LaTeX: Difference between revisions

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=== Syntax / style checker for LaTeX ===
=== Syntax / style checker for LaTeX ===
Use package {{deb|chktex}} or {{deb|lacheck}}.
Use package {{deb|chktex}} or {{deb|lacheck}}.

=== Define minipage width ===
<source lang=latex>
\begin{minipage}{\linewidth} % Use current line width as minipage width
% ...
\captionof{table}[short]{Long}
\end{minipage}
</source>
Several options [http://tex.stackexchange.com/questions/124323/tabularx-within-the-enumerate-environment]:
* Use <code>\textwidth</code>, which stays constant.
* Use <code>\linewidth</code>, which adapts to surrounding environment (like <code>enumerate</code> or <code>itemize</code>


== Troubleshoot ==
== Troubleshoot ==

Revision as of 21:46, 27 February 2014

Links

Related pages on this wiki
Personal pages
External references

Install

Any Linux

See TeXLive.

Ubuntu

See Ubuntu reference page or TUG Debian/Ubuntu reference page. 

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:texlive-backports/ppa
  • Follow this guide to install TexLive 2013 on Ubuntu.
  • Minimum install
sudo apt-get install texlive
sudo apt-get install texlive2html                 # To support TeX to HTML conversion
sudo apt-get install texlive-xetex                # To install XeTeX

Invocation

Basic commands for LaTeX documents (using TeXlive under Linux or MikTeX under Windows): 

pdflatex <file.tex>             # Convert a .tex file directly to pdf format
latex <file.tex> 		# Convert a .tex file to .dvi file
dvips <file.dvi>		# Convert a .dvi file to .ps
dvipdfm -p a4 <filetex>		# Convert a .dvi file to .pdf (using a4 paper)

For TeX documents: 

pdftex <file.tex>               # Convert a .tex directly into .pdf
tex <file.tex>                  # Convert a .tex into .dvi

For XeLaTex documents (with BibTex entries): 

xelatex <file.tex>              # Generate the .aux file needed by BibTex
bibtex <file.aux>               # Process bib entries
xelatex <file.tex>              # 1st pass will generate .pdf w/o references
xelatex <file.tex>              # 2nd pass will generate .pdf w/ references

Alternative to bibtext:

  • biblatex (optionally with the back-end biber)

Packages

Miscellaneous packages

  • eledmac — Typeset scholarly editions (when lots of footnotes, endnotes are used).

algorithmicx, algorithmic2e (algorithms)

(See LaTeX wikibooks for a comparison of algorithm typesetting packages).

algorithmicx (manual algorithmicx.pdf, debian texlive-science) is a package to typeset algorithms either in pseudo-code or in real language (Pascal and C for now).

There are 2 pseudocode layouts. The layout algcompatible is fully compatible with older package algorithmic, except for the following differences:

  • Include package algorithmicx and algcompatible instead of algorithmic:
\usepackage{algorithmicx}
\usepackage{algcompatible}
  • No \RETURN statement. This can be defined as
\algloopdefx{RETURN}[0]{\textbf{return} \ }
% Alternate definition:
% \newcommand{\RETURN}{\State \textbf{return} \ }
  • With algorithmic, empty lines were obtained with \\ ~ \\. There is a dedicated command in algorithmicx:
\Statex                        % Insert empty un-numbered line

Otherwise it is recommended to use layout algpseudocode, which uses the same commands but with a different letter case and allows defining new commands. Below is a summary of available commands. 

\begin{algorithmic}[1]
\State $sum\gets 0$
\Statex
\textbf{return} $sum$\Comment{The sum is $sum$}
\end{algorithmic}

\For{<text>}
    <body>
\EndFor

\ForAll{<text>}
    <body>
\EndFor

\While{<text>}
    <body>
\EndWhile

\Repeat
    <body>
\Until{<text>}

\If{<text>}
    <body>
\ElsIf{<text>}
    <body>
\Else
    <body>
\EndIf

\Procedure{<name>}{<params>}
<body>
\EndProcedure

\Function{<name>}{<params>}
<body>
\EndFunction

\Loop
<body>
\EndLoop

\Require something
\Ensure something
\Statex
\State \Call{Create}{10}

Save, restore algorithms: 

\algstore{<savename>}
\algstore*{<savename>}
\algrestore{<savename>}
\algrestore*{<savename>}

algorithmic2e (manual algorithm2e.pdf) is yet another package, which as of 2013, seems to be the most frequently used package bundle [2]. It has a nice option to draw vertical lines for delimiting blocks, but looks more complicated and harder to read.

caption

Use the caption package (manual caption-eng.pdf}}) to format captions: 

\usepackage[margin=10pt,textfont=it,labelfont=bf,labelsep=endash]{caption}

There are also other caption packages:

  • ccaption (continued captions)
  • mcaption (margin captions)

cleveref, varioref (smart references)

The cleveref (manual cleveref.pdf, debian texlive-latex-extra) package enhances LaTeX cross-referencing features, allowing the format of references to be determined automatically according to the type of reference.

