computer latex

7/28/2019 Computer Latex

1/16

2 0 0 8 , S t u d e n t L e a r n i n g C e n t r e , C e n t r e f o r A c a d e m i c D e v e l o p m e n t ,

T h e U n i v e r s i t y o f A u c k l a n dW W W : h t t p : / / w w w . s l c . a u c k l a n d . a c . n z

E m a i l : s l c @ a u c k l a n d . a c . n z

C O M P U T E R S K I L L S D E V E L O P M E N T P R O G R A M M E

LaTeX for Document Preparation


2/16

2008, Student Learning Centre, Ce nt r e f or Ac ad em ic De ve lo pm en t ,T h e University of Auckland.

Page 2

About This Workshop

This workshop is suitable for postgraduate students who would like to use an

alternative to MS Word when authoring their thesis. Students who are required to

typeset complex mathematical formulae and equations in their

assignment/report/thesis, will also benefit from this workshop.

The following contents will be covered:

What is LaTeX? .............................................................................................................. 3

A brief history of LaTex ................................................................................................ 3

To LaTeX or not to LaTeX ............................................................................................. 3

Software for use .......................................................................................................... 4

LaTeX commands ........................................................................................................... 4Documents .................................................................................................................... 4

Creating a document ................................................................................................... 4

Creating a title ............................................................................................................ 5

Structuring a document ............................................................................................... 6

Inserting a table of contents ....................................................................................... 7

Environment .................................................................................................................. 7

Editing ........................................................................................................................... 8

Inserting white space .................................................................................................. 8

Inserting a comment ................................................................................................... 8Formatting text ............................................................................................................ 8

Inserting special characters ...................................................................................... 11

Aligning paragraphs .................................................................................................. 11

Inserting a list ........................................................................................................... 11

Inserting a quote or quotation ................................................................................... 12

Inserting a footnote ................................................................................................... 13

Inserting a table ........................................................................................................ 13

Typesetting Mathematics ............................................................................................. 14

On-line Resources ........................................................................................................ 15


3/16


Page 3

What is LaTeX?

LaTeX is a high-quality typesetting system. It is especially good at typesetting

mathematical formulae and expressions; it features the production of professional-

looking technical and scientific documentations.

A brief history of LaTeX

Donald E. Knuth Stanford University The Art of Computer Programming Created TEX

1977 - 1989 Development of TEX

Leslie Lamport LaTeX 1984 Extensions to TEX Easier than TEX Focus on the structure of the document

Standard way to use TEX

In 1977, Donald E. Knuth started writing a TEX typesetting engine, which was targeted

at typesetting mathematical formulae and expressions. The TEX engine had been

continuously improved in a decade. It was renowned for its stability and portability.

In 1984, Leslie Lamport started to write LaTeX as an extension to the TEX engine. Since

then, thanks to its high typographical quality, LaTex has become widely used in the

science community.

To LaTeX or not to LaTeX

You may ask why use LaTeX when we have word processors. Here are the answers:

LaTeX is free and runs on many platforms

LaTeX is the best tool available for mathematical layout

LaTeX focuses on structure which helps document development

LaTeX works well for large documents, and since LaTeX documents are in plain

ASCII format, it is very small and easy to transfer via the Internet.

LaTeX automatically generates table of contents, lists of figures, lists of tables,

index, glossaries and bibliography


4/16


Page 4

If you are sure that you will never need to typeset long document, publish a book in the

scientific community, typeset mathematical formulae or expressions, then you probably

dont need to learn LaTeX. You will be happier to keep working in Word.

Software for use

LaTeX can be downloaded from http://www.latex-project.org/ftp.html . However, as

LaTeX is not a stand-alone typesetting program in itself, but document preparation

software that runs on top of Donald E. Knuth's TEX typesetting system, the easiest (and

free) package to download and install is the latest proTeXt system, which contains a full

TeX system (now called Texmaker), including LaTeX. Read the instructions for

installation very carefully before you install it.

Once you have installed Texmaker, you can use it to create and compile LaTeX

documents. You also need to install GSview in order to view the compiled documents.

You may also use the fol lowing software in order to use LaTeX:

WinEdt,http://www.winedt.com/

TeXnicCenter,http://www.toolscenter.org/

LaTeX commands

Commands are used in LaTeX to instruct it how to typeset something.

Commands have the format:

They begin with a backslash (\) and the command name, followed by optional parts in

square brackets and compulsory parts in curly braces.

It is hard to memorise all LaTeX commands. What we usually do is looking up the syntax

of the commands from LaTeX documentation or references when we need them.

