I do the same. However, I also view the generated PDFs in Emacs and I set it up so that the PDF-in-Emacs will auto-reload whenever the PDF changes. And I agree,

I do the same. However, I also view the generated PDFs in Emacs and I set it up so that the PDF-in-Emacs will auto-reload whenever the PDF changes. And I agree, refTeX is amazing and awesome! Lately, I even left pure LaTeX and migrated to org-mode and its LaTeX/PDF-export. That is a pretty brilliant combination, I must say. Really among the many things Emacs does, LaTeX is one thing it does exceedingly well.