LaTeX 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.

 

[ShayanJ]

Gummi is nice.

 

[Aufbauwerk 2045]

I'm trying TeXstudio based on the above recommendations and I like it so far.

 

[Ssnow]

I use Kile on Ubuntu and Texmaker on Windows, but I prefer Kile ...

 

[MathematicalPhysicist]

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

Ditto!

 

[EngWiPy]

WinEdt. It's not free, but when the trial version expires, you still can use it but with an annoying message that will keep appearing from time to time.

 

[Aufbauwerk 2045]

Even after trying TeXstudio I prefer the following approach. I use a text editor (Notetab) and use my own set of macros to format equations, rather than type Latex syntax. I preprocess the text file using a fairly simple Perl script which translates my original file into Latex before I run it through MikTex. This sort of job is not difficult using Perl, which excels in text processing.

The advantage for me is that I only need to remember one simple macro language, which suits me because I created it. I don't need to type Latex code. I also don't need to spend time learning the features of yet another program. The same applies to generating files for Gnuplot, etc. In cases where my script is not generating the right Latex code, then I might use TeXstudio for debugging purposes.

This approach is quite flexible. For example, suppose you want to produce a document where the equations are formatted in a different syntax than Latex? Simply add a new macro processor which targets a different syntax.

I don't necessarily recommend this particular approach for anyone else, but I do recommend learning some Perl for any of your text processing needs. An interesting note: Perl has been widely used in bioinformatics where they deal with lots of information in character string form, namely biological sequences of DNA and proteins

 

[Sunil Simha]

LaTeX support on Atom editor is pretty decent. You might want to check out plugins developed by the community. These include compilation, syntax-highlight, auto-completion, table of contents view, internal pdf viewer etc.

 

[Payam30]

For writing reports I would recommend TexStudio. and for articles and other than reports and books I would recommend Latexila on Linux. Latexila is a very lightweight and user friendly latex editor. I used it for many years until something strange happened with it and it wouldn't run auto completion anymore. I wouldn't recommend Eclipse if you don't do anything else but latex writting neither netbeans or Emacs.

 

[wle]

I switched from Texmaker to Emacs/AUCTeX several years ago and never looked back. (Someone already mentioned AUCTeX a couple of pages ago but I noticed the link is now broken.) If you don't use Emacs then here's a screenshot I made showing what getting work done in Emacs can look like:

 

[nuuskur]

I've been using Texmaker and notepadqq (compile from cli). For simpler things, Texmaker has all the bells and whistles I need.

 

[Ackbach]

I would modify my previous post. If you just want to get off the ground running, you can't do better than Overleaf. The only problem with it, which I've been after them for years to correct, is no Save As... feature, which I find rather annoying. However, it gives you vim keybindings, and automatic windowing, two incredible features. Plus, no installation! Everything's in the cloud.

When you get a bit more serious, and you're working on longer files, and find their compile times too long, then I'd switch to TeXstudio (any platform), and either MiKTeX on Windows, or TeX Live on Linux. The only feature this setup doesn't have is vim keybindings.

 

[wle]

I would modify my previous post. If you just want to get off the ground running, you can't do better than Overleaf. The only problem with it, which I've been after them for years to correct, is no Save As... feature, which I find rather annoying. However, it gives you vim keybindings, and automatic windowing, two incredible features. Plus, no installation! Everything's in the cloud.

Er, why? I've never used LaTeX on Windows so I can't comment on it, but for people who happen to already be using one of the popular Linux distributions, getting a basic LaTeX environment set up is trivial. E.g., on Ubuntu, type something like

sudo apt install texlive texstudio

into a terminal (or use the graphical software installer), give your password when it asks, then start TeXstudio and start using it. (You can also type "texlive-full" instead of "texlive". This takes much longer to install but it can save you from having to install extra LaTeX packages later on.)

I guess different people will have different preferences, but I'm pretty sure even if I had never used LaTeX before I would much prefer this over having to create yet another account on some company's website.

Concerning the editor/IDE: there are lots of them and people can recommend different ones, but of course the real answer to the question "Best Latex Editor?" is "whatever you are comfortable with". Beginners/casual users can use a simple text editor (like gedit) or one of the various IDE-like editors (Texmaker, Texstudio, Kile, Latexila, etc.) that give you buttons to click on and menu options for doing common things. For a beginner or someone who isn't going to use LaTeX much, I don't think it makes very much difference. Casual users who want to get most of the benefit/typesetting quality of LaTeX without actually writing LaTeX can also use LyX, which offers an interface that looks more like a word processor.

Emacs/AUCTeX, which I mentioned in my previous post, is capable and extensible and suitable for people who are in it for the long haul. (Emacs can be programmed to do pretty much anything. The standard installation includes a Tetris game for example.) It is not suitable for a casual user (even less than Vim) since it requires some configuration in order to use and of course you need to learn the default keybindings or take the time to change them if you have a strong opinion about them.

When you get a bit more serious, and you're working on longer files, and find their compile times too long, then I'd switch to TeXstudio (any platform), and either MiKTeX on Windows, or TeX Live on Linux. The only feature this setup doesn't have is vim keybindings.

Vi keybindings are not going to matter to people who are not already familiar with one of the various Vi-descended editors. However, if you like Vi keybindings then some editors (other than the Vi descendents themselves) can use them. I know at least Kile has a Vi input mode. Emacs can also be configured to use the Vi keybindings (see Viper Mode and Evil).

 

[Aufbauwerk 2045]

I've used TeXstudio for a while and it seems OK. At least I have no major complaints. The main issue I had was how to format mathematics, including which packages to use. But that's a Latex issue, not specifically a TeXstudio issue. Sometimes it takes some work to track down a useful package. For example, I was looking for a package that makes it easy to set up polynomial division, which no doubt is a favorite topic among school children. There is actually one called "polynom."

Another irritation was how to install packages that are not part of the standard set, but are just out there as .sty files. A bit more browsing and I came across the answer, which involves a few easy but non-obvious steps.

Concerning the typesetting of mathematics, what I did to make life easier was to gather examples of all the math typesetting I need into one big file so I can cut and paste. I thought at first of writing some fancy macros, but then I decided to keep things simple, and I'm happy.

I recommend TikZ for diagrams etc.

We're tech people so we need graphs, right? What about Gnuplot? I've used it, but if I can format a graph using TikZ, it does seem to blend with the rest of the document in a very nice way. Here I found it easier at times to have a separate little script to generate data and simpler TikZ instructions, than to rely on some complicated TikZ formula.

Finally, and please don't laugh at me, the truth is that now that I know my way around Latex enough to do the job, I have reverted to Emacs as my editor of choice. Right now I'm using Portacle. But I still use TeXstudio when it's helpful, such as in debugging.

 

[Aufbauwerk 2045]

p.s. I eventually changed my mind and used TeXstudio after all -- see my newer comments.

 

[Kyle Gonterwitz]

Jupyter! also known as Iron Python notebooks.