Document structure

Creating a document

The basic structure of a LaTeXdocument is:

\commandname[options]{argument}

\documentclass[options]{format}\begin{document}\end{document}
http://www.latex-project.org/ftp.htmlhttp://www.latex-project.org/ftp.htmlhttp://www.winedt.com/http://www.winedt.com/http://www.winedt.com/http://www.toolscenter.org/http://www.toolscenter.org/http://www.toolscenter.org/http://www.toolscenter.org/http://www.winedt.com/http://www.latex-project.org/ftp.html


5/16


Page 5

A common document format is article. It may also be report, book, letter and

slides. The options parameter consists of a comma-separated list of options. The

common usages of these are the page size (usually a4paper or letterpaper) and the

page layout (landscape or portrait). For example:

The region between the \documentclass and \begin{document} is called the

document preamble and usually consists of a series of extension package inclusions of

the form

The region between \begin{document} and \end{document} is called the

document body. It contains the text to be typeset.

Creating a title

The commands required to create a title include:

\title{title goes here}

\author{author goes here}

\date{date goes here}

Once the information has been defined, insert the command \maketitle.

\documentclass[a4paper]{article}\begin{document}This is my first LaTeX document.\end{document}

\documentclass[a4paper]{article}\begin{document}...\end{document}

\usepackage{package-name}


6/16


Page 6

Structuring a document

A document can consist of a number of sections and subsections, numbered or

unnumbered. Numbered sections are declared using the \section{section-name}

command, and numbered subsections are declared using the

\subsection{subsection-name} command. Unnumbered sections and

subsections can be declared using the \section*{section-name} and

\subsection*{subsection-name} commands.

Numbered sections and subsections can be cross-referenced in the document. To do

this, the section or subsection declaration must be followed by a \label{label-

name} declaration. Labelled sections can then be referenced from anywhere in the

document using the \ref{label-name} command using the label. When the

document is typeset, the label is replaced by the section number.

\documentclass[a4paper]{article}\begin{document}\title{My First LaTeX Document}\author{Karen Li}\date{2008}\maketitleThis is my first LaTeX document.\end{document}

\documentclass[a4paper]{article}\begin{document}\title{My First LaTeX Document}\author{Karen Li}\date{2008}\maketitleThis is my first LaTeX document. Section \ref{sec:Doc} discusses LaTeXdocuments.\section{Documents} \label{sec:Doc}\subsection{Creating a document}\end{document}


7/16


Page 7

Inserting a table of contents

The \tableofcontentscommand is used to generate a table of contents.

Environment

In LaTeX, changes to the text need to be applied within an environment. Environments

are like paragraphs.

Each environment begins and ends as:

An example environment is the verbatim environment.

The verbatim environment reproduces text exactly as it appears, using a typewriter font.

No LaTeX commands can be used in verbatim.

\documentclass[a4paper]{article}\begin{document}The following commands are used in LaTeX.\begin{verbatim}Use the \begin{verbatim} command to start a verbatim environment.\end{verbatim}\end{document}

\documentclass[a4paper]{article}\begin{document}\title{My First LaTeX Document}\author{Karen Li}\date{2008}\maketitleThis is my first LaTeX document.\tableofcontents\section{Documents}\subsection{Creating a document}\end{document}

\begin{environmentname}...\end{environmentname}


8/16


Page 8

You will see a lot of other environments in this document, which are used to format

paragraphs, insert lists and tables, and display mathematical equations.

Editing

Inserting white space

White space can be inserted in a document by using the Space key, Tab key, or the

Enter key. But LaTeX typesets two or more consecutive whitespace characters to a

single space. To add a paragraph, leave a blank line in the input. To add a line break,

use the command \\.

\documentclass[a4paper]{article}\begin{document}The first paragraph.

The second paragraph.\\The third paragraph.\end{document}

Inserting a comment

Comments are ignored when a document is typeset. They are used to add readability for

the document readers. Comments start with the % character.

Formatting text

Text styles

The following commands are used to set text styles:

\textbf{bold text}

% Comments are ignored when a document is typeset.% They are used to add readability.


9/16


Page 9

\textit{italict text}

\textsl{slanted text }

\textsf{sans-serif text}

\textrm{plain roman text}

\texttt{typewriter text}

\textsc{SMALL CAPITALS TEXT}

\documentclass[a4paper]{article}\begin{document}\textbf{bold}\textit{italic}\textsl{slanted}\textsf{sans-serif}

\textrm{plain roman}\texttt{typewriter text}\textsc{small capitals}\end{document}

Font styles

Font styles can be set in two forms:

1. Declarative form

Set style from this point forward using one of the font style commands listed

below.

2. Environmental form

Create an environment that uses this style.

