Using LaTeX (or TeX) in an RCS public WinXP Lab

The WinShell and WinEdt editors
-------------------------------
We recommend that you use either WinShell or WinEdt, both excellent 
editor/shells, for preparing and processing LaTeX documents. 
Note that, if you double-click on a file with a .tex extension, 
WinShell will open. 

When you start either application, a window will open that provides
a menu bar and a toolbar. The File menu provides the usual selections,
including opening an existing file or creating a new one.  On the toolbar, 
you will find icons for running LaTeX on your file, previewing the
resulting .dvi file, using dvips, and using GSView to view your .ps file 
if you made one. Alternatively, you can use the pdfLaTeX button to
create a pdf file directly and then use a pdf viewer such as Acrobat
Reader to view it.

Both editors provide additional toolbars that help with inserting math/greek 
and other special characters. WinEdt, which is shareware, also provides 
additional help with inserting LaTeX code for many common tasks.  
Both programs have extensive on-line instructions.

Printing 
-------- 
You can print your formatted document from either WinShell or WinEdt
by clicking the dvips icon on the toolbar to first create a PostScript
file.  (In WinEdt, when the Dvips dialog box opens, the Generic
Parameters box should be empty.)  Next, click the GSView icon to view
the file and choose Print from the File menu. Or, if you use
pdfLaTeX, you can print using Acrobat Reader. You can print to any of
the RCS public printers listed in the Print dialog box.
 
DO NOT PRINT FROM the screen previewer. It uses the Windows unified 
print driver, which can generate huge spool files. Printing is much 
faster and more reliable through dvips or pdfLaTeX, as described above.

Learning LaTeX
--------------
If you need to learn the LaTeX language, we recommend starting with
"Text Formatting with LaTeX", a tutorial document, available from
RPI's LaTeX Information web page:
http://www.rpi.edu/dept/arc/training/latex/


Thesis Preparation
------------------
To write a thesis with LaTeX, see the LaTeX Thesis web page:
http://helpdesk.rpi.edu/update.do?artcenterkey=325