TeXworks ⇒ TexWorks crashes at the press of any button: save, typeset et c

[Tiberius]

Good day !

My computer uses Windows 8.1 64b Pro but also has Linux installed (so it may run on either).
I installed the latest MikTex 2.9 but I could not use it:

I opened TexWorks and tried to save the document and, after pressing 'save', invariably it crashed showing the message:

"TexWorks has stopped working. Windows is trying to find a solution "
then:
"TeXworks has stopped working

A problem caused the program to stop working correctly. Windows will close the program and notify you if a solution is available."

The same thing happened when pressing any other button(for example, ''typeset'').

I updated it after other problems using this advice:
http://tex.stackexchange.com/questions/ ... ate-wizard

But the initial problem persists even after updates: TexWorks crashes invariably.
Please help me solve this issue.
Thank you!

PS: I am a complete novice, this being my first attempt at installing Latex.

[Stefan Kottwitz]

Hi Tiberius,

welcome to the forum!

I guess updating MiKTeX may not update the editor TeXworks. It is bundled with MiKTeX, but independent. You may get a newer version from https://www.tug.org/texworks/.

As you are using Windows and Linux: if the problem persists, you could consider installing TeX Live: https://www.tug.org/texlive/. TeX Live runs on both Windows and Linux and on the Mac (as MacTeX), though every system needs its own installation. See: TeX Live versus MiKTeX. I'm a happy user of TeX Live on Windows, Macbook and Ubuntu.

Stefan

[Tiberius]

Thank you very much, Stefan!
I installed texworks 0.6.1 and it works by clicking on the newly installed version.
However, in windows' startup menu, the texworks icon is still the malfunctioning one and, in order to uninstall the bad texworks I have to uninstall the entire Miktex.
How do I get rid of the malfunctioning texworks?
Thank you!

[Tiberius]

another question, please:

I would like to use Latex for writing scientific documents; for this purpose is TexWorks sufficient or do I need the entire MikTex package ?
what is the purpose of Miktex ?

Thank you again!

[Johannes_B]

A full MikTeX installation includes thousands of text files called classes and packages, and a few programs, the most important is the command line program pdfTeX, the one that converts your document to a pdf.

TeXworks is just your working environment that helps you type the text. You can choose others as you like. You can even use notepad++, emacs or vim.

[Stefan Kottwitz]

TeXworks is just an editor. It's for typing and editing and syntax highlighting. And it's for running LaTeX (TeX) on the edited document.

But you need a TeX software for that. That's either MiKTeX, or it's TeX Live. (the only big TeX software nowadays)

I recommend a full installation (TeX Live, or MiKTeX). There are basic installations, but then you may miss a package and need to install it, again and again... better fully install one time and save headache.

Stefan

[Tiberius]

Thank you both very much for your informative answers.

I am installing Texlive, as you suggested Stefan. It is interesting how much larger it is compared to MikTex.

I wish you a great day !