How does LaTeX work?

L^ATEX is a typesetting system that compiles an ascii file to create a printable document. The following is the basic procedure.

1. Create an ascii file with extension .tex instead of .txt in a Windows computer. A tex file is like the one you edit with Notepad, except that it is a script embedded with specific commands. Let your tex file be called 'mydoc.tex'.
   
2. Compile 'mydoc.tex' with L^ATEX. If L^ATEX is properly installed, you can do so by:
   • Open Command Prompt.
     
   • Change directory by typing cd c:\folder. The 'folder' must be the name of the folder in which 'mydoc.tex' is located. You shouldn't use folder names containing 'space' such as 'My Documents'.
     
   • Type latex mydoc and hit return to create a L^ATEX's output file 'mydoc.dvi' in the directory c:\folder.
3. Proceed further to convert your document to useful formats.
   • Open Command Prompt and change directory to the folder where your dvi file is located.
   • Type dvips mydoc and hit return to create a postscript file 'mydoc.ps' in the same directory.
     
   • Type ps2pdf mydoc.ps mydoc.pdf and hit return to create a pdf file 'mydoc.pdf' in the same directory.
     

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