From the manual:

  • The cleveref package must be loaded after all other packages that don't specifically support it (see manual, §13). Also note that all \newtheorem definitions must be placed after the cleveref package is loaded.
% Load cleveref as last package!
\usepackage{cleveref}
\usepackage[capitalise]{cleveref}        % Always capitalize labels
\usepackage[noabbrev]{cleveref}          % Never use abbreviations in labels

\newtheorem{theorem}{Theorem}            % These must come AFTER loading cleveref
\newtheorem{myclaim}{Claim}
  • Most frequently used commands:
\cref{label}                      % Insert a reference, including label
\Cref{label}                      % ... idem, but at the beginning of a sentence
\crefrange{label1}{label2}        % Insert a range of references
\Crefrange{label1}{label2}        % ... idem, but at the beginning of a sentence
  • Don't use cleveref with eqnarray. Use amsmath better alternatives.
  • cleveref conflicts with algorithmic package, so use algorithmicx package instead. Unfortunately this is not possible with IEEE publication since algorithmic is included by default.

float

Better controls on float + custom style. See [3].

listings, minted (source listings)

listings is the old-fashioned way to insert code listings in LaTeX.

minted (manual minted.pdf, debian texlive-latex-extra) is a package that facilitates expressive syntax highlighting using the powerful Pygments library. It requires : 

sudo apt-get install python-setuptools
sudo easy_install Pygments

All .tex files using minted must be compiled with option -shell-escape: 

xelatex -shell-escape myfile.tex

Some minimal examples (see manual for more): 

\begin{minted}{python}
def boring(args = None):
pass
\end{minted}

\mint{python}|import this|

% Use ''listing'' environment when adding a caption / label
\begin{listing}[htb]              % Use [H] to force listing HERE
\mint{cl}/(car (cons 1 ’(2)))/
\caption{Example of a listing.}
\label{lst:example}
\end{listing}
Listing \ref{lst:example} contains an example of a listing.

MnSymbol

Use package MnSymbol (manual MnSymbol.pdf) to get access to many more symbols (from [5]).

The package is incompatible with packages amssymb and amsfonts. A solution is to load MnSymbol after these package (see manual; see also [6] for another solution): 

\documentclass[a4paper,twoside,11pt]{report}
\usepackage{amssymb}
\usepackage{amsfonts, amsmath, amsthm}
\usepackage{MnSymbol}
%...

soul

Use package soul (manual soul.pdf, debian texlive-plain-extra) to highlight, underline, hyphenate texts, or use small caps and change kerning, letter spacing. See manual for details.

LaTeX example: 

\documentclass[a4paper]{article}
\usepackage{color,soul}

\begin{document}
Some normal text.\par
\hl{Some highlighted text.}\par
Some more normal text.
\end{document}

TeX example (requires color package from CTAN, see manual): 

\input color
\input soul.sty

\pdfoutput=1
\pdfpagewidth=21cm
\pdfpageheight=29.7cm

Some text here\par
\hl{Some highlighted text now}\par
Some more text\par

\bye

Troubleshooting Reconstruction error: 

\hl{match of next brace, bracket, comment, \tt\#define}             % WRONG
\hl{match of next brace, bracket, comment, \tt \#define}            % CORRECT
\hl{/$s$\enter\ ?$s$\enter}                                         % WRONG
\hl{{/$s$\enter} {?$s$\enter}}                                      % CORRECT
\hl{These are {\it italic words} and these not}                     % WRONG
\hl{These are \it italic words \rm and these not}                   % CORRECT

Font, Font Packages, and Managing Fonts

Some fonts
The original TeX font designed in MetaFont. Now exists in scalable version in Type 1, TrueType and OpenType (see also debian package cm-super).
The Latin Modern fonts are enhanced versions of the Computer Modern fonts. They have enhanced metrics and glyph coverage.
 %\usepackage[T1]{fontenc}
 %\usepackage[adobe-utopia]{mathdesign}
 \usepackage{fourier}
Managing fonts
  • If LaTeX complains about fonts, maybe you need to update the pdftex.map:
updmap
  • In document, it seems good to select Type 1 encoding, whatever it means. However this seems automatic in recent TexLive version:
 \usepackage[T1]{fontenc}
Some references and font troubleshooting links
  • Which LaTeX font packages contain real small caps and work with the “microtype” package? [7],
  • Why do I suddenly get an auto expansion error? [8]
  • pdfTeX error (font expansion): auto expansion is only possible with scalable [9]

