% latex4wp.tex -*- LaTeX -*-
%
% LaTeX for Word Processor Users
% by Guido Gonzato, guido.gonzato (at) gmail.com
%
% This document was written with the Jed editor,
%
https://www.jedsoft.org/jed, and the new LaTeX mode
% available from CTAN mirrors, e.g.
%
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/jed
%
% Last updated: August 28, 2023
% \RequirePackage[l2tabu,orthodox]{nag} % LaTeX syntax check
\documentclass[a4paper,11pt]{article}
% packages
\usepackage[export]{adjustbox} % images on centre or right
\usepackage{alltt} % like verbatim, but obeys LaTeX commands
\usepackage{booktabs} % better looking tables
\usepackage{boxedminipage} % what it says
\usepackage{xcolor} % coloured stuff
\usepackage{colortbl} % colour tables
\usepackage{comment} % comment out text
\usepackage{contour} % outlined text
\usepackage{diagbox} % diagonal through boxes
\usepackage{dcolumn} % aligning numbers to digital position
\usepackage{endnotes} % footnotes at the end of sections
\usepackage{enumerate} % optional args for enumerate environment
\usepackage{exa} % local package for typesetting LaTeX examples
\usepackage{fancyhdr} % fancy headers and footers
\usepackage{fancyvrb} % fancy verbatim
\usepackage{forloop} % loops
\usepackage{framed} % frames around stuff
\usepackage[%
a4paper,%
outer=2.2cm,%
inner=3cm,%
top=2.7cm,%
bottom=2.7cm]%
{geometry} % page geometry
\usepackage{graphicx} % including graphics files
\usepackage[colorlinks,urlcolor=blue,
filecolor=magenta,linkcolor=darkred,
hyperfootnotes=false]
{hyperref} % browseable links
\usepackage{latexdemo} % showing examples
\usepackage{lettrine} % dropped capitals
% \usepackage{lmodern} % Type 1 Latin Modern font
\usepackage{libertine} % nice font
\usepackage{listings} % syntax highlighting
% marvosym must be loaded before eurosym
\usepackage{marvosym} % Euro sign and other nice characters
\usepackage{multicol} % multiple columns
\usepackage[gen]{eurosym} % Euro sign
\usepackage{mflogo} % Metafont logo
% mhchem is included in texlive-science
\usepackage[version=4]%
{mhchem} % chemical formulae
\usepackage{paralist} % paragraph lists
\usepackage{pifont} % dinglist
\usepackage[icon=note,color={1 1 0}]
{pdfcomment} % popup comments in PDF
\usepackage{pdfpages} % insert external PDF pages
\usepackage{rotating} % rotate stuff
\usepackage{setspace} % custom line spacing
\usepackage{subcaption} % subfigures and subcaptions
\usepackage{tabularx} % extended tabular environment
% \usepackage{tcolorbox} % coloured boxes
% clashes with something - too bad
\usepackage{tikz} % graphics
\usepackage[normalem]%
{ulem} % underline styles
\usepackage{upquote} % fix quotes in verbatim output
\usepackage{url} % urls and links
\usepackage{wrapfig} % wrapping text around figures
% --- Definitions and new commands ---
\renewcommand{\ttdefault}{cmtt} % better looking
\pdfcompresslevel=9
\urlstyle{same} % urls are printed in default font
\pagestyle{fancy}
\def\version {1.2}
\newcommand{\Bs}{\textbackslash}
\newcommand{\unix}{\textsc{Unix}}
\newcommand{\PS}{\textsc{PostScript}}
\definecolor {darkred}{rgb}{0.75,0,0}
\newcommand {\copyleft}{\reflectbox{\textcopyright}}
\hyphenation{lo-cal-tex-mf land-sca-pe Post-Script}
\newcounter{fnsym} % footnote symbols
\setcounter{fnsym}{1}
\newenvironment{margins}[2]
{ % begin def
\begin{list}{}
{
\setlength{\leftmargin}{#1}
\setlength{\rightmargin}{#2}
} \item
} % end def
{\end{list}}
\newenvironment{warn}
{ % beg def
\medskip
\noindent
\begin{minipage}[t]{0.1\linewidth}
\vspace{0pt}
\textcolor{magenta}{\Huge{\Pointinghand}}
\end{minipage}%
\begin{minipage}[t]{0.85\textwidth}
\vspace{0pt}
\begin{small}
\begin{spacing}{0.97}
}
{ % end def
\end{spacing}
\end{small}
\end{minipage}
\medskip
}
\newcommand{\Pkg}[1]
{\textsf{#1}}
\newcommand{\parm}[1]
{\texttt{#1}}
\newcommand{\cmdparm}[1]
{\textit{#1}}
\newcommand{\Env}[1]
{\texttt{#1}}
\newcommand{\cmd}[1]
{\texttt{\Bs{}#1}}
\newcommand{\cmdline}[1]
{\texttt{#1}}
\newcommand{\menu}[1]
{\textsf{#1}}
\newcommand{\entry}[2]
{\textsf{#1/#2}}
\newcommand{\app}[1]
{\texttt{#1}}
\newcommand{\File}[1]
{\texttt{#1}}
\newcommand{\style}[1]
{\texttt{#1}}
\newcommand{\ltx}[1]
{\texttt{#1}}
% I want to use the dagger sign as footnote symbol
% \renewcommand{\thefootnote}{\fnsymbol{footnote}}
\setcounter{footnote}{2}
% --- end of definitions and new commands ---
% ok, let's start
\begin{document}
\renewcommand{\democodeprefix}{}
\renewcommand{\demoresultprefix}{}
\pagenumbering{roman}
\title{\LaTeX{} for Word Processor Users\\version \version}
\author{Guido Gonzato, PhD\\
\texttt{guido.gonzato at gmail.com}}
\date{\today}
% let's put things back to normal
\renewcommand{\thefootnote}{\arabic{footnote}}
\setcounter{footnote}{1}
\maketitle
\begin{abstract}
Text processing with \LaTeX{} offers several advantages over word
processing. However, beginners may find it hard to figure out how to
perform common tasks and obtain certain features. This manual
attempts to ease the transition by drawing comparisons between word
processing and \LaTeX{} typesetting. The main word processor
capabilities are listed, along with their equivalent \LaTeX{}
commands. Many examples are provided.
\end{abstract}
\bigskip
\begin{multicols}{2}
\small
\tableofcontents
\listoftables
\listoffigures
\end{multicols}
% INTRODUCTION
% \pagestyle{fancy}
\pagenumbering{arabic}
\section{Introduction}
First of all, let me state that this is \emph{not} a \LaTeX{} primer!
If you're reading this document, I assume that you have at least a
basic understanding of \LaTeX{} and of its basic commands. In this
guide, I'll explain how to replace a word processor effectively using
\LaTeX.
Word processors are perceived to be easier than \LaTeX{} since they
have a friendly WYSIWYG interface, and the average secretary will
learn to use them in a relatively short time. The problem is, these
beasts keep growing slow, bloated, and unusable. People who had to
write long texts with lots of tables and figures know what I'm talking
about.
\LaTeX{} is an excellent alternative (in some cases, it is the
\emph{only} viable alternative); but it's not much intuitive for those
accustomed to WYSIWYG.
To sum up, sometimes you may want to use word processor-like
features---but using \LaTeX. It would be nice to know how to obtain
some effects with \LaTeX{} when you know how to get them with your
word processor.
That's why I wrote this quick reference, which is meant to be a
concept-by-concept guide. As I said, it assumes some basic \LaTeX{}
knowledge; if it's not the case, I suggest that you have a look at one of
the following guides:
\begin{itemize}
\item \href{
https://www.ctan.org/tex-archive/info/lshort/}{The
(Not So) Short Introduction to \LaTeX2e{}}
\item \href{
https://www.overleaf.com/learn/latex/Learn_LaTeX_in_30_minutes}
{Learn LaTeX in 30 minutes}
\item \url{
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/LaTeX/}
\end{itemize}
In the following sections, we shall navigate through the menus and
menu items of an imaginary word processor, finding out the
corresponding \LaTeX{} way of doing the same work.
% -----
% WP WITH LATEX
\subsection{Preliminaries}
Many word processor features are implemented by the editor; others by
standard \LaTeX{} commands; others still are obtained using
\emph{packages}. These are sets of macros that extend \LaTeX{}
providing new commands and environments. There are lots of packages
around: the only problem is knowing where they are, what they do, and
how to install them. More about packages in
Section~\ref{sec:packages}.
Packages and other \TeX{}-related material are available at many sites
that constitute the Comprehensive TeX Archive Network (CTAN), whose
web site is \url{
https://www.ctan.org}.
From now on, \href{
https://www.ctan.org}{CTAN:} means `your
favourite CTAN mirror here, starting from the \TeX{} directory'. For
instance, you can get this document from
\href{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/latex4wp}{CTAN://latex4wp}, which
corresponds to \url{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/latex4wp}.
To write your documents, you will need a good UTF-8 enabled text
editor. A better choice for beginners is a \emph{\LaTeX{} IDE}: an
editor dedicated to writing \LaTeX{} source, with output preview
and many other facilities.
I suggest that you install one of the programs listed below; all of
them are Free/Open Source software.
\begin{itemize}
\item TeXstudio (multiplatform; GNU/Linux AppImage and portable app for
Windows available):\\
\url{
https://www.texstudio.org}
\item TeXworks (multiplatform; GNU/Linux AppImage available):\\
\url{
https://tug.org/texworks/} (included in TeX Live)
\item Texmaker (multiplatform):\\
\url{
https://www.xm1math.net/texmaker/index.html}
\item TeXShop (Mac OS X):\\
\url{
https://www.uoregon.edu/koch/texshop/}
\item TeXnicCenter (Windows):\\
\url{
https://www.texniccenter.org/}
\end{itemize}
Finally, I assume modern \LaTeX{} usage, i.e.\ PDF output using
\app{pdflatex} or \app{xelatex} or \app{lualatex}. The same goes for
graphics inclusion; no \PS{} or EPS files will be considered.
% -----
\subsubsection{Typographic Conventions}
Throughout this document, I'll be using the facilities provided by the
\href{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/latexdemo}{CTAN://latexdemo} package to
typeset \LaTeX{} snippets along with their output. Occasionally,
\ltx{latexdemo} does not work properly; in those cases, I'll be using a
local modification of the old
\href{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/example}{CTAN://example} package.
% -----
% EDITOR-SUPPORTED
\subsubsection{Editor-Supported Features}
\LaTeX{} is just a typesetter: things like cut and paste, search and
replace etc. are delegated to the editor. Table~\ref{tab:editing}
summarises the main commands of popular editors for geeks: GNU
\app{emacs} and \app{vim} with their native key bindings, and
\app{jed} configured for Borland IDE key bindings.
\begin{table}[htbp]
\centering
\begin{tabular}{lccc} \hline
\textbf{Action} & \textbf{Emacs} & \textbf{Vim} & \textbf{Jed} \\
\toprule
command mode & \texttt{Alt-X} & \texttt{ESC} & \texttt{Alt-X} \\
insert mode & n/a & \texttt{i a o O} & n/a \\
line editor mode & n/a & \texttt{:} & n/a \\
%\hline
\multicolumn{4}{c}{\textit{\rule{0pt}{0.3cm}file operations}} \\
%\hline
open file & \texttt{Ctrl-X Ctrl-F} & \texttt{:e} & \texttt{Ctrl-KE}\\
insert file & \texttt{Ctrl-Xi} & \texttt{:r} & \texttt{Ctrl-KR}\\
save file & \texttt{Ctrl-X Ctrl-S} & \texttt{:w} & \texttt{Ctrl-KD}\\
save as & \texttt{Ctrl-X Ctrl-W name} & \texttt{:w name} & \texttt{Ctrl-KS}\\
close file & \texttt{Ctrl-XK} & \texttt{:q} & \texttt{Ctrl-KQ}\\
change buffer & \texttt{Ctrl-XB} & \texttt{bN} & \texttt{Ctrl-KN}\\
undo & \texttt{Ctrl-XU} & \texttt{u} & \texttt{Ctrl-U}\\
redo & \texttt{Ctrl-\^} & \texttt{Ctrl-R} & \texttt{Ctrl-G Ctrl-U}\\
exit & \texttt{Ctrl-X Ctrl-C} & \texttt{:qa!} & \texttt{Ctrl-KX}\\
%\hline
\multicolumn{4}{c}{\textit{\rule{0pt}{0.3cm}moving around}}\\
%\hline
word left & \texttt{Alt-B} & \texttt{b} & \texttt{Ctrl-A}\\
word right & \texttt{Alt-F} & \texttt{w} & \texttt{Ctrl-F}\\
start of line & \texttt{Ctrl-A} & \texttt{0} & \texttt{Ctrl-QS}\\
end of line & \texttt{Ctrl-E} & \texttt{\$} & \texttt{Ctrl-QD}\\
page up & \texttt{Alt-V} & \texttt{Ctrl-U} & \texttt{Ctrl-R}\\
page down & \texttt{Ctrl-V} & \texttt{Ctrl-D} & \texttt{Ctrl-C}\\
start of buffer & \texttt{Alt-<} & \texttt{1G} & \texttt{Ctrl-QR}\\
end of buffer & \texttt{Alt->} & \texttt{G} & \texttt{Ctrl-QC}\\
line n. & \texttt{Alt-G n.} & \texttt{n.G} & \texttt{Ctrl-QI}\\
%\hline
\multicolumn{4}{c}{\textit{\rule{0pt}{0.3cm}deleting}}\\
%\hline
character left & \texttt{Ctrl-H} & \texttt{X} & \texttt{BS}\\
character right & \texttt{Ctrl-D} & \texttt{x} & \texttt{Alt-G}\\
word left & \texttt{Alt-DEL} & \texttt{db} & \texttt{Alt-BS}\\
word right & \texttt{Alt-D} & \texttt{dw} &\texttt{Ctrl-T} \\
end of line & \texttt{Ctrl-K} & \texttt{d\$} & \texttt{Ctrl-QY} \\
line & \texttt{Ctrl-A Ctrl-K} & \texttt{dd} & \texttt{Ctrl-Y} \\
%\hline
\multicolumn{4}{c}{\textit{\rule{0pt}{0.3cm}search \& replace}}\\
%\hline
search & \texttt{Ctrl-S text} & \texttt{/text} & \texttt{Ctrl-QS}\\
replace & \texttt{Alt-\%} & \texttt{:s/old/new/g} & \texttt{Ctrl-QA}\\
%\hline
\multicolumn{4}{c}{\textit{\rule{0pt}{0.3cm}blocks}}\\
%\hline
start selection & \texttt{Ctrl-SPACE} & \texttt{v} & \texttt{Ctrl-KB} \\
cut & \texttt{Ctrl-W} & \texttt{D} & \texttt{Ctrl-KY} \\
copy & \texttt{Alt-W} & \texttt{Y} & \texttt{Ctrl-KH} \\
paste & \texttt{Ctrl-Y} & \texttt{P} & \texttt{Ctrl-KC} \\
\bottomrule
\end{tabular}
\caption{Useful key bindings for Emacs, Vim, and Jed in IDE mode.}
\label{tab:editing}
\end{table}
% -----
% ADDING PACKAGES
\subsubsection{Adding Packages}
\label{sec:packages}
The following information applies to
\href{
https://www.tug.org/texlive/}{TeX Live}, a comprehensive \TeX{}
system that ships with most GNU\-/Linux distributions. It should also
work on \href{
https://www.tug.org/mactex/}{MacTeX}, but I have no
first-hand experience. Instructions for
\href{
https://miktex.org/}{MiKTeX} (probably the most popular
implementation for Windows) will follow below.
