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 {\color{black}\LARGE\bf A First Set of \LaTeX{} Resources}
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% \section{\LaTeX}

% \LaTeX{} is a collection of commands for
% writing documents with the \TeX{} typesetting system.
% It is by far the most popular way to use that system.
This page suggests documentation, add-on components, and other resources
for a beginning \LaTeX{} user.

The links here are to freely available materials,
so you can click to see the documentation online.
Where the documentation is also available
offline in a typical \TeX{} installation, we provide its name as an end note.
View it
by running `\texttt{texdoc {\it name}}' in a terminal.



% ========================================================
\section{Starting}

To run \LaTeX{}, you must use an online service or
install a distribution.
Online services are commercial; find them by entering `online latex' in
a search engine.
For distributions, your choices are
\href{https://tug.org/texlive/}{\TeX{}~Live} on
a Unix system, including GNU/Linux, or on Windows,
or the related
\href{https://tug.org/mactex/}{Mac\TeX{}} on Macintosh,
or
\href{https://miktex.org/}{MiK\TeX{}} on Windows or a Unix system.

\subsection{Tutorials}
The site \href{https://www.learnlatex.org/}{\texttt{learnlatex.org}}
teaches you the basics in a sound way, and also
lets you play with the commands to see the results.
For a more traditional document,
the most widely recommended one is
\href{https://ctan.org/pkg/lshort-english}
{\package{The Not-So Short Guide to \LaTeXe}}, available in many
languages.\texdoc{lshort}
% and another good one is from the
% \href{https://tug.org/tutorials/tugindia/}{\package{Indian \TeX{} User Group}}.
% The article
% \href{http://mirror.ctan.org/info/first-latex-doc/first-latex-doc.pdf}{\package{Getting something out of \LaTeX}}
% walks a beginner through writing a sample document.

Many people use \LaTeX{} to write mathematical text and
for this the premier choice is from the American Mathematical Society.
See their
\href{http://mirror.ctan.org/info/amslatex/primer/amshelp.pdf}
{\package{Getting up and running with AMS-\LaTeX}},\texdoc{amshelp}
and more detail is in
\href{http://mirror.ctan.org/macros/latex/required/amsmath/amsldoc.pdf}
{\package{Users Guide for the {\tt amsmath} package}}.\texdoc{amsmath}




% ========================================================
\section{Documentation}


\subsection{References}
The nearest thing to a general reference for \LaTeX{} is
\href{http://mirror.ctan.org/info/latex2e-help-texinfo/latex2e.html}
{\package{\LaTeXe{} unofficial reference manual}}.\texdoc{latex2e}
Look for symbols in the
\href{http://mirror.ctan.org/info/symbols/comprehensive/symbols-letter.pdf}
{\package{Comprehensive List of Symbols}}.\texdoc{comprehensive}
And, \href{https://tug.org/TUGboat/}{\package{TUGboat}},
the journal of the
\href{https://tug.org}{\TeX{} Users Group},
has published many articles, at levels from beginner to expert,
almost since the inception of \TeX{}.



\subsection{FAQs}
Many web pages offer quick help with \LaTeX{},
although they can be out of date.
Particularly useful and reliable are the
\href{https://texfaq.org/}{\package{\TeX{} FAQ}},\texdoc{faq}
as well as
\href{https://tug.org/interest.html}{\package{\TeX{} Resources on the Web}}.
You can also get a handy general
\href{http://mirror.ctan.org/info/latexcheat/latexcheat/latexsheet.pdf}
{\package{\LaTeX{} Cheat Sheet}},\texdoc{latexcheat}
as well as the
\href{http://mirrors.ctan.org/info/undergradmath/undergradmath.pdf}
{\package{Math for Undergraduates Cheat Sheet}}.\texdoc{undergradmath}
Also,
\href{http://mirror.ctan.org/info/l2tabu/english/l2tabuen.pdf}
{An essential guide to \LaTeXe{} usage}\texdoc{l2tabuen}
helps you develop sound habits, by
saying what not to do.

\subsection{Questions}
If you are stuck on an issue, the
\href{https://tex.stackexchange.com/}{\TeX{}-\LaTeX{} Stack Exchange} site
and the mailing list
\href{https://lists.tug.org/texhax}{[email protected]}
are where knowledgeable people hang out.
You are likely to find an answer in their past discussions, which cover
decades, and if not then you can post a question yourself.


\subsection{Books}
There are many excellent books about \LaTeX{}.
Visit the
\href{https://tug.org/books/}
{\package{\TeX{} Users Group's book list}} for a selection, and for discounts.




% =========================================================
\section{Packages}

One of \LaTeX's strengths is the tremendous number of available add-on
packages.
This list covers most of what
beginners want to do.
(There are some comments in parentheses that
often come up in conjunction with these recommendations.)


\subsection{Our archive}
The Comprehensive \TeX{} Archive Network,
\href{https://ctan.org}{\color{darkblue}\CTAN},
has the latest official versions of
the packages that are in the distributions,
along with documentation.
\href{https://ctan.org/topics/cloud}{\color{darkblue}Browsing by topic}
can be very handy.