Reference

Basic

Links
\dots
Special characters 
\# \$ \% \^{} \& \_ \{ \} \~{} \textbackslash
LaTeX Commands 
\TeX{} and         % space (tx to {})
\TeX{}nicians and  % NO space
\TeX perts.        % NO space
Document class 
\documentclass[options]{class}  % See manual for reference
Packages 
\usepackage[options]{package}   % See manual for list of packages
Page style 
\pagestyle{style}       % plain, headings, empty
\thispagestyle{style}   % for current page only
Big project 
\include{filename}           % Insert content of file - LaTeX starts a new page
\includeonly{filename,...}   % (in preamble) restrict list of included files
\input{filename}             % Simply includes the file
Breaks 
Supercalifragilist%
     icexpialidocious        % Use % to break lines without inserting space in output (here single word)
\\                           % Start a new line without starting a new paragraph
\newline                     % idem
\\*                          % idem, but prohibits page break after forced line break
\newpage                     %
\linebreak[n]                % Suggest LaTeX where to break (or not) page (n=0..4)
\nolinebreak[n]              %
\pagebreak[n]                %
\nopagebreak[n]              %
\sloppy                      % Tell LaTeX to relax its layout standards
\fussy                       % Reset to default layout behaviour

\sloppy might be used to fix "overfull hbox" message and line sticking out on the right of paragraphs (although usually result is not really good). Use option draft in document class to identify these issues more easily

Hyphenation 
\hyphenation{FORTRAN Hy-phen-a-tion} % Instruct LaTex where (and not) insert hyphens
su\-per\-cal\-i\-frag        % Instruct hyphen locally (handy for accented words)
\mbox{0116 291 2319}         % Content of \mbox is kept togetter
\fbox{0116 291 2319}         % Idem, with surrounding box
input/output                 % Slash / prevents hyphenation
input\slash output           % ... so use \slash instead
Special characters and symbols 
`x'                               % single quotation marks
``quote''                         % double quotation marks
daughter-in-law                   % 'hyphen' dash
pages 13--67                      % 'en-dash'
yes---or no?                      % 'em-dash'
$0$, $1$ and $-1$                 % 'minus' sign
http://www.clever.edu/$\sim$demo  % tilde for url (better than \~{})
5MB/s                             % slash, but hyphenation disabled
read\slash write                  % slash, with hyphenation allowed
$-30\,^{\circ}\mathrm{C}$         % degree symbol
30 \textcelsius{}                 % idem, easier (with package 'textcomp')
\texteuro, \euro, €               % various ways to get euro sign (see manual for variants)
\ldots \cdots                     % ellipsis (low dots), centered dots
\dotsc \dotsb \dotsm \dotsi \dotso% semantics dots, for: commas, binary ops, multiply, integrals, other
\dots                             % SMART dots, from amsmath (same as above, but auto-guess)
not shelfful, but shelf\mbox{}ful % use \mbox{} to prevent ligatures
H\^otel na\"\ive \'el\`eve        % some example of accents (see manual for more)
International support 
\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}       % Enable utf-8 (see also XeLaTeX)

% French support
M\up{me}, D\up{r}, 1\ier{}...     % See manual for more
Spacing 
Not\ expandable space             % non-expandable space
Mr.~Smith                         % Idem + non-breakable
I like BASIC\@. What about you?   % Indicate . is end of sentence
Titles, Chapters, Sections 
\chapter[Shorter title]{...}      % For 'report' or 'book' class
\part{...}                        % Does not influence section / chapter numbering
\appendix{...}                    % Like chapters, using letters for numbering
\section{...}
\section*{...}                    % unnumbered section, not in TOC
\subsection{...}
\subsubsection{...}
\paragraph{...}
\subparagraph{...}
\tableofcontents
\title{...} \author{...} \date{...}
\maketitle
Cross References 
\label{sec:this}
See section~\ref{sec:this}
See page~\pageref{sec:this}
As in equation~\eqref{eq:this}
Footnotes 
\footnote{text}                   % after word or sentence (i.e. after comma or dot)
Emphasized Words 
\underline{text}
\emph{text}
Subscript and superscript 
\usepackage{xltxtra}
CO\textsubscript{2}
4\textsuperscript{th}
Environments 
\begin{itemize}
\item one
\item[-] two with a dash
\end{itemize}

\begin{enumerate}
\item first
\item second
\end{itemize}

\begin{description}
\item[One] one
\item[Second] second
\end{description}

\begin{flushleft} \end{flushleft}    % Can also be used as \flushleft, \flushright...
\begin{flushright} \end{flushright}
\begin{center} \end{center}

Mathematics

Fractions 
\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}+\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}+\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}+\dotsb}}} % Standard fraction

\cfrac{1}{\sqrt{2}+
 \cfrac{1}{\sqrt{2}+
   \cfrac{1}{\sqrt{2}+\dotsb
}}}                                                             % Continued fraction

