INSTALLING AND USING L A TEX

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "INSTALLING AND USING L A TEX"

Bridget Houston
6 years ago
Views:

1 INSTALLING AND USING L A TEX DAVID MEREDITH Contents 1. Installing and Running L A TEX with Microsoft Windows Installing the compiler MikTeX Installing the editor TeXtudio Running L A TEX on a PC 2 2. Installing and Running L A TEX on a Macintosh Installing the compiler Live TeX and editor TeXShop Running L A TEX on a Macintosh 3 3. Write your own document 3 4. Typing your papers 4 5. Useful Resources 6 L A TEX is a software system for typesetting all sorts of text, especially technical text like mathematics. Your L A TEX system will have two parts: an editor and a compiler. You will use the editor to write an input file that looks like somewhat weird text, and the compiler will turn your file into beautifully printed mathematics. Here s a fragment of an input file created with the editor: The solution to the quadratic equation $ax^2+bx+c=0$ is $x = \dfrac{-b \pm \sqrt{b^2-4ac}}{2a}$. and here s what it looks like after compiling: The solution to the quadratic equation ax 2 + bx + c = 0 is x = b ± b 2 4ac. 2a This note will tell you how to download and install a free L A TEX compiler and editor for your computer. At the end you will find instructions for starting to use the editor-compiler system. Where necessary, different instructions will be given for Windows and Macintosh systems. If you are using Linux, your already have the L A TEX compiler. You will have to find a L A TEX editor suitable for your distribution. Once you have installed these, you can follow the instructions for Macintosh users beginning with Running L A TEX on a Macintosh. Date: January 23,

2 DAVID MEREDITH 1. Installing and Running L A TEX with Microsoft Windows 1.1. Installing the compiler MikTeX. (1) Go to the website http://miktex.

2 2 DAVID MEREDITH 1. Installing and Running L A TEX with Microsoft Windows 1.1. Installing the compiler MikTeX. (1) Go to the website (2) Click on the link under Download in the box on the left of the page. (3) Half-way down the page find the box (4) Click Download (5) Follow the directions on the screen. The entire process may take up to 15 minutes on a high-speed line. Even the basic TeX system is very large Installing the editor TeXtudio. (1) Go to the website (2) For PC s, click the installer link under Windows. (3) For Mac s, click the DMG link under MacOSX. (4) For Linux, you are on your on. You should end up with a TeXstudio icon on your desktop Running L A TEX on a PC. In this section you will test your L A TEX system to check that it works, and you will create your first document. The text has already been typed for you, so all you have to do is compile it. (1) Download the sample L A TEX file from ilearn and save it to your desktop (or somewhere else where you can find it). (2) Right-click the file icon and open it with TeXstudio. It would be a good idea to make TeXstudio your default program for opening files with the extension.tex. A large file should fill the TeXnic window beginning with the line %% Based on a TeXnicCenter-Template by Gyorgy SZEIDL. This file uses many of the interesting methods available in L A TEX. Here is how you can compare the L A TEX file on the screen with the result of compiling the file to see how different effects can be created with L A TEX. (1) Click File/Print and print the L A TEX file. (2) Open the options menu, and click the first option Configure TeXstudio.... Click the QuickBuild box, then select the option PdfLaTeX + Pdf Viewer. (3) Open the Tools menu and click Quick Build.Your computer should display a PDF file beginning FULL TITLE. This is the compiled version of your L A TEX file. (4) Print the compiled file by clicking File/Print in the window containing the compiled file.

3 INSTALLING AND USING L A TEX 3 Compare the raw L A TEX file that you printed with the compiled PDF file that you also printed. Notice the different effects that can be produced with L A TEX and how they are encoded. 2. Installing and Running L A TEX on a Macintosh The following instructions are taken from the web site http: // www. uoregon. edu/ ~ koch/ texshop/ obtaining. html. They have not been tested on an actual Macintosh computer. I would appreciate feedback about whether they are helpful and accurate, or not Installing the compiler Live TeX and editor TeXShop. Go to the website: and follow the instructions there to install Live Tex and TeXShop Running L A TEX on a Macintosh. In this section you will test your L A TEX system to check that it works, and you will create your first document. The text has already been typed for you, so all you have to do is compile it. Go to ilearn and click on the link Sample LaTeX File. This will download a file called sample.tex. If TeXShop does not automatically start with this file loaded, start TeXShop and load the file sample.tex. A large file should fill the TeXnic window beginning with the line %% Based on a TeXnicCenter-Template by Gyorgy SZEIDL. This file uses many of the interesting methods available in L A TEX. Here is how you can compare the L A TEX file on the screen with the result of compiling the file to see how different effects can be created with L A TEX. (1) Print the L A TEX file. (2) Compile and view the file. If possible, make the result a PDF file. Your computer should display a beautifully printed file beginning FULL TI- TLE. This is the compiled version of your L A TEX file. (3) Print the compiled file. Compare the raw L A TEX file that you printed with the compiled file that you also printed. Notice the different effects that can be produced with L A TEX and how they are encoded. 3. Write your own document A L A TEX file has two parts: a preamble beginning \documentclass... and ending with the line before \begin{document}. The text of your document begins with \begin{document} and ends with \end{document}. You will never have to create your own preamble in this course. The sample L A TEX file has a useful preamble. Let s create your second L A TEX document, one with content that you create. (1) Use the Save As option on the file menu to save your sample file somewhere with a new name. You choose the name and let TeXstudio at the.tex extension. Now you can modify the file without destroying the sample file that you downloaded. (2) Delete every line in the file after \begin{document} and before \end{document}. Do not change the preamble.