% If you develop a package, please upload it to \CTAN.
If you have trouble finding something, it may be
the house package of a journal or institution.
Look on their web page as well as on \CTAN.



\subsection{Every document}
To change page size, margins, and orientation, use
\pkg{geometry}.\texdoc{geometry}
Get multiple columns with \pkg{multicol}.\texdoc{multicol}

As referred to above, any document containing significant amounts of
mathematics should use
the American Mathematical Society's packages
\pkg{amsmath}\texdoc{amsmath}
and
\pkg{amsfonts}.\texdoc{amssymb}
Also use their \pkg{amsthm}\texdoc{amsthm}
for producing theorem environments.
Notes: (1)~\pkglink{amsfonts}{amssymb} inputs \pkg{amsfonts} so load the former
instead of the latter,
(2)~many authors also use the calligraphic characters in
\pkg{rsfs},\texdoc{rsfs}
(3)~get bold math symbols with \pkg{bm},\texdoc{bm}
(4)~don't load \pkg{amsmath} directly, instead get it by loading
\pkg{mathtools}\texdoc{mathtools} for some useful improvements,
and
(4)~load \pkg{amsthm} after \pkg{mathtools}.

Also, include
\pkg{microtype}.\texdoc{microtype}
It will make
your document have fewer awkward lines.



\subsection{Inside a document}
Tweak the layout of lists with \pkg{enumitem}.\texdoc{enumitem}

Enhance captions with
\pkg{caption}\texdoc{caption}
and control floating environments with
\pkg{float}.\texdoc{float}
(In particular, this package provides the `\texttt{H}' option
to override automatic float placement and put something
exactly where you ask.
This may cause issues\Dash what if you want to include a two inch tall
graphic on a page that has only an inch left?\Dash but it sometimes
is what you want.)

Get hyperlinks and turn references into links with
\pkg{hyperref}\texdoc{hyperref}
(make sure to set it up,
as with \lstinline!\hypersetup{colorlinks=true}!).
Have cross-references that say `Theorem~1.2' instead of just `1.2'
with \pkg{cleveref}.\texdoc{cleveref}
For \acro{URL}'s and file paths that can break across lines, use
\pkg{url}.\texdoc{url}
(If you use \pkg{hyperref} then note that it has its own
commands for the \pkg{cleveref} and \pkg{url} functions.)

Inside verbatim text, make single quotes come out correctly with
\pkg{upquote}.\texdoc{upquote}
For including computer code, the
\pkg{listings}\texdoc{listings} package is very popular.
% although \pkg{minted}\texdoc{minted}
% has many things to recommend it.
(Copy and paste for computer code is especially
convenient.
This is a start for the \pkg{listings} package.
\begin{lstlisting}
\lstset{basicstyle=\ttfamily,
       keepspaces=true,
       columns=fullflexible}
\end{lstlisting}
But it is not a full solution.
The results depend on the \PDF{} viewer and
worse, if your code line begins with
blank spaces then after copy and paste those spaces are gone.)

If you use Python,
\pkg{pythontex}\texdoc{pythontex}
will show code listings, but it also allows you to execute
Python and put the results in your output.
Do the same for
the \textit{Sage} mathematics software with
\pkg{sagetex}, % \texdoc{sagetex}? not in TL
and similar support exists for other languages.

There are many packages that add table capabilities, such as
multirow entries and breaking across pages.
The first package to try is \pkg{array},\texdoc{array}
which lets you define your own column
types.
To handle scientific units,
use \pkg{siunitx}\texdoc{siunitx}
(which also has a table column type for aligning on a decimal point).

Make boxes that are colored or framed, such as boxes for theorems,
with
\pkg{tcolorbox}.\texdoc{tcolorbox}

Use \pkg{babel}\texdoc{babel}
for internationalization, including changing the
title of the abstract or the bibliography.
(Note that \LaTeX{} now defaults to UTF-8 encoded input.)

Finally, when developing a document, you often want to
generate filler text.
Use
\pkg{lipsum}.\texdoc{lipsum}



\subsection{Color and graphics}
For colors, use
\pkg{xcolor}.\texdoc{xcolor}

To include graphics and do simple manipulations such as resizing,
use \pkg{graphicx}.\texdoc{graphics}
Use the \acro{JPG} format for photos,
\acro{PNG} for other kinds of raster graphics,
and \PDF{} for vector graphics.
If your graphic is in another format then convert it to one of these three.
(Usually in your \LaTeX{} source, you give the file name without the extension,
as with \lstinline!\includegraphics{myplot}!.)
Include parts of an outside \PDF{} document with
\pkg{pdfpages}.\texdoc{pdfpages}
Include video or sound using
\pkg{media9}.\texdoc{media9}

In your plots and graphics, you want that
the fonts and notations match your document.
You have a few choices.
Draw inside your document with
\href{https://ctan.org/pkg/pgf}{\TikZ}.\texdoc{tikz}
You can instead draw using an external command language such as
\href{https://asymptote.sourceforge.io/}{\Asymptote{}},\texdoc{asymptote}
and bring the results in as graphics.
And there are other options, such as that the
\href{http://www.gnuplot.info/}{\gnuplot{}} plotting software
will output \TikZ{} commands,
and the
\href{https://inkscape.org/}{Inkscape} vector graphics editor allows
you to embed \LaTeX{}-generated equations.


