WinTexEditor

WinTexEditor is a free and open-source application designed for first-time users interested in the TeX and LaTeX programming language. It facilitates a user-friendly interface for writing code, similar to a classical text editor, in addition to integration with the MikTex compiler.

There is no setup pack involved, which makes WinTexEditor portable. This means that you can save the downloaded files to a custom directory on the disk or copy them to a USB flash drive, in order to seamlessly launch the tool on any PC with as little effort as possible. It doesn't modify system registry settings, create files on the disk without asking for permission, or need DLLs or other components to work properly.

The interface is user-friendly, represented by a small window with a plain appearance and simple design, where you can check out a sample code, as well as edit or clear all text to start a new project from scratch.

It's possible to type or paste content from the Clipboard, insert page breaks, change the heading by opting for one of three styles, create numbered or bulleted lists, as well as customize the page style when it comes to the document type, paper size, orientation, standard font size, and number of columns.

Projects can be saved to file with the .tex and .txt format as well as compiled and converted and viewed using MikTeX. Log details can be consulted to check for any errors. Just make sure you have specified the correct path to the texify.exe file of the compiler. The tool also contains options for inserting files, pictures and formulas, as well as for customizing the header and footer. However, their entries were greyed out in our tests.

It worked smoothly in our evaluation, without triggering the operating system to hang, crash or prompt errors. CPU and RAM usage was minimal, so it didn't hamper the computer's performance.

On the other hand, WinTexEditor doesn't come packed with richer options and customization preferences. We are also keeping in mind that it hasn't received updates for a long time.