\tfrac{1}{2}                                                    % Tiny fraction, like in textstyle
Multiline and multiple equations 
% Multiline -- Easiest is to use multiline, best is to use IEEEeqnarray
\begin{multline}
a + b + c + d + e + f + g + h + i
\\
= j + k + l + m + n
\end{multline}

% Multiple equations - Easiest is to use \begin{align} if NO line too long
\begin{align}
a & = b + c \\
& = d + e
\end{align}

% Multiple equations - ... but best is to use IEEEeqnarray (AVOID \begin{eqnarray} !!!)
% See also commands (\begin{IEEEeqnarray*}, \IEEEyesnumber, \IEEEyessubnumber)
% ... also to group several blocks of equations beside each other
% (source: The not so short introduction to LaTeX)
\usepackage[retainorgcmds]{IEEEtrantools}
\begin{IEEEeqnarray}{rCl}
a & = & b + c
\\
& = & d + e + f + g + h + i + j + k \nonumber\\
&& +\: l + m + n + o
\\
& = & p + q + r + s
\end{IEEEeqnarray}

\begin{IEEEeqnarray}{rCl}
\IEEEeqnarraymulticol{3}{l}{
a + b + c + d + e + f + g + h
}\nonumber\\ \quad
& = & i + j
\\
& = & k + l + m
\end{IEEEeqnarray}
Big-O 
% Source: http://tex.stackexchange.com/questions/30872/command-for-big-omega
% Negative space fix from http://tex.stackexchange.com/questions/40829/equation-using-left-brackets-inserts-unwanted-space
% Commented sol has fixed size bracket but does not require negative space trick
% \newcommand{\BigO}[1]{\ensuremath{\operatorname{O}\bigl(#1\bigr)}}
\newcommand{\BigO}[1]{\ensuremath{\operatorname{O}\!\left(#1\right)}}   
% ... OR ...
\newcommand{\BigO}[1]{\ensuremath{\operatorname{\mathcal{O}}\!\left(#1\right)}}

XeLaTeX

LaTeX XeLaTeX 
\usepackage{inputenc}
\usepackage{fontenc}
\usepackage{textcomp}

\usepackage[languageA]{babel}

Save file as utf-8 

\usepackage{polyglossia}
\setdefaultlanguage[babelshorthands]{languageA}

\usepackage[Ligatures=TeX]{fontspec}            % To enable --, ---, '', ``, !`, ?`, ,,, <<, >>

Templates

Smallest

\documentclass{article}
\begin{document}
Small is beautiful.
\end{document}
  • \documentclass[options]{class} takes optional paramters options, and a mandatory document class. See manual for reference.

3-columns

Example of 3-column document, minimum margin, no page numbering (see [10]) 

\documentclass[a4paper]{article}
% Specify paper size univocally (for pdf output)
\special{papersize=210mm,297mm}
% Set minimum margin using package geometry
\usepackage[a4paper,landscape,top=1cm, bottom=1cm, left=0.5cm, right=1cm]{geometry}
% To support 3-column document, color and highlighting 
\usepackage{multicol,color,soul}
% Remove any footer / header (page numbers...)
\pagestyle{empty}

\begin{document}
\begin{multicols}{3}
Some text here\par
Some more text there\par
And not anymore\par
\end{multicols}
\end{document}

Realistic Journal Article

\documentclass[a4paper,11pt]{article}
% define the title
\author{H.~Partl}
\title{Minimalism}
\begin{document}
% generates the title
\maketitle
% insert the table of contents
\tableofcontents
\section{Some Interesting Words}
Well, and here begins my lovely article.
\section{Good Bye World}
\ldots{} and here it ends.
\end{document}