The following commands are used to set font styles:

\bfseriesBold

\mdseriesNormal weight (i.e. not bold)

\itshapeItalic

\slshapeSlanted

\upshapeUpright (opposite of slanted}

\scshapeSmall Capitals

\rmfamilySerif (roman)


10/16


Page 10

\sffamilySans-serif

\ttfamilyMonospace (typewriter)

\documentclass[a4paper]{article}\begin{document}%Environment form\begin{itshape}This text is italic.\end{itshape}%Declarative form\scshape

All text from this point forward will be small capitals.\end{document}

Font Size

The following commands are used to set font size:

\tiny \scriptsize \footnotesize\small \normalsize \large\Large \LARGE \huge\Huge

Note: These commands only apply within the curly braces. They work with the

declarative forms for font style too.

\documentclass[a4paper]{article}\begin{document}{\small This text is small}{\Large \itshape This text is large and italic}{\tiny \textit{This text will be tiny and italic} This text will betiny, but not italic.}\end{document}

Emphasis

The command to emphasise a word is:

\emph{text to be emphasised}

\documentclass[a4paper]{article}\begin{document}You need to practise \emph{a lot} in order tolearn \emph{LaTeX}.\end{document}


11/16


Page 11

Inserting special characters

The following characters need to be inserted in a special way.

These characters can be printed in a document by adding a backslash as the prefix,

except that the $\backslash$command needs to be used to print a \:

\documentclass[a4paper]{article}

\begin{document}$\backslash$ \$ \% \^ \& \_ \~ \# \{ \}\end{document}

Aligning paragraphs

The flushleft environment is used to align a paragraph to the left.

The flushright environment is used to align a paragraph to the right.

The center environment is used to align a paragraph to the centre.

\documentclass[a4paper]{article}\begin{document}\begin{center}Student Learning Centre (SLC) motto:\\Study smarter, not harder,\\to achieve your academic potential!\end{center}\end{document}

Inserting a list

To insert an unordered list (list that uses bullet points rather than numbers), use theitemize environment. The \item command is used to add an item in the list.

\documentclass[a4paper]{article}\begin{document}\begin{itemize}\item Yesterday\item Today\item Tomorrow\end{itemize}\end{document}

\ $ % ^ & _ ~ # { }


12/16


Page 12

To insert an ordered list (list that is numbered), use the enumerate environment. The

\item command is used to add an item in the list.

\documentclass[a4paper]{article}\begin{document}\begin{enumerate}

\item Yesterday\item Today\item Tomorrow\end{enumerate}\end{document}

To insert a description list (list that is used to define terms), use the description

environment. The \item command is used to add an item in the list.

\documentclass[a4paper]{article}\begin{document}\begin{description}\item[Yesterday] A good day

\item[Today] A better day\item[Tomorrow] A day even better\end{description}\end{document}

Inserting a quote or quotation

The quote environment is used for inserting short quotes. The entire quote is indented;

the first line of the quote is not indented .

The quotation environment is used for longer quotes. The entire quote is indented;

the first line of the quote is also indented.

\documentclass[a4paper]{article}\begin{document}\begin{quote}Life itself cannot give you joy. Unless you really will it.Life just gives you time and space. Its up to you to fill it.\end{quote}\end{document}

\documentclass[a4paper]{article}\begin{document}\begin{quotation}Life itself cannot give you joy. Unless you really will it.Life just gives you time and space. Its up to you to fill it.\end{quotation}\end{document}


13/16


Page 13

Inserting a footnote

Footnotes are created in the text as you type them using

\footnote{footnote text}

\documentclass[a4paper]{article}\begin{document}\begin{quotation}"They misunderestimated me. \footnote{US President George W. Bush (November6, 2000 in Bentonville, Arkansas)}"\end{quotation}\end{document}

Inserting a table

The tabular environment is used for inserting tables.

\begin{tabular}[pos]{cols}

column 1 entry & column 2 entry ... & column n entry \\

.

.

.

\end{tabular}

The column formatting can be specified using

l - A column of left-aligned items.

r - A column of right-aligned items.

c - A column of centred items.

| - A vertical line the full height and depth of the environment.

The \hline command draws a horizontal line to the width of the table.

\documentclass[a4paper]{article}

\begin{document}\begin{tabular}{| l | c | r |}\hline

Name & Phone Number & Address \\\hlineKaren & 88964 & 11 Symonds Str \\Richard & ????? & ?? \\\hline\end{tabular}\end{document}


14/16


Page 14

Typesetting Mathematics

There are three ways to typeset mathematics:

1. Inline text enclosed by $ ... $: puts the maths inline within a paragraph

2. displaymath environment: centres the maths on a line of its own

3. equation environment: centres the maths on a line of its own and Numbers

the maths with an equation number

The equation $x = y$is a simple equation.

The equation:\begin{displaymath}

\sum^{n}_{i =1}{i} =\frac{n(n + 1)}{2}\end{displaymath}is a simple equation.

The equation:\begin{equation}x = y\end{equation}is a simple equation.