A large collection of \LaTeX{} packages is natively supported; for
instance, Debian-based GNU/Linux variants provide lots of
\app{texlive-*} packages. Please note the ambiguity: we're talking of
\File{.deb} \emph{packages} containing \LaTeX{} \emph{packages}.
If you need to install an unsupported package, do the following.
\begin{enumerate}
\item create this directory structure:
\cmdline{\$ mkdir -p \~{}/texmf/tex/latex}
Under this directory, new packages will be installed.
\item get the package (typically as a zip-compressed directory) from
your favourite CTAN mirror; let's call it \app{foo.zip}
\item unpack it in the right place:
\begin{verbatim}
$ mkdir ~/texmf/tex/latex/foo
$ mv foo.zip ~/texmf/tex/latex/foo
$ cd ~/texmf/tex/latex/foo ; unzip foo.zip
\end{verbatim}
\item If no \ltx{.sty} file exists, run the command
\cmdline{latex foo.ins} or \cmdline{latex foo.dtx} to create it;
\item run the command \cmdline{texhash \~{}/texmf}
\end{enumerate}
To add a package to MiK\TeX, you may use the MiK\TeX{} console or a
command line procedure. Create the directory \path{\latex\newpackage}
under \path{C:\localtexmf\tex\} and put the relevant files in there.
Proceed as above, then run MiKTeX Options and click on the `Refresh
now' button. Alternatively, issue the command \cmdline{initexmf -u}.
That's it!
Once a package is installed, you make it available in your documents
adding a line under the \ltx{documentclass} declaration:
\begin{verbatim}
\usepackage{foo}
\end{verbatim}
% -----
\subsubsection{Adding the Info Page}
\label{sec:infopage}
`Man' and `Info' pages are command-line sources of documentation for
software, widely employed in \unix{} and GNU/Linux systems. If your
\LaTeX{} distributions lacks the \File{latex2e.info} info page, do the
following:
\begin{enumerate}
\item download it from
\url{
https://tug.ctan.org/info/latex2e-help-texinfo/latex2e.info};
\item run these commands:
\begin{verbatim}
$ gzip latex2e.info
$ sudo cp latex2e.info.gz /usr/share/info/
$ sudo ginstall-info latex2e.info dir
\end{verbatim}
\end{enumerate}
Now, \cmdline{info latex2e} is available.
% -----
% GOLDEN RULES
\subsection{The Golden Rules}
Before we start, please keep this in mind:
\begin{enumerate}
\item get used to \emph{structuring} your documents: think in terms of
parts, chapters, sections, and so on. This holds true even if you're
not writing a scientific paper;
\item \LaTeX{} is designed to produce output of the highest possible quality. The less you mess with formatting parameters, the better;
\item that said, there are times when you do want to break the rules. If you know what you are doing, that's fine. This guide breaks the rules a lot.
\end{enumerate}
Applying these simple rules, your printed material will magically look
professional.
% -----
% FILE
\section{The \menu{File} Menu}
Obviously, some entries of this menu have nothing to do with \LaTeX{}:
\entry{File}{Open}, \entry{File}{Save}, \entry{File}{Close} depend on
the editor.
% -----
% FILE/NEW
\subsection{\entry{File}{New}}
\label{sec:filenew}
This is the \LaTeX{} equivalent of a blank page:
\begin{Verbatim}[fontsize=\small]
\documentclass{article}
\thispagestyle{empty} % no page number
\begin{document}
% This is a comment. Write your stuff here.
\end{document}
\end{Verbatim}
% \begin{source}
%\\documentclass\{article\}
%\\thispagestyle\{empty\} % no page number
%\\begin\{document\}
% This is a comment. Write your stuff here.
%\\end\{document\}
% \end{source}
As documents written in \LaTeX{} are inherently structured, this is a
more realistic example:
\begin{Verbatim}[fontsize=\small]
\documentclass[a4paper,12pt]{article}
\begin{document}
\title{My Document}
\author{John Smith}
\date{London, \today}
\maketitle
\begin{abstract}
This is a very short article.
\end{abstract}
\tableofcontents
\listoftables
\listoffigures
\section{First Section}
\label{sec:start}
This is the text of the section. See \cite{Gonzato} for details.
\section{End}
\label{sec:end}
This is the end of the document. Please go to Section
\ref{sec:start} to read it again.
\begin{thebibliography}{99}
\bibitem{Gonzato} Gonzato G. \textit{\LaTeX{} for Word Processor
Users}. CTAN, 2001--2023.
\end{thebibliography}
\end{document}
\end{Verbatim}
More document templates are listed in Appendix~\ref{ap:templates}.
% -----
% FILE/SAVE AS
\subsection{\entry{File}{Save As{\ldots}}}
The following tools are handy if you want to convert \LaTeX{} to other
formats:
\begin{itemize}
\item \app{\TeX4ht} is probably the best \LaTeX{} to HTML/XML
converter:\\
\url{
https://tug.org/tex4ht}
\item \app{latex2html}, another converter to HTML:\\
\href{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/latex2html}
{CTAN://latex2html}
\item \app{latex2rtf}, a converter to Rich Text Format:\\
\href{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/latex2rtf}
{CTAN://latex2rtf}
\item \app{detex} (a command line converter) removes all \LaTeX{} tags and
outputs plain text:\\
\url{
https://github.com/pkubowicz/opendetex}, \\
\href{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/detex}
{CTAN://detex/}
\end{itemize}
But please read Section~\ref{sec:import} to learn what \app{Pandoc}
can do fo you. See also Section~\ref{sec:prpreview} for details on PDF
creation.
% -----
% FILE/SAVE AS TEMPLATE
\subsection{\entry{File}{Save As Template}}
Saving a \LaTeX{} `template' would mean, as I see it, create a new
\LaTeX{} package. This is complex matter that goes beyond the scopes
of this guide.
% -----
% FILE/IMPORT
\subsection{\entry{File}{Import}}
\label{sec:import}
This is taken from the home page of \app{Pandoc},
\url{
https://pandoc.org}:
\begin{quote}
If you need to convert files from one markup format into another,
pandoc is your swiss-army knife.
\end{quote}
\app{Pandoc} is an outstanding converter that produces excellent
\LaTeX{} output, and much more. It's an invaluable tool when you need
to write (or convert) documents in multiple formats.
\app{Pandoc}'s native format is an extended version of
\href{
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Markdown}{Markdown}, which
translates smoothly into good \LaTeX. For example, this is a document
written in Markdown:
\begin{Verbatim}[fontsize=\small]
---
title: |
This is the title: \
now write the rest
author: Guido Gonzato
date: August 2023
abstract: |
This is the abstract.
..
<!--- This is a comment. -->
[comment]: # (This too is a comment)
# Section
This is **bold text**, this is *emphasized text*, this is normal text.
If you're bored, go to [The End].
## Subsection
This is `verbatim text`.
# The End
My dad used to say:
> Damn, Pandoc has not been invented yet!
but not it has.
<!--- end of pandoc_template.md -->
\end{Verbatim}
To turn this document into a standalone \LaTeX{} source, type:
\begin{Verbatim}[fontsize=\small]
pandoc -s pandoc_template.md -o pandoc_template.tex
\end{Verbatim}
To typeset this source to PDF using \LaTeX, type:
\begin{Verbatim}[fontsize=\small]
$ pandoc --toc \
-V urlcolor=blue -V toccolor=red \
-V geometry:margin=2cm \
pandoc_template.md -o pandoc_template.pdf
\end{Verbatim}
The \cmdparm{-V} lines are used to specify options; please consult
\app{Pandoc}'s documentation.
You can use \app{Pandoc} to convert lots of different formats to
\LaTeX. For example:
\begin{Verbatim}[fontsize=\small]
$ pandoc -s index.html -o index.tex
$ pandoc -s text.docx -o text.tex
$ pandoc -s text2.rtf -o text2.tex
$ ...and so son.
\end{Verbatim}
The \cmdparm{-s} flag means ``standalone'', i.e.\ the output file is a
complete \LaTeX{} document.
% There are other tools that convert from other formats to \LaTeX{}:
% \begin{itemize}
% \item \app{rtf2latex}:
% \href{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/rtf2latex}
% {CTAN://support/rtf2latex}
% \item \app{html2latex}:
% \href{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/html2latex}
% {CTAN://support/html2latex}
% \item \app{wvware} is a set of tools that convert from MS Word to
% several formats including \LaTeX{};
% \url{
https://wvware.sourceforge.net}
% \item the free word processor Abiword, \url{
https://www.abiword.org},
% imports MS Word and can export \LaTeX.
% \item \app{txt2tex}:
% \href{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/txt2tex}
% {CTAN://support/txt2tex} does a fairly good job at converting plain
% text files into \LaTeX.
% \end{itemize}
% Other \File{*2latex} converters are available at the same address.
% Another interesting extension is OOoLatex, a set of macros for
% OpenOffice: \url{
https://ooolatex.sourceforge.net/}. Libreoffice users
% have an equivalent extension called TexMaths,
% \url{
https://roland65.free.fr/texmaths/}.
% -----
% FILE/PAGE SETUP
\subsection{\entry{File}{Page Setup}}
\label{sec:pagesetup}
The normal method for setting paper size, orientation, and margins, is
to use parameters in \cmd{docu\-ment\-class}. Paper size can be
\parm{a4paper}, \parm{a5paper}, \parm{b5paper}, \parm{letterpaper},
\parm{legalpaper}, \parm{executi\-ve\-pa\-per}; orientation is
\parm{por\-trait} by default, or optionally \parm{land\-scape}. For
example,
\begin{Verbatim}[fontsize=\small]
\documentclass[a5paper,landscape,12pt]{article}
\end{Verbatim}
Document-wide margins are set with the \cmd{setlength} command, which
is used to change the value of variables and counters. It's better to use
the \href{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/geometry}{geometry} package, which allows for complete control of parameters such as paper size, margins width, and so on.
\Pkg{geometry} has far too many options to list them all, and
you're invited to read its documentation. A fairly complete example of
its usage is shown below. In this example, some parameters are not
compatible with each other, and are there for purpose of argument
only.
\begin{Verbatim}[fontsize=\small]
\usepackage{geometry} % top of document
..
\geometry{paperwidth=25cm}
\geometry{paperheight=35cm}
% or: \geometry{papersize={25cm,35cm}}
\geometry{width=20cm} % total width
\geometry{heigth=30cm} % total heigth
% or: \geometry{total={20cm,30cm}}
\geometry{textwidth=18cm} % width - marginpar
\geometry{textheight=25cm} % heigth - header - footer
% or: \geometry{body={18cm,25cm}}
\geometry{left=3cm} % left margin
\geometry{right=1.5cm} % right margin
% or: \geometry{hmargin={3cm,2cm}}
\geometry{top=2cm} % top margin
\geometry{bottom=3cm} % bottom margin
% or: \geometry{vmargin={2cm,3cm}}
\geometry{marginparwidth=2cm}
\geometry{head=1cm} % header space
\end{Verbatim}
Options can also be set this way:
\begin{Verbatim}[fontsize=\small]
\usepackage[left=3cm, right=2cm]{geometry}
\end{Verbatim}
% -----
% FILE/PAGE SETUP/HEADERS AND FOOTERS
\subsubsection{\entry{Page Setup}{Headers and Footers}}
\label{sec:headers_footers}
The \href{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/fancyhdr}{fancyhdr} package provides the new command \cmd{pagestyle\{fancy\}}. This will create a header reporting the
current section (or \style{chapter} in \style{book.cls}) and
subsection, and a footer with the page number: pretty fancy indeed.
Headers and footers can obviously be customised. They are made of
three parts: a left-aligned part, a centre-aligned part, and a
right-aligned part. To set those, use the commands like in this
example:
\begin{Verbatim}[fontsize=\small]
\usepackage{fancyhdr}
..
