LaTex is supposedly very good in producing lab reports

[JamesJames]

I have heard of something called LaTex which is supposedly very good in producing lab reports etc. I was told that it is available for free somewhere on the internet but after hours of looking I have been unsuccessful in finding it. I would like to know where I could download this free version of the software and how easy is it to use LaTex since I know very little about programming i.e. elementary Fortran and Visual Basic.


thanks,James

 

[iamhumble]

check out http://www.latex-project.org/

 

[chroot]

James,

Which OS are you using? Windows? If so, download a copy of MikTeX. Bear in mind that these programs have a fairly steep learning curve, so feel free to ask questions. You probably will have a hard time figuring it all out on your own.

- Warren

 

[Dr Transport]

www.tug.org has a link to most of the commercial and non-commercial versions along with many packages to use as templates. I would recommend Kile if you are using Linux, best LateX Gui I have seen.

 

[JamesJames]

I; ve downloaded the miktex setup wizard and it has installed miktex on the system(Windows)

 

[maverick280857]

Hi

This is a totally different question regarding an application of LaTeX, but I thought I'd post it here...

Is anyone aware of a program which can convert small latex files to gif/jpg/png/other web-acceptable image formats? Actually somewhat like PF's LaTeX backend?

Thanks and cheers
vivek

 

[NateTG]

Hi

This is a totally different question regarding an application of LaTeX, but I thought I'd post it here...

Is anyone aware of a program which can convert small latex files to gif/jpg/png/other web-acceptable image formats? Actually somewhat like PF's LaTeX backend?

Thanks and cheers
vivek

Most any dvi viewer should do that. There's also dvi2ps and dvi2pdf on the linux side.

 

[JamesJames]

I have downloaded the miktex program as said above but how do I open latex? Do I need to install that package? There are about 5 different packages that start with latex. Do I install all? All I want is to be able to use it to prepare some reports. Any help would be really great since I am new to this .

 

[chroot]

You'll probably need to run latex from a command line. Write up your LaTeX file with a text editor. Then open a DOS prompt, change into the directory where your file resides, and run "pdflatex <myfile.tex>" to turn your latex directly into a pdf file. If you need help writing a LaTeX file, let us know.

- Warren

 

[chroot]

Is anyone aware of a program which can convert small latex files to gif/jpg/png/other web-acceptable image formats? Actually somewhat like PF's LaTeX backend?

PF uses a combination of three programs: latex, dvi2ps, and pstoimg. Latex converts input to dvi, dvi2ps converts that to postscript, and finally pstoimg renders the postscript to an image.

- Warren

 

[JamesJames]

When you say text editor? Do you mean Word? or Notepad?? Those are the only two I know of ! MikTex does not give me some default text editor nor does it seem to provide any Latex text editor so where should I get an editor if I don't already have one?

Then open a DOS prompt, change into the directory where your file resides, and run "pdflatex <myfile.tex>" ...I have XP so I guess it would have to be the Command Prompt right? The directory in which my file is would be C:/ right?

When you say run "pdflatex <myfile.tex>" do you mean Start ---> Run and enter the thing?

James

 

[chroot]

Notepad is a fine text editor. I would not use Word, because it may be a pain to make Word save in plain text format. Personally, I use an editor called TextPad: www.textpad.com

To open a command prompt, go to Start, hit Run, type "command" and hit enter.

I don't know where you save your files. Making a directory under C: is probably a fine idea.

In the command prompt, type "pdflatex myfile.tex", where myfile.tex is just a sample file name. Yours will probably be different.

- Warren

 

[JamesJames]

Thanks...trying it right now.

 

[JamesJames]

One thing...when I save it in notepad, it saves it as a .txt file.

 

[chroot]

I don't think latex really cares about the endings of your filenames, but you might want to rename it to end in .tex just in case.

- Warren

 

[JamesJames]

ok It said I can't find the file myfile.tex...I labelled it markus.tex

 

[JamesJames]

How do I get it to the C: prompt? I type C:\ but it says that it is not recpgnized as an internal or external command

 

[chroot]

Put your file, markus.tex, in a directory like c:\tex.

