Finding a Good Free LaTeX Editor

[jmcgraw]

What's a good freeware latex editor?

I've been trying to install LEd, but it's not going smoothly, so I don't want to waste anymore time if it's not worth it.

Any suggestions?

 

[Hurkyl]

I liked TeXnic center, if you're looking for an IDE.

 

[jmcgraw]

Thanks. Just tried it out and it works great!

 

[Daverz]

I've only used it for Java, but Netbeans can be used as a LaTeX IDE:

http://latex.netbeans.org/

 

[Triss]

I never used anything other than emacs with AucTeX. http://www.math.aau.dk/~dethlef/Tips/

 

[Pseudo Statistic]

Well, if you're looking to get the job done quickly and want something word-processorish, LyX is definitely the way to go. (Saved me from learning TeX while learning enough of the mathematical symbolic representations :D)
http://www.lyx.org

 

[robphy]

I just installed LEd yesterday... and it seems to work fine with my already installed MikTeX. I did have to change a dvi-viewer(?) setting away from MikTeX2 to MikTeX... I'm not exactly sure... I did it on my other computer.

[update]
In LEd... I had to navigate to Configuations->Options->Application->DVI Viewer->TeX Distribution
and change it to "based on MikTeX". FYI... The dvi viewer can have its own window...or else use the little triangle on the mid-to-upper right side.
[/update]Some DVI viewers (like MikTeX's YAP and LEd's viewer) support an inverse-search feature, which let's you click on the .dvi and have the source .tex opened in an editor to the corresponding location. YAP can also accept a line number argument to view the DVI page corresponding to that line number (e.g. the cursor's current line number which might be passed by the editor). I only know of one editor (UltraEdit) that can pass its cursor's line number to YAP. Are there any other editors or IDE/DVI-viewer setups that can do this?

 

[nbo10]

winedt...

 

[eGuevara]

Well, if you're looking to get the job done quickly and want something word-processorish, LyX is definitely the way to go. (Saved me from learning TeX while learning enough of the mathematical symbolic representations :D)
http://www.lyx.org

I agree 100% with Pseudo Statistic, LyX is quite good and very powerful.

 

[dazzwater]

My requirements are as follows:
1. something word-processorish
2. which allows me to quickly work through text documents with interspersed math equations
3. without having to worry about LaTeX-related syntax errors for mundane things like spacing and fonts

My primary requirement is speed, since I'm using it during classes and when summarizing class notes and textbooks. I've tried various WYSIWYG and non-WYSIWYG editors, but I found that, though its not technically a LaTeX editor, Google Docs and its Equation Editor is actually the best solution here. Just type \frac, \sum, etc and you get your LaTeX-formatted equations in real-time, plus you get the benefits of a powerful doc editor.

\\just saw that the thread is 5 years old. I guess Google Docs wasn't as advanced then.

 

[Phyisab****]

Lyx has worked well for me in the past.

 

[GregJ]

Texworks was my first choice.

 

[Anonymous217]

I tried LyX and I'd say it's pretty good especially for beginners, but I have trouble using more complex codes that don't transfer to a graphical interface/WYSIWYG well.

I've been using TeXnic center with Sumatra PDF as my 'graphical interface' per say (TeXnic on left side of screen, Sumatra on right) and it works wonderfully. I get the best of both worlds.

 

[Norman]

This is actually OS dependent IMO.

I agree that for Windows Texnic Center is quite good - that is what I use on my Windows machine. For any Linux flavor - would choose Kile. Best IDE for Latex on Linux in my experience.

 

[brydustin]

I installed Lyx just a few days ago to start writing my thesis... If you don't have time to be a master at LaTeX then Lyx is for you. It literally took me a few hours to get the basics down (and I have no clue how to run LaTeX much less get all the required files going). It was a no brainer for me.

 

[implicitnone]

Lyx + TeXniccenter would be a nice couple as free programs. If you want to pay Scientific Workplace + Win EDT are the best solutions (imho).

 

[abikutn]

INLAGE ! ... The best so far after Texnic ... Worth it ...

