proTeXt - MiKTeX-based distribution for Windows

proTeXt aims to be an easy-to-install TeX distribution for Windows, based on MiKTeX. After downloading, it guides the installation via a short pdf document (available in English, French, German, and Italian), which provides clickable links to install the various components, along with explanations.

Download and install

You can download the self-extracting protext.exe file from CTAN; it is about 540MB. That link will automatically choose a nearby CTAN mirror. If problems with the download, please manually choose a mirror from the list.

If such a large download is problematic for you, proTeXt is also included in the TeX Collection, which you can get by becoming a TeX user group member. On the other hand, if you have plenty of bandwidth and need to burn your own CD, you can download proTeXt as an ISO image from Germany, the Czech Republic, or Utah, USA (md5).

Once you have the distribution, you can start the installation by running Setup.exe (if it does not open automatically). You can glance through the install document online, but be aware you must actually download the distribution and run the pdf from there for the installation to work. Following the links over the web does not work!

New users can find starting points for actually using TeX in this introduction to the TeX system.

Other tools

First, proTeXt adds a few independent tools to MiKTeX: TeXnicCenter, Ghostscript, and GSview. If you want to see the exact contents, the .exe file is also a zip file; you can inspect it via unzip (on any platform).

To use ConTeXt within proTeXt or MiKTeX, you also need to install a Perl for Windows such as ActivePerl, and Ruby. (Later versions than the ones linked to here will most likely work too.) The contextgarden wiki has more information on MiKTeX and ConTeXt.

How you can help

1. Please report problems and suggestions to the protext@tug.org mailing list, after checking the list of known bugs. Before posting, please be aware that although email addresses are obscured, the archives of the mailing list are publicly viewable, so others can learn from the history.
2. We encourage proTeXt users to join their local TeX user group to support this and other TeX activities. We also encourage a donation to MiKTeX development if possible. And Thomas would be grateful for any donations to AIDS-Hilfe Hagen, an AIDS support organization in his city.
3. If you like, you can also review this list of general tasks in the TeX community, not specific to proTeXt.

Credits

proTeXt's creator and principal maintainer is Thomas Feuerstack, while MiKTeX was created and continues to be maintained by Christian Schenk. Many thanks to both.