LATEX2e: An Unofficial Reference Manual: August 2021
LATEX2e: An Unofficial Reference Manual: August 2021
LATEX2e: An Unofficial Reference Manual: August 2021
August 2021
https://latexref.xyz
This document is an unofficial reference manual for LATEX, a document preparation system,
version of August 2021.
This manual was originally translated from LATEX.HLP v1.0a in the VMS Help Library.
The pre-translation version was written by George D. Greenwade of Sam Houston State
University. The LATEX 2.09 version was written by Stephen Gilmore. The LATEX2e version
was adapted from this by Torsten Martinsen. Karl Berry made further updates and addi-
tions, and gratefully acknowledges using Hypertext Help with LATEX, by Sheldon Green, and
LATEX Command Summary (for LATEX 2.09) by L. Botway and C. Biemesderfer (published
by the TEX Users Group as TEXniques number 10), as reference material. We also gratefully
acknowledge additional material appearing in latex2e-reference by Martin Herbert Dietze.
(From these references no text was directly copied.)
Copyright 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019,
2020, 2021 Karl Berry.
Copyright 1988, 1994, 2007 Stephen Gilmore.
Copyright 1994, 1995, 1996 Torsten Martinsen.
Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this manual provided the
copyright notice and this permission notice are preserved on all copies.
Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this manual under the con-
ditions for verbatim copying, provided that the entire resulting derived work is distributed
under the terms of a permission notice identical to this one.
Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual into another lan-
guage, under the above conditions for modified versions.
i
Short Contents
1 About this document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2 Overview of LATEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
3 Document classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
4 Fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
5 Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
6 Sectioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
7 Cross references . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
8 Environments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
9 Line breaking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
10 Page breaking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
11 Footnotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
12 Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
13 Counters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
14 Lengths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
15 Making paragraphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
16 Math formulas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
17 Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
18 Page styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
19 Spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
20 Boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
21 Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
22 Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
23 Special insertions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
24 Splitting the input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
25 Front/back matter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
26 Letters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
27 Input/output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
28 Command line interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
A Document templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
ii
Table of Contents
2 Overview of LATEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2.1 Starting and ending . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2.2 Output files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.3 TEX engines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.4 LATEX command syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.5 Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.6 CTAN: The Comprehensive TEX Archive Network. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3 Document classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
3.1 Document class options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
3.2 Additional packages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
3.3 Class and package construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
3.3.1 Class and package structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
3.3.2 Class and package commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
4 Fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
4.1 fontenc package . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
4.1.1 \DeclareFontEncoding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
4.1.2 \DeclareTextAccent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
4.1.3 \DeclareTextAccentDefault . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
4.1.4 \DeclareTextCommand & \ProvideTextCommand . . . . . . . . . . 19
4.1.5 \DeclareTextCommandDefault &
\ProvideTextCommandDefault . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
4.1.6 \DeclareTextComposite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
4.1.7 \DeclareTextCompositeCommand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
4.1.8 \DeclareTextSymbol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
4.1.9 \DeclareTextSymbolDefault . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
4.1.10 \LastDeclaredEncoding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
4.1.11 \UseTextSymbol & \UseTextAccent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
4.2 Font styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
4.3 Font sizes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
4.4 Low-level font commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
5 Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
5.1 \onecolumn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
5.2 \twocolumn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
5.3 \flushbottom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
5.4 \raggedbottom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
5.5 Page layout parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
iii
6 Sectioning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
6.1 \part . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
6.2 \chapter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
6.3 \section. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
6.4 \subsection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
6.5 \subsubsection, \paragraph, \subparagraph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
6.6 \appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
6.7 \frontmatter, \mainmatter, \backmatter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
6.8 \@startsection, typesetting sectional unit headings . . . . . . . . . . . 46
7 Cross references . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
7.1 \label . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
7.2 \pageref. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
7.3 \ref . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
7.4 xr package . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
8 Environments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
8.1 abstract. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
8.2 array . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
8.3 center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
8.3.1 \centering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
