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I'm a beginner in latex, I understand that latex requires a Tex editor to compile the code and a distribution to get the libraries installed. However, there are many concepts that still I want expert to clarify.

Situation: I'm typing up a CV, which uses a package called fontspec, and a thing call XeTex ( an engine? I believe this is an "engine" which serves as an extension of the compiler (tex editor) e.g. texmaker. where you can choose what engine to build the tex.file. (Please tell me if i'm wrong). I installed MikTex 2.9, but it seems that they don't have XeTex but only Xelatex Then , i tried to find a way to build using XeTex using Texmaker?? I googled and noticed there is a thing call TexLive2014 which seems to provide Xetex, but i don't know how to run the XetEx in Texlive using texmaker.

this link contains XeTex and fontspec I want to download and use. http://nitens.org/taraborelli/cvtex

my problem is Where do you place your fontspec? where should it go that allows me to import it as a package? Is there a way to know what file path you are at which imports the library from? I currently placed it here.

filepath:C:\Program Files (x86)\MiKTeX 2.9

Finally,what's the difference between Latex and Tex? Xetex and Xelatex? these terms have been really confusing to a beginner like me, but trivial to almost everyone. It would be very good if anyone could see this page in the future to know everything in one question. This is the first time of me posting question. Please tell me if I have anything to improve such as question style. Thanks in advance everyone.

el psy Congroo
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  • Is there anyway to control the texmaker to switch between either miketex or texlive? – el psy Congroo Aug 23 '14 at 14:40
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    Have a look at this: http://tex.stackexchange.com/questions/58431/glossary-of-tex-and-latex-terms – Abhimanyu Arora Aug 23 '14 at 14:52
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    @user28968: LaTeX does not require a TeX editor in general. You could use any editor for it (being able to save in ASCII mode) and then run the various latex programs on it –  Aug 23 '14 at 15:02
  • Maybe I asked too many short questions at once. It would be very helpful and appreciated if anyone know how to run a XeTex on texmaker? – el psy Congroo Aug 23 '14 at 15:13
  • @AbhimanyuArora Thanks this link is so helpful! – el psy Congroo Aug 23 '14 at 15:13
  • @user28968 I have a feeling this question will get closed, partly as we've covered a lot of it before and partly as the StackOverflow model works best with 'well-defined' issues. It might be best to sort your issues using the chat system: as you don't have enough 'reputation' to get in there, I might have to 'invite' you. – Joseph Wright Aug 23 '14 at 15:16
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    in fact, you almost certainly want xelatex since you're preparing your cv with latex. there is a convention about naming the engine instances whereby, for example, "xetex" means without the latex core, just the knuthian "plain" format. the "la" is included in the name to make it obvious what base is wanted. – barbara beeton Aug 23 '14 at 15:46
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    Just to reinforce what others have said, texmaker is just an editor. On its own, it can't compile anything. What it can do is trigger compilation using a compiler (from MiKTeX or TeX Live, say) when you press a button or whatever. You could, if you wanted, get rid of texmaker and use notepad or something. It just wouldn't be as convenient. (No syntax highlighting, no press-the-button-to-compile.) But tex files are just plain text files. You can edit them in any plain text editor. (But not, say, Word because Word adds stuff which is garbage to the compiler i.e. makes it less plain!) – cfr Aug 23 '14 at 16:13
  • @user28968 I hope the link that Abhimanyu Arora helped you to clarify this confusion. You can compile a document using xetex easily with MikTeX, TeXLive, etc. The engine o complier you can use is xelatex the LaTeX version of xetex. Is very easy to use it in TeXmaker or TeXStudio no matter if you're using MikTeX or TeXlive. You don't need to install it apart. But be sure of use fonts installed on your PC or Mac when you compile with xelatex that CV. – Aradnix Aug 23 '14 at 17:01
  • To clarify a little more, fontspec is a package that allows you to use any font (opentype or truetype) for text (for maths it's more complex), which LaTeX cannot do since it requires a special font format. Fontspec requires the compiler to be XeLaTeX or LuaLaTeX. – Bernard Aug 23 '14 at 20:36
  • Thanks everyone. I found plenty of very good explanations up there ! I learnt a lot from you all , Cheers! – el psy Congroo Aug 24 '14 at 21:00
  • @cfr just to confirm one more thing, I now understand that a texmaker which does works like a generic UI for the user to use the compiler, how could the texmaker "communicate" or talk to miktex? Since I installed both of them separately and in different directories, how could they see each other? – el psy Congroo Aug 24 '14 at 21:15
  • @user28968 I'm afraid that's a Windows question. On a Unix-type system, the answer would be that the TeX binaries have to be in your PATH for the editor to find them or you have to specify the full path to the relevant binary when configuring the editor. However, I have no idea on Windows. How are programmes normally found on Windows? The answer to your question will be the same as the answer to the generic question, I think, just as it is on GNU/Linux or OS X or similar systems. That is, finding binaries is an OS-specific job. – cfr Aug 25 '14 at 01:23

1 Answers1

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Starting is the hardest part!

I'd look for a "howto" on latex suited to your platform. While the concepts are the same, how you set things up to work is different on Windows, Mac and Linux. You might find an appropriate tutorial with your chosen editor (e.g. texmaker) most helpful.

Work through a basic tutorial first, then you'll have a working latex setup and some background with which to then proceed with your own document. At present, it sounds like the basics still need to be set up.

Nigel
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