LaTeX · Shopy 101

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This is a guide to the LaTeX typesetting system. It is intended as a useful resource for everybody, from new users who wish to learn, to old hands who need a quick reference.

TeX and LaTeX

TeX is a typesetting computer program created by Donald Knuth, originally for his magnum opus, The Art of Computer Programming. It takes a "plain" text file and converts it into a high-quality document for printing or on-screen viewing. LaTeX is a macro system built on top of TeX that aims to simplify its use and automate many common formatting tasks. It is the de-facto standard for academic journals and books in several fields, such as mathematics and physics, and provides some of the best typography free software has to offer.

This book is organized into different parts:

Getting Started will provide you with the very first steps to print your first document, from installing the needed software to basic concepts and syntax.

Common Elements discusses common features you would expect from a document processor, including fonts, layout, colors, lists, and figures.

Mechanics are some topics that are not really necessary to write a basic document, but could help you understand how some parts of the system work. These topics are required for fine-tuning documents. Use them as support for various chapters, as they are often being referred to.

Technical Text focuses on different specialized matters, mostly for scientific work.

Special Pages is for the structured pages usually put in appendices.

Special Documents: this part tackles other kind of documents different from the classic article style.

Creating Graphics is for the process of writing graphics from a LaTeX document.

Programming or how to create your own macros and packages.

Miscellaneous contains everything that does not fit in the previous parts, like project management and other subjects related to LaTeX but not inherent to LaTeX itself.

Help and Recommendations : the FAQ encompasses very common pitfalls and important recommendations for everyone, we urge you to read it; the Tips and Tricks are much more specific matters.

Appendices.

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A PDF version is available. Created with LaTeX (info)

An E-reader optimized PDF version is available.

Wikipedia has related information at TeX and LaTeX.

If you have questions related to LaTeX, ask at the Q&A.

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Getting Started
1. Introduction as of Oct 3, 2006"}'>
2. Installation as of Sep 4, 200"}'>
3. Installing Extra Packages as of Aug 24, 2007"}'>
4. Basics as of Aug 24, 2007"}'>
5. How to get help as of Nov 09, 2015"}'>
Common Elements
1. Document Structure as of Aug 24, 2007"}'>
2. Text Formatting as of Oct 3, 2006"}'>
3. Paragraph Formatting as of Oct 3, 2006"}'>
4. Colors as of Sep 7, 2008"}'>
5. Fonts as of Oct 3, 2006"}'>
6. List Structures as of March 13, 2011"}'>
7. Special Characters as of Apr 24, 2012"}'>
8. Internationalization as of Oct 21, 2010"}'>
9. Rotations as of Dec 20, 2012"}'>
10. Tables as of Oct 3, 2006"}'>
11. Title creation as of Oct 3, 2006"}'>
12. Page Layout as of Oct 3, 2006"}'>
13. Customizing Page Headers and Footers‎ as of Mar 7, 2020"}'>
14. Importing Graphics as of Oct 3, 2006"}'>
15. Floats, Figures and Captions as of Oct 3, 2006"}'>
16. Footnotes and Margin Notes as of Apr 24, 2012"}'>
17. Hyperlinks as of Sep 7, 2008"}'>
18. Labels and Cross-referencing as of Oct 9, 2006"}'>
19. Initials as of Jun 25, 2018"}'>
Mechanics
1. Errors and Warnings as of Aug 24, 2007"}'>
2. Lengths as of Oct 3, 2006"}'>
3. Counters as of Dec 20, 2012"}'>
4. Boxes as of Dec 20, 2012"}'>
5. Rules and Struts as of Dec 20, 2012"}'>
Technical Text
1. Mathematics as of Oct 13, 2006"}'>
2. Advanced Mathematics as of Jun 29, 2010"}'>
3. Theorems as of Oct 9, 2006"}'>
4. Chemical Graphics as of Jul 3, 2007"}'>
5. Algorithms as of Dec 3, 2007"}'>
6. Source Code Listings as of Dec 20, 2012"}'>
7. Linguistics as of Sep 8, 2011"}'>
Special Pages
1. Indexing as of Aug 24, 2007"}'>
2. Glossary as of Jun 7, 2010"}'>
3. Bibliography Management as of Oct 3, 2006"}'>
4. More Bibliographies as of Apr 24, 2012"}'>
Special Documents
1. Scientific Reports (Bachelor Report, Master Thesis, Dissertation) as of Aug 28, 2016"}'>
2. Letters as of Apr 24, 2007"}'>
3. Presentations as of Sep 7, 2008"}'>
4. Teacher's Corner as of Apr 24, 2012"}'>
5. Curriculum Vitae as of Nov 21, 2012"}'>
6. Academic Journals (MLA, APA, etc.) as of Jul 16, 2022"}'>
Creating Graphics
1. Introducing Procedural Graphics as of Jul 3, 2007"}'>
2. MetaPost as of Jan 5, 2013"}'>
3. Picture as of Jul 3, 2007"}'>
4. PGF/TikZ as of Jul 3, 2007"}'>
5. PSTricks as of Jul 3, 2007"}'>
6. Xy-pic as of Jul 3, 2007"}'>
7. Creating 3D graphics
Programming
1. Macros as of Apr 24, 2012"}'>
2. Plain TeX as of Jan 13, 2013"}'>
3. Creating Packages as of Apr 24, 2012"}'>
4. Creating Package Documentation as of Apr 9, 2018"}'>
5. Themes as of Jan 13, 2013"}'>
Miscellaneous
1. Modular Documents as of Oct 3, 2006"}'>
2. Collaborative Writing of LaTeX Documents as of Aug 29, 2007"}'>
3. Export To Other Formats as of Jan 19, 2007"}'>
Help and Recommendations
1. FAQ as of Dec 21, 2012"}'>
2. Tips and Tricks as of Oct 3, 2006"}'>
Appendices
1. Authors as of Apr 24, 2012"}'>
2. Links as of Oct 3, 2006"}'>
3. Package Reference as of Apr 24, 2012"}'>
4. Sample LaTeX documents as of July 31, 2007"}'>
5. Index as of Sep 7, 2008"}'>
6. Command Glossary as of Jan 13, 2021"}'>