[NTG-context] Stand alone Context editing environment

[Ville Voipio]

> Can someone explain to me what this is? If it is downloaded and  
> unzipped, is it ready to go? Is there documentation of this  particular 
> zip? Is there an editor in this zip configured and ready  to go?

Here is a step by step of how it should go (i.e. what I did with success):

1. Get perl and install it. I use ActivePerl:
      http://www.activestate.com/Products/ActivePerl/?mp=1

2. Get ruby and install it. I used:
      http://rubyinstaller.rubyforge.org/

3. Check that perl and ruby work. Go to the command prompt (Start -> 
Run... "cmd") and execute the two commands:
      ruby --version
      perl --version
    These should give some information on ruby and perl. It really does 
not matter what they say, as long as the interpreters are found.

4. Download mswincontext.zip

5. Unzip the contents under c:\temp. You should get c:\temp\isoimage.

6. Create a new folder c:\context

7. Copy everything under c:\temp\isoimage into c:\context. There should 
be one folder (/usr) and a few files.

8. Open the folder c:\context and double-click cdemo.bat

9. Now you should see the editor open with a few files. Press F7 to 
compile one of the files. If everything goes smoothly, you are done. If 
not, read these instructions again carefully. If you cannot get it work, 
mail the list.


A few notes on the procedure above:

- perl and ruby per se have nothing to do with ConTeXt, ConTeXt just 
needs them. So, if you have another perl and ruby (e.g. through cygwin), 
they are fine as long as they are in the system path. If you can get 
through step #3 without doing #1 and #2, fine.

- It is up to you to choose the location where you unzip the file in 
step #5, no magic there. Just that you know where the files are.

- The actual location of the ConTeXt in step #6 tree does not matter. I 
use c:\context, but you might use something else. However, I would not 
use anything with a space in the name (e.g. c:\Program Files\context), 
as that may confuse things. (Has anybody tried lately?)

- After you have verified everything works in step #9, you can toss 
cdemo.bat away and use cstart.bat to start everything. Make a link to it 
somewhere so that you can start the system by a shortcut or through the 
Start menu. Do not move the batch script anywhere, it has to be run in 
the root directory of the distribution (e.g. c:\context).

- Make sure you have something Acrobatish installed, otherwise you won't 
see the results in step #9.

Good luck!

- Ville


P.S. Is this information already in the Wiki? I found only some short 
notes, but this might be somehow important for beginners. I can put it 
there if neeeded.