Windows Installation: ConTeXt Suite with SciTe

NOTE: You will need admin rights to your Windows to manage the installation process. If you don't have that, get somebody who does.

Download ConTeXt

Step 1: Get the installer

Download context-setup-mswin.zip onto your computer. It contains a folder called context, unzip/extract that folder into the location where you want your final ConTeXt installation. It is recommended not to use folders with space in their name. Mari usually puts hers directly onto the main hard disk, i.e. C, so ConTeXt is normally located at C:\context on her Windows computers (both XP, Vista and W7).

Step 2: Get the ConTeXt Suite

Now go to your ConTeXt folder (e.g. C:\context). Run file first-setup (= first-setup.bat). If you just want the latest version of ConTeXt without any frills, you can just double-click the file name and it'll do the rest. If you want to install third-party modules like SimpleSlides, or if you prefer to install the most recent stable version of ConTeXt, you'll have to use Command Prompt.

By default, the suite installs ConTeXt beta. If you want the stable version of ConTeXt, you can use

 first-setup.bat --context=current

By default, the suite does not install modules and other third party content. If you want the modules e.g. [modules:simpleslides simpleslides] (and have the bandwidth for extra download) you can use

first-setup.bat --modules=all

Of course you can use both options at the same time

 first-setup.bat --context=current --modules=all

Install SciTe

Now you have ConTeXt. To complement it, i.e. to easily write and compile ConTeXt files, install the SciTe editor. It is a nifty open source editor that, with some adjustments, will be able to highlight ConTeXt code and run ConTeXt from inside the editor. (And it is pretty useful for e.g. html and php editing, too.)

Step 1: Get SciTe

There's a SciTe included in your ConTeXt Suite, but you'll get less hassle with user rights and such if you use Troy Simpson's Windows installer for SciTe. Keep accepting everything it suggests and you'll get a very standard Windows program installed without any hassle.

Step 2: Fetch and install lexer add-in

The ConTeXt versions dated September 20, 2011, or later use external lexers and for that you have to Download the add-in zip (just get the top-most file of those listed).

Then extract/unzip the contents of the lexer zip into a temporary directory. You get a directory scintilluaxxx-n (e.g. scintillua229-1). Go to that directory and copy everything in it to your SciTe folder.