Tex on Windows?

Tue May 25 03:56:56 CEST 2021

I might try starting over completely and just downloading from
http://www.tug.org/protext/

But perhaps you have tried this? (I can't give you more detailed help,
because I'm a Mac user. But I can't imagine it is harder to start the
Windows version from scratch than it is to start the Mac one.)

Good luck!
John

On Mon, May 24, 2021 at 8:45 PM <texhax-request at tug.org> wrote:

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>    1. TeX on Windows? (Robert Jantzen)
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> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Mon, 24 May 2021 23:23:43 +0000
> From: Robert Jantzen <robert.jantzen at villanova.edu>
> To: "support at tug.org" <support at tug.org>
> Cc: "tugboat at tug.org" <tugboat at tug.org>, TeX Users Group
>         <office at tug.org>
> Subject: TeX on Windows?
> Message-ID:
>         <
> MN2PR03MB4991AADCF60A6914987503D29A269 at MN2PR03MB4991.namprd03.prod.outlook.com
> >
>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
> Dear TUG,
>
> I have been an individual sustaining member of TUG for over 30 years. In
> my early days at Villanova University in the 80s and early 90s, I ran a
> local "Delaware Valley TUG" with monthly meetings during semesters and
> Anita Schwartz used to attend occasionally when she was active with the
> national TUG leadership. Barbara Beeton saved me with crucial help on a
> table of contents macro that I created last century for a triennial general
> relativity meeting whose monster proceedings I edited since then
> http://www34.homepage.villanova.edu/robert.jantzen/mg/procs/index.htm
> (thanks Barbara!)
> We even had a local Tex Wizzard workshop with Stephan Bechtolsheim
> (ancient history, but Barbara will remember him). Last century of course.
> Time marches on.
>
> I have been happily using PCTeX all these years, and will continue to do
> so but it seems like PCTeX has left us in the past two years since I
> communicated with someone there at the company. Does anyone know what
> happened to them?
> https://www.pctex.com/ website seems abandoned
>
> Is there any other for pay product to replace it?
>
> On my previous work laptop at Villanova University (which for many years
> was an institutional member) I had managed to install both MikTex and
> TexnicCenter, the latter interface advised by my TeXpert friend at the
> university of Rome, but when I tried to put them on my new laptop 2 years
> ago, I ran into a problem and gave up.
>
> Yesterday a friend emailed me about his friend and collaborator working on
> publishing unpublished work by a famous physicist, having trouble with
> MikTex not finding the right folder... but I am NOT a software guy, just a
> simple user. Nevertheless I downloaded and installed from scratch MikTeX
> then TexnicCenter and opened the latter to configure it, but it derailed
> when I had to put in the folder address of the MikTex latex files.
>
> I searched for the MikTex "bin" folder  but found no trace of these new
> files I downloaded and installed yesterday, and only MikTex 2.9 from 2019,
> but no "bin" folder. I tried to delete both programs (MikTex appeared in
> the list from my installation yesterday), but MikTex 2.9 won't be deleted.
> It reports an error. My university Help Desk also could not delete it, so
> currently an open Help Desk ticket has been opened for this. TeXworks still
> will typeset a simple file. Hmm.
>
> My friend in Rome told me exactly the folder address I needed for
> TeXnicCenter to configure itself
>
>
> "<folder_where_you_instelled_MikTeX>\miktex\bin\x64\"
>
>
>
> (e.g. "C:\Program Files\MiKTeX 2.9\miktex\bin\x64\")
>
> Unfortunately such a folder I could not find! He told me TexnicCenter is
> frozen for 6-7 years already but he still uses it because he prefers the
> interface. There is also TexWorks for me to try within MikTeX yet but not
> with the latest MikTex distribution until I can get my help desk to blow
> away that older distribution. Or maybe it is the latest distribution since
> my help desk person first upgraded MikTex and then updated it, but the
> filenames are all dated 2019 two years ago when I failed to successfully
> configure TeXnicCenter.
>
> Why am I writing this email?
>
> I have been blissfully unaware of how frustrating it can be for a
> nonexpert to install a free TeX distribution with present resources
> available. How can TeX expect to survive with such obstacles? What is it
> that I am missing?
>
> Every year I get a TUG DVD, but my laptop does not have a DVD/CD reader of
> course...I am guessing that is more for group administrators or computer
> savvy people?
>
> Why isn't there a self-installing complete setup for Windows LaTeX? Does
> TeX Live also suffer from these installation procedures which require user
> input, input that is not clearly specified anywhere?
>
> I don't expect resolution of my local problems, but I would like assurance
> that ordinary people can install easily a working LaTeX system. I would
> love to try it myself. I would even pay a reasonable fee.
>
> Thanks for all your years of dedicated work, whoever reads this.
>
> bob
> [A picture containing text, linedrawing  Description automatically
> generated]
> bob jantzen
> http://www34.homepage.villanova.edu/robert.jantzen/
> http://www.drbobenterprises.com<http://www.drbobenterprises.com/>
>
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