8.4 description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
8.5 displaymath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
8.6 document. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
8.6.1 \AtBeginDocument . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
8.6.2 \AtEndDocument . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
8.7 enumerate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
8.8 eqnarray. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
8.9 equation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
8.10 figure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
8.11 filecontents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
8.12 flushleft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
8.12.1 \raggedright . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
8.13 flushright . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
8.13.1 \raggedleft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
8.14 itemize. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
8.15 letter environment: writing letters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
8.16 list . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
8.16.1 \item: An entry in a list . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
8.16.2 trivlist: A restricted form of list . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
8.17 math . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
8.18 minipage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
8.19 picture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
iv
8.19.1 \put . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
8.19.2 \multiput . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
8.19.3 \qbezier. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
8.19.4 \graphpaper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
8.19.5 \line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
8.19.6 \linethickness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
8.19.7 \thinlines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
8.19.8 \thicklines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
8.19.9 \circle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
8.19.10 \oval . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
8.19.11 \shortstack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
8.19.12 \vector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
8.19.13 \makebox (picture) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
8.19.14 \framebox (picture) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
8.19.15 \frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
8.19.16 \dashbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
8.20 quotation & quote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
8.21 tabbing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
8.22 table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
8.23 tabular. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
8.23.1 \multicolumn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
8.23.2 \vline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
8.23.3 \cline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
8.23.4 \hline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
8.24 thebibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
8.24.1 \bibitem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
8.24.2 \cite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
8.24.3 \nocite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
8.24.4 Using BibTEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
8.25 theorem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
8.26 titlepage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
8.27 verbatim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
8.27.1 \verb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
8.28 verse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
11 Footnotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
11.1 \footnote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
11.2 \footnotemark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
11.3 \footnotetext . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
11.4 Footnotes in section headings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
11.5 Footnotes in a table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
11.6 Footnotes of footnotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
12 Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
12.1 \newcommand & \renewcommand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
12.1.1 Control sequence, control word and control symbol. . . . . . 115
12.2 \providecommand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
12.3 \makeatletter & \makeatother . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
12.4 \@ifstar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
12.5 \newcounter: Allocating a counter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
12.6 \newlength . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
12.7 \newsavebox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
12.8 \newenvironment & \renewenvironment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
12.9 \newtheorem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
12.10 \newfont . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
12.11 \protect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
12.12 \ignorespaces & \ignorespacesafterend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
12.13 xspace package . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
13 Counters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
13.1 \alph \Alph \arabic \roman \Roman
\fnsymbol: Printing counters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
13.2 \usecounter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
13.3 \value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
13.4 \setcounter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
13.5 \addtocounter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
13.6 \refstepcounter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
13.7 \stepcounter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
13.8 \day & \month & \year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
vi
14 Lengths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
14.1 Units of length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
14.2 \setlength . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
14.3 \addtolength. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
14.4 \settodepth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
14.5 \settoheight. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
14.6 \settowidth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
14.7 \stretch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
14.8 Expressions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
17 Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
17.1 \ensuremath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
vii
19 Spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
19.1 \enspace & \quad & \qquad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
19.2 \hspace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
19.3 \hfill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
19.4 \hss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
19.5 \spacefactor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
19.5.1 \@. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
19.5.2 \frenchspacing & \nonfrenchspacing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
19.5.3 \normalsfcodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