Layout and Typesetting

See also: English writing tips

  • Maintain the relation 1 paragraph = 1 thought across the document.
  • English requires longer space after the dots terminating a sentence (see \@); French does not (see \frenchspacing}.
  • Add footnote after the word or sentence they refer to (i.e. after the comma or periodrelated to a sentence after the terminating dot.
  • Avoid ligatures crossing morpheme boundary in a composite word, like shelfful ([11])
  • Use ` and ' or `` and as quotation marks in English (or << and >> in French)
  • Use the correct dash for each use (X-rated, page 13--67, yes---or no?, $-1$)
  • Use \dots{} instead of \dots to add a space after the dots:
This is the end\dots Bye!        # Bad
This is the end\dots{} Bye!      # Good
  • Use the correct semantic \dotsx command, depending on context:
We have the series $A_1,A_2,\dotsc$,                  % for comma list
the sum $A_1+A_2+\dotsb$,                             % for binary op
the orthogonal product $A_1A_2\dotsm$,                % for multiplication dots
the infinite integral $$\int_{A_1}\int_{A_2}\dotsi$$. % for dots with integrals
  • Use roman style for 'd' in the differential:
\newcommand{\ud}{\,\mathrm{d}}
\begin{equation*}
\int_a^b f(x)\ud x
\end{equation*}
  • Use \textsubscript{} or \textsuperscript{} for subscripts our superscripts outside math (like CO2 or 4th). The preferred option for ordinals in mathematics texts (or even english) seems to use $n$th or $n$-th (like nth or n-th) [12], [13], [14]. Yet another option is $n^{\text{th}}$ (with amsmath package). Finally, there is the package nth that can render ordinal with \nth{4} but it only works with numbers.
The $4$th, or the $4$-th, or the $4^{\text{th}}$ or the $4^{\text{\tiny{th}}}$ or the $4$\textsuperscript{th} or \nth{4}?
  • Cut long line by adding a % at the cut to avoid LaTeX adding unwanted space where the cut occurs:
  \State $u \gets (v_i - x)\cdot C_i \bmod \rsamod_i$, $x \gets x + u \cdot% This comment will prevent LaTex adding space
    \prod_{j=1}^{i-1}\rsamod_j$
  • When using cleveref, use \Cref{} instead of \cref{} at the beginning of a sentence to enforce capitalization.
  • Interword spaces [15] — “TeX assumes a period ends a sentence unless it follows an uppercase letter.” (Lamport p. 14). So, put a \ in a sentence like Smith et al.\ say that .... And, if an uppercase letter ends a sentence, do a \@ before the period: In the class, I gave Bob a C\@..
  • The small package xspace (by David Carlisle) defines the \xspace command, for use at the end of macros that produce text. It adds a space unless the macro is followed by certain punctuation characters.[1].
\newcommand\eg{e.g.\@\xspace}
\newcommand\ie{i.e.\@\xspace}
\newcommand\etc{etc.\xspace}
  • Units [16] — Use a non-breaking space between quantity and unit: 10~m. Or use package siunitx package (\SI{10}{m})

Conventions and Examples

__MATHJAX_DOLLAR__

usual conventions
  • $\ln x$ is the natural logarithm of $x$; that is, the logarithm of $x$ to the base $e$.
  • $\lg x$ is the logarithm of $x$ to the base $2$.
bitsize
  • A $n$-bit integer $N$ ... we know the high order $(1/4+c)(log_2 N)$ bits of P ... $\lceil log_2 N \rceil$-bit integer
integers
  • The set of integers $\Z = \{\dotsc,-2,-1,0,1,2,\dotsc\}$ (source [2]).
  • The set of non-negative integers is $\Z_{\ge 0} = \{0,1,2,\dotsc\}$ (or $\Z_+$) (source [2])
  • The set of strictly positive integers is $\Z_{> 0} = \{1,2,\dotsc\}$ (or $\Z_+^*$) (source [2])
  • A finite set of integers is denoted $\{1,2,\dotsc,n\}$ (source [3])
    • Alternatively one can use $\N_{n}^*$ or $\Z \left({n}\right)$ (source [2])
  • The set of integers modulo n is $\Z_n=\{0,1,2,\dotsc,n-1\}$ (source [3])
  • The multiplicative group of $\Z_n$ is $\Z_n^* = \{a \in \Z_n | \gcd(a,n) = 1\}$ (source [3])
    • Also known as the set of coprime integers to $n$, denoted as $\Z'_n = \{ k \in \Z_n : a \perp n\}$ (source [2])
  • The set of integer multiples $n \Z$ (source [2])
tuples
  • a 2-tuple is an ordered pair (aka. couple in french, not be confused with pair where element order does not matter) (source [4]).
  • a 3-tuple is a triplet (source [4]).
Graphs (tree...)
  • Height of a node = distance to root node; height of the tree = maximum height.
  • degree of a node = number of children of a node; node with degree 0 = leaf node; node with no parent = root node.

Tips / How-to

Quick debug

  • Check syntax rapidly by using package syntonly:
\usepackage{syntonly}
\syntaxonly                  % Comment out this line to produce pages
  • Add draft to document class to identify layout issues easily:
\documentclass[draft]{article}

Remove sub-sections from header in beamer presentation

Simplest is to use another outer theme (here infolines): 

\documentclass{beamer}

\mode<presentation>
{
  \usetheme{Antibes}
% \usetheme{Hannover}
  \setbeamercovered{transparent}
% \usefonttheme{structuresmallcapsserif}
% \usefonttheme{structurebold}
 \usecolortheme{beaver}
% tree is default outertheme - but infolines is more compact
% \useoutertheme{tree}
 \useoutertheme{infolines}
}

% slidenumbering
\setbeamertemplate{footline}[frame number]
\setbeamertemplate{sidebar right}{}

