miktex
Apologies for the inane question, but I can't figure out how to run MiKTex FNDB on Windows 8. On Windows 7 and earlier, I simply followed:
Start → Programs → MiKTeX 2.9 → Maintenance
Of course the Start Menu on Windows 8 does not exist. So how do I follow this on path Windows 8?
Thanks!
If you choose "Install missing packages on-the-fly: Ask me first", MiKTeX will ask you each time whether a package should be installed for all users or only for you. That way you can install all packages into the main MiKTeX admin folder.
Open "Maintenance" or "Maintenance (Admin)" in Start Menu, select "Settings". You will open "MiKTeX Options" window. (a.k.a MiKTeX Console for Windows)
You can add a root path of your own. e.g. X:\localtexmf\
Then you can put your own LaTeX styles into X:\localtexmf\tex\latex\WHATEVER. tex\latex is predefined position in TDS, you can't use arbitrary directory structure.
Then run "Refresh FNDB" command in "General" tab in "MiKTeX Options" window.
Best Answer
If you are running Windows 8 (without the 8.1 update), all new shortcuts that would be added to the old Start menu are pinned as tiles to the Start screen, as in this screenshot from the MiKTeX author's blog:
Windows 8.1 avoids cluttering your Start screen by not automatically pinning new tiles; to access these tiles, swipe up from the bottom of the screen and then to the right. Holding down a tile (or right-clicking it) allows you to pin it to the Start screen.