Latex packages installation offline

Install Miktex

You can download all packages from Miktex iso and use it as local repository.

Install packages

  1. Go to Your MiKTeX User Directory C:\Users\ YourUsername>\ AppData\ Roaming\ MiKTeX. This is the default MiKTeX user TEXMF root.
  2. nside the MiKTeX folder, manually create the following nested folders: tex\latex\float so that full path looks like C:\Users\ <YourUsername>\ AppData\ Roaming\ MiKTeX\ tex\ latex\ float
  3. Find the .sty file from the package you downloaded (e.g., float.sty from float.zip), and copy it into the folder you just created:
  4. Refresh MiKTeX’s File Name Database. 1. Open MiKTeX Console from the Start Menu. 2. In the Tasks menu, click Refresh file name database.
  5. You can run the program like 
initexmf --update-fndb
  1. Restart TeXstudio
  2. Open or create a LaTeX file that uses the package. 
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{float}

\begin{document}
It works!
\end{document}
  1. Compile with pdflatex. If you no longer get the "required file could not be found" error, then the package is installed correctly.

TexLive installation

Texlive is a better option for offline tex installation.

here or finalDVD

When you start installing on target PC, it will automatically start. If you choose full install it will install all 4813 packages. Therefore there is no need to install individual packages or check the dependancies or related packages individually.

This is highly recommended for TEX.

TeX IDE

Popular free IDE are as follows.

  1. TeXworks
  2. TeXstudio
  3. TeXmaker
  4. WinEdt (paid)
  5. LyX (WYSIWYM)

TeXcompilers

Various TeX compilers can be used.

  1. pdflatex is standard LaTeX compiler with pdf input. It shall be used for writing a normal article/thesis/report as it is fast and traditional.
  2. xelatex for documents with Unicode, system fonts, or non-Latin scripts. It supports OpenType fonts and is great for multilingual. To be used if using special characters (e.g., Arabic, Hindi, Chinese).
  3. lualatex is usedf for advanced documents, OpenType fonts, programmable TeX (Lua scripting). It is modern and extensible but has slower compile. To be used if including TikZ/PGFPlots or complex graphics.
  4. for Using bibliography with biblatex, use lualatex or xelatex.
  5. latexmk is used to automates compilation process (runs multiple passes, handles biblio , index etc.) as it handles everything in one command.

Use this simple rule

  1. pdflatex – if you're using basic fonts and ASCII or western scripts.
  2. xelatex – for Unicode, system fonts, or multilingual content.
  3. latexmk – if you want an all-in-one compiler that handles reruns, biblio, etc.