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In academia and other places LaTeX is the standard markup language. Those editing textbooks or documents that require advance formatting swear by it. However, though LaTeX is a very popular markup language, many people aren’t aware of some of the best editors.
In this article we’ll go over some of the best LaTeX markup editors for the major platforms – Mac, Windows, Linux, and even some online editors, too. If you’re a huge fan of LaTeX markup, or just someone looking to get into using it, this guide will help in finding which editor to use.
1. TexMaker
The Best Free Text Editors for Windows, Linux, and Mac Lori Kaufman April 28, 2012, 12:00pm EDT We all use text editors to take notes, save web addresses, write code, as well as other uses.
- LaTeX online services like Papeeria, Overleaf, ShareLaTeX, Datazar, and LaTeX base offer the ability to edit, view and download LaTeX files and resulting PDFs. CTAN You can obtain LaTeX from CTAN, which is the primary source of distribution for LaTeX.
- For as long as I have been using LaTeX I have used TeXStudio. Regardless of whether I was working on OSX or Linux. Another option I would suggest is the TeXlipse addon for Eclipse, which is not as quick to set up though.
- Free Mac LaTeX editor software Texmaker for Mac is the best free LaTeX editor software available in the market for Mac operating system. It is a simple basic software and has all the tools instilled in it for developing LaTex documents.
- Today, we present 10 Best LaTeX Editors to you so that you can easily prepare documents in science, maths, physics, and much more. In fact, LaTeX is one of the widely used text editors in the academia.
TexMaker is a latex editor for Windows, Mac and Linux and is an easy-to-use editor that supports features like spell checking, auto-completion, “code-folding,” a PDF-viewing mode, and has a quick-build option as well.
This LaTeX editor is an old one and one that has been around for a very long time (since 2003). There are many editors on this list, but TexMaker is easily one of the most used. Those looking for a tried-and-true LaTeX markup editor should give this editor a try.
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2. Share LaTeX
Collaborative editing is the new thing in word processing programs. From Google Docs to newer versions of Libre Office, this feature is one that everyone is implementing. Introducing Share LaTeX, the online collaborative editor. With this tool, users get all the same features of a regular offline editor. This means users will be able to expect things like auto-complete, spelling and grammar checking, and live viewing of documents.
This is an ideal solution for those working on big projects. It’s much easier to bring in a peer to help edit rather than sending files back and forth via email or Dropbox. Unlike some of the offline tools on this list, Share LateX will work on any platform with a web browser. Users can even edit on their mobile devices if needed.
Note: Share LaTeX is free for up to one collaborator.
3. TexStudio
A Latex editor for Windows, Mac OS, and Linux, TexStudio is one of the most full-featured. These features include things like an embedded PDF viewer and spelling/grammar checking, as well as things like live syntax highlighting, the ability to “live check” references, and support for LaTeX commands.
All and all, LaTeX can be pretty obnoxious to learn. That’s why this editor makes it easier to use, by explaining commands (in detail) when called. The goal of the developers behind TexStudio is to make an editor that makes editing in LaTeX easier. Learn more about it here.
4. Overleaf
Like Share LaTeX, Overleaf is an online collaborative writing system. However, this software has support for more than just LaTeX. This is great for those who find themselves editing and creating a lot of LaTeX style documents but also writing papers with different formatting as well.
If you’re a writer and your main focus isn’t LaTeX, this tool is one to check out. Users can collaborate and even publish papers with the tool. Overleaf is free with up to 1GB of storage space.
Conclusion
LaTeX is the go-to language when it comes to advanced markup, but it comes off as daunting to newbies as many don’t really know which editor to choose. In this article we’ve outlined some of the best editors for this markup language. This way new users looking to get into it might have a better time finding which LaTex editors are the best to use.
Active3 years, 11 months ago
I am looking for an easy to use
LaTeX
text editor for OS X.It is meant to be used by a social science student, hence TextMate seems to difficult to use.
Basically I am looking for a
LaTeX
editor for dummies. user588
Pierre SpringPierre Spring21122 gold badges55 silver badges1212 bronze badges
5 Answers
Just not to leave it unmentioned: one of the standard LaTeX editors/previewers for Mac OS X is TeXShop. Of course, one needs to be able to use LaTeX, but it streamlines the compilation, highlights syntax and generally helps. Of course, on tex.stackexchange.com, they'll be glad to help more.
DaGDaG1,32222 gold badges1212 silver badges2424 bronze badges
I am guessing that you are saying is that LaTeX seems too difficult (or rather too complex) rather than that TextMate is too difficult to use.
If you want an editor that lowers the level of LaTeX knowledge you need to produce a document, I do not really think there exists one (i.e. you still have to compile and check for errors, solve bibliography bugs etc).
An option would be to write the document in MultiMarkdown which converts into LaTeX. You can do this in Scrivener which also happens to be a very good writing environment.
MultiMarkdown is a markup language that is quite intuitive and easy to read (in fact Ask Different uses Markdown (MultiMarkdown's parent) to format comments).
... otherwise there is always LyX which aims to be LaTeX but without the need to learn LaTeX, but you might run into stuff that you want to do, but can't.
Kyle Cronin18.1k1919 gold badges7676 silver badges138138 bronze badges
fnurlfnurlBest Latex Editor For Mac
87611 gold badge99 silver badges1414 bronze badges
Whatever you do, advise him or her to install MacTex - it is the easiest way to get LaTeX on your mac. By the way: The TeXShop mentioned my DaG is in that package, too.
But I agree with fnurl on that: As long as you write LaTeX, it will be 'hard' to learn. No matter what GUI-Applications helps you. Because if you hide everything behind buttons, you loose LaTeX's advantage and you could be using Pages or Word instead.
moonglummoonglum
There's a recent addition called Texpad available in the Mac App Store. Simple, streamlined and well-integrated with OS X.
Texpad is a LaTeX editor designed for straightforward navigation of projects of any size. When Texpad opens a document it scans through it, looking for LaTeX structure commands and any included files, then it presents you with an outline view with which you can swiftly navigate the entire project.
nohillside♦57k1414 gold badges120120 silver badges168168 bronze badges
JKLJKL
If you're looking to do homework or other more casual writing, try Archimedes: http://www.mattrajca.com/archimedes
It has great code completion support for mathematical symbols, includes an extensive math library, and even lets you enter mathematical symbols by drawing them on your trackpad!
Walker HuffWalker Huff