The first step to writing a LaTeX document is getting the proper software—in particular, obtaining a TeX (that is, LaTeX) distribution and a good text editor. This is not particularly difficult.
If you have a Mac, the best option to download and install MacTeX. If you download and install the main package there, you will install a number of different items. Most importantly, you will install the most recent TeX distribution. These are the tools you need to take a document from a marked-up plain text file to the lovely document you think of as being ‘written in LaTeX’. Without this bit, you cannot do anything with LaTeX.
The MacTeX package is great because of all the tools it includes. You could write all your LaTeX files (your .tex files) in a text editor like TextEdit, and then compile them by typing in commands in Terminal.app. But my guess is that if you are reading this document, you are not going to feel comfortable doing all that. Moreover, though a .tex file is just a plain text file, having an editor dedicated to LaTeX (or at least one that has lots of LaTeX related features built in) is priceless.
So what does the MacTeX package include? For my money, the big three items for philosophers will be TeXShop, BibDesk, and Excalibur. I’ll talk about the first two in detail later, but for now I will note that TeXShop is where you will actually compose your paper—it is sort of like your new version of Word or Pages. BibDesk is your new bibliography management tool. And Excalibur is a spell checker.
Download MacTeX. Follow the usual installation instructions. Proceed to the next page.
Disclaimer: I do not have a PC. I did install LaTeX on a PC once, but it has been a while and my memories are fuzzy. So some of my PC-specific instructions might be a bit off. Please let me know if I lead you astray so I can fix any bad advice. LaTeX is platform neutral. So, for the most part, the things I say here will apply for both Macs and PCs. I will offer a few Mac-specific hints, but I bet there are PC analogues for them. Again, if you want to make suggestions, I would be thrilled to have them. Email me at tanksley [at] virginia [dot] edu.
If you have a PC, you will want to download and install MiKTeX. If you download and install the main package there (the ‘Basic MiKTeX Installer’), you will install a number of different items. Most importantly, you will install the most recent TeX distribution. These are the tools you need to take a document from a marked-up plain text file to the lovely document you think of as being ‘written in LaTeX’. Without this bit, you cannot do anything with LaTeX.
Download MiKTeX and follow the usual installation instructions. (If you need more detailed instructions, take a look at this page.)
You need a good LaTeX-specific text editor to begin your journey. I believe that MikTeX now comes with TeXworks, but I could be mistaken about that. (It used to come with TeXnicCenter, but I am pretty sure it no longer does.) There are other options out there, but these two are pretty straightforward and user friendly, so I suggest you download and install one of them if neither comes with MikTeX.
Once you have installed MikTeX, proceed to the next page.
If you often work at your office or in a computer lab, you might not be able to install MikTeX on your PC because you might not have the right kind of password. So long as your computer is a PC (running Windows or a version of Linux), there is a workaround. You can install MikTeX on a USB Flash Drive. Just go to this page and follow the instructions for installing MikTeX Portable. MikTeX portable includes a text editor—TeXworks—so once you install MikTeX portable on a thumb drive you are good to go.
If this is not a good option for you for some reason, you can still use LaTeX. There are an increasing number of capable online LaTeX editors and compilers you can use for free. Google has made a preview release version of their latexlab available online. I have not done any serious work on it, but it looks pretty good, and people seem to love Google Docs, so it at least runs with a good crowd.
Once you have installed MikTeX portable, or have decided to use latexlab, proceed to the next page.
Installing a TeX distribution on a Linux platform is straightforward. Just use your package manager to find the texlive package, then install it. This will vary from system to system as the package managers vary. Just be sure to install texlive—if there is an option, install texlive-full.
Installing texlive via your package manager (either the graphical version or on the command line) will get you a TeX distribution. This is the series of packages and commands that will take you from a markup-laced .tex file to a nice .pdf file. But the texlive package will not include a text editor to help you write said .tex files. You want a good text editor for this—it will make your LaTeX life much easier. Fortunately, there are many options out there.
Kevin Kelment (who has given me lots of feedback about the Linux-and-LaTeX options) tells me that Gummi and Kile are very good, very capable LaTeX editors. Download one of them via your package manager, then proceed to the next page.