Change vertical alignment

Simply use the [t] or [c] modifier (top / center). For frames: 

\begin{frame}[t]{The seven permutation army}

% Top-aligned frame
\end{frame}

For columns: 

\begin{columns}[t]

\begin{column}{0.35\linewidth}
% 1st top-aligned column
\end{column}

\begin{column}{0.65\linewidth}
% 2nd top-aligned column
\end{column}

\end{columns}

How to format BibTex entries and cite sources

References
  • Bibtex package, see example file xampl.bib (entries @INBOOK, @BOOK...).
  • Available entry types, and mandatory fields (see WP:BibTeX)
Recommendations
  • Common Errors in Bibliographies — John Owens
    Authors
    Make the names in the bibliography match what is printed on the paper. For hyphenated names with the second half uncapitalized (Wu-chun Feng, Wen-mei Hwu), put the hyphen and second half in brackets: Wu-{chun} Feng, Wen{-mei} Hwu.
    Capitalization in titles
    Follow capitalization as printed on the paper. The bib style should enforce capitalization, not your bibliography. Properly bracket {} words in titles that must be capitalized.
    Months
    Include the month of publication in your bibliographies.
    Pages
    Always include pages if pages are available.
  • Search article in CiteSeerX, and if found, copy bibtex entry.
  • For wikipedia article xxx, use the special wikipedia pageSpecial:Cite/xxx that generates automatically a bibtex entry(eg. Special:Cite/Continued_fraction)
  • The simplest solution for URLs is to use the howpublished field [17] [18].
    howpublished   = {\url{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSA\_(cryptosystem)}},
Other alternative are to use more modern styles with support of url and url field, or use biblatex.
  • Use curly brackets {} when necessary: keep word together in author field author = Template:RSA Laboratories ,protect uppercase words {UPPERCASE}, capitalise all significant words, to allow for bibliography styles that want this [19]
  author = {{RSA Laboratories}}
  title = {Pascal, {C}, {Java}: {Were} they all Conceived in {ETH}?}

When citing sources:

  • Don't use bracketed numbers as word:
Foo showed that bar~\cite{Foo:2000:BAR}
Foo showed that bar~\shortcite{Foo:2000:BAR}             % +++ BETTER - Avoid name repeat
In \cite{Foo:2000:BAR}, Foo shows that bar.              % !!! BAD
This requires to add in your document, in case the bibtex style does not support it
\providecommand{\shortcite}[1]{\cite{#1}}
  • Use ~ to prevent break before citation and group several citations together using a comma:
text text text~\cite{Foo:2000:BAR}
\cite{AuthorOne:2000:ABC,AuthorTwo:2002:DEF}
\cite{AuthorOne:2000:ABC}\cite{AuthorTwo:2002:DEF}       % !!! BAD !!!
  • Convert .ris to .bib — Install package cb2bib and bibutils, then
/usr/share/cb2bib/c2btools/ris2bib 1996-EUROCRYPT-016.ris output.bib
  • Use {\noopsort{XXX}} to override default sort odering, e.g. in author or year field (see xampl.bib). For instance, here we don't change author name but use the fact that year is used as 2nd sort key to make sure second entry comes after the first entry:
@preamble{ "\newcommand{\noopsort}[1]{} " }

@MISC{RSA12pkcs1,
    author = {{RSA Laboratories}},
    title  = {Public-Key Cryptography Standards ({PKCS}) \#1: {RSA} Cryptography Specifications Version 2.2},
    year   = {2012},
}

@MISC{RSA93pkcs3,
    author = {{RSA Laboratories}},
    title  = {Public-Key Cryptography Standards ({PKCS}) \#3: {D}iffie-{H}ellman Key-Agreement Standard Version 1.4},
    year   = "{\noopsort{9999}}1993",
}

An alternative solution is to use \setbox0=\hbox{XXX}: 

@MISC{RSA93pkcs3,
    author = {{RSA Laboratories}},
    title  = {Public-Key Cryptography Standards ({PKCS}) \#3: {D}iffie-{H}ellman Key-Agreement Standard Version 1.4},
    year   = {\setbox0=\hbox{9999}1993},
}
Software
Referencer — a GNOME application to organise documents or references, and ultimately generate a BibTeX bibliography file.

Source code listing

See package minted or listings above.

Fix horizontal alignment

  • Use \rlap and \phantom. Note that \rlap does not work in math mode, so we apply a workaround (better solution here)
$\crtCp \gets \rsacipher \bmod \rsap$
{\rlap{$\crtCq$}}$\phantom{\crtCp} \gets \rsacipher \bmod \rsaq$
  • Use \array, and play with [pos] option for vertical alignment in the paragraph, and @{} to suppress inter-column space:
$\begin{array}[t]{@{}r@{}l}
  \crtCp &\ \gets \rsacipher \bmod \rsap \\
  \crtCq &\ \gets \rsacipher \bmod \rsaq
\end{array}$
  • Fix unwanted space when using \left ... \right. Insert negative space \! (see [20] for better solution)
\newcommand{\BigO}[1]{\ensuremath{\operatorname{O}\!\left(#1\right)}}

Find LaTeX symbols

See the Links section.