\lhead{} % empty
\chead{Hello, world!}
\rhead{Page \thepage} % page number
\lfoot{}
\cfoot{\textbf{Hello!}}
\rfoot{}
\end{Verbatim}
% -----
% FILE/PRINT PREVIEW
\subsection{\entry{File}{Print Preview}}
\label{sec:prpreview}
That's very simple: produce a \File{PDF} file directly with \app{pdflatex},
\app{xelatex}, or \app{lualatex}, then use your favourite PDF viewer.
Some packages like \href{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/hyperref}{hyperref} and \href{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/url}{url} make the resulting PDF file browseable; see Section~\ref{sec:hyperlink}. However, using \app{pdflatex} you might experience problems with other packages. More details in
Section~\ref{sec:figure}.
% -----
% FILE/PRINT
\subsection{\entry{File}{Print}}
Simply use the \entry{File}{Print} menu entry of your PDF viewer..
% -----
% FILE/VERSIONS
\subsection{\entry{File}{Versions}}
Several programs for revision control and collaborative
writing are available. While old-style geeks may want to use a single-user
tool like RCS, more powerful and multi-user tools like Subversion, Git,
Mercurial etc.\ are preferable. Git is probably the most commonly used, and some documentation about \LaTeX{} integration is here:
\begin{itemize}
\item \url{
https://www.desy.de/~bargheer/gitintro/git.html}
\item \url{
https://www.math.cmu.edu/~gautam/sj/blog/20130929-git-quickstart.html}
\end{itemize}
% -----
% EDIT
\section{The \menu{Edit} Menu}
This menu has more to do with the editor than \LaTeX{} features. To
begin with, refer to Table~\ref{tab:editing} that shows the key
bindings for the entries \entry{Edit}{Cut}, \entry{Edit}{Copy},
\entry{Edit}{Paste}, \entry{Edit}{Find}, and \entry{Edit}{Replace} of
some common editors.
Selecting text is not only performed for subsequent cut and paste, but
also for applying styles to the selected text. The equivalent action
in \LaTeX{} is to enclose the text either between braces, or in an
environment. For example, to apply the bold attribute to a portion of
text you will use one of the following:
\begin{DefineCode}
this is \textbf{bold text;}\\
this is also
{\bfseries bold text;}\\
\begin{bfseries}
this is bold text, too!
\end{bfseries}
\end{DefineCode}
\PrintDemo{style=parallel}
% -----
% EDIT/AUTOTEXT
\subsection{\entry{Edit}{Autotext}}
We call \emph{autotext} the feature that makes you type, say, `PS' to
have the word `PostScript' automatically expanded. This is an editor
feature, but there's a rough \LaTeX{} equivalent:
\begin{Verbatim}[fontsize=\small]
\newcommand{\PS}{\textsc{PostScript}}
\end{Verbatim}
which will insert the equivalent of \verb|\textsc{PostScript}|
whenever you type \verb|\PS|. Beware, case is important.
% -----
% INSERT
\section{The \menu{Insert} Menu}
\label{sec:menu_insert}
% -----
% INSERT/BREAKS
\subsection{\entry{Insert}{Breaks}}
\begin{itemize}
\item a non-breakable space is set with \textasciitilde{} (tilde)
\item to force a line break, use \cmd{linebreak} or \cmd{newline};
see below for details
\item to start a new paragraph use a blank line, or \cmd{\Bs} (possibly
followed by an optional space, as in \cmd{\Bs[1cm]}), or \cmd{par}
\item finally, for a page break use \cmd{newpage} or \cmd{clearpage}
\end{itemize}
Unlike \cmd{newline}, \cmd{linebreak} stretches the line to the
margins:
\begin{DefineCode}
I am stretched!\linebreak
But I am not.\newline
Another line.\\
Ok, now you get it.
\end{DefineCode}
\PrintDemo{style=parallel}
Besides, \cmd{clearpage} differs from \cmd{newpage} in that it prints
all pending \emph{floats}, that is figures and tables. Floats will be
explained in Section~\ref{sec:figure}.
% -----
% INSERT/ENUMERATED LIST
\subsection{\entry{Insert}{Enumerated List}}
Bulleted and enumerated lists correspond to the \Env{itemize} and
\Env{enumerate} environments. To customise the bullet in a list
environment, you can specify it as an argument to \cmd{item}:
\begin{DefineCode}
\begin{itemize}
\item[*] with an asterisk;
\item[-] with a dash;
\item[.] with a dot.
\end{itemize}
\end{DefineCode}
\PrintDemo{style=parallel}
Another way is to redefine the style of the
\emph{counters}\footnote{each text element that is numbered by
\LaTeX{} (sections, lists, figures, etc.) has a counter associated
with it.} that refer to the digits in the first- to fourth-level
lists. These counters are \cmd{labelitemi}, \cmd{labelitemii},
\cmd{labelitemiii} and \cmd{labelitemiv} for itemised lists;
\cmd{la\-bel\-enumi}, \cmd{labelenumii}, \cmd{labelenumiii} and
\cmd{labele\-num\-iv} for enumerated lists.
There are several styles: \cmd{arabic} for `normal' numbers,
\cmd{roman} for lower-case roman numerals (e.g., viii is 8),
\cmd{Roman} for upper-case roman numerals, \cmd{alph} and \cmd{Alph}
for lower- and upper-case letters, and \cmd{fnsymbol} that I will not
explain for now:
\begin{DefineCode}
\begin{itemize}
\renewcommand{\labelitemi}{*}
\renewcommand{\labelitemii}{-}
\item first level, item 1
\item first level, item 2
\begin{itemize}
\item second level, item 1
\item second level, item 2
\end{itemize}
\item first level, item 3
\end{itemize}
\end{DefineCode}
\PrintDemo{style=parallel}
To use, say, roman numbers and uppercase letters in enumerated lists,
do this:
\begin{DefineCode}
\begin{enumerate}
\renewcommand{\labelenumi}
{\Alph{enumi}}
\renewcommand{\labelenumii}
{\roman{enumii}}
\item first level, item 1
\item first level, item 2
\begin{enumerate}
\item second level, item 1
\item second level, item 2
\end{enumerate}
\item first level, item 3
\end{enumerate}
\end{DefineCode}
\PrintDemo{style=parallel}
Alternatively, use the \href{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/enumerate}{enumerate}
package. It redefines the \Env{enumerate} environment with the ability to specify an optional argument. Any occurrence of one of the characters \ltx{A a I i 1} will produce the value of the counter, using (respectively)
\cmd{Alph}, \cmd{alph}, \cmd{Roman}, \cmd{roman}, or \cmd{arabic}. To
include some text, enclose it in braces:
\begin{DefineCode}
\begin{enumerate}[{Example} I.]
\item First example.
\label{item:first}
\item Second example.
\item Last example.
Go to Item~\ref{item:first}.
\end{enumerate}
\end{DefineCode}
\PrintDemo{style=parallel}
To change the number of an enumerated item, just redefine its counter:
\begin{DefineCode}
\begin{enumerate}
\setcounter{enumi}{2}
\item Example 3.
\item Example 4.
\setcounter{enumi}{5}
\item Example 6.
\end{enumerate}
\end{DefineCode}
\PrintDemo{style=parallel}
Lists within paragraphs are implemented by the \href{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/paralist}{paralist} package, which provides the \Env{in\-pa\-rae\-num} environment:
\begin{DefineCode}
I'll throw in a list of items:
\begin{inparaenum}
\item apples,
\item pears, and
\item oranges.
\end{inparaenum}
The same list can be labelled
with letters:
\begin{inparaenum}
[\itshape a) \upshape]
\item apples, \label{first}
\item pears, and
\item oranges. The first item is \ref{first}.
\end{inparaenum}
\end{DefineCode}
\PrintDemo{style=parallel}
As seen above, the characters \ltx{A a I i 1} can be used to modify
the counter. \Pkg{paralist} can do much more, and I suggest that
you read its documentation.
% Finally, to change the indentation and distance between items you do:
% There are many counters associated with countable things like
% \cmd{section}, \cmd{page}, \cmd{table}, and so on: these have the same name
% of the environment or command that produces the number, but no leading \Bs.
% To force a counter to a given number, do something like this:
% \begin{Verbatim}[fontsize=\small]
% \setcounter{counter_name}{value}
% \end{Verbatim}
% For instance, to force a page number to 100 you'll do:
% \begin{Verbatim}[fontsize=\small]
% \setcounter{page}{100}
% \end{Verbatim}
% -----
% INSERT/SYMBOL
\subsection{\entry{Insert}{Special Character}}
First of all, let's remind that some characters have a special meaning
in \LaTeX{}. They must be entered either with a leading \Bs, or using
them in math mode, or even writing special commands: see
Table~\ref{tab:characters}.
\begin{table}
\centering
\begin{tabular}{cl}
\toprule
\textbf{Special Character} & \textbf{\LaTeX{} Sequence} \\
\midrule
\$ & \verb|\$| or \verb|\textdollar| \\
\& & \verb|\&| \\
\% & \verb|\%| \\
\_ & \verb|\_| or \verb|\textunderscore| \\
\{ & \verb|\{| or \verb|\textbraceleft| \\
\} & \verb|\}| or \verb|\textbraceright| \\
$<$ & \verb|$<$| or \verb|\textless| \\
$>$ & \verb|$>$| or \verb|\textgreater| \\
\Bs & \verb|\textbackslash| \\
\textbar & \verb|\textbar| \\
\textbullet & \verb|\textbullet| \\
\textdaggerdbl & \verb|\textdaggerdbl| \\
\textdagger & \verb|\textdagger| \\
\textparagraph & \verb|\textparagraph| \\
\textsection & \verb|\textsection| \\
\textcopyright & \verb|\textcopyright| \\
\textasciicircum & \verb|\textasciicircum| \\
\textasciitilde & \verb|\textasciitilde| or \verb|\~{}| \\
$\sim$ & \verb|$\sim$| \\
\textregistered & \verb|\textregistered| \\
\texttrademark & \verb|\texttrademark| \\
\textordfeminine & \verb|\textordfeminine| \\
\textordmasculine & \verb|\textordmasculine| \\
\bottomrule
\end{tabular}
\caption{How to obtain some special characters.}
\label{tab:characters}
\end{table}
Another way to enter special characters is using their ASCII code and
the \cmd{char} command. For example, you could insert the characters
\ltx{\char36 \char38 \char94 \char126} entering \cmd{char36}
\cmd{char38} \cmd{char94} \cmd{char126}.
There are packages that provide thousands of unusual characters and
symbols. For instance, \href{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/pifont}{pifont} provides the commands \cmd{ding}, \cmd{dingfill}, \cmd{dingline}, and \cmd{dinglist}. The first command produces the Dingbat character of the specified code. The other commands are equivalent to the \cmd{fill}, \cmd{line}, and \cmd{list} commands and environment, but use the Dingbat code given as
parameter:
\begin{DefineCode}
\begin{dinglist}{43}
\item one
\item two
\item three
\end{dinglist}
\end{DefineCode}
\PrintDemo{style=parallel}
Another nice variant is this:
\begin{DefineCode}
\begin{dingautolist}{172}
\item one
\item two
\item three
\end{dingautolist}
\end{DefineCode}
\PrintDemo{style=parallel}
There are way too many symbols to mention them all in this guide.
Rather, I'll point you to `The Comprehensive \LaTeX{} Symbol List' at
\href{
https://www.ctan.org/tex-archive/info/symbols/comprehensive}
{CTAN://comprehensive}.
% -----
\subsubsection{The \euro{} Sign}
The official Euro sign is provided by the \href{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/eurosym}{eurosym} package,
which can be used in two ways:
\begin{verbatim}
\usepackage[gen]{eurosym}
\usepackage[official]{eurosym}
\end{verbatim}
Both provide the \cmd{euro} command, which produces \euro. The actual
shape of the symbol depends on the declaration: the \verb|[gen]|
option provides a symbol that works with all font styles; the second
declaration produces \officialeuro. Please note the subtle difference.
The latter shape can always be obtained with \cmd{officialeuro}.
Another package that provides the Euro sign is \href{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/marvosym}{marvosym},
which also provides many more fine characters. You get \EUR{} with
\cmd{EUR}.
% -----
% INSERT/FORMULA
\subsection{\entry{Insert}{Formula}}
\LaTeX{} is particularly strong at typesetting math. To insert math
symbols in the main text (\emph{inline mode}), you must enclose them between \ltx{\$}:
\begin{DefineCode}
I like math: $x^n + y^n \neq
z^n\ \forall n \neq 2$
is my favourite theorem.
\end{DefineCode}
\PrintDemo{style=parallel}
The environments \Env{displaymath} and \Env{equation} typeset formulae
aside from the text; this is called \emph{display mode}. \Env{equation} adds an equation number for later reference:
\begin{DefineCode}
Fermat's Last Theorem is
defined as:
\begin{equation}
x^n + y^n \neq
z^n\ \forall n \neq 2
\label{eq:fermat}
\end{equation}
Can you prove
Eq.~\ref{eq:fermat}?
\end{DefineCode}
\PrintDemo{style=parallel}
% TO DO (maybe): cite LaTeX equation editors, e.g. EqualX
% -----
\subsection{Using SymPy}
Programming languages and spreadsheets use a standard syntax to enter
math formulae. Using a great Python library called
\href{
https://www.sympy.org}{SymPy}, you can get \LaTeX{} formulae
from math expressions. You don't have to be proficient in Python;
just use the standard math syntax.
