UK TeX FAQ -- question 114

### Installing MikTeX "known packages"

MikTeX 2.1 maintains a database of packages it "knows about", together with (coded) installation instructions that enable it to install with with minimal user intervention.

If MikTeX does know about a package you need installed, it's worth using the system.

First, open the MikTeX packages window: click on `Start`-> `Programs`-> `MikTeX`-> `MikTeX Options`, and select the `Packages` tab.

On the tab, there is an Explorer-style display of packages. Right-click on the root of the tree, "`MikTeX Packages`", and select "`Search`": enter the name of the package you're interested in, and press the "`Search`" button. If MikTeX knows about your package, it will open up the tree to show you a tick box for you package: check that box.

If MikTeX doesn't know about the package you're interested in, you have to use the long-winded procedure outlined elsewhere in this FAQ.

If necessary, repeat to select other packages, and then press "`OK`"; MikTeX tells you how many packages you have selected - if you're happy, press "`OK`" again. MikTeX will go off, download the package (as a `.cab` file), if necessary, install the files of the package, and then refresh the filename database so that the files will be found.