LaTeX Installation

Installing $\LaTeX$ basically means preparing the tools needed to run the $\TeX$ system. To start creating $\LaTeX$ documents, we usually need:

1. a $\LaTeX$ distribution, such as Mik$\TeX$, $\TeX$ Live, or MacTeX;
2. a document viewer, such as Adobe Reader, Foxit Reader, or Sumatra PDF;
3. a $\TeX$ editor, such as $\TeX$works or $\TeX$studio.

Two Ways to Use LaTeX

After those programs are installed, you can start using $\LaTeX$. In general, there are two ways to work with it: online and offline.

1. Online Mode

When using $\LaTeX$ online, the $\LaTeX$ system is already installed on the service provider’s server, usually together with an editor. Some services you can use are:

• Overleaf
• Papeeria

To use those services, you need to create an account first.

2. Offline Mode

$\LaTeX$ is available on different operating systems with different distributions:

• Windows: Mik$\TeX$, $\TeX$ Live, Pro$\TeX$, PC$\TeX$, and BaKom$\TeX$
• Mac: $\TeX$ Live and Mac$\TeX$
• Linux: $\TeX$ Live

LaTeX Editors for Offline Mode

Some editors that can be used for $\LaTeX$ are TeXmaker, LyX, TeXworks, TeXstudio, and Gummi.

Download links:

• Mik$\TeX$: miktex.org
• $\TeX$ Live: tug.org/texlive/acquire-iso.html
• TeXstudio: texstudio.org

Choose the distribution and editor that match your operating system, then follow the installation instructions carefully.

A Simple LaTeX Test

After installation, try writing the following simple document in your $\LaTeX$ editor, then compile it and see the result.

\documentclass{article}
\begin{document}
Hello, world!

This is my first document written in \LaTeX.
\end{document}

If you run the code in Overleaf, the result will look like this.

Closing

Once the $\LaTeX$ system, editor, and PDF viewer are installed, you are ready to start writing documents. The next step is to learn document structure, packages, and the most common commands.