This is a sample SymPy session. We want to obtain the \LaTeX{}
code for the expression $\left(\frac{x}{2} - \frac{2
y}{3}\right)^{3}$ and for its expansion $\frac{x^{3}}{8} - \frac{x^{2}
y}{2} + \frac{2 x}{3}y^{2} - \frac{8 y^{3}}{27}$:
\begin{Verbatim}
In [1]: from sympy import *
In [2]: init_session()
IPython console for SymPy 1.9 (Python 3.10.6-64-bit) (ground
types: python)
These commands were executed:
>>> from __future__ import division
>>> from sympy import *
>>> x, y, z, t = symbols('x y z t')
>>> k, m, n = symbols('k m n', integer=True)
>>> f, g, h = symbols('f g h', cls=Function)
>>> init_printing()
Documentation can be found at
https://www.sympy.org
In [3]: expr = (x/2 - 2*y/3)**3
In [4]: latex(expr)
Out[4]: '\\left(\\frac{x}{2} - \\frac{2 y}{3}\\right)^{3}'
In [5]: latex(expr.expand())
Out[5]: '\\frac{x^{3}}{8} - \\frac{x^{2} y}{2} + \\frac{2 x}{3}
y^{2} - \\frac{8 y^{3}}{27}'
\end{Verbatim}
Now you can copy and paste the resulting formulae into your editor,
only changing \ltx{\Bs{}\Bs} to \ltx{\Bs}.
If you are reasonably proficient in Python, you may be interested in
the \href{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/python}{python} \LaTeX{} package and the
\href{
https://mech.fsv.cvut.cz/~stransky/en/software/latexexpr/}{LaTeX
Expression project} module.
% -----
% INSERT/FOOTNOTE
\subsection{\entry{Insert}{Footnote}}
The command \verb|\footnote[n]{footnote text}| is all you need; the
optional parameter \verb|[n]| modifies the footnote number. The
\verb|\footnote| command should be placed after commas, full stops,
and other punctuation signs that follow the word.
To use a symbol or arbitrary text instead of a number, redefine the
counter associated with \cmd{foot\-no\-te}:
% here we cheat: can't use example, it uses minipages!
\medskip
\noindent
\begin{minipage}[c]{0.5\textwidth}
\begin{Verbatim}[fontsize=\small]
\renewcommand{\thefootnote}%
{read me!}
This footnote\footnote
{I mean this one.}
says it all.
\end{Verbatim}
\end{minipage}%
\begin{boxedminipage}[c]{0.5\textwidth}
\renewcommand{\thempfootnote}{read me!}
This footnote\footnote
{I mean this one.}
says it all.
\end{boxedminipage}
\medskip
Using this method, you can get footnote numbers in roman numerals, or
replaced by nice symbols:
\medskip
\noindent
\begin{minipage}[c]{0.5\textwidth}
\begin{Verbatim}[fontsize=\small]
\renewcommand{\thefootnote}
{\Roman{footnote}}
This\footnote{The first.}
is the first footnote,
and this\footnote{The second.}
is the second.
\renewcommand{\thefootnote}
{\fnsymbol{footnote}}
The end.\footnote[8]{At last!}
\end{Verbatim}
\end{minipage}%
\begin{boxedminipage}[c]{0.5\textwidth}
\renewcommand{\thempfootnote}
{\Roman{mpfootnote}}
This\footnote{The first.}
is the first footnote,
and this\footnote{The second.}
is the second.
\renewcommand{\thempfootnote}
{\fnsymbol{footnote}}
The end.\footnote[8]{At last!}
\end{boxedminipage}
\medskip
Note the \verb|\fnsymbol{footnote}| thing. It uses 9 symbols
associated with the values 1{\ldots}9 of the \ltx{footnote}
counter: \forloop{fnsym}{1}{\value{fnsym} < 10}{\fnsymbol{fnsym}~}
% \fnsymbol{fnsym} \stepcounter{fnsym} \fnsymbol{fnsym}
% \stepcounter{fnsym} \fnsymbol{fnsym} \stepcounter{fnsym}
% \fnsymbol{fnsym} \stepcounter{fnsym} \fnsymbol{fnsym}
% \stepcounter{fnsym} \fnsymbol{fnsym} \stepcounter{fnsym}
% \fnsymbol{fnsym} \stepcounter{fnsym} \fnsymbol{fnsym}
% \stepcounter{fnsym} \fnsymbol{fnsym}.
To make several references to the same footnote, don't write its
number explicitly. Rather, do this:
\medskip
\noindent
\begin{minipage}[c]{0.5\textwidth}
\begin{Verbatim}[fontsize=\small]
This\footnote{the first.}
\newcounter{\myfootnote}
\setcounter{\myfootnote}
{\value{footnote}}
and that\footnote{the second.}
are footnotes: please read note
\footnotemark
[\value{\myfootnote}] again.
\end{Verbatim}
\end{minipage}%
\begin{boxedminipage}[c]{0.5\textwidth}
\renewcommand{\thempfootnote}{\arabic{mpfootnote}}
This\footnote{the first.} \newcounter{myfootnote}%
\setcounter{myfootnote}{\value{mpfootnote}}%
and this\footnote{the second.} are footnotes: please read note%
\footnotemark[\value{myfootnote}] again.
% This footnote\footnote{I mean this one.} says it all. Please read
% note\footnotemark[\value{mpfootnote}] again.
\end{boxedminipage}
\medskip
Warning: minipages use their own counters, \ltx{mpfootnote} and
\ltx{themp\-foot\-note}.
% -----
\subsubsection{Footnotes and Endnotes}
The \href{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/endnotes}{endnotes} package provides a new command, \cmd{endnote}, which you use instead of \cmd{footnote} to write footnotes that are printed after a \cmd{theendnotes} command.\endnote{This is an endnote.} This is useful when you want to print footnotes at the end of a chapter or section.
You can also move all footnotes at the end of the document. You'll
have to add this line to the preamble:
\begin{Verbatim}[fontsize=\small]
\let\footnote=\endnote
\end{Verbatim}
and add these lines as the last thing in your document:
\begin{Verbatim}[fontsize=\small]
\newpage
\begingroup
\parindent 0pt
\parskip 2ex
\def\enotesize{\normalsize}
\theendnotes
\endgroup
\end{Verbatim}
\theendnotes
% -----
% INSERT/INDICES
\subsection{\entry{Insert}{Indices}}
\label{sec:tocs}
Generating and inserting a table of contents, list of tables, and list
of figures is a trivial task in \LaTeX. All you have to do is insert
these lines before the first \cmd{section} or \cmd{chapter} of your
document:
\begin{Verbatim}[fontsize=\small]
\tableofcontents
\listoffigures
\listoftables
\end{Verbatim}
% TO DO: \renewcommand{\contentsname}{Table of Contents}
% TO DO: how to customise the table of contents.
% The table of contents can be customised.
% \setcounter{tocdepth}{3}
%
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/544051/how-does-one-change-the-paragraph-formatting-in-latex
% -----
% INSERT/SPACE
\subsection{\entry{Insert}{Vertical and Horizontal Space}}
\label{sec:space}
This entry doesn't actually exist in any word processor I am aware of.
This is in fact a limitation that \LaTeX{} fills in a very simple
way.
\emph{Space filling} is used to center text horizontally, vertically,
or both; this is a difficult task to perform with any word processor,
and requires a lot of trial end error. Use a combination of \cmd{null}
or \verb|~| to set fixed marks, followed by \cmd{vfill} and
\cmd{hfill} like in this example:
\begin{DefineCode}
one \hfill two\\
\vfill
~ \hfill three \hfill ~\\
\vfill
four \hfill five
\null
\end{DefineCode}
\PrintDemo{style=parallel}
Normally, \LaTeX{} won't let you insert blank spaces at your will: two
or more are considered a single space. However, if you do want to make
your document look messy, use \verb|~| to make a non-breakable space.
Also, use the command \cmd{hspace} like in this example:
\begin{DefineCode}
This is a \hspace{2cm}
2-cm-wide hole.
\end{DefineCode}
\PrintDemo{style=parallel}
% -----
% INSERT/TABS
\subsection{\entry{Insert}{Tabs}}
The \Env{tabbing} environment provides a rough equivalent to the
action of the TAB key, and it's used to align text in columns. These
are the most commonly used commands:
\begin{center}
\begin{tabular}{ll}
\toprule
\textbf{Command} & \textbf{Action} \\
\midrule
\verb|\=| & Sets a tab stop \\
\verb|\>| & Advances to the next tab stop \\
\verb|\+| & Sets the left margin one tab stop to the right \\
\verb|\-| & Sets the left margin one tab stop to the left \\
\verb|\\| & Ends a line \\
\verb|\pushtabs| & Saves all tab stop positions \\
\verb|\poptabs| & Restores previously saved tab stop positions \\
\bottomrule
\end{tabular}
\end{center}
This example shows some of the available commands:
\begin{DefineCode}
\begin{tabbing}
% let's set the tab positions
~ \hspace{1cm} \= ~ \hspace{1.7cm} \=
~ \hspace{2.2cm} \= \kill % discard text
Zero \> One \> Two \> Three \\
Zero \> One \> \> Three \+ \\ % go right
Zero \> Two \> Three \- \\ % go left
Zero \> One \> Two \\
\pushtabs % save tab positions
new tab 1{\dots} \= new tab 2 \\
new \> tab \\
\poptabs % restore tab positions
Zero \> One \> Two \> Three
\end{tabbing}
\end{DefineCode}
\PrintDemo{style=parallel}
See also the \Env{tabular} and \Env{table} environments.
% -----
% INSERT/CROSS REFERENCE
\subsection{\entry{Insert}{Cross Reference}}
\label{sec:xrefs}
The commands \cmd{label}, \cmd{ref}, and \cmd{pageref} are all you
need to insert labels in the text and do cross referencing. The
standard format of labels is the \ltx{prefix:suffix} form, where
\ltx{prefix} is one of the following: \ltx{cha} for chapters,
\ltx{eq} for equations, \ltx{fig} for figures, \ltx{sec} for
(sub)sections, and \ltx{tab} for tables.
References to a page (section, table, figure, etc.) number can be
obtained using \cmd{label} and \cmd{ref} as in this example:
\begin{DefineCode}
\paragraph{Example.}
\label{par:example}
This paragraph appears
in Section~\ref{par:example}
on page~\pageref{par:example}.
\end{DefineCode}
\PrintDemo{style=parallel}
Of course, you may use your own prefixes. For example, take this
enumerated list:
\begin{DefineCode}
\begin{enumerate}
\item{first step: skip to
\ref{item:end} \label{item:start}}
\item{another step (unreferenced)}
\item{end: go back to
\ref{item:start} \label{item:end}}
\end{enumerate}
\end{DefineCode}
\PrintDemo{style=parallel}
% -----
% INSERT/MARGIN NOTES
\subsection{\entry{Insert}{Margin Notes}}
Very\marginpar{\emph{Note!}} simple: use \verb|\marginpar{text}|.
This feature is not commonly used with word processors.
% -----
% INSERT/FRAME
\subsection{\entry{Insert}{Text Frame}}
A text frame is used to define a part of text that does not break
across pages. To place a text frame on a fixed position on the page,
use the \href{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/textpos}{textpos} package,
as shown in the example listed in fig.~\ref{fig:poster} (see Appendix~\ref{ap:templates}).
\setlength{\fboxsep}{3mm}
\begin{center}
\begin{minipage}[c]{0.4\linewidth}
If you don't need to specify a fixed position, then use the
\Env{minipage} (miniature page) environment. This text is enclosed
in a minipage{\ldots}
\end{minipage}
% empty minipage
\begin{minipage}[c]{0.1\linewidth}
~
\end{minipage}
\begin{boxedminipage}[c]{0.4\linewidth}
{\ldots}and this is some other text enclosed in a
\Env{boxedminipage} environment, provided by the package of same
name.
\end{boxedminipage}
\end{center}
\setlength{\fboxsep}{3pt} % default
I remind you what a \Env{minipage} declaration looks like:
\begin{verbatim}
\begin{minipage}[position]{width}
..
\end{minipage}
\end{verbatim}
In a \Env{boxedminipage}, the space between the frame and the text is
set with this command:
\begin{verbatim}
\setlength{\fboxsep}{5mm}
\end{verbatim}
% -----
% INSERT/IMAGE
\subsection{\entry{Insert}{Image}}
\label{sec:image}
Please note: an \emph{image} and a \emph{figure} are not the same thing! Please see Section~\ref{sec:figure} for details.
Images can be inserted as PDF, JPG, PNG, and TIFF files. If you need to insert \PS{} or EPS files, then you're a geek and you surely know how to convert these formats to PDF.
The almighty \href{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/graphicx}{graphicx} package provides the \cmd{includegraphics} command:
\begin{DefineCode}
This is a lovely picture
\includegraphics[width=3cm]{piper.jpg}
of a guy playing the pipes.
\end{DefineCode}
\PrintDemo{style=parallel}
Parameters \ltx{height}, \ltx{scale}, and \ltx{angle} can also be specified. \ltx{width} can be set to exact units as above, or related to text or line width:
\begin{verbatim}
width=\textwidth % width of text on page
width=\linewidth % width of text in current environment
width=0.5\linewidth % half of line width
\end{verbatim}
To centre or right-align an image, use the \href{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/adjustbox}{adjustbox} package and add this line to your document:
\begin{verbatim}
\usepackage[export]{adjustbox}
\end{verbatim}
The \Pkg{adjustbox} package adds options \ltx{left}, \ltx{right}, \ltx{center}, \ltx{outer}, and \ltx{inner} to \cmd{inclu\-de\-gra\-phics}. The latter two options apply to multi-column text.
\begin{DefineCode}
This is a lovely picture
\includegraphics%
[width=3cm,right]{piper.jpg}
of a guy playing the pipes.
\end{DefineCode}
Needless to say, bitmap images don't have the same quality as PDF vector images; besides, they can make the resulting output file quite large.
% -----
% INSERT/FIGURE
\subsection{\entry{Insert}{Figure}}
\label{sec:figure}
Inserting a \emph{figure} is not the same as inserting an \emph{image}. In fact, a figure is not necessarily an image; it has no fixed position on the page; it usually has a caption; and it can be referenced to. All this is accomplished with the \Env{figure} environment. Two examples of figure follow.
\begin{figure}[htbp]
\begin{minipage}[c]{0.6\textwidth}
\begin{Verbatim}[fontsize=\small]
\begin{figure}[htbp]
% [htbp] specifies the preferred placement:
% here, top, bottom, or separate page.
