Thread: What LaTeX software do i need?

Hi!

I have been using LaTeX quite much now at this form, and I think it is a very nice tool! Now I would like to use LaTeX to write equations for word so I could have them in my physics reports. What I understand is that LaTeX is not a program, but a kind of language. Do I need any programs to write the LaTeX code in, and what software do I need to have for converting a LaTeX expression to something that is printable or can be viewed at the screen? Also, how do I get them into word?

Thank's in advance!

Here are two websites for you.
TeX Users Group (TUG) home page
Design Science - How Science Communicates

If your using a mac. LaTeX it is pretty good.

No, I'm running windows.

I have overlooked some different software. I have installed MiKTeX (although I am not sure what it really does) and TeXnicCenter which is an IDE. yap, that comes with MiKTeX is supposed to view the LaTeX files. But that program wants the files in dvi-format, and with TeXnicCenter I can only save in LaTeX and BibTeX format! :/ Why can't I view a tex-file in yap? Also, when I try to view the output of the LaTeX code directly from TeXnicCenter, yap is opened but doesn't show anything.

Then I also need a tool to convert the LaTeX code and get it into word somehow (not as a raster image). I found TeX4ht, but I don't understand how to install or use it. ^_^; Isn't there some other free LaTeX-to-Word tool?

MathType is a WYSIWYG editor, which is nice, but you need a license for it, so instead I found LyX. Unfortunately the server is down so I can't download and test it. Have someone used LyX and can you recommend it?

Originally Posted by TriKri

No, I'm running windows.

I have overlooked some different software. I have installed MiKTeX (although I am not sure what it really does) and TeXnicCenter which is an IDE. yap, that comes with MiKTeX is supposed to view the LaTeX files. But that program wants the files in dvi-format, and with TeXnicCenter I can only save in LaTeX and BibTeX format! :/ Why can't I view a tex-file in yap? Also, when I try to view the output of the LaTeX code directly from TeXnicCenter, yap is opened but doesn't show anything.

Then I also need a tool to convert the LaTeX code and get it into word somehow (not as a raster image). I found TeX4ht, but I don't understand how to install or use it. ^_^; Isn't there some other free LaTeX-to-Word tool?

MathType is a WYSIWYG editor, which is nice, but you need a license for it, so instead I found LyX. Unfortunately the server is down so I can't download and test it. Have someone used LyX and can you recommend it?

A tex file is (La)TeX source file, which you complie with one of the tools
provided into either a dvi, ps, pdf file which can then be viewed with the
appropriate viewer (usualy yap for dvi, ghostview for the ps and Acrobat
viewer (or ghostview) for the pdf.

RonL

Thanks

What compilers is aviable? Does it come any compiler with MiKTeX? What should i compile it to if I want to get it into word?

Originally Posted by TriKri

Thanks

What compilers is aviable? Does it come any compiler with MiKTeX? What should i compile it to if I want to get it into word?

They come with MikTeX, get youself one of the front ends like TeXnic centre
and you will find them set up on one of the tool bars (or possibly a menu)

RonL

We will disprove the conjecture that if is prime then is also prime.

Consider . Observe that 11 is prime and that . Therefore the conjecture is false.

An additional counterexample is .

Design Science sell an easy-to-use and very satisfying extension to Word's "Equation Editor" but (a) it costs money, and (b) it creates bloated word documents which become unwieldy if they get to 10 or 20 pages long. It used to make my Windows machine crash frequently. What this program does is generate LaTeX embeddings in a Word document. It's straightforward to extract these objects and manipulate their source code.

I went the whole way and installed MikTeX, and (when I'm writing documents) I exclusively use TeXnicCenter. I followed the instructions carefully, making sure I installed everything I was invited to (yes it took a long time but hard drives are cheap memory nowadays). At the end of the process I was able to generate docs in PDF, PS and DVI format. So you ought to be able to do it.

Once upon a time I thought I needed to create Word documents with LaTeX embeddings. But then I realised that this was completely unnecessary. A LaTeX doc is a standalone entity and lemme tell you this, it looks loads better than anything you can create in Word.

You can also create colossal documents, but over 1000 pages and the header/footer formatting starts looking a bit strained.

Your target audience ought to be able to read PDF files. Negotiate with them if this is a problem, state your case that Word documents are not the best form for your work.

I have found this to be a neat tutorial on getting started with MikTex.

Will Doerner's Notes: LaTeX

Good luck!