\subsection{Front and back matter, headers, footers}
To style chapter and section titles, use
\pkg{titlesec}.\texdoc{titlesec}
For page headers and footers, reach for
\pkg{fancyhdr}.\texdoc{fancyhdr}
You can tweak the format of tables of contents, lists of figures, etc.,
with
\pkg{tocloft}.\texdoc{tocloft}

For footnotes, use
\pkg{footmisc}.\texdoc{footmisc}
Make an index with
\pkg{makeindex}.\texdoc{makeindex}
With \pkg{answers}\texdoc{answers}
you can send exercise answers to an external file, where you can make them
a separate document or include them at the end of the current one.

Bibliographies are a thorny area.
Often you have strict requirements, such as from the
\pkg{MLA}.\texdoc{mla}
\CTAN{} is a big help here; check out the many styles for both
\href{https://ctan.org/topic/bibtex-sty}{\BibTeX}\texdoc{bibtex}
and
\href{https://ctan.org/topic/biblatex}{\BibLaTeX}.\texdoc{biblatex}




\subsection{Special documents}
Make exams and problem sets with the
\pkg{exam}\texdoc{exam}
class.

There are many, many resume and CV packages.
Start with \acro{CTAN}'s
\href{https://ctan.org/topic/cv}{cv topic}.

To make presentations, use the
\pkg{beamer}\texdoc{beamer}
class.
(However, with this package you are entering another world, where many of the
packages discussed here do not work.
For example, section title styling happens via a completely
different mechanism.)


% =====================================================
\section{Fonts and engines}
The documentation for font use commands from the \LaTeX{} developers is
\href{http://mirror.ctan.org/macros/latex/base/fntguide.pdf}
{\package{\LaTeXe{} font selection}}.\texdoc{fntguide}

To move beyond the default fonts,
visit the
\href{https://tug.org/FontCatalogue/}{\LaTeX\ Font Catalogue},
which includes copy and paste code to make each one work.

Beyond that list, you can also use your computer system's fonts
(this may make your source file harder to share with friends, though).
The background is:~to convert \LaTeX{} source to \PDF{} output
there are three varieties of the \TeX{} engine.
Currently the most common is
\href{https://tug.org/applications/pdftex/}{\package{\pdfTeX}}.\texdoc{pdftex}
For instance, this document was generated with
\verb!pdflatex latex-doc-ptr.tex!.
Two further developments,
\href{https://tug.org/xetex/}{\package{\XeTeX}},\texdoc{xetex}
and
\href{http://www.luatex.org/}{\package{\LuaTeX}},\texdoc{luatex}
can leverage
the \pkg{fontspec}\texdoc{fontspec}
package to use your system's fonts,
such as OpenType and TrueType fonts,
in addition to the ones from your \TeX{} distribution.
(Mathematics requires much special tuning, though, so most
of the time you cannot use system fonts for math.)
% (A word about the preprint site \texttt{arXiv.org}.
% If your document was produced with \XeLaTeX{} or \LuaLaTeX{} then
% you can only submit a \PDF, not the document source.)

More is on the
\href{https://tug.org/fonts/}{\TeX{} Users Group's font page}.





% =========================================================
\section{Writing \LaTeX{}}

There are many ways to make writing \LaTeX{} source easier.
Most people use a source code editor, such as
\href{https://www.texstudio.org/}{\TeX{}studio}, or
Emacs with the add-on mode
\href{https://www.gnu.org/software/auctex/}{\package{AUC-\TeX{}}},
or \href{https://pages.uoregon.edu/koch/texshop/}{\TeX{}Shop} on
a Mac.
% A new environment that is free, runs on all major
% computer platforms, and combines the best ideas
% from available environments while retaining simplicity, is
% \href{https://tug.org/texworks/}{\texworks}.


% ====================================================
\section{Pronunciation}
Pronounce \LaTeX{} as
``la-tech'' or ``lay-tech,'' with emphasis on either syllable.
We prefer the first, with emphasis on the first syllable.



% ====================================================
\section{This document}
To contact this document's authors with suggestions and corrections
please see its page at
\url{https://ctan.org/pkg/latex-doc-ptr}.


% ====================================================
\section{Welcome to the community!}

One reason that all of these resources are available is
the work of the many
\href{https://tug.org/usergroups.html}{user groups},
including the \href{https://tug.org/}{\TeX{} Users Group}.
Please consider joining.

% \vfill\null
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\hbadness=10000 % we know
\theendnotes

% \subsection{Feedback?}
% Contact me via
% \href{https://hefferon.net}{\color{lightblue}\texttt{hefferon.net}}.
% (This version is from \today.)
% The source is at
% \href{https://gitlab.com/jim.hefferon/latexpackages}{\color{lightblue}my GitLab repository}.)
\end{multicols*}

\end{document}

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