19.6 Backslash-space, \ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
19.7 ~. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
19.8 \thinspace & \negthinspace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
19.9 \/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
19.10 \hrulefill & \dotfill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
19.11 \bigskip & \medskip & \smallskip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
19.12 \bigbreak & \medbreak & \smallbreak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
19.13 \strut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
19.14 \vspace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
19.15 \vfill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
19.16 \addvspace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
20 Boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
20.1 \mbox & \makebox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
20.2 \fbox & \framebox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
20.3 \parbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
20.4 \raisebox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
20.5 \sbox & \savebox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
20.6 lrbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
20.7 \usebox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
21 Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
21.1 color package options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
21.2 Color models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
21.3 Commands for color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
21.3.1 Define colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
21.3.2 Colored text. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
21.3.3 Colored boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
21.3.4 Colored pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
viii
22 Graphics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
22.1 graphics package options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
22.2 graphics package configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
22.2.1 \graphicspath. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
22.2.2 \DeclareGraphicsExtensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
22.2.3 \DeclareGraphicsRule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
22.3 Commands for graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
22.3.1 \includegraphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
22.3.2 \rotatebox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
22.3.3 \scalebox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
22.3.4 \resizebox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
26 Letters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
26.1 \address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
26.2 \cc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
26.3 \closing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
26.4 \encl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
26.5 \location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
26.6 \makelabels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
26.7 \name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
26.8 \opening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
26.9 \ps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
26.10 \signature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
26.11 \telephone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
27 Input/output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
27.1 \openin & \openout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
27.2 \read . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
27.3 \typein . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
27.4 \typeout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
27.5 \write . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
27.5.1 \write and security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
27.5.2 \message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
27.5.3 \wlog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
27.5.4 \write18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
1
2 Overview of LATEX
LATEX is a system for typesetting documents. It was originally created by Leslie Lamport
in 1984, but has been maintained by a group of volunteers for many years now (https://
latex-project.org). It is widely used, particularly but not exclusively for mathematical
and technical documents.
A LATEX user writes an input file containing text to be typeset along with interspersed
commands. The default encoding for the text is UTF-8 (as of 2018). The commands specify,
for example, how the text should be formatted.
LATEX is implemented as a set of related so-called “macros” which use Donald E. Knuth’s
TEX typesetting program or one of its derivatives, collectively known as “engines”. Thus,
the user produces output, typically PDF, by giving the input file to a TEX engine. (The
following sections describe all this in more detail.)
The term LATEX is also sometimes used to mean the language in which the input docu-
ment is marked up, that is, to mean the set of commands available to a LATEX user.
The name LATEX is short for “Lamport TEX”. It is pronounced LAH-teck or LAY-teck,
or sometimes LAY-tecks. Inside a document, produce the logo with \LaTeX. Where use of
the logo is not sensible, such as in plain text, write it as ‘LaTeX’.
and bi-directional typesetting, and has plenty of extensions of its own. e-TEX
is available on its own as the system command etex, but this is plain TEX
(and produces .dvi).
In other TEX distributions, latex may invoke e-TEX rather than pdfTEX. In
any case, the e-TEX extensions can be assumed to be available in LATEX.
lualatex If LATEX is invoked via the system command lualatex, the LuaTEX engine
is run (https://ctan.org/pkg/luatex). This program allows code written
in the scripting language Lua (http://luatex.org) to interact with TEX’s
typesetting. LuaTEX handles UTF-8 Unicode input natively, can handle Open-
Type and TrueType fonts, and produces a .pdf file by default. There is also
dvilualatex to produce a .dvi file.
xelatex If LATEX is invoked with the system command xelatex, the XeTEX engine is
run (https://tug.org/xetex). Like LuaTEX, XeTEX natively supports UTF-
8 Unicode and TrueType and OpenType fonts, though the implementation is
completely different, mainly using external libraries instead of internal code.
XeTEX produces a .pdf file as output; it does not support DVI output.
Internally, XeTEX creates an .xdv file, a variant of DVI, and translates that to
PDF using the (x)dvipdfmx program, but this process is automatic. The .xdv
file is only useful for debugging.
platex
uplatex These commands provide significant additional support for Japanese and other
languages; the u variant supports Unicode. See https://ctan.org/pkg/ptex
and https://ctan.org/pkg/uptex.
As of 2019, there is a companion -dev command and format for all of the above:
dvilualatex-dev
latex-dev
lualatex-dev
pdflatex-dev
platex-dev
uplatex-dev
xelatex-dev
These are candidates for an upcoming LATEX release. The main purpose is to
find and address compatibility problems before an official release.
These -dev formats make it easy for anyone to help test documents and code:
you can run, say, pdflatex-dev instead of pdflatex, without changing any-
thing else in your environment. Indeed, it is easiest and most helpful to always
run the -dev versions instead of bothering to switch back and forth. During
quiet times after a release, the commands will be equivalent.