\centering
\texttt{=8-)}
\caption{A smiley representing
the author of this guide.}
\label{fig:mysmiley}
\end{figure}
\end{Verbatim}
\end{minipage}%
\begin{boxedminipage}[c]{0.4\textwidth}
\centering
\large{ \texttt{=8-)} }
\caption{A smiley representing the author of this guide.}
\label{fig:mysmiley}
\end{boxedminipage}
\end{figure}
\begin{figure}[htbp]
\begin{minipage}[c]{0.38\textwidth}
\begin{Verbatim}[fontsize=\small]
\begin{figure}[htbp]
\centering
\includegraphics%
[width=0.7\textwidth, angle=-90]%
{gnuplot.pdf}
\caption{A Gnuplot graph.}
\label{fig:gnuplot}
\end{figure}
\end{Verbatim}
\end{minipage}%
\begin{minipage}[c]{0.58\textwidth}
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.7\textwidth, angle=-90]{gnuplot.pdf}
\caption{A Gnuplot graph.}
\label{fig:gnuplot}
\end{minipage}
\end{figure}
Please note that figures are not guaranteed to appear exactly
where you write the code! In fact, the main difference with word
processors is that figures don't have a fixed placement; they `float'
to the optimal position that \LaTeX{} finds for them. So, the text
shouldn't refer to a figure like `the figure below' or `the figure
above'; use `\verb|see fig.~\ref{fig:label}|' instead.
Owing to this property, figures and tables are called \emph{floats}.
If you do need to position a float exactly, use the \href{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/here}{here} package that provides an optional placement argument \ltx{H} (meaning, ``right HERE!'').
To include figures side by side, use the \href{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/subcaption}{subcaption} package that provides the \ltx{subfigure} environment (after Figure~\ref{fig:gnuplot}):
\lstset{language=TeX}
\begin{lstlisting}
\begin{figure}[h]
% first subfigure
\begin{subfigure}{0.5\textwidth} % half figure for 1st subfigure
\includegraphics[width=0.9\linewidth]{piper.jpg}
\caption{Caption of 1st subfigure.}
\label{fig:subfig1}
\end{subfigure}
% second subfigure
\begin{subfigure}{0.5\textwidth}
\includegraphics[width=0.9\linewidth, angle=-90]%
{gnuplot.pdf}
\caption{Caption of 2nd subfigure.}
\label{fig:subfig2}
\end{subfigure}
% whole figure
\caption{Caption of the figure with two images.}
\label{fig:image2}
\end{figure}
\end{lstlisting}
\begin{figure}[h]
% first subfigure
\begin{subfigure}{0.45\textwidth} % half figure for 1st subfigure
\includegraphics[width=0.9\linewidth]{piper.jpg}
\caption{Caption of 1st subfigure.}
\label{fig:subfig1}
\end{subfigure}
% second subfigure
\begin{subfigure}{0.45\textwidth}
\includegraphics[width=0.7\linewidth, angle=-90]{gnuplot.pdf}
\caption{Caption of 2nd subfigure.}
\label{fig:subfig2}
\end{subfigure}
\caption{A figure with two subfigures.}
\label{fig:image2}
\end{figure}
% -----
\subsubsection{Wrapping Floats}
For a magazine-like layout, use the \href{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/wrapfig}{wrapfig} package:
\begin{DefineCode}
If you meet this guy, give him some money.
\begin{wrapfigure}[4]{l}[5pt]{2cm}
{\huge
~\texttt{=8-)}
}
\end{wrapfigure}
The reason may not be clear to you,
but I can assure that your money
will end up in good hands.
I say again, if you meet this guy,
give him some money: he knows how to
use it properly. OK?
\end{DefineCode}
\PrintDemo{style=parallel}
The parameters are the number of lines to be narrowed, the figure
placement (like in \ltx{htbp}, the overhang, and the figure width.
% -----
% INSERT/SHAPES
\subsection{\entry{Insert}{Shapes}}
\href{
https://github.com/pgf-tikz/pgf}{PGF/TikZ} PGF is a powerful package for generating graphics programmatically. This is a minimal example:
\begin{DefineCode}
\begin{tikzpicture}
\draw[red,thick] (-2,-1) -- (2,1);
\draw[green,thick] (-2, 1) -- (2,-1);
\draw[blue,ultra thick] (0, 0) circle
(1cm) node{\huge \LaTeX};
\end{tikzpicture}
\end{DefineCode}
\PrintDemo{style=parallel}
but you can do miracles, as shown at the \href{
https://tikz.net/}{TikZ.net} page.
If you prefer to use a WYSIWYG graphics program, I recommend that you start with Inkscape, \url{
https://inkscape.org/}. This program is \LaTeX{} aware, i.e.\ it can interact with \LaTeX{} to typeset formulae and text.
Start Inkscape and draw any shape you wish using its tools. To insert
text rendered by \LaTeX, select \menu{Extensions/Text/Formula (pdflatex)...} or \menu{Extensions/Render/Mathematics/LaTeX (pdflatex)...}, insert your text as in fig.~\ref{fig:ink1}, then click on Apply.
\begin{figure}[htbp]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.75\textwidth]{inkscape-tb.png}
\caption{Inserting a \LaTeX{} formula.}
\label{fig:ink1}
\end{figure}
Your \LaTeX-rendered text will be included as a graphics object, and
you'll be able to edit it as you wish (Figure~\ref{fig:ink2}). The resulting picture can be exported to several formats supported by \LaTeX, such as PDF, PNG, and many others.
\begin{figure}[htbp]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{inkscape.png}
\caption{A \LaTeX{} object can be edited as desired.}
\label{fig:ink2}
\end{figure}
Many graphics programs provide \LaTeX-friendly output, both programmatically and interactively. The first that spring to mind are:
\begin{itemize}
\item \Pkg{GLE} (Graphics Layout Engine) is a graphics scripting language designed for creating publication quality figures. [\dots] GLE relies on \LaTeX{} for text output and supports mathematical formulae in graphs and figures:\\
\url{www.gle-graphics.org}
\item \Pkg{Asymptote} is a powerful descriptive vector graphics language that provides a natural coordi\-na\-te-based framework for technical drawing. Labels and equations are typeset with \LaTeX:\\
\url{
https://asymptote.sourceforge.net/}
\item \Pkg{LaTeXDraw} is a graphical drawing editor for \LaTeX:\\
\url{
https://latexdraw.sourceforge.net/}
\item \Pkg{Graphviz} takes descriptions of graphs in a simple text language, and make diagrams for inclusion in \LaTeX:\\
\url{
https://graphviz.org}.
\end{itemize}
These packages let you make publication-quality drawings in
\LaTeX. Many more are available; search the web for ``LaTeX vector
graphics''.
Many more kinds of `shapes' can also be inserted. To whet your
appetite, please visit the \TeX{} Showcase page,
\url{
https://www.tug.org/texshowcase/}.
% -----
\subsection{\entry{Insert}{Page}}
\label{sec:inspage}
Inserting external PDF pages without producing overfull errors is
easily done with the \href{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/pdfpages}{pdfpages}
package. The following command:
\begin{Verbatim}[fontsize=\small]
\includepdf[fitpaper]{pandoc_template.pdf}
\end{Verbatim}
includes the PDF document that was made by \app{Pandoc}
(Section~\ref{sec:import}).
\includepdf[fitpaper]{pandoc_template.pdf}
Obviously, \Pkg{pdfpages} can do much more and its documentation
is a good read.
% -----
% INSERT/LINE
\subsection{\entry{Insert}{Rule}}
Draw lines of any length and thickness with \cmd{rule}:
\begin{DefineCode}
This is a page-wide
rule:\\
\rule{\linewidth}{1pt}
but this one is shorter
and thicker:\\
\rule{2cm}{2mm}
\end{DefineCode}
\PrintDemo{style=parallel}
Another interesting `line' is that made of dots (\cmd{dotfill}), often
used to relate things. This is how it's done:
\begin{DefineCode}
Total price \dotfill \euro~10
\end{DefineCode}
\PrintDemo{style=parallel}
% -----
% INSERT/HYPERLINK
\subsection{\entry{Insert}{Hyperlink}}
\label{sec:hyperlink}
The \href{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/hyperref}{hyperref} package lets you write URLs and other external references, making the PDF output browseable.
For instance, this document uses this declaration:
\begin{Verbatim}[fontsize=\small]
\usepackage[colorlinks,
urlcolor=blue,
filecolor=magenta,
linkcolor=darkred,
hyperfootnotes=false]{hyperref}
\end{Verbatim}
Let's see an example:
\begin{DefineCode}
The \hypertarget{ctan}{CTAN} main site
is \url{
https://www.ctan.org}, a.k.a
\href{
https://www.ctan.org}{CTAN://}.
Listen to \href{run:midifile.mid}
{this MIDI file}.
Click \hyperlink{ctan}{here} to go
back to the top.
\end{DefineCode}
\PrintDemo{style=parallel}
By default, the \cmd{url} command typesets its contents using a
monospace font. To use the same font as the remaining text, use the
command:
\begin{Verbatim}
\urlstyle{same}
\end{Verbatim}
after the \cmd{hyperref} declaration, as this document does.
The \cmd{hypertarget} and \cmd{hyperlink} commands provide internal
links, just like HTML; \cmd{href} creates links to URLs or external
files. Note the \ltx{run:} parameter: you can run external programs
like multimedia players, office applications, whatever. This feature
only works with some PDF readers, though.
Please read \Pkg{hyperref}'s documentation for further examples
and possibilities.
% -----
% INSERT/COMMENT
\subsection{\entry{Insert}{Comment}}
This is done inserting \% before each line, or by using the \href{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/comment}{comment} package
that provides \ltx{\Bs{}comment}, \ltx{\Bs{}endcomment},
and the \ltx{comment} environment:
\begin{DefineCode}
This text % boring example
\begin{comment}
what a boring example
\end{comment}
is just an example.
\end{DefineCode}
\PrintDemo{style=parallel}
Pop-ups comments in PDF output are provided by the \Pkg{pdfcomment} package. This document uses this declaration:
\begin{Verbatim}
\usepackage[icon=note,color={1 1 0}]{pdfcomment}
\end{Verbatim}
\begin{DefineCode}
This text is nothing special
\pdfmargincomment{yup, definitely.},
but it contains a couple of \pdfmarkupcomment{nice}%
{simple, more than nice} comments.
\end{DefineCode}
\PrintDemo{style=parallel}
Please note that not all PDF viewers can display pop-up comments correctly.
% -----
% FORMAT
\section{The \menu{Format} Menu}
In general, the main format properties of a document are set with
parame\-ters in \cmd{document\-class}: default font size (10, 11, or
12pt), paper (\ltx{a4paper}, \ltx{a5paper}, \ltx{b5paper},
\ltx{letterpaper}, \ltx{legalpaper}, \ltx{executivepaper}),
and orientation (\ltx{portrait}, \ltx{landscape}). For example,
\begin{Verbatim}[fontsize=\small]
\documentclass[a5paper,landscape,12pt]{article}
\end{Verbatim}
Alternative font sizes can be specified as explained in
Section~\ref{sec:extsizes}.
% -----
% FORMAT/LINE SPACING
\subsection{\entry{Format}{Line Spacing}}
The \href{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/setspace}{setspace} package provides the environments \Env{singlespace}, \Env{onehalfspace}, and \Env{double\-space}. In addition, the environment/command \cmd{spacing}\cmdparm{\{amount\}}
will set the spacing to the specified a\-mount:
\begin{DefineCode}
\begin{spacing}{2.5}
These two lines \\
are crazily spaced!
\end{spacing}
\begin{spacing}{1}
Much better, these lines\\
are spaced normally.
\end{spacing}
\end{DefineCode}
\PrintDemo{style=parallel}
To apply line spacing to the whole document, use the
\cmd{linespread\{fac\-tor\}} command in the preamble. Default value of
\ltx{factor} is 1; larger values give larger line spacing (1.6 is
roughly double line spacing).
% -----
% FORMAT/CHARACTER
\subsection{\entry{Format}{Character}}
Standard character properties are listed in
Table~\ref{tab:properties}, font sizes in Table~\ref{tab:font_sizes}.
Please note that actual font size depends on the default size defined
in \ltx{docu\-ment\-class} (10, 11, or 12 pt); see
Table~\ref{tab:font_sizes2}.
\begin{table}[htbp]
\centering
\begin{tabular}{lll}
\toprule
\textbf{Text attribute} & \textbf{Environment form} & \textbf{Example} \\
\midrule
\cmd{textnormal} & \verb|textnormal| & main document font \\
\cmd{textrm} & \verb|rmfamily| & \textrm{roman} \\
\cmd{textit} & \verb|itshape| & \textit{italics} \\
\cmd{emph} & n/a & \emph{emphasis} \\
\cmd{textmd} & \verb|mdseries| & \textmd{medium weight (default)} \\
\cmd{textbf} & \verb|bfseries| & \textbf{boldface} \\
\cmd{textup} & \verb|upshape| & \textup{upright (default)} \\
\cmd{textsl} & \verb|slshape| & \textsl{slanted} \\
\cmd{textsf} & \verb|sffamily| & \textsf{sans serif} \\
\cmd{textsc} & \verb|scshape| & \textsc{small caps} \\
\cmd{texttt} & \verb|ttfamily| & \texttt{typewriter} \\
\cmd{underline} & \verb|underline| & \underline{underline} \\
\cmd{textsuperscript} & n/a & this is \textsuperscript{superscript} \\
\cmd{mathrm} & n/a & $\mathrm{x^n + y^n \neq z^n \forall n \neq 2}$ \\
\cmd{mathbf} & n/a & $\mathbf{x^n + y^n \neq z^n \forall n \neq 2}$ \\
\cmd{mathsf} & n/a & $\mathsf{x^n + y^n \neq z^n \forall n \neq 2}$ \\
\cmd{mathtt} & n/a & $\mathtt{x^n + y^n \neq z^n \forall n \neq 2}$ \\
\cmd{mathit} & n/a & $\mathit{x^n + y^n \neq z^n \forall n \neq 2}$ \\
\cmd{mathnormal} & n/a & $\mathnormal{x^n + y^n \neq z^n \forall n \neq 2}$ \\
\cmd{mathcal} & n/a & $\mathcal{x^n + y^n \neq z^n \forall n \neq 2}$ \\
\bottomrule
\end{tabular}
\caption{Font attributes.}
\label{tab:properties}
\end{table}
Please note the difference between italics and emphasised text.
