6. Latex Environment

Use Visual Studio Code (VS Code) with the LaTeX Workshop extension to create and edit LaTeX documents. VS Code is a popular, flexible text editor that can be configured as a LaTeX IDE with the help of extensions like LaTeX Workshop.

1. Latex Workshop Extension

1.1 Steps

1. Install LaTeX Distribution:

   • Before setting up LaTeX Workshop, you’ll need to install a LaTeX distribution on your system:
     • Windows: Install MiKTeX.
     • macOS: Install MacTeX.
     • Linux: Install TeX Live.

   IMPORTANT

   Set the env path to latex binaries once the latex distribution is installed.

2. Install VS Code:

   • If you don’t have it already, download and install Visual Studio Code.

3. Install LaTeX Workshop Extension:

   • Open VS Code.
   • Go to the Extensions view (Ctrl+Shift+X or Cmd+Shift+X on macOS).
   • Search for LaTeX Workshop.
   • Click “Install”.

4. Configuration (Optional):

   • LaTeX Workshop should work out of the box for most users, but you can configure it further if needed.
   • You can adjust the settings by going to File > Preferences > Settings and searching for “LaTeX Workshop” to customize things like compiler settings, output directory, etc. Latex Di

   The only requirement is a compatible LaTeX distribution in the system PATH. For example, TeX Live. It is strongly recommend TeX Live. Other possible choices are:

• TinyTeX as a lighter-weight distribution based on TeX Live.

  The TinyTeX distributions contain only a small subset of the 4000+ packages downloaded by TeX Live. Additional packages can be installed with tlmgr install <pkgname>.

  Caution

  Note that TinyTeX does not include offline documentation. LaTeX Workshop’s “Show package documentation” functionality will therefore not work. (You can instead use the CTAN link, also provided in the hover popup, to download the docs). Read More

• MiKTeX is another lightweight distribution with a convenient automatic on-demand package install.

  Caution

  Note, however, that for MiKTeX to work correctly with Latex Workshop, you need to install Perl. Without Perl, latexmk fails with errors. latexmk is required for the default recipe for building LaTeX projects to work. Alternatively, you can set up your own LaTeX recipe.

• Other useful tools:

  • Optional: ChkTeX to lint LaTeX projects.
  • Optional: latexindent.pl for formatting support if it is not provided by your LaTeX distribution. You also have to install a few standard Perl modules. See the official document.

1.2 Key Features

1. Integrated PDF Viewer:

   • LaTeX Workshop comes with a built-in PDF viewer that can display your compiled PDF within VS Code, allowing for forward and inverse search (i.e., syncing between the source code and PDF).

2. Auto-build and Preview:

   • The extension can automatically compile your LaTeX files on save, or you can manually trigger the build with a command.
   • It also supports real-time preview, which updates as you edit your LaTeX code.

3. Syntax Highlighting:

   • VS Code with LaTeX Workshop provides syntax highlighting for LaTeX, making your code easier to read and troubleshoot.

4. Snippets and Auto-completion:

   • LaTeX Workshop offers useful code snippets for frequently used LaTeX commands and environments.
   • It also provides auto-completion for LaTeX commands, environments, labels, and citations.

5. Error Detection:

   • The extension helps detect compilation errors and highlights them in the editor, making it easier to find and fix issues.

6. Bibliography Support:

   • LaTeX Workshop integrates with BibTeX and Biber for managing citations and bibliographies.

7. Multi-file Project Support:

   • If you’re working on large projects that involve multiple .tex files, LaTeX Workshop provides good support for handling multi-file documents, with proper reference linking.

Play

Features

1.3 Pros

• Customizable: VS Code is highly customizable, and you can install additional extensions or tweak settings to suit your LaTeX workflow.
• All-in-one Editor: You can use VS Code not only for LaTeX but also for coding in other languages, making it a great all-purpose editor.
• Cross-platform: Like LaTeX Workshop, VS Code is available on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
• Rich feature set: With LaTeX Workshop, you get an IDE-like experience with built-in PDF viewing, error handling, auto-completion, and more.

1.4 Cons

• Initial Setup: For new users, setting up VS Code with LaTeX Workshop may seem more complex than using a dedicated LaTeX editor like TeXMaker.
• No Real-time Collaboration: Unlike Overleaf, VS Code doesn’t offer built-in real-time collaboration, though you can use Git for version control.

Tip

Using VS Code with LaTeX Workshop can provide a powerful, flexible LaTeX editing environment. It combines the coding power of VS Code with LaTeX-specific features like previewing, error-checking, and code snippets, making it a great option for users who are comfortable with a code editor and want more control over their LaTeX environment.

