[Tex/LaTex] No pdflatex.exe file in miktex directory

miktexpdftextexmaker

After installing MiKTeX and TexMaker, I tried using TexMaker to create a simple first script.
When I tried to compile it using PdfLaTeX, I got an error message saying:

Could not start the command. pdflatex -synctex=1 -interaction=nonstopmode %.tex

When looking on StackExchange for a solution, I stumbled upon the solution of indicating the path to the pdflatex.exe file in the configurations of Texmaker. It was indicated this file would be at C:\Program Files\MiKTeX 2.9\miktex\bin\x64. But there was no such file. The best I could find was miktex-pdftex.exe. I tried inputing

"C:\Program Files\MiKTeX 2.9\miktex\bin\x64\miktex-pdftex.exe" -synctex=1 -interaction=nonstopmode %.tex

in the PdfLaTeX field instead, which resulted in the same error.

Could a problem be that I tried rerunning the MikTeX installer before looking the problem up (and changed the installation from single user to all users)?

Best Answer

As stated in the question, I installed MikTeX as single user, and then again as all users.

But the all users instalation failed due to the presence of the single user version, and the path the path C:\Program Files\MiKTeX 2.9\miktex\bin\x64\pdflatex.exe only works for the all users version. After uninstalling MikTeX and only installing it as single user, I was then able to find the correct path for my single user installment under C:\Users\Thomas\AppData\Local\Programs\MiKTeX 2.9\miktex\bin\x64\pdflatex.exe. This path now works.

Related Solutions

[Tex/LaTex] Configuring pdflatex for labels in Asymptote

You can put most of the stuff in a configuration file config.asy. The position of the file is in your user DOS directory %USERPROFILE%\.asy. Run the following in a command window to obtain the directory:

>echo %USERPROFILE%\.asy

Create a new or change the existing file config.asy (my own setup)

import settings;
gs        = "C:\usr\gs\gs9.06\bin\gswin64c.exe";
psviewer  = "C:\usr\gs\Ghostgum\gsview\gsview64.exe";
pdfviewer = "C:\usr\SumatraPDF\SumatraPDF.exe";

If TeX is not in your standard search path, you can add

texpath   = "C:\MiKTeX 2.9\miktex\bin\x64\";

Then you can run: "C:/Program Files (x86)/Asymptote/asy.exe" -V -f pdf %.asy

[Tex/LaTex] Error: Could not start the command: pdflatex.exe -synctex=1 -interaction=nonstopmode “eigenvector or eigenvalue decompositions”.tex

In order to solve this problem, I did the following:
From the menus at the top:

Options > Configure TexStudio...

Choose Commands on the left

and then manually enter the paths to .exe files by clicking on the below icon (select program) next to each line and then press OK.

Thanks to the comments made by @JosephWright and @PietvanOostrum .