\textit{For example, this portion of text is typeset in italics, and
\emph{these words} are emphasised in upright}. As you can see,
\cmd{emph} is a \emph{logical} rather than typographic command.
Also, please note that subscript is normally used in math mode only.
The trick to use it in normal text is:
\begin{DefineCode}
this is
$_{\mbox{\footnotesize%
{subscript}}}$
\end{DefineCode}
\PrintDemo{style=parallel}
\begin{table}[ht]
\centering
\begin{tabular}{ll}
\toprule
\textbf{Font size} & \textbf{Example} \\
\midrule
\verb|tiny| & \tiny{sample text} \\
\verb|scriptsize| & \scriptsize{sample text} \\
\verb|footnotesize| & \footnotesize{sample text} \\
\verb|small| & \small{sample text} \\
\verb|normalsize| & \normalsize{sample text} \\
\verb|large| & \large{sample text} \\
\verb|Large| & \Large{sample text} \\
\verb|LARGE| & \LARGE{sample text} \\
\verb|huge| & \huge{sample text} \\
\verb|Huge| & \Huge{sample text} \\
\bottomrule
\end{tabular}
\caption{Font sizes.}
\label{tab:font_sizes}
\end{table}
\begin{table}[ht]
\centering
\begin{tabular}{llll}
\toprule
Default font size & 10pt & 11pt & 12pt \\
\midrule
\ltx{tiny} & 5 & 6 & 6 \\
\ltx{scriptsize} & 7 & 8 & 8 \\
\ltx{footnotesize} & 8 & 9 & 10 \\
\ltx{small} & 9 & 10 & 10.95 \\
\ltx{normalsize} & 10 & 10.95 & 12 \\
\ltx{large} & 12 & 12 & 14.4 \\
\ltx{Large} & 14.4 & 14.4 & 17.28 \\
\ltx{LARGE} & 17.2 & 17.28 & 20.74 \\
\ltx{huge} & 20.7 & 20.74 & 24.88 \\
\ltx{Huge} & 24.8 & 24.88 & 24.88 \\
\bottomrule
\end{tabular}
\caption{Actual font size in pt.}
\label{tab:font_sizes2}
\end{table}
% -----
\subsubsection{Superscript and Subscript in Chemical Formulae}
Most chemical formulae could be entered as math formulae, using
\verb|^| and \verb|_| to obtain superscript and subscript, but the \href{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/mhchem}{mhchem}
package provides a simpler command. Digits are printed as
subscripts by default, and are printed as superscript when preceded by
\verb|^|. Formulae must be enclosed in the \cmd{ce} command:
\begin{DefineCode}
\ce{H2O + CO2 -> H2CO3}\\
\ce{CaCO3 -> Ca^2+ + CO3^2-}\\
\ce{CO3^2- + H2CO3 -> 2 HCO3^-}\\
\ce{CaCO3 + H2CO3 -> Ca^2+ + 2 HCO3^-}
\end{DefineCode}
\PrintDemo{style=parallel}
Alternatively, you could use the \href{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/chemformula}{chemformula} package that
uses a similar syntax.
% -----
\subsubsection{Underline styles}
Normally, \uline{underline} is not used. It's just a relic of the old
teletype era, and it doesn't look really good. If you still want to
use underline, the \href{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/ulem}{ulem} package provides some fancy styles:
\begin{DefineCode}
\uline{important}
\uuline{urgent}
\uwave{boat}
\sout{wrong}
\xout{removed}
\end{DefineCode}
\PrintDemo{style=parallel}
Beware: \Pkg{ulem} redefines the \cmd{emph} command, which will be
replaced by underline. To avoid this behaviour, use this declaration:
\begin{verbatim}
\usepackage[normalem]{ulem}
\end{verbatim}
% -----
% FORMAT/CHARACTER SIZE
\subsubsection{\entry{Format}{Character Size}}
\label{sec:extsizes}
If the standard font sizes aren't enough for you, the \href{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/extsizes}{extsizes} package
may be handy. It provides `extended' versions of the standard document classes, with support for sizes 8--12, 14, 17, and 20 pt.
For example, let's suppose you want to typeset an article using a 17
pt font. You'll use this document preamble:
\begin{Verbatim}[fontsize=\small]
\documentclass[17pt]{extarticle}
\end{Verbatim}
Another way to get big fonts is to use the \href{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/type1cm}{type1cm} package,
which provides commands like the following:
\begin{Verbatim}[fontsize=\small]
\fontsize{72pt}{72pt}\selectfont
No Smoking
\end{Verbatim}
(The example above is way too large to fit on this page{\ldots})
Parameters are font size and baseline. Yet another approach is this:
\begin{DefineCode}
\resizebox{!}{1cm}{1-cm tall}
\end{DefineCode}
\PrintDemo{style=parallel}
\lettrine{D}{ropped} capitals at the start of a paragraph can be
obtained using the \href{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/lettrine}{lettrine} package, which provides a fully customisable \cmd{lettrine} command. This paragraph uses the default behaviour:
\begin{verbatim}
\lettrine{D}{ropped} capitals at the start...
\end{verbatim}
% -----
% FORMAT/FONT
\subsubsection{\entry{Format}{Character Font}}
\LaTeX{} uses its own fonts (Computer Modern), automatically generated
when needed by the \MF{} subsystem. This ensures portability and
yields very good results. However, many of us are accustomed to other
fonts: Times, Helvetica, Sans Serif{\ldots}
Fortunately, several \LaTeX{} engines can use \PS{} Type 1 and Open Type OTF fonts. Try using one of the following packages: \Pkg{avant}, \Pkg{avangar},
\Pkg{bookman}, \Pkg{chancery}, \Pkg{charter}, \Pkg{courier}, \Pkg{helvet}, \Pkg{helvetic}, \Pkg{ncntrsbk}, \Pkg{newcent}, \Pkg{palatcm},
\Pkg{palatino}, \Pkg{pifont}, \Pkg{times},\Pkg{utopia}, \Pkg{zapfchan}. Insert \verb|\usepackage{times}| and enjoy the results. This document uses \Pkg{libertine}.
The only caveat is that \LaTeX{} handles maths at its best only with Computer Modern fonts: using other fonts might render your formulas slightly less appealing.
A world of possibilities is available when you use \ltx{xelatex}, which supports Unicode, OpenType and TrueType fonts. Please visit the \href{
https://tug.org/FontCatalogue/}{LaTeX Font Catalogue} and enjoy.
The packages above set the font for the whole document. To use a
font for a region of text only, specify the font family as in the
example below. Common font families are listed in
Table~\ref{tab:font_families}; but beware, some font shapes may be
unavailable on some systems!
\begin{DefineCode}
This is Computer Modern Roman,
{\fontfamily{phv}\selectfont
this is Helvetica!}
\end{DefineCode}
\PrintDemo{style=parallel}
\begin{table}
\centering
\begin{tabular}{ll}
\toprule
\textmd{Family} & \textmd{Name}\\
\midrule
\ltx{cmr} & Computer Modern Roman\\
\ltx{cmss} &
{\fontfamily{cmss}\selectfont Computer Modern Sans Serif}\\
\ltx{cmtt} &
{\fontfamily{cmtt}\selectfont Computer Modern Typewriter}\\
\ltx{pag} &
{\fontfamily{pag}\selectfont Avantgarde}\\
\ltx{pbk} &
{\fontfamily{pbk}\selectfont Bookman}\\
\ltx{phv} &
{\fontfamily{phv}\selectfont Helvetica}\\
\ltx{pnc} &
{\fontfamily{pnc}\selectfont New Century Schoolbook}\\
\ltx{ppl} &
{\fontfamily{ppl}\selectfont Palatino}\\
\ltx{ptm} &
{\fontfamily{ptm}\selectfont Times}\\
\ltx{pcr} &
{\fontfamily{pcr}\selectfont Courier}\\
\bottomrule
\end{tabular}
\caption{Common font families.}
\label{tab:font_families}
\end{table}
% -----
% FORMAT/COLOUR
\subsubsection{\entry{Format}{Character Colour}}
\label{sec:charcol}
You can colour words using the \href{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/color}{color} package and appropriate commands. Predefined colours are black, white, red, green, blue, cyan, magenta, and yellow; you can also define your own.
\begin{DefineCode}
\textcolor{red}{This is red.}\\
\color{blue}
This text is blue!\\
So is this. Let's change.\\
\definecolor{mygreen}
{rgb}{0.1,1,0.1}
\color{mygreen}
This is my shade of green!\\
\color{black}
\colorbox{cyan}{A cyan box}\\
\fcolorbox{blue}{green}
{A green box in a blue frame}
\end{DefineCode}
\PrintDemo{style=parallel}
Moreover, the command \cmd{pagecolor} lets you specify{\ldots} guess
what?
% -----
\subsubsection{\entry{Format}{Character Outline}}
\label{sec:charoutline}
If coloured text is not fancy enough, you can also have outlined
(contoured) text using the \href{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/contour}{contour} package. The \cmd{contour} command creates 16 copies of the text (or a number you specify):
\begin{DefineCode}
\contourlength{0.5pt}
\Large
\textcolor{blue}{\contour{red}
{Blue text, thin red outline}}
\contourlength{2pt}
\textcolor{white}{\contour[32]{blue}
{White text, thick blue outline}}
\end{DefineCode}
\PrintDemo{style=parallel}
% -----
% FORMAT/PARAGRAPH
\subsection{\entry{Format}{Paragraph}}
Let's remind what a paragraph is according to \LaTeX: a portion of
text that either ends with \verb|\\|, or is followed by a blank line.
\emph{Environments} are \LaTeX{}'s way of specifying properties like
text alignment or font selection for a given portion of text. It's
like selecting text with the mouse, then choosing the property you
wish from a menu or clicking on a button. Another way is to enclose
the text between brackets.
Environments have this general form:
\begin{Verbatim}[fontsize=\small]
\begin{environment}
..text goes here...
\end{environment}
\end{Verbatim}
For example, if you want to center a paragraph you'll use the
\Env{center} environment:
\begin{DefineCode}
\begin{center}
this text is centered
\end{center}
\end{DefineCode}
\PrintDemo{style=parallel}
Standard environments are listed in Table~\ref{tab:environments}. In the
following sections, I'll show you what to use and when.
\begin{table}[p]
\centering
\begin{tabular}{ll}
\toprule
\textbf{Environment} & \textbf{Purpose} \\
\midrule
\ltx{abstract} & abstract\\
\ltx{array} & Math arrays\\
\ltx{center} & Centered lines\\
\ltx{description} & Labelled lists\\
\ltx{displaymath} & Formulas on their own line\\
\ltx{document} & Encloses the whole document\\
\ltx{enumerate} & Numbered lists\\
\ltx{eqnarray} & Sequence of aligned equations\\
\ltx{equation} & Displayed equation\\
\ltx{figure} & Floating figures\\
\ltx{flushleft} & Flushed left lines\\
\ltx{flushright} & Flushed right lines\\
\ltx{itemize} & Bulleted lists\\
\ltx{letter} & Letters\\
\ltx{list} & Generic list environment\\
\ltx{math} & In-line math\\
\ltx{minipage} & Miniature page\\
\ltx{picture} & Picture with text, arrows, lines and circles\\
\ltx{quotation} & Indented environment with paragraph indentation\\
\ltx{quote} & Indented environment with no paragraph indentation\\
\ltx{tabbing} & Align text arbitrarily\\
\ltx{table} & Floating tables\\
\ltx{tabular} & Align text in columns\\
\ltx{thebibliography} & Bibliography or reference list\\
\ltx{theorem} & Theorems, lemmas, etc\\
\ltx{titlepage} & For hand crafted title pages\\
\ltx{verbatim} & Simulating typed input\\
\ltx{verse} & For poetry and other things\\
\bottomrule
\end{tabular}
\caption{Standard \LaTeX{} environments.}
\label{tab:environments}
\end{table}
% -----
% FORMAT/PARAGRAPH HORIZONTAL ALIGNMENT
\subsubsection{\entry{Paragraph}{Horizontal Alignment}}
By default, the text is justified. To get left--aligned,
right--aligned or centered text, use the \Env{flushleft},
\Env{flushright} and \Env{center} environments. The commands
\cmd{raggedright}, \cmd{ragged\-left}, and \cmd{cen\-te\-ring} are
equivalent to their correspondent environments, but they do not start
a new paragraph.
% -----
% FORMAT/PARAGRAPH VERTICAL ALIGNMENT
\subsubsection{\entry{Paragraph}{Vertical Alignment}}
The way paragraphs are separated is often puzzling to word processor
users. \emph{Empty lines and multiple spaces are treated like a
single empty line or space}. This means that you can't get more space
between paragraphs inserting more empty lines. The commands
\cmd{smallskip}, \cmd{medskip}, and \cmd{bigskip} provide some space
between paragraphs.
If you need more space, use the command
\cmd{vskip}\{\textit{parameter}\} as in this example:
\begin{DefineCode}
These paragraphs will be
separated by 1.3 cm:\\
\vskip 1.3cm
there is a 1.3 cm gap above me.
\end{DefineCode}
\PrintDemo{style=parallel}
Note that \cmd{vskip} only works between paragraphs. What if you
wanted to start a page after an additional margin of, say, 1.5 cm?