 

[GregJ]

Been playing around with Gummi (the windows version that is still in beta) and it's nice, although it's a bare basic editor. Only windows latex editor that has a live update feature as far as I know.

Trying to get the hang of LyX as it does seem good, but I don't like not being in control of the code (it is nice to actually learn the code, as it comes in handy often). So i'll probably ditch it.

I am liking the new TeXnicCenter Alpha though :D

 

[cobalt124]

Texniccenter, easy install, plus Tikz/pgf for fancy diagrams that comes with a very good manual.

 

[hunt_mat]

I use Kile, but that's on linux, I am not sure if there is a windows version.

 

[Fredrik]

I've seen a several threads on this topic, and I think all of them mentioned Texmaker, so I guess it should at least be mentioned here too. I don't have a lot more to say about it, since I've been using LEd myself.

LEd is pretty good but a bit buggy. I've had issues with crashes, saving my settings, and the built-in dvi viewer. (It confused the hell out of me by displaying mathbb characters a little bit shifted to the left, so that I thought I had to put a space before each mathbb character). I also tried to install it on another computer to use it temporarily for a few days and couldn't get the dvi viewer to work at all.

Is the advice in this thread perhaps obsolete? It's a very old thread.

 

[Norman]

Things haven't changed much for me in the last 4 years of document prep with LaTeX. What OS environment are you in? For windows - TeXnicCenter (with miktex) is my go to. In a linux environment - I always like Kile. Both have nice options, good layout, and easy installation.

 

[jhae2.718]

Since nobody has mentioned it: vim

 

[qspeechc]

I use WinShell, because it does all the downloading of packages for you, without that I would be completely lost, but otherwise it's very pleasant to work with.

 

[Ackbach]

If I had my druthers, I would use something that had the keybindings of vim, but the windowing behavior of TeXworks. Because I am a teacher, I find that I open and close a lot of small $\LaTeX$ files frequently. And the ability of TeXworks automatically to open the associated pdf, and tile them for me on my computer screen saves me a lot of time. Moreover, when I close the source file, the pdf closes automatically. That's nice! Again, because I am not typically working on huge files, I find that the keybindings of vim, while incredible in their power, don't save me as much time as the windowing features of TeXworks.

 

[FrankFerrese]

TeXMaker for Linux is my current favorite.

 

[freshman123]

Why not try Scientific Workplace? It's a good editor that is used easier than Latex-type editor!

 

[Hellmut1956]

I have chosen to use BaKoMa, the only wysiwyg latex editor on the market!

 

[JorisL]

Sharelatex.com is great as well.
Easy to collaborate with others and no need to manually update packages.

 

[Svein]

If you do not want to install anything: http://formulasheet.com/#r|ed

 

[Septim]

Although this is an old topic I would like to write about my experience. I have used TeXstudio which is a derivative of Texmaker essentially, as far as I know they use the same back-end. The cross-platform editor is sufficient for all my purposes and I used it with MikTeX on Windows and TeXLive on Ubuntu 32/64 bit. There are many customizations available.

 

[Dr. Courtney]

TeXworks for me.

 

[mohinder]

Another vote for either Texmaker or texstudio (which is a fork of texmaker). I believe both are cross platform, and FOSS.

 

[LoopInt]

While this is not a pure LaTeX editor, you might like the one I created. It can render with pdflatex and export to .tex.
However, I made it to be simpler and faster to write than LaTeX, but to keep things beatiful like LaTeX typesetting.

Some key advantages are Python and Sympy integration. You can code and call Python variables in the text. Instead of writting the equation, you can use sympy solver.

I'm still making it, but if anyone is interested check out [https://github.com/Huyston/WillNotebook]

 

[Aufbauwerk 2045]

I don't know about the "best" editor, but I've been using the MiKTex distribution (http://www.miktex.org) which includes an editor/compiler. Actually I do most of my text input in Notetab (http://www.notetab.com), then load the nearly ready text into MiKTex and make any small changes in their editor, with quick feedback in PDF form.