In the command prompt, type "cd c:\tex" then type "pdflatex markus.tex"

- Warren

 

[Dr-NiKoN]

Surely Windows must have a GUI implementation that hides this from the user? Why not use one of those if your not comfortable with working on a command-line?

 

[chroot]

Dr-NiKoN,

I'm not so sure a GUI interface exists for Windows; nor am I sure that such a GUI would really be easier than just typing 'pdflatex'. If you know of one, please give us more information. If not, please don't assume there is one.

I suppose you could put the commands in a batch file, which you could then double-click.

- Warren

 

[Dr Transport]

Try http://www.winedt.com/or http://www.toolscenter.org/front_content.php, I used winedit for awhile, then switched over to TeXnicCenter. Both are decent gui's, I like TexnicCenter better if I am using a windows box.

 

[JamesJames]

It still says that it cannot find the file...I give up...it' s just not worth it...I am spending hours each day and getting nothing out of it...not worth it...if it is available on CD maybe I should explore that option.

 

[chroot]

It's going to be the same software on CD. Learning to use your computer (basic file manipulation operations and so on) will benefit you greatly down the line, particularly if you are a student.

- Warren

 

[JamesJames]

Is there some way to open it from latex itself? I have selected all the latex packages in the miktex package manager and installed them...Could I get it to convert to pdf by opening one of them?

 

[JamesJames]

This is an online tutorial and I am trying to follow it

At the shell prompt type latex myfile You will see a number of lines of text scroll by in the screen and then you get the prompt back. To view the output in screen, you must have the X Window running . So, start X if you have not done so, and in a terminal window, type xdvi myfile


What is the Xwindow, shell prompt and how do I access them?

 

[chroot]

As far as I know, the only way to invoke latex is via the command line. You might want to consider one of the packages Dr Transport suggested, but I do not know how to use them.

- Warren

 

[chroot]

What is the Xwindow, shell prompt and how do I access them?

The X Window System is used on UNIX computers. You don't need to worry about it. It provides a graphical display somewhat like that provided by Windows.

The "shell prompt" is the same as the command prompt I have been talking about, just in UNIX terminology.

- Warren

 

[JamesJames]

I am trying to uninstall MikTex and re-install it but when I click Add/Remove programs, I do not see Miktex for some reason...how should I uninstall...should I remove each package one by one?

 

[faust9]

http://www.rzuser.uni-heidelberg.de/~t91/analysis-cd/software/miktex_2.0/install.html

 

[paul11273]

If you have MS Word, and you are simply trying to put math into your typed lab reports etc., then use the built in equation editor.

In Word, go to Insert-Object-Equation 3.0

That will open a small box in your document where the equation will go, and it gives you toolbar to select your symbols etc.

You will be up and running in less than a minute. Then you can spend more time writing your report and concentrating on content than fiddling with software.

Let me know if you like it, and if this is what you need.

 

[JamesJames]

This actually sounds good.

But, I have Word 2000 and when I select insert - object, there is no equation option available.

 

[Dr Transport]

you need to install it, the equation editor is not automatically installed when you do the original installation.

 

[paul11273]

Here are instructions in Office 2003 for installing Microsoft Equation 3.0.
If you have Office 2000, I can't imagine that it would be too much different.
I got these instructions from Help in Word.

"If you originally installed Microsoft Office from a network file server or from a shared folder, you must install Equation Editor from that location. If you installed Office from a CD-ROM, you must install Equation Editor from the disc.

Quit all programs.
Do one of the following:
If you run Microsoft Windows 2000, double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon in Control Panel.
If you run Microsoft Windows XP, click Add or Remove Programs in Control Panel.
In the Currently installed programs box, click the listing for Microsoft Office or Microsoft Word, depending on whether you installed Word as part of Office or as an individual program, and then click Change.
On the Maintenance Mode Options screen, click Add or Remove Features, and then click Next.
If a Custom Setup screen appears, select the Choose advanced customization of applications check box, and then click Next.
In the list of features to install, click the expand indicator (+) next to Office Tools.
Click the arrow next to Equation Editor, and then click Run from My Computer.
Click Update.
Restart Word."

That should get you going.
Let us know how you like it.

 

[Sirus]

I just started using it in my labs, and it's great. Much more user friendly than Latex. There is no learning curve for Equation Editor. Perfect for labs.