You'll have to use \cmd{null}, which sets a `mark' in the text:
\begin{DefineCode}
\null
\vskip 1.3 cm
This text comes after 1.3 cm...
\end{DefineCode}
\PrintDemo{style=parallel}
Finally, the command \cmd{vfill} is used to add empty lines between
two paragraphs so that the second paragraph goes exactly to the bottom
of the page. For example,
% \begin{example} will not work here
\medskip
\begin{minipage}[c]{0.45\textwidth}
\begin{Verbatim}[fontsize=\small]
This appears at the top of
the page{\ldots}
\vfill
{\ldots}and this at the bottom.
\end{Verbatim}
\end{minipage}
\begin{boxedminipage}[c]{0.45\textwidth}
This appears at the top of
the page{\ldots}
\vskip 1.3 cm
{\ldots}and this at the bottom.
\end{boxedminipage}
% -----
% FORMAT/PARAGRAPH MARGINS
\subsubsection{\entry{Paragraph}{Margins}}
Normally, margins are set for the whole document as seen in
Section~\ref{sec:pagesetup}. Redefining them for a section of text
will not work: if you want to set a paragraph's margins, you'll have
to create a new environment like in the following example:
\begin{Verbatim}[fontsize=\small]
\newenvironment{margins}[2]
{
\begin{list}{} {
\setlength{\leftmargin}{#1}
\setlength{\rightmargin}{#2}
} \item }
{\end{list}}
\end{Verbatim}
Then you will use the new environment:
\begin{DefineCode}
As you can see, this paragraph
has normal margins.
\begin{margins}{0.5cm}{1cm}
But please note that this
paragraph has custom margins.
\end{margins}
\end{DefineCode}
\PrintDemo{style=parallel}
% -----
% FORMAT/PARAGRAPH INDENTATION
\subsubsection{\entry{Paragraph}{Indentation}}
To set the amount of indentation of the first line of a paragraph, we
redefine the value of the \cmd{par\-in\-dent} counter. In the following
example, we set a 1-cm indentation:
\begin{Verbatim}[fontsize=\small]
\setlength{\parindent}{1cm}
\end{Verbatim}
The commands \cmd{indent} and \cmd{noindent} allow/disallow
indentation on the following paragraph. Finally, the distance between
paragraphs is set by the \cmd{parskip} counter:
\begin{Verbatim}[fontsize=\small]
\setlength{\parskip}{3pt}
\end{Verbatim}
% -----
% FORMAT/BORDER
\subsubsection{\entry{Paragraph}{Border and Shade}}
To get framed (bordered) paragraphs or words, you have the choice of
using the \href{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/framed}{framed} package or the \cmd{parbox} command. The \href{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/calc}{calc} package is required in the latter case.
This is the simplest method, using \Pkg{framed}:
\begin{DefineCode}
\setlength{\FrameRule}{2pt}
\setlength{\FrameSep}{5pt}
\begin{framed}
this is a framed paragraph!
\end{framed}
\definecolor{shadecolor}{rgb}
{0.9,0.8,1}
\begin{shaded}
this is a shaded paragraph,
do you like it?
\end{shaded}
\end{DefineCode}
\PrintDemo{style=parallel}
Equivalently, use the \href{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/boxedminipage}{boxedminipage} package and the equally named environment. For those who want to know more: the commands
\begin{Verbatim}[fontsize=\small]
\framebox{
\begin{minipage}[c]{\linewidth}
text to be framed
\end{minipage}
}
\end{Verbatim}
are functionally equivalent to the \Env{boxedminipage} environment.
% This example uses \cmd{parbox}:
% \begin{example}
% \noindent
% \fbox{
% \parbox{\linewidth
% -2 \fboxsep -2 \fboxrule}
% {again, a framed paragraph!}
% }
% \end{example}
\cmd{width} sets the width of the minipage equal to that of the
remaining text. Obviously, you can specify the width as you like.
Finally, to frame something adapting the frame to the width of the
text:
\begin{DefineCode}
this is a
\framebox[\width]{framed}
word
\end{DefineCode}
\PrintDemo{style=parallel}
Modifying the parameter, you can adjust the frame width:
\begin{DefineCode}
this is another
\framebox[2\width][r]{framed}
word
\end{DefineCode}
\PrintDemo{style=parallel}
Note that the second optional parameter specifies the alignment (to
the right in this example).
% -----
% FORMAT/COLOUR
\subsubsection{\entry{Paragraph}{Colour}}
Now that you have a bordered paragraph, you'll want to set its colour
too. Do this:
\begin{DefineCode}
\colorbox{yellow}{
\begin{minipage}
{0.8\linewidth}
I am a minipage, my colour
is yellow!
\end{minipage}
}
\end{DefineCode}
\PrintDemo{style=parallel}
Just as an example, we set the minipage colour for only the 80\% of
its width. More about colours in Section~\ref{sec:charcol}.
% -----
% FORMAT/COLUMNS
\subsubsection{\entry{Format}{Columns}}
The commands \cmd{twocolumn} and \cmd{onecolumn} start a new page and
set the number of columns; they can also be used as parameters in
\cmd{documentclass}. If this is not enough for you, the \href{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/multicols}{multicols} package
provides an environment of the same name. I could
have set this section in two columns with these commands:
\begin{Verbatim}[fontsize=\small]
\columnseprule=1pt
\begin{multicols}{2}[\subsection{\entry{Format}{Columns}}]
The commands \cmd{twocolumn} ...
\end{multicols}
\end{Verbatim}
The space between columns is controlled by the parameter
\cmd{columnsep}, and the thickness of the rule between columns by
\cmd{columnseprule}. The text given as optional parameter in brackets
is excluded from the environment.
% -----
% TABLE
\section{The \menu{Table} Menu}
Welcome to hell---kind of.
Just like an \emph{image} is not a \emph{figure} (Section~\ref{sec:image}), a \emph{\Env{tabular} environment} is not a \emph{table}. A \LaTeX{} table is a float (as explained in Section~\ref{sec:figure}) that must fit on one page; it has a caption, and it usually contains a \Env{tabular} environment. The latter is typeset using the special syntax explained below.
Default \LaTeX{} tabular material is defined as follows:
\begin{DefineCode}
\begin{tabular}{|l|c r|} % left, centre, right alignment
% three columns, items separated by (ugly) vertical bars
\hline
1 & 2 & 3 \\ % end of line
\hline % horizontal line
a & & c \\ % second column is blank
one & two & three \\
\hline
\end{tabular}
\end{DefineCode}
\PrintDemo{style=parallel}
where the definition specifies vertical bars, alignment, and number of columns. Each line in the tabular contains elements separated by \texttt{\&}.
The \href{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/booktabs}{booktabs} package provides better-looking tabular material:
\begin{DefineCode}
\begin{tabular}{lcr}
\toprule
1 & 2 & 3 \\
\midrule
a & & c \\
one & two & three \\
\bottomrule
\end{tabular}
\end{DefineCode}
\PrintDemo{style=parallel}
The following mess is the general format of tabular material:
\begin{DefineCode}
% 4-column tabular; alignment is left, centered, right, fixed width
\begin{tabular}{lc|rp{4cm}|}
\hline % horizontal line
\textbf{Left} & \textbf{Centre} & \textbf{Right} & \textbf{4 cm}\\
\hline
row 1, col 1 & row 1, col 2 & row 1, col 3 & row 1, col 4\\
\cline{1-2} % horizontal line spanning columns 1-2
row 2, col 1 & row 2, col 2 & row 2, col 3 & row 2, col 4\\
\cline{1-2}
\multicolumn{2}{|c|}{spanning two columns} & row 3, col 3 &
row 3, col 4\\
\cline{1-3}
row 4, col 1 & row 4, col 2 & row 4, col 3 & ~ \hfill right\\
% force a space with "\ "
row 5, col 1 & row 5, col 2 & row 5, col 3 & left \hfill ~\\
row 5, col 1 & row 5, col 2 & row 5, col 3 &
~ \hfill centre \hfill ~\\
\hline
\end{tabular}
\end{DefineCode}
\PrintDemo{style=stacked}
Sometimes, a tabular is too wide and won't fit on the page. The first solution is using the \href{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/longtable}{longtable} package, which provides a multi-page version of Pkg{tabular}. Besides, the \href{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/rotating}{rotating} package provides the new environment \Env{sideways} that can be used to rotate a tabular (or a single cell) sideways or by a specified angle.
The \href{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/tabularx}{tabularx} package lets you specify tabular columns of fixed width: the \ltx{X} column specifier indicates that a column can be spread as
needed.
Here's an example:
\begin{DefineCode}
\begin{sideways}
\begin{tabularx}{7.5cm}{|l|X|X|}
\hline
\textbf{normal} & \textbf{tilted} &
\textbf{wider}\\
\hline
normal & \rotatebox{30}%
{I'm tilted!} &
I'm wider\\
\hline
\end{tabularx}
\end{sideways}
\end{DefineCode}
\PrintDemo{style=parallel}
Other useful packages are \Pkg{longtable}, \Pkg{supertabular}, and
\Pkg{xtab}.
To enable colours in tables, you use the \href{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/colortbl}{colortbl} package:
\begin{DefineCode}
Colour by row:\\\vskip 2mm
\begin{tabular}{lcr}
\rowcolor{cyan}
one & two & three\\
\rowcolor{green}
one & two & three\\
\rowcolor{yellow}
one & two & three\\
\end{tabular}
\end{DefineCode}
\PrintDemo{style=parallel}
\begin{DefineCode}
Colour by column:\\\vskip 2mm
\begin{tabular}
{>{\columncolor{cyan}}l
>{\color{red}
\columncolor{green}}c
>{\columncolor{yellow}}r}
one & two & three\\
one & two & three\\
one & two & three\\
\end{tabular}
\end{DefineCode}
\PrintDemo{style=parallel}
% To conclude the subject, a neat little trick. If you think that
% writing \LaTeX{} tables is too complicated, you could be relieved by
% OpenOffice Calc and Calc2LaTeX. The former is the well-known free
% spreadsheet, while the latter is a plugin that that lets you turn a
% cell range into a \LaTeX{} table. Links:
% \url{
https://www.openoffice.org/},
% \url{
https://calc2latex.sourceforge.net/}.
% -----
\subsection{\entry{Table}{Line Spacing}}
A table line adjusts itself to the height of the text it contains. To
add some space \emph{before} a line, the trick is to start it with a
\ltx{\textbackslash{}rule} of 0 length and specified height. To add
space \emph{after} a line, use
\ltx{\textbackslash{}\textbackslash{}} followed by optional space.
Here is an example:
\begin{DefineCode}
\begin{tabular}{lll}
one & two & three\\
0.3 centimeters & \textbf{after} &
this line\\[0.3cm]
one & two & three\\
one & two & three\\
\rule{0pt}{1.2cm}1.2 centimeters &
\textbf{before} & this line\\
\end{tabular}
\end{DefineCode}
\PrintDemo{style=parallel}
% -----
\subsection{\entry{Table}{Aligning Numbers}}
A special case of a tabular environment is when we want to align
numbers with respect to the decimal positions.
The simplest method is using the \ltx{@} column specifier, which in
practice is useful in tables containing only numbers. The column
separator \ltx{\&} is replaced by the decimal dot:
\begin{DefineCode}
\begin{tabular}{r@{.}l}
3&14159\\
1&61803\\
1&41421\\
100&00000
\end{tabular}
\end{DefineCode}
\PrintDemo{style=parallel}
Alternatively, use the \href{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/dcolumn}{dcolumn} package, which adds the \ltx{D} column specifier. \ltx{D} has three arguments: the separator to use in the \LaTeX{} source and in output (usually the same, `.'), and the number of digits to the right of the decimal place
indicator. Optionally, the third argument can specify the number of
digits to the left and to the right of the decimal place indicator,
separated by a dot. Lastly, if the third argument is -1, the material
of the column is centered around the separator.
All material in the table is typeset in math mode. To insert headings,
you'll have to put the text in an \cmd{mbox}.
\begin{DefineCode}
\begin{tabular}{D{.}{,}{4.2}%
D{.}{.}{5}D{.}{.}{-1}}
\toprule
\mbox{One} & \mbox{Two} &
\mbox{Three}\\
10.33 & 10.33 & 10.33\\
1000 & 1000 & 1000\\
5.1 & 5.1 & 5.1\\
3.14 & 3.14159 & 3.14159\\
\bottomrule
\end{tabular}
\end{DefineCode}
\PrintDemo{style=parallel}
% -----
\subsection{Using \Pkg{diagbox}}
This package add the \cmd{diagbox} command:
\begin{DefineCode}
\begin{tabular}{|l|l|l|}
\toprule
\diagbox{Lesson}{Date} &
Monday & Tuesday\\
\midrule
Stratigraphy & room A & room A\\
Chemistry & room B & Lab $\alpha$\\
Physics & room C & Lab $\delta$\\
\bottomrule
\end{tabular}
\end{DefineCode}
\PrintDemo{style=parallel}
% -----
\subsection{\LaTeX{} Table Generators}
Let's face it, inserting tabular material is quite a chore.
Fortunately, there are web sites that allow you to create \LaTeX{}
code for tabular material in a visual way. Try these:
\begin{itemize}
\item \url{
https://www.tablesgenerator.com/}
\item \url{
https://www.latex-tables.com/}
\item \url{
https://tableconvert.com/latex-generator}
\item \url{
https://products.aspose.app/tex/latex-table-generator}
\end{itemize}
% -----
\subsection{Importing Data in \LaTeX{} Tables}
For many people, data files are the bread and butter of everyday's
work. Most data files are simply ASCII text with columns of numbers,
but some people use spreadsheets. Nearly all spreadsheet applications
can export sheets in the ASCII-based \File{.csv} file format; values
are usually separated by the `;' character.
