selected the total installation, already on your hard disk for usage. However, if you find an improvement in the change log of TEX4HT on http://www.cse.ohio-state.edu/~gurari/TeX4ht/bugfixes.html²⁰  that you want to use (like I do usually), you should download the current package from that site.

The precondition for TEX4HT on the one hand is GHOSTSCRIPT that we installed in a previous section, and on the other hand IMAGEMAGICK, which gets configured as follows:

Get the Windows executable from the IMAGEMAGICK web site under Downloads²¹Â  and install it. Simply acknowledge the defaults, then the converter program is added to your search path.

For safety the MIKTEX packages for TEX4HT should be removed. Call the MikTeX package manager (mpm.exe) and un-install the packages tex4ht and miktex-tex4ht-bin. Simply select and click the minus sign.

Now we start installing the literal TEX4HT. For this, get the latest package from the TEX4T bugfix page http://www.cse.ohio-state.edu/~gurari/TeX4ht/bugfixes.html²²Â , it has a name like tex4ht-x.y.jjjj_mm_dd_hhss.tar.gz. Unpack it to C:\. All recent packers should accept and process .tar.gz. In C:\ you now should have a directory named similar to tex4ht-x.y.jjjj_mm_dd_hhss. Rename this directory to tex4ht.

For making the new files known to the TEX-System, open a command line (Start → Run → “cmd�) and call:

Then the executables have to be added to the search path. As in other places an entry to the environment variable PATH has to be added. So again utilize Start → Settings → Control Panel → System → Advanced → Environment Variables and edit the variable PATH to insert the directory C:\tex4ht\bin\win32;before the entry for c:\texmf\miktex\bin, in case of need at the very beginning.

and replace it by the following²³Â :

TEX4HT is now installed and can be used. If you want to employ the OPENOFFICE.ORG export of TEX4HT, a Zip packer has to be available in the system. I apply INFO-ZIP²⁴  for this, but only copy the file zip.exe to a directory already covered by the search path. After first use of oolatex.bat, if you discover that the generated file is corrupt, you can remedy by editing again the file c:\tex4ht\texmf\tex4ht\base\win32\tex4ht.env and replace the tags <oo-alt> and </oo-alt> by <oo> bzw. </oo> and vice versa, for activating an alternative processing.

3.7 Installation complete

Congratulation! TEX4HT is now installed and the TEX system can generate all important outputs.

What about an export to Word? In principle there is no reason to export LATEX to Word, but there are programs that convert LATEX to the Rich Text Format (.rtf), which you can open in Word then. I sense the best way is via HTML or OPENOFFICE.ORG. This means: convert LATEX with TEX4HT to HTML or OPENOFFICE.ORG, and then open the output in Word resp. OPENOFFICE.ORG.

4 Usage

The generation of outputs is normally directed by the editor programs, there are buttons and/or keyboard shortcuts for this.

For the usage of the EMACS add-ons I refer to their documentation. The access may be bitter, it is really worthwile.

4.1 TeX4ht usage

TEX4HT is a flexible tool for converting LATEX to HTML, but with the loads of options one easily looses overview at the beginning. With a little practice, nevertheless, you can accomplish everything you imagine.

The TEX4HT documentation delivered is not so luxuriant. A comprehensive list of options, written to the log file, you get by calling

at the command line for a arbitrary LATEX file. Be sure to call htlatex.bat, not just htlatex, as this starts a MikTeX program instead.

Because I want XHTML as clear and as small files as possible, I tend to invoke by

for the conversion. This generates XHTML, separate files for two levels of sections, no special font information but basic logical formatting, non-scaled graphics and helpful hyperlinks. If you like to have a more precise reproduction of the fonts, skip the option NoFonts, which of course leads to bigger files. For a monolithic file specify a 0 instead of 2.

4.2 Graphics conversion

All graphics included in a document have to originate somewhere. Generally it is strongly dis-advisable to create diagrams or graphics as bitmaps, with Photoshop or similar programs. I ratzer advise to use vector oriented programs, like e.g. CorelDraw, OpenOffice.org Draw, Visio or related. Applications like Excel or PowerPoint or MATLAB also process their graphics vector oriented, and are able to generate nice Postscript files via our Apple printer driver. These Postscript files then get conversed to EPS ²⁵ .

The generated file with the extension .eps can be loaded into GSVIEW in order to e.g. control whether the bounding box has to be corrected. The bounding box can be showed by selecting the menu entry Options → Show Bounding Box.

In case the bounding box does not fit, the command File → PS to EPS allows to set the bounding box automatically or manually and save the output to a new file. Automatic can be selected if the whole graphic should be used. Manual selection of the bounding box is useful if unwanted head or foot lines should be cropped.

If you want to use PDFLATEX to create Portable Document Format from your documents, you have to convert the EPS files to PDF. For this there is the command epstopdf, like the following:

Bitmap files like JPEG or PNG can be processed directly by PDFLATEX. For usage with the normal LATEX they have to be converted to EPS using bmeps.

Graphics generated by METAPOST, a graphic description language shipped with LATEX by default.

5 If something fails

If anything does not work or behaves apparently wrong, it is no debacle. Often the reason is a forgotten environment variable. So you first should check whether all environment variables suggested by this tutorial are set appropriately. If one misses or has a wrong value, it is possible that a succeeding installation failed, especially that of PREVIEW-LATEX. So do it again. Another popular source of defect: files in wrong places. Go through the tutorial again and check and correct if necessary.

If needed, risk a look to the installation manual of the particular package to find more hints. Of course it cannot be ruled out that my tutorial contains an error. If you find everything in the right place and still not working, ask me and include the version number of the tutorial. Maybe I made some assumption that is not general, or a new version of a package works different and this text is outdated.

6 Prospect

With all the possibilities offered by the numerous LATEX packages always bear in mind: do not loose yourself in gadgets. Choose simple layouts and structure, especially if you plan to publish also in HTML.

This tutorial is far away from covering all subtleties of the document environment. With help of this article nevertheless it should be possible for a reasonably Windows-experienced user to begin relatively quick with editing and typesetting texts. I did discover LATEX not until 2002 for myself and do not want to miss it anymore. Everyone will—getting involved—be inspired of the advantages of letting typeset texts in high quality rather that having to be annoyed by the insufficiencies of a word processor.

If this document helps appeasing the timidity of installing and using such a system and by that lowers the inhibition threshold of the access to LATEX, it has fulfilled its purpose.

Literatur und Programme

Revision: 1529 Date: 2009-06-12 22:22:28 +0200 (Fr, 12 Jun 2009)