There are too many mathematics commands to memorise. We just need to look up the

commands when we need them.

The following table lists some of the most commonly used commands.

Command Example Output

^ 2^{10}

_ p_0

\sqrt \sqrt{x^2 + y^2}

\frac{numerator}

{denominator}2\frac{1}{2}

\sum \sum_{i=1}^{n}i


15/16


Page 15

\pi A = \pi r^2

\int \int^z_{-\infty}

On-line Resources

LaTeX Project Homepage:http://www.latex-project.org/

UOA LaTeX resources:http://www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~smiller/latex

Web site that allows you to try it out:

http://sciencesoft.at/index.jsp?link=latex&size=1280&js=1&lang=en

FREE stuff for Beginners

o The (Not So) Short Introduction to LATEX2:

http://www.ctan.org/tex-archive/info/lshort/english/

o Using Imported Graphics in LATEX2:

ftp://ctan.tug.org/tex-archive/info/epslatex.pdf

o LATEX2 for authors:

ftp://ftp.tex.ac.uk/tex-archive/macros/latex/base/usrguide.tex

o Beginners LATEX:

http://www.silmaril.ie/downloads/documents/beginlatex.pdf

Beginners to Intermediate Users

o LaTeX: A document Preparation System, Users guide and Reference

manual; Leslie Lamport (US$40)

Beginners to Advanced Users

o The LaTeX Companion. Michel Goossens, Frank Mittelbach, Alexander

Samarin. (US$40.)

o The Latex Web Companion: Integrating Tex, Html and Xml. Michel Goossens

et. al. (US$40)

o The LaTeX Graphics Companion: Illustrating Documents with TeX and

Postscript(R) Michel Goossens et. al. (US$48)

Advanced Users

o The TEXbook; Donald Ervin Knuth (US$43)
http://www.latex-project.org/http://www.latex-project.org/http://www.latex-project.org/http://www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~smiller/latexhttp://www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~smiller/latexhttp://www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~smiller/latexhttp://sciencesoft.at/index.jsp?link=latex&size=1280&js=1&lang=enhttp://sciencesoft.at/index.jsp?link=latex&size=1280&js=1&lang=enhttp://www.ctan.org/tex-archive/info/lshort/english/http://www.ctan.org/tex-archive/info/lshort/english/ftp://ctan.tug.org/tex-archive/info/epslatex.pdfftp://ctan.tug.org/tex-archive/info/epslatex.pdfftp://ftp.tex.ac.uk/tex-archive/macros/latex/base/usrguide.texftp://ftp.tex.ac.uk/tex-archive/macros/latex/base/usrguide.texhttp://www.silmaril.ie/downloads/documents/beginlatex.pdfhttp://www.silmaril.ie/downloads/documents/beginlatex.pdfhttp://www.silmaril.ie/downloads/documents/beginlatex.pdfftp://ftp.tex.ac.uk/tex-archive/macros/latex/base/usrguide.texftp://ctan.tug.org/tex-archive/info/epslatex.pdfhttp://www.ctan.org/tex-archive/info/lshort/english/http://sciencesoft.at/index.jsp?link=latex&size=1280&js=1&lang=enhttp://www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~smiller/latexhttp://www.latex-project.org/


16/16


Page 16

TeXPoint

TeXPoint,http://raw.cs.berkeley.edu/texpoint/index.htm , is a LaTeX add-in for

PowerPoint. It is essentially a set of PowerPoint macros which allows you to typeset

LaTeX equations within PowerPoint. Why do you want to do that? Bruce Tsai has put

up a set of PowerPoint slides at

http://www.public.iastate.edu/~aero492/notes/Intro_to_TeXPoint.ppt , which

includes comparison between equations typeset by Microsoft Equation Editor and

LaTeX. Once you get used to LaTeX mathematics symbols and equations, you will

not stand on the ugly symbols and equations produced by a certain equation editor.

pdfscreen

Once you become very confident with L aTeX, you may want to try pdfscreen,

http://www.river-valley.com/download/ . It is written by someone from theEconomics Department at the University of Auckland. You may need to, however, do

some programming to change pdfscreen.sty to suit your needs though.
http://raw.cs.berkeley.edu/texpoint/index.htmhttp://raw.cs.berkeley.edu/texpoint/index.htmhttp://raw.cs.berkeley.edu/texpoint/index.htmhttp://www.public.iastate.edu/~aero492/notes/Intro_to_TeXPoint.ppthttp://www.public.iastate.edu/~aero492/notes/Intro_to_TeXPoint.ppthttp://www.river-valley.com/download/http://www.river-valley.com/download/http://www.river-valley.com/download/http://www.public.iastate.edu/~aero492/notes/Intro_to_TeXPoint.ppthttp://raw.cs.berkeley.edu/texpoint/index.htm