Downloading & Installing MiKTeX for University Reports

[qspeechc]

Hi all. I'm trying to download MiKTeX. Please note I know absolutely nothing about LaTeX and MiKTeX.
So I went to their page http://miktex.org/2.7/Setup.aspx
and clicked on the "Installing the complete MiKTeX system", downloaded the file. Now in the Net Installer, should I choose "Download MiKTeX" or "Install MiKTeX". Do I need LaTeX in addition to this? And should I get the complete or basic package? I only need it to do reports and assignments for university.
Thank you very much.

 

[jpr0]

First of all choose "download MikTex". As far as I understand it, MikTex is just a windows port of latex. You're probably best off just downloading the basic package - you can later on set MikTex to download packages when it needs them. After it's downloaded, rerun the installer, then choose "install from repository", and when it asks you for a location, point it to the folder where MikTex was downloaded to. It will then install the basic system.

Once latex is installed, you might want to find some kind of tex editor (you can use notepad if you like, but a tex editor is much easier to use). I'm not sure what freeware version are available, but winEDT is quite popular I guess.

 

[qspeechc]

So, after I have downloaded and installed MiKTeX, I need some sort of tex editor, like winEDT? I don't need to download LaTeX? Is the tex editor what will allow me to create files?

EDIT: Does that mean notepad will work?

 

[qspeechc]

Nevermind. I figured it out. I'm using WinShell. It's great (so far). Thanks jprO.

 

[qspeechc]

One more question: how do I get MiKTeX to download a package? I need amsmath, anyone?