These are not daily snapshots or untested development code. They undergo
the same extensive regression testing by the LATEX team before being released.
For more information, see “The LATEX release workflow and the LATEX dev
formats” by Frank Mittelbach, TUGboat 40:2, https://tug.org/TUGboat/
tb40-2/tb125mitt-dev.pdf.
Chapter 2: Overview of LATEX 5
2.5 Environment
Synopsis:
\begin{environment-name}
...
\end{environment-name}
An environment is an area of LATEX source, inside of which there is a distinct behavior.
For instance, for poetry in LATEX put the lines between \begin{verse} and \end{verse}.
\begin{verse}
There once was a man from Nantucket \\
...
\end{verse}
See Chapter 8 [Environments], page 54, for a list of environments. Particularly notable
is that every LATEX document must have a document environment, a \begin{document}
... \end{document} pair.
The environment-name at the beginning must exactly match that at the end. This
includes the case where environment-name ends in a star (*); both the \begin and \end
texts must include the star.
Environments may have arguments, including optional arguments. This example pro-
duces a table. The first argument is optional (and causes the table to be aligned on its top
row) while the second argument is required (it specifies the formatting of columns).
Chapter 2: Overview of LATEX 6
\begin{tabular}[t]{r|l}
... rows of table ...
\end{tabular}
3 Document classes
The document’s overall class is defined with this command, which is normally the first
command in a LATEX source file.
\documentclass[options]{class}
The following document class names are built into LATEX. (Many other document classes
are available as separate packages; see Chapter 2 [Overview], page 2.)
article For a journal article, a presentation, and miscellaneous general use.
book Full-length books, including chapters and possibly including front matter, such
as a preface, and back matter, such as an appendix (see Chapter 25 [Front/back
matter], page 224).
letter Mail, optionally including mailing labels (see Chapter 26 [Letters], page 238).
report For documents of length between an article and a book, such as technical
reports or theses, which may contain several chapters.
slides For slide presentations—rarely used nowadays. The beamer package is perhaps
the most prevalent (https://ctan.org/pkg/beamer). See Section A.1 [beamer
template], page 255, for a small template for a beamer document.
Standard options are described in the next section.
When using one of the engines pdfLATEX, LuaLATEX, or XeLATEX (see Section 2.3 [TEX
engines], page 3), options other than letterpaper set the print area but you must also set
the physical paper size. One way to do that is to put \pdfpagewidth=\paperwidth and
\pdfpageheight=\paperheight in your document’s preamble. The geometry package
provides flexible ways of setting the print area and physical page size.
Miscellaneous other options:
draft
final Mark (draft) or do not mark (final) overfull boxes with a black box in the
margin; default is final.
fleqn Put displayed formulas flush left; default is centered.
landscape
Selects landscape format; default is portrait.
leqno Put equation numbers on the left side of equations; default is the right side.
openbib Use “open” bibliography format.
titlepage
notitlepage
Specifies whether there is a separate page for the title information and for the
abstract also, if there is one. The default for the report class is titlepage,
for the other classes it is notitlepage.
The following options are not available with the slides class.
onecolumn
twocolumn
Typeset in one or two columns; default is onecolumn.
oneside
twoside Selects one- or two-sided layout; default is oneside, except that in the book
class the default is twoside.
For one-sided printing, the text is centered on the page. For two-sided print-
ing, the \evensidemargin (\oddsidemargin) parameter determines the dis-
tance on even (odd) numbered pages between the left side of the page and the
text’s left margin, with \oddsidemargin being 40% of the difference between
\paperwidth and \textwidth, and \evensidemargin is the remainder.
openright
openany Determines if a chapter should start on a right-hand page; default is openright
for book, and openany for report.
The slides class offers the option clock for printing the time at the bottom of each
note.
To specify more than one package you can separate them with a comma, as in
\usepackage{pkg1,pkg2,...}, or use multiple \usepackage commands.