For instance, Detexify2 or shapecatcher.com recognize symbols drawn with the mouse. There are also extensive symbol lists.

Force big floats after current page

Say you have a document with lots of big figures or listings that you put in floats. LaTeX usual behavior with such big floats appears quite frustrating, and usually pushes these floats up to the end of current chapter / section.

The solution apparently is to always give all placement specifier [htbp], which let LaTeX chooses the best option. If this does not work, one can force LaTeX with [p!]: 

\begin{listing}[htbp]
%\begin{listing}[p!]       % To force float to next page
\begin{minted}{python}
...
\end{minted}
\end{listing}

Another solution would be to use package afterpage [21], but I sometimes get error about lost floats (see this question): 

... Float(s) lost
... This may be a LaTeX bug.

% In preamble:
\usepackage{afterpage}

% Before the float, ask to call \clearpage after current page:
\afterpage{\clearpage}
\begin{listing}[htbp]       % We let LaTeX choose best placement (not necessarily next page)
\begin{minted}{python}
...
\end{minted}
\end{listing}

Add vertical space between tables

Use \par\vspace{2em} (see also [22], but /newline does not work). This combination is the most stable and doesn't require empty lines: 

\begin{tabular}{c|l}
%...
\end{tabular}
\par\vspace{2em}
\begin{tabular}{c|l}
%...
\end{tabular}

Syntax / style checker for LaTeX

Use package chktex or lacheck.

Define minipage width

\begin{minipage}{\linewidth}    % Use current line width as minipage width
  % ...
  \captionof{table}[short]{Long}
\end{minipage}

Several options [23]:

  • Use \textwidth, which stays constant.
  • Use \linewidth, which adapts to surrounding environment (like enumerate or itemize

Troubleshoot

LaTeX Error
Cannot determine size of graphic (no BoundingBox)
LaTeX does not find the BoundingBox information which is necessary to produce the .dvi file. A way to fix this is either to edit the graphic to add the bounding box information, or to use pdflatex to produce directly a .pdf file.
Missing table of content (file *.toc not found)
This happens when the command \tableofcontents is used in the document, but LaTeX did not produce yet a table of content file. The .toc file is produced at the first invocation. To solve this, just run LaTex a second time:
pdflatex mypresentation.tex                   # produce a pdf without toc, and a toc file
pdflatex mypresentation.tex                   # produce a pdf with toc generated in the previous pass
"seac" character deprecated in Type 2 charstring
We get the following error from XeTeX.
** WARNING ** "seac" character deprecated in Type 2 charstring.
** ERROR ** Type2 Charstring Parser: Parsing charstring failed: (status=-1, stack=5)

Output file removed.
This happens when using OpenType fonts (OTF) with accented characters (even i counts as accented!).
The possible fixes are either to use another font, convert the font to TTF, or fix the buggy OTF.
Command \sups already defined.
Occurs when compiling with xelatex. See file /usr/share/texmf/tex/latex/tipa/tipa.sty, line 478.
This is apparently a conflict between tipa and fontspec in TeXLive2012 (TeXLive2009 seems ok, see [24])
"Underfull \hbox (badness 10000) in paragraph at lines X--Y" in bibliography with url
  • Add code below to preamble. This LaTeX to allow huge badness when using sloppy command (from [25])
\usepackage{etoolbox}
\apptocmd{\sloppy}{\hbadness 10000\relax}{}{}    % To avoid warning in bibtex entries with urls
  • Alternatively, simply increase hbadness before bibliography section:
\hbadness 10000   % To avoid warning in bibtex entries with urls
\bibliography{ext}
"Missing elsarticle.cls"
  • Install package texlive-publishers to get elsarticle.cls (since TeXLive 2012 — was part of texlive-latex-extra in TeXLive 2009).
"auto expansion is only possible with scalable fonts" (when using microtype and fourier (aka utopia) package)
  • We get the following message when compiling with pdflatex:
[1{/home/beq06659/.texmf-var/fonts/map/pdftex/updmap/pdftex.map}
! pdfTeX error (font expansion): auto expansion is only possible with scalable 
fonts.
\AtBegShi@Output ...ipout \box \AtBeginShipoutBox 
                                                  \fi \fi 
l.105
  • The error is because pdftex.map is located in user's profile and is not up-to-date [26]. Update pdftex.map with:
updmap                   # Update pdftex.map
hyperref — Failed to convert input string to UTF16

We get this warning when using package hyperref, with option unicode: 

** WARNING ** Failed to convert input string to UTF16...

The solution is to add option pdfencoding=auto [27]: 

 \usepackage[unicode=true,pdfencoding=auto]{hyperref}
Float(s) lost... This may be a LaTeX bug.