4 4 DAVID MEREDITH (3) Between \begin{document} and \end{document} add the following lines: \title{put a title for your document here} \author{put your name here} \maketitle The solution to the quadratic equation $ax^2+bx+c=0$ is $x = \dfrac{-b \pm \sqrt{b^2-4ac}}{2a}$ (4) Compile your file like you did before and see the amazing result. 4. Typing your papers Here is some sample L A TEX input and output that will show you the basics you need to write your homework. The first thing to understand is that \LaTeX\ doesn t care where you break lines or how many spaces you put between words. \LaTeX\ will divide the lines and space the words so the margins line up beautifully. Paragraphs are created by consecutive lines, and a new paragraph is created by inserting a blank line. The first thing to understand is that L A TEX doesn t care where you break lines or how many spaces you put between words. L A TEX will divide the lines and space the words so the margins line up beautifully. Paragraphs are formed by consecutive lines, and a new paragraph is created by inserting a blank line. Short, in-line math formulas like $x=3$ are created by placing the formula between dollar signs. Displayed formulas are surrounded by double dollar signs: \frac{\pi^2}{6} = \sum_{n=1}^{\infty}\frac{1}{n^2} Short, in-line math formulas like x = 3 are created by placing the formula between dollar signs. Displayed formulas are surrounded by double dollar signs: π 2 6 = 1 n 2 n=1 The four key structures for mathematical writing are fractions, exponents, roots and subscripts. All of these must be part of an in-line or displayed formula.

5 INSTALLING AND USING L A TEX 5 To create a fraction, write the numerator and denominator separately: $\frac{x+1}{3}$. To make an exponent, use the caret: $x^n$. If the exponent is more than a single character, enclose it in braces: $x^{n+4}$. To create a square root of an expression like $1-x^2$, write $\sqrt{1-x^2}$. To create an $n^{th}$ root, write $\sqrt[n]{1-x^2}$. To make a subscript, use the underscore: $a_n$. If the subscript is more than a single character, enclose it in braces: $a_{n+1}$. Here s how to write the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter: $\pi$. Fractions, exponents and subscripts can be combined to almost any level of complexity: \sqrt{\frac{x^{\frac{\pi}{2}}}{\frac{3}{4}}} The four key structures for mathematical writing are fractions, exponents and subscripts. All of these must be part of an in-line or displayed formula. x+1 To create an fraction, write the numerator and denominator separately: 3. To make an exponent, use the caret: x n. If the exponent is more than a single character, enclose it in braces: x n+4. To create a square root of an expression like 1 x 2, write 1 x 2. To create an n th root, write n 1 x 2. To make a subscript, use the underscore: a n. If the subscript is more than a single character, enclose it in braces: a n+1. Here s how to write the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter: π. Fractions, exponents, roots and subscripts can be combined to almost any level of complexity: x π 2 When you write up a homework problem, even if you only have a partial solution, you have to begin with a statement of the problem. The easiest way to do this is with the Proposition/Proof format like this: \begin{proposition} Statement to be proven \end{proposition 3 4

6 6 DAVID MEREDITH \begin{proof} Put your answer here. \end{proof} When you write up a homework problem, even if you only have a partial solution, you have to begin with a statement of the problem. The easiest way to do this is with the Proposition/Proof format like this: Proposition 1. Statement to be proven Proof. Put your answer here. 5. Useful Resources My favorite introduction to L A TEX is Grätzer, George; More Math Into L A TEX, 4th edition, Springer, Useful on-line references for L A TEX can be found at:

Math 235: Introduction to LaTeX

Math 235: Introduction to LaTeX The LaTeX word processing system was built to do mathematical typesetting. It is different than word processors; in LaTeX you type in text and typesetting commands, then