Any options given in the \documentclass command that are unknown to the selected
document class are passed on to the packages loaded with \usepackage.
It identifies itself, handles the class options via the default of passing them all to the article
class, and then loads the article class to provide the basis for this class’s code.
For more, see the official guide for class and package writers, the Class Guide, at
https://www.latex-project.org/help/documentation/clsguide.pdf (much of the
descriptions here derive from this document), or the tutorial https: / / www . tug . org /
TUGboat/tb26-3/tb84heff.pdf.
only in the transcript file. The NoLine versions do not show the number of the
line generating the message, while the other versions do show that number.
To format the messages, including the help text: use \protect to stop a com-
mand from expanding, get a line break with \MessageBreak, and get a space
with \space when a space character does not allow it, like after a command.
Note that LATEX appends a period to the messages.
\CurrentOption
Expands to the name of the currently-being-processed option. Can only be used
within the code argument of either \DeclareOption or \DeclareOption*.
\DeclareOption{option}{code}
\DeclareOption*{code}
Make an option available to a user to invoke in their \documentclass
command. For example, the smcmemo class could have an option
\documentclass[logo]{smcmemo} allowing users to put the institutional logo
on the first page. The class file must contain \DeclareOption{logo}{code}
(and later, \ProcessOptions).
If you request an option that has not been declared, by default this will produce
a warning like Unused global option(s): [badoption]. Change this behavior
with the starred version \DeclareOption*{code}. For example, many classes
extend an existing class, using a command such as \LoadClass{article}, and
for passing extra options to the underlying class use code such as this.
\DeclareOption*{%
\PassOptionsToClass{\CurrentOption}{article}%
}
Another example is that the class smcmemo may allow users to keep
lists of memo recipients in external files. Then the user could invoke
\documentclass[math]{smcmemo} and it will read the file math.memo. This
code handles the file if it exists and otherwise passes the option to the article
class.
\DeclareOption*{\InputIfFileExists{\CurrentOption.memo}{}{%
\PassOptionsToClass{\CurrentOption}{article}}}
\DeclareRobustCommand{cmd}[num][default]{definition}
\DeclareRobustCommand*{cmd}[num][default]{definition}
Like \newcommand and \newcommand* (see Section 12.1 [\newcommand & \re-
newcommand], page 113) but these declare a robust command, even if some
code within the definition is fragile. (For a discussion of robust and fragile
commands see Section 12.11 [\protect], page 123.) Use this command to de-
fine new robust commands or to redefine existing commands and make them
robust. Unlike \newcommand these do not give an error if macro cmd already
exists; instead, a log message is put into the transcript file if a command is
redefined.
Commands defined this way are a bit less efficient than those defined using
\newcommand so unless the command’s data is fragile and the command is used
within a moving argument, use \newcommand.
Chapter 3: Document classes 12
\ExecuteOptions{options-list}
For each option option in the options-list, in order, this command executes
the command \ds@option. If this command is not defined then that option is
silently ignored.
It can be used to provide a default option list before \ProcessOptions. For
example, if in a class file you want the default to be 11pt fonts then you could
specify \ExecuteOptions{11pt}\ProcessOptions\relax.
\NeedsTeXFormat{format}[format date]
Specifies the format that this class must be run under. Often issued as the
first line of a class file, and most often used as: \NeedsTeXFormat{LaTeX2e}.
When a document using that class is processed, the format name given here
must match the format that is actually being run (including that the format
string is case sensitive). If it does not match then execution stops with an error
like ‘This file needs format ‘LaTeX2e’ but this is ‘xxx’.’
To specify a version of the format that you know to have certain features,
include the optional format date on which those features were implemented. If
present it must be in the form YYYY/MM/DD. If the format version installed on
your system is earlier than format date then you get a warning like this.
You have requested release ‘2038/01/20’ of LaTeX, but only
release ‘2016/02/01’ is available.
\OptionNotUsed
Adds the current option to the list of unused options. Can only be used within
the code argument of either \DeclareOption or \DeclareOption*.