Converting a data file into a \LaTeX{} table is quite a tedious
process. The following script for \unix{} will convert a datafile with
an arbitrary number of columns to a table. It will also work on
\File{.csv} files.
\begin{Verbatim}[fontsize=\small]
#!/bin/sh
# dat2tex.sh: converts tabular data to a tabular environment
if [ $# != 1 ]; then
echo "Usage: $0 <datafile>"
exit 1
fi
# is this a csv file?
grep ";" $1 > /dev/null
if [ $? = 0 ]; then
AWK="awk -F;"
else
AWK=awk
fi
# ok awk, make my day
$AWK '{if (1 == FNR) { \
printf "\\begin{tabular}{"; \
for (i = 1; i <= NF; i++) {printf "l"}; \
printf "}\n"
}
for (i = 1; i < NF; i++) \
{printf $i" & "} printf $NF"\\\\ \n"} \
END {printf "\\end{tabular}\n"}' $1
# end of dat2tex
\end{Verbatim}
% -----
% TOOLS
\section{The \menu{Tools} Menu}
% -----
% TOOLS/MAIL MERGES
\subsection{\entry{Tools}{Mail Merges}}
This useful and time-saving tool is implemented in \LaTeX{} by the
\href{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/textmerg}{textmerg} package. Let's consider a simple document, in which the name, surname, and title of people we're writing to may vary. The remaining text does not change.
We'll define three \emph{fields}, which are the variable part of the
text: \cmd{Name}, \cmd{Surname}, and \cmd{Title}. Their values will be
gathered from an external file, \File{data.dat}.
\begin{Verbatim}[fontsize=\small]
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{textmerg}
\begin{document}
% let's declare the variable fields:
% \Void is for empty lines
\Fields{\Name\Surname\Title-\Void}
\Merge{data.dat}{%
Dear \Title{} \Surname,\\
may I call you \Name?\\
Yours,\\
\hspace{3cm}Guido\clearpage}
\end{document}
\end{Verbatim}
The fourth field, \cmd{Void}, isn't really necessary and it's there
for illustration. It's preceded by a minus sign, which indicates that
it can be empty in the data file. Simply put, we want to separate the
records using empty lines.
The file \File{data.dat} reads:
\begin{Verbatim}[fontsize=\small]
Guido
Gonzato
Dr.
Francesco
Mulargia
Prof.
Marie
Curie
Mme
\end{Verbatim}
That's it: the resulting output will contain the merged text, one page
for each recipient.
% -----
% TOOLS/LABELS
\subsection{\entry{Tools}{Labels}}
If making mail merges was easy, making labels is even trivial. Let's
suppose you want to make 20 equal labels on a 3$\times$8 peel--off
label sheet. The package to use, predictably, is called \href{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/labels}{labels}.
In this example, we'll make 10 plain labels and 10 boxed labels:
\begin{Verbatim}[fontsize=\small]
\documentclass[a4paper,12pt]{article}
\usepackage{labels}
\LabelCols=3 % n. of columns of labels
\LabelRows=8 % n. of rows of labels
\LeftBorder=8mm % borders of each label
\RightBorder=8mm
\TopBorder=5mm
\BottomBorder=5mm
\LabelGridtrue % show the grid
\numberoflabels=10 % number of labels of each type to print
% the text of the label is specified by
% the \addresslabel[]{} macro:
\begin{document}
\addresslabel[\large] % optional arguments
{\textbf{Guido Gonzato}, Ph.D.\\
\textsl{GNU/Linux Sysadmin}}
% now on to the boxed labels
\boxedaddresslabel[\fboxsep=4mm\fboxrule=1mm]
{\textbf{Guido Gonzato}, Ph.D.\\
\textsl{GNU/Linux Sysadmin}}
\end{document}
\end{Verbatim}
% You'll also have to choose the correct paper size and adjust the page
% margins (use \Pkg{geometry}; omitted in this example).
To make labels containing different addresses, you may use either an
external file or insert the addresses in the main file:
\begin{Verbatim}[fontsize=\small]
\documentclass[a4paper,12pt]{article}
\usepackage{labels}
\LabelCols=3
\LabelRows=8
\LeftBorder=3mm
\RightBorder=3mm
\TopBorder=8mm
\BottomBorder=8mm
\LabelGridtrue
\begin{document}
% use either this environment:
\begin{labels}
1$^{st}$ name
1$^{st}$ address
1$^{st}$ city, state, zipcode
2$^{nd}$ name
2$^{nd}$ address
2$^{nd}$ city, state, zipcode
3$^{rd}$ name
3$^{rd}$ address
3$^{rd}$ city, state, zipcode
\end{labels}
% or an external file containing exactly the same text:
% \labelfile{addresses.dat}
\end{document}
\end{Verbatim}
It is left to you to combine \Pkg{textmerg} and \Pkg{labels}!
% -----
% TOOLS/LANGUAGE
\subsection{\entry{Tools}{Default Language}}
\LaTeX{} default language is English, but other languages are
supported. By language support I mean the translation of terms like
`Chapter' or `Index', correct hyphenation, and the possibility of
inserting characters like `\c c' or `\'e' directly via your keyboard.
(The normal way being typing \ltx{\Bs{}c c} and \ltx{\Bs{}'e}.)
Your \LaTeX{} distribution contains a file called \File{language.dat}
(usually \path{$TEXMF/tex/generic/con\-fig/language.dat} that contains a
list of languages. Editing this file you choose the languages for
which you want hyphenation patterns.
If you are not a native English speaker, you'll want to use the
\href{
https://www.ctan.org/pkg/babel}{babel} package as in the following
example:
\begin{Verbatim}[fontsize=\small]
\usepackage[italian,english]{babel}
\end{Verbatim}
\begin{warn}
\Pkg{babel} alters the way some characters behave in a
language-dependent way. If you get odd pro\-blems with some
characters, try and insert them using the \cmd{charXX} syntax.
\end{warn}
In addition, to type accented letters and in general UTF-8 characters you
may have to use enable UTF-8 in your editor. Besides, packages
\Pkg{inputenc} and \Pkg{fontenc} were needed before 2018:
\begin{Verbatim}[fontsize=\small]
\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}
\usepackage[T1]{fontenc}
\end{Verbatim}
Since 2018, \LaTeX{} defaults to UTF-8 input.
% -----
% TOOLS/HYPHEN
\subsection{\entry{Tools}{Hyphenation}}
Although \LaTeX{} usually does a good job at hyphenating words,
sometimes manual intervention may yield better results. Manual hyphens
are specified inserting \verb|\-| where we want the word to be broken.
A better way is to declare hyphenation rules:
\begin{Verbatim}[fontsize=\small]
\hyphenation{ge-o-phy-sics ge-o-lo-gy earth}
\end{Verbatim}
The above declaration instructs \LaTeX{} not to hyphen the word
`earth'. Another way to prevent a word to be hyphenated is to put it
in \cmd{mbox}:
\begin{Verbatim}[fontsize=\small]
Do not hyphen \mbox{internationalisation}, please. I'm a masochistic man.
\end{Verbatim}
% -----
% TOOLS/SPELL CHECK
\subsection{\entry{Tools}{Spell Check}}
\LaTeX{} is not aware of spell spelling. This task is done using
external tools like \app{ispell}, \app{aspell} or others. Under \unix,
you can use \app{ispell} this way:
\begin{Verbatim}[fontsize=\small]
shell> ispell -t mydocument.tex
\end{Verbatim}
The \cmdparm{-t} switch instructs \app{ispell} to ignore \TeX{} and
\LaTeX{} commands. If your language is not English, specify the
appropriate dictionary with the \cmdparm{-d} switch:
\begin{Verbatim}[fontsize=\small]
shell> ispell -d italiano -t mydocument.tex
\end{Verbatim}
% -----
% HELP
\section{The \menu{Help} Menu}
There are many ways of getting help with \LaTeX{}, both online and offline.
The best place to start is the CTAN site,
\url{
https://www.ctan.org/tex-archive/info/}.
\begin{itemize}
\item \verb|info latex| (\unix{} systems) gives a concise but very complete
on-line summary of commands and concepts;
\item \url{
https://www.ctan.org/tex-archive/info/LatexHelpBook/} is a very
nice help system for \LaTeX{}, ful\-ly integrated with Windows.
\item don't forget the
\url{
https://groups.google.com/group/comp.text.tex/topics} newsgroup:
it's an invaluable source of help.
\end{itemize}
As of this writing, most GNU/Linux distributions ship with \app{TeXLive}, the
most complete \TeX/\LaTeX{} systems. A lot of documentation is
provided; on my Ubuntu machine, it's found in
\path{/usr/share/doc/texlive-doc/}. Besides, the \cmd{texdoc} command is
very useful. For example:
\begin{Verbatim}[fontsize=\small]
shell> texdoc fancyvrb
\end{Verbatim}
will open the \Pkg{fancyvrb} documentation.
% -----
\section{The End}
This document is copyleft \copyleft{} Guido Gonzato, and released
under the GNU Free Documentation Licence. I really hope you'll find
this guide useful. For any suggestions or comments, please feel free
to contact me.
\newpage
% -----
\appendix
\section{Document Templates}
\label{ap:templates}
A template for the class \ltx{article} was presented in
Section~\ref{sec:filenew}. More examples are shown in the following
figures.
% -----
% BOOK
\begin{figure}[htbp]
\begin{Verbatim}[fontsize=\small]
\documentclass[twoside,11pt]{book}
\begin{document}
\frontmatter
\begin{titlepage}
\title{The Book of Mine}
\end{titlepage}
\author{John B. Smith}
\maketitle
\tableofcontents
\mainmatter
\part{The Beginning}
\chapter{Introduction}
\section{Let's Start}
The book starts here.
\part{The End}
\backmatter
Thank you for reading this book.
\end{document}
\end{Verbatim}
\caption{Book template.}
\end{figure}
% -----
% REPORT
\begin{figure}[htbp]
\begin{Verbatim}[fontsize=\small]
\documentclass[twoside,12pt]{report}
% tables and figures at the end:
\usepackage{endfloat}
\begin{document}
\title{Final Report}
\author{John B. Smith}
\date{London, \today}
\maketitle
\begin{abstract}
This is the final report.
\end{abstract}
\tableofcontents
\listoftables
\listoffigures
\part{Start}
\chapter{Begin}
\section{Introduction}
The report starts here.
\end{document}
\end{Verbatim}
\caption{Report template.}
\end{figure}
% -----
% LETTER
\begin{figure}[htbp]
\begin{Verbatim}[fontsize=\small]
\documentclass[12pt]{letter}
\begin{document}
\address{My address}
\signature{Guido}
\begin{letter}{John's address}
\opening{Dear John,}
Thank you for being my friend.
\closing{Hope to see you soon,}
\ps{P.S. Say hello to granny!}
\encl{My son's photographs!}
\end{letter}
\end{document}
\end{Verbatim}
\caption{Letter template.}
\end{figure}
% -----
% NOTICE
\begin{figure}[htbp]
\begin{Verbatim}[fontsize=\small]
\documentclass[a4paper]{article}
\usepackage{type1cm}
\usepackage{times}
\usepackage{color}
\usepackage{rotating}
\pagestyle{empty}
\begin{document}
\begin{sidewaysfigure}
\fontsize{2.5cm}{2.5cm}\selectfont
\centerline{\textcolor{blue}{\textbf{Please:}}}
\vskip 1cm
\fontsize{4cm}{3cm}\selectfont
\centerline{\textcolor{red}{DO NOT}}
\centerline{\textcolor{red}{SMOKE}}
\centerline{\textcolor{red}{HERE!}}
\vskip 1cm
\fontsize{2cm}{2cm}\selectfont
\centerline{\textcolor{magenta}{If you do,}}
\centerline{\textcolor{magenta}{you'll be \emph{deboned!}}}
\end{sidewaysfigure}
\end{document}
\end{Verbatim}
\caption{How to write a notice.}
\end{figure}
% -----
% POSTER
\begin{figure}[htbp]
\begin{Verbatim}[fontsize=\small]
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage[absolute,showboxes]{textpos}
\usepackage{color}
\usepackage{framed}
\usepackage{graphicx}
\setlength{\TPHorizModule}{10mm} % standard unit of length
\setlength{\TPVertModule}{\TPHorizModule}
\setlength{\TPboxrulesize}{1pt} % box line width
% start everything near the top-left corner
\textblockorigin{0mm}{0mm}
\thispagestyle{empty} % no page number
\begin{document}
\setlength{\parindent}{0pt}
\definecolor{shadecolor}{rgb}{0.9,1,1}
\begin{textblock}{5}(0,0)
% this block is 5 modules wide; height is
% automatically determined
\begin{center}
\begin{minipage}[c]{0.8 \linewidth}
\begin{shaded}
This block is placed with its top left corner at the `origin'
on the page, which has been set to (0mm,0mm). The internal
margin and the shading are provided by the \texttt{minipage}
and \texttt{shaded} environments.
\end{shaded}
\end{minipage}
\end{center}
\end{textblock}
\begin{textblock}{6}(10,1)
\includegraphics[width=6cm,angle=-90]{gnuplot.pdf}
This picture is at (10,1). Note that rotating it
by -90 makes it overflow the margin.
\end{textblock}
\begin{textblock}{5}[0.5,0.5](2.5,8)
This block is at position (2.5,8), but because the optional
argument [0.5,0.5] has been given, it is the centre of the block
which is located at that point, rather than the top-left corner.
\end{textblock}
\begin{textblock}{3,4}(6,4)
The dimensions of this block are 3$\times$4 cm.
Its origin is position (6,4) on the page. Note that the text
overflows the margin in some cases; you'll want to
use the \texttt{minipage} environment to prevent that.
\end{textblock}
\end{document}
\end{Verbatim}
\caption{How to write a poster.}
\label{fig:poster}
\end{figure}
% -----
% The End
\end{document}
