LaTeX help for total newbie

October 17, 2010 6:22 AM

There's a font issue driving me insane in TeXnic: "NFSS system isn't set up properly" . Can someone please help me resolve this?

I'm new to LaTeX and, after an enormous fiasco with a 500+ page MS Word document, I'm a recent convert. However, I'm having my first issue with fonts.

I'm trying to install some special fonts we use in linguistics, called the IPA fonts, part of a package called TIPA.


So, I'm using the TIPA font with TeXnic and I write:

\documentclass[11pt,a4paper,oneside{report}
\usepackage{tipa}
\usepackage{tipx}
\begin{document}
\textipa{[N]}
\end{document}


I don't see the correct font, instead I get the error code "NFSS system isn't set up properly." Huh?

Can someone send me a real simple step-by-step solution to this? I'd be very grateful and will use it in a LaTeX wiki I'm working on as I learn geared towards other novices.

BTW, I'm using Windows.
Thanks guys, thanks a lot.

posted by mateuslee to Technology (7 answers total)

I'm not sure what the problem is, but I just tried it using MiXTeX 2.9 beta for Windows and I got a pdf with what looks like a lowercase n with a j tail. What LaTeX system are you using?
posted by demiurge at 8:44 AM on October 17, 2010

Response by poster: Hey DemiUrge -- I need that n-with-j-tail! I'm using TexNic center with MikTeX2.8.
I must be doing something wrong, is my preamble correct?
I think I may be putting the TIPA files in the wrong place. Can you tell me where I should put them? I think that would resolve the problem. I usually just dump all the STY and related files in the folder I'm working out of... it makes a big mess.

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer this question. You have no idea how much I appreciate this.
posted by mateuslee at 9:16 AM on October 17, 2010

Best answer: You downloaded the TIPA files manually? MiKTeX has a feature where it automatically downloads the packages you need for you from CTAN and saves them in a system directory.

My advice is to make a clean directory, make a new project, copy your example tex file into it (you forgot a ] in the first line though) and try to compile it. Hopefully MiKTeX will download the stuff you need for you. (It might spin it's gears a little while while it's downloading everything) If not, try the MiKTeX package manager and install it that way.
posted by demiurge at 9:22 AM on October 17, 2010

Response by poster: Yes, I download everything manually as a RAR file and then unpack it. It makes a mess.

So, I saved the file in a new folder without any of the STY files or anything else. Then in TeXnic- Center I compile the document, and I immediately get the error !LaTeX Error: File 'tipa.sty' not found.

If you could tell me how I tell MikTeX to download the package I need automatically, you will have resolved every single LaTeX issue I ever had and will help me have a normal file folder system once again.

Once again, thanks a lot.
posted by mateuslee at 9:36 AM on October 17, 2010

Best answer: Well, in Program Files/MiKTeX 2.8/miktex/bin/ is a program called mo_admin.exe (for MiKTeX options, I guess)

There's a setting on mine that says "Install missing packages on-the-fly" Mine is set to yes. Yours might be set to no. If it's set to no, try yes, apply and compile your tex file again.

If it still doesn't work, use the package manager (mpm_mfc_admin.exe) to manually install the tipa pacakge.
posted by demiurge at 9:53 AM on October 17, 2010

Response by poster: Awesome Demiurge. You're the best, hands-down. I really, really appreciate it.
posted by mateuslee at 12:12 PM on October 17, 2010

Response by poster: Incidentally, "install missing packages" was set to yes, but the package manager did the trick no problem.
posted by mateuslee at 12:13 PM on October 17, 2010