Reference

LaTeX Workshop - Visual Studio Marketplace marketplace.visualstudio.com

Extension for Visual Studio Code - Boost LaTeX typesetting efficiency with preview, compile, autocomplete, colorize, and more.

2. Latex Workshop Settings

These are important settings for Latex Workshop Extension.

   // "latex-workshop.latex.autoClean.run": "onBuild", // Perform clean before the built
    "latex-workshop.latex.tools": [  // These values are default

        {
            "name": "latexmk",
            "command": "latexmk",
            "args": [
                "-synctex=1",
                "-interaction=nonstopmode",
                "-file-line-error",
                "-pdf",
                "-f",
                "-outdir=%OUTDIR%",
                "%DOC%"
            ],
            "env": {}
        },
        {
            "name": "lualatexmk",
            "command": "latexmk",
            "args": [
                "-synctex=1",
                "-interaction=nonstopmode",
                "-file-line-error",
                "-lualatex",
                "-f",
                "-outdir=%OUTDIR%",
                "%DOC%"
            ],
            "env": {}
        },
        {
            "name": "xelatexmk",
            "command": "latexmk",
            "args": [
                "-synctex=1",
                "-interaction=nonstopmode",
                "-file-line-error",
                "-xelatex",
                "-outdir=%OUTDIR%",
                "%DOC%"
            ],
            "env": {}
        },
        {
            "name": "latexmk_rconly",
            "command": "latexmk",
            "args": [
                "%DOC%"
            ],
            "env": {}
        },
        {
            "name": "pdflatex",
            "command": "pdflatex",
            "args": [
                "-synctex=1",
                "-interaction=nonstopmode",
                "-file-line-error",
                "%DOC%"
            ],
            "env": {}
        },
        {
            "name": "bibtex",
            "command": "bibtex",
            "args": [
                "%DOCFILE%"
            ],
            "env": {}
        },
        {
            "name": "rnw2tex",
            "command": "Rscript",
            "args": [
                "-e",
                "knitr::opts_knit$set(concordance = TRUE); knitr::knit('%DOCFILE_EXT%')"
            ],
            "env": {}
        },
        {
            "name": "jnw2tex",
            "command": "julia",
            "args": [
                "-e",
                "using Weave; weave(\"%DOC_EXT%\", doctype=\"tex\")"
            ],
            "env": {}
        },
        {
            "name": "jnw2texminted",
            "command": "julia",
            "args": [
                "-e",
                "using Weave; weave(\"%DOC_EXT%\", doctype=\"texminted\")"
            ],
            "env": {}
        },
        {
            "name": "pnw2tex",
            "command": "pweave",
            "args": [
                "-f",
                "tex",
                "%DOC_EXT%"
            ],
            "env": {}
        },
        {
            "name": "pnw2texminted",
            "command": "pweave",
            "args": [
                "-f",
                "texminted",
                "%DOC_EXT%"
            ],
            "env": {}
        },
        {
            "name": "tectonic",
            "command": "tectonic",
            "args": [
                "--synctex",
                "--keep-logs",
                "%DOC%.tex"
            ],
            "env": {}
        }
    ],
    "latex-workshop.latex.recipes": [  // These values are default
        {
            "name": "latexmk",
            "tools": [
                "latexmk"
            ]
        },
        {
            "name": "latexmk (latexmkrc)",
            "tools": [
                "latexmk_rconly"
            ]
        },
        {
            "name": "latexmk (lualatex)",
            "tools": [
                "lualatexmk"
            ]
        },
        {
            "name": "latexmk (xelatex)",
            "tools": [
                "xelatexmk"
            ]
        },
        {
            "name": "pdflatex -> bibtex -> pdflatex * 2",
            "tools": [
                "pdflatex",
                "bibtex",
                "pdflatex",
                "pdflatex"
            ]
        },
        {
            "name": "Compile Rnw files",
            "tools": [
                "rnw2tex",
                "latexmk"
            ]
        },
        {
            "name": "Compile Jnw files",
            "tools": [
                "jnw2tex",
                "latexmk"
            ]
        },
        {
            "name": "Compile Pnw files",
            "tools": [
                "pnw2tex",
                "latexmk"
            ]
        },
        {
            "name": "tectonic",
            "tools": [
                "tectonic"
            ]
        }
    ],
    "latex-workshop.latex.autoBuild.run": "onSave",  // Automatically builds on save
    "latex-workshop.latex.build.forceRecipeUsage": true, // Forces the use of LuaLaTeX recipe
    "latex-workshop.latex.recipe.default": "latexmk (lualatex)" // Set LuaLaTeX as default

Tip

Most overleaf latex templates are built using lualatex. Therefore, set the default recipe to lualatex to avoid error during compilation of the latex projects. Sometimes performing a clean before the build will help to get rid of odd errors.