[Tex/LaTex] Trying to add the cbgreek package causes TeXstudio and/or MiKTeX to hang (large package download issue)

errorsmiktexpackagestexstudio

I am using TeXstudio 2.6.6 and MiKTeX 2.9 on Windows 7. I have recently tried adding the textgreek package to one of my files; this package was not installed, so when I tried to compile my document I got the automatic prompt asking to silently download and install the package. I click install and confirm the UAC elevation request, but my computer only goes into "busy" mode (the mouse cursor shows the spinning blue circle) seemingly indefinitely.

Notably, the last package that MiKTeX asks to install before this problem happens is cbgreek.

When this happens, TeXstudio still responds to most commands (despite the mouse cursor being in the "busy" state). However, it will refuse to compile unless I comment out the textgreek package. This lasts until I forcibly close TeXstudio and restart it, but happens again when I try to compile a file which uses textgreek. Terminating pdflatex.exe also resolves the problem, but because compilation fails, the PDF preview window shows an empty gray box.

Why is this happening and how can I compile a document using textgreek?

Best Answer

There is actually no problem, everything is working as expected.

The automatic prompt that MiKTeX throws up when a missing package is detected silently downloads and installs packages without producing much diagnostic information. Most packages download and install in a matter of seconds, and this works fine.

cbgreeks, which is necessary for the functioning of textgreek, is almost 70 MB large. Even if you have a fast connection, your nearest CTAN repository server may not be able to provide a very fast upload rate for you. Therefore, downloading this package takes a long time. And the TeX compiler must wait until the download finishes.

In theory you could just sit there and wait for an indeterminate amount of time, and eventually the download will finish and your compiled PDF will probably appear. For such a large package, however, it's better to use a more informative interface: Go to Start Menu -> MiKTeX -> Maintenance -> Package manager. In the Name field in the top right, type the name of your package (eg. cbgreek). The list should be filtered to show the package you want. Right click the package and select Install.

You will now be able to watch the progress of the download and installation. If the problem is indeed the package size, you will also be able to observe more clearly just how long the package takes to install.

After installation of your large package(s) is complete, TeXstudio should be able to compile normally.