Install (B)ridge (M)arkup (L)anguage on Windows

This is the guide for installing Bridge Markup Language on Windows 10. It is intended for common end users who prefer to use a graphical user interface (GUI).

Open a Windows Command Line

To install or verify the programs installed, you need to open a Windows Command Line.

This section explains how to do that since you will need it several times in the rest of this document.

Using the Windows+R keys

Please note that to open a Windows Command Line you can press the Windows key together with the R key to open ‘Run’ box. Then type ‘cmd’ and then click ‘OK’ to open a regular Command Line.

Click the triangle left to show details.

Using the Windows status bar

You may also enter "command" in the Windows status bar search box and click the Command Prompt App.

Install Python

Using the Windows Store

Type "store" in the Windows status bar search box.

Click on the Microsoft Store App, type "python" in the Microsoft Store search box and press ENTER.

Next choose the highest version to get, click on its icon and click on "Get" to get it.

Click on "Install".

Next click on "Install on my devices".

Using the Python home page

You can also install Python by going to the Python home page.

Click on the Latest version in the "Download" section and choose the Windows installer.

Next click on the downloaded executable and this window will show up.

Please click on Add Python 3.9 to PATH before pressing Install Now.

Test the installation of Python

Issue these commands from a command line to verify the installation:

python --version
pip --version

Install BML

Go to PyPI

You may skip this section since it is purely informational.

The BML converters are available as a PyPI (Python Package Index) package.

Go to PyPI.

Search for "bridge-markup".

Choose the correct project (the first one here).

Next, just copy the text "pip install bridge-markup" to the clipboard as shown below.

Do NOT use Download files here. The text you copied will be used below.

Use the Windows Command Line

To install the BML converters, issue this command from a command line:

pip install bridge-markup

You can also paste the text copied from PyPI (press ENTER after the paste).

Test the installation of BML

Issue these commands from a command line to verify the installation of the converters:

bml2bss -h
bml2html -h
bml2latex -h

Install LaTeX

In order to create a PDF from a BML file you need to:

1. generate a TeX file with the bml2latex converter
2. generate a PDF from TeX file using a LaTeX program

To install a basic TeX/LaTex program on Windows go to MiKTeX download.

Download the executable and run it (choose "Install MiKTeX only for me" later on).

Test the installation of LaTeX

Issue this command from a command line to verify the installation:

latexmk -h