We can get this message when using package minted and afterpage. It seems to happen when we insert a float right after the first paragraph on a page. The bug seems related to both minted and afterpage because removing any of these package fixes the bug (note that the bug occurs even if the float does not use minted). 

\afterpage{\clearpage}
\begin{figure}[htpb]
abracadabra
\end{figure}

There is no fix I know of. The only workaround is to move the figure up or down in the text so that it is no longer inserted after the first paragraph on a page.

Note that a better option seems to remove afterpage, and set the placement specifier correctly instead.

Graphics in LaTeX

Using package PGF/TikZ

PGF/TikZ is a graphical interpreter that produces high-quality graphics. See page PGF/TikZ.

Importing MS Visio Graphics

Method 1: Using OpenOffice Draw

This procedure creates from a Visio drawing, a PDF file that has the correct page dimension in order to be directly imported in a LaTeX document. This procedure requires to have OpenOffice Draw installed.

  • In Visio, File → Save As, select type Enhanced Metafile (.emf), enter a file name, click Save.
(Using intermediate .emf is less convenient but gives better results than Paste Special as GDI object, which sometimes modify the pasted object)
  • In OpenOffice Draw, Open the newly saved file, Select the drawing with the mouse, and then go to menu File → Export.
  • Check the box Selection, select format EPS - Encapsulated PostScript (.eps), save the file.
  • Press OK, to accept all default options (no preview, Level 2, Grayscale, no compression)
  • In a shell, type the LaTeX command
epstopdf <filename.eps>

which will create a file <filename.pdf> with the correct page size.

Limitations
Some line formats are not correctly rendered by OpenOffice Draw when exporting to EPS format.

Method 2: Using Custom PostScript Page Size

This procedure can be used to solve problem in the 1st method where some line formats are not correctly rendered in the EPS. This procedure requires to have a PDF printer installed, such as PrimoPDF.

  • In Visio, select the drawing to print, and copy-paste it into a new document.
  • Go to menu File → Page Setup
    • Go to Page Size panel
    • Select Size to fit drawing contents, and note the page size as computed by Visio
  • Go to Print Setup panel
    • Click on Printer Paper Setup
    • Click on Printer...
    • Select the PDF printer, and click on Properties...
    • Click on Advanced...
    • For Paper size, select PostScript Custom Page Size, then click on Edit Custom Page Size
    • Select unit Millimeter, and then in Width and Height, enter the same size as computed by Visio, plus 1 or 2mm.
  • Click Ok buttons until back in the Print Setup dialog. Set Left, Right, Top and Bottom margin to be 0mm, and select Center horizontally and Center vertically.
  • If necessary, move the drawing so that it fits perfectly in the middle of the page.
  • Print the document.

The result is a PDF document with the best output quality and the correct dimension.

Limitations
Sometimes text police are rasterized.
Other methods using Visio 2007
  • Go to menu File → Page Setup
    • Go to Page Size panel
    • Select Size to fit drawing contents
  • Go to menu File → Publish as PDF or XPS
Other methods using Visio 2010
  • Force page margin to 0 in, as explained in [28]. Assuming you already have the developer tab in the Ribbon:
    • On the Developer tab, click Show ShapeSheet, and then click Page.
    • In the Print Properties section of the ShapeSheet, set the following values to 0:
      • PageLeftMargin
      • PageRightMargin
      • PageTopMargin
      • PageBottomMargin
  • On the Design tab, click Size and then Fit to drawing.
  • On the File tab, select Save As, and select .pdf as file type.

Method 3: Using Postscript printer and Perl script

This method is explained here.

  • Install the Adobe Generic Postscript Driver.
  • Configure the printer to use EPS, i.e. right click on the printer → Printer Preferences... → click Advanced button → open Document Options → PostScript Options → Under PostScript Output Option, select "Encapsulated PostScript (EPS)".
  • In Visio, print your drawing to the postscript printer.
  • The bounding box is incorrectly set to the page size. To fix it, use the perl script TightBoundingBox.pl, also copied below (requires gs command from cygwin).

Import Inkscape graphics

Importing Inkscape + LaTeX

See SVG-Inkscape, in particular the guide to include Inkscape graphics with LaTeX.

References

  1. ↑ Frank Mittelbach,Michel Goossens: The LaTEX Companion — Second Edition. Addison-Wesley, 2004
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 ProofWiki, Symbols:Z — ProofWiki, http://www.proofwiki.org/wiki/Symbols:Z, 2013
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Menezes, A., van Oorschot, P., Vanstone, S.: Handbook of Applied Cryptography, 1997
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuple
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