LaTeX

Have you ever wondered why most of the exams, problem sheets, and assignments lecturers produce all have beautifully typeset mathematics on them, and yet when you try use Micrsoft's equation editor to insert a few equations in your work, you nearly die from frustration (and your computer from over-work)?

The answer is that lecturers (and almost everyone in the scientific community) use LaTeX to typeset their mathematics (and other things too). To find out more about LaTeX and how it will improve your life, visit the LaTeX Project page.

Obtaining LaTeX

Windows users need to download two programs to use LaTeX. The first is called MiKTeX. This is the program that does the hard work behind the scenes. You also need to download a user interface that is both a souped-up text editor and that tells MiKTeX what to do, when. The best such program is called TeXnicCenter.

LaTeX also often uses postscript files (.ps format). You will need a postscript viewer to run LaTeX. If you do not have a postscript viewer, follow these instructions to obtain one.

Packages

Before installation, there is one more LaTeX-concept you need to know about. MiKTeX, alone, has the capability of typesetting beautiful text and some mathematics. But to do anything slightly tricky, like inserting a picture into your document, it needs some extra code. This extra code is called a package. There are thousands of such packages, some enable you to use rare and wonderful mathematical symbols, others allow you to make Feynman Diagrams, others still allow you to typeset beautiful crosswords.

Installation of MiKTeX

MiKTeX can be obtained from http://www.miktex.org/setup.html.

When you install MiKTeX, you can either choose the "basic system" (24 MB) which only includes the most common packages, or the "complete system" (250 MB) which includes every known package.

We recommend that you choose the "basic system". This is because it is easy to install and it has a handy facility that automatically downloads packages that you want to use but don't have installed on your computer.

Once you have run the MiKTeX installation file, it's time to download TeXnicCenter. (If you have trouble doing this, have a look at the MiKTeX frequently asked questions page for assistance.)

Installation of TeXnicCenter

TeXnicCenter can be obtained from ToolsCenter.org. Download the TeXnicCenter setup file run it and follow the prompts to complete installation. Since you installed MiKTeX before this step, TeXnicCenter will automatically find it on your computer and hook up with it.

Actually typesetting something

Download a nice tutorial such as The not so short inoduction to LaTeX 2e, find the "build" button in TeXnicCenter (that's the button that converts your plain text into a beautifully typeset document) and have fun. When you get to the stage of wanting to do something devilishly clever in LaTeX, you might need a more comprehensive source of LaTeX wisdom. There are a number of good books on LaTeX in the library.