Thread: Help getting started with latex

Hi everyone.

I've been doing a lot of math this semester, and I am coming to realize more and more that I need latex. I've grown used to using ms word's equation editing feature to the point that I know most of the escape sequences, but I need to move to latex for several reasons. To name a few: Not everyone can read my documents; Word is not "formatting friendly (for example I can't number equations); and most importantly I need macros to speed up my homeworks and such.

Given my needs, what software (preferably free) do you recommend I download, in which I can use macros, create files I could send via email, and easily preview my equations (automatic preview-as-you-type would be nice)?

Also, what's a good resource to teach Latex (for a beginner, say)?

Originally Posted by Mazerakham

Hi everyone.

I've been doing a lot of math this semester, and I am coming to realize more and more that I need latex. I've grown used to using ms word's equation editing feature to the point that I know most of the escape sequences, but I need to move to latex for several reasons. To name a few: Not everyone can read my documents; Word is not "formatting friendly (for example I can't number equations); and most importantly I need macros to speed up my homeworks and such.

Given my needs, what software (preferably free) do you recommend I download, in which I can use macros, create files I could send via email, and easily preview my equations (automatic preview-as-you-type would be nice)?

Also, what's a good resource to teach Latex (for a beginner, say)?

I know CB likes to use LyX. I usually install GhostScript, GhostView, MiKTeX, and TextPad, in that order. And then there are a few things you can do to make them work together better such as setting up inverse search, setting up a TeX-ing tool, etc. The software I use is not WYSIWYG; I think LyX is much closer to that ideal. CB could tell you about that. However, the software I use I work with fairly quickly. I just tile the windows so that I can see the code and the resulting document in YaP. Also, I would recommend getting Math Into LaTeX, by George Grätzer. It's a nice introduction, and should get you started. It got me pretty much all the way through my math Ph.D. dissertation.