\PassOptionsToClass{option list}{class name}
\PassOptionsToPackage{option list}{package name}
Adds the options in the comma-separated list option list to the options used by
any future \RequirePackage or \usepackage command for package package
name or the class class name.
The reason for these commands is: you may load a package any number of
times with no options but if you want options then you may only supply them
when you first load the package. Loading a package with options more than
once will get you an error like Option clash for package foo. (LATEX throws
an error even if there is no conflict between the options.)
If your own code is bringing in a package twice then you can collapse that to
once, for example replacing the two \RequirePackage[landscape]{geometry}
and \RequirePackage[margins=1in]{geometry} with the single command
\RequirePackage[landscape,margins=1in]{geometry}.
However, imagine that you are loading firstpkg and inside that package it
loads secondpkg, and you need the second package to be loaded with option
draft. Then before doing the first package you must queue up the options for
the second package, like this.
\PassOptionsToPackage{draft}{secondpkg}
\RequirePackage{firstpkg}
Chapter 3: Document classes 14
(If firstpkg.sty loads an option in conflict with what you want then you may
have to alter its source.)
These commands are useful for general users as well as class and package writ-
ers. For instance, suppose a user wants to load the graphicx package with
the option draft and also wants to use a class foo that loads the graphicx
package, but without that option. The user could start their LATEX file with
\PassOptionsToPackage{draft}{graphicx}\documentclass{foo}.
\ProcessOptions
\ProcessOptions*\@options
Execute the code for each option that the user has invoked. Include it in the
class file as \ProcessOptions\relax (because of the existence of the starred
command).
Options come in two types. Local options have been specified for this partic-
ular package in the options argument of \PassOptionsToPackage{options},
\usepackage[options], or \RequirePackage[options]. Global options are
those given by the class user in \documentclass[options] (If an option is
specified both locally and globally then it is local.)
When \ProcessOptions is called for a package pkg.sty, the following happens:
1. For each option option so far declared with \DeclareOption, it looks to
see if that option is either a global or a local option for pkg. If so then
it executes the declared code. This is done in the order in which these
options were given in pkg.sty.
2. For each remaining local option, it executes the command \ds@option if it
has been defined somewhere (other than by a \DeclareOption); otherwise,
it executes the default option code given in \DeclareOption*. If no default
option code has been declared then it gives an error message. This is done
in the order in which these options were specified.
When \ProcessOptions is called for a class it works in the same way ex-
cept that all options are local, and the default code for \DeclareOption* is
\OptionNotUsed rather than an error.
The starred version \ProcessOptions* executes the options in the order speci-
fied in the calling commands, rather than in the order of declaration in the class
or package. For a package this means that the global options are processed first.
\ProvidesClass{class name}[release date brief additional information]
\ProvidesClass{class name}[release date]
\ProvidesPackage{package name}[release date brief additional information]
\ProvidesPackage{package name}[release date]
Identifies the class or package, printing a message to the screen and the log file.
When you load a class or package, for example with \documentclass{smcmemo}
or \usepackage{test}, LATEX inputs a file. If the name of the file does not
match the class or package name declared in it then you get a warning. Thus, if
you invoke \documentclass{smcmemo}, and the file smcmemo.cls has the state-
ment \ProvidesClass{xxx} then you get a warning like You have requested
document class ‘smcmemo’, but the document class provides ’xxx’. This
Chapter 3: Document classes 15
warning does not prevent LATEX from processing the rest of the class file nor-
mally.
If you include the optional argument then you must include a date, before any
spaces, of the form YYYY/MM/DD. The rest of the optional argument is free-form,
although it traditionally identifies the class, and is written to the screen during
compilation and to the log file. Thus, if your file smcmemo.cls contains the
line \ProvidesClass{smcmemo}[2008/06/01 v1.0 SMC memo class] and your
document’s first line is \documentclass{smcmemo} then you will see Document
Class: smcmemo 2008/06/01 v1.0 SMC memo class.
The date in the optional argument allows class and package users to ask to
be warned if the version of the class or package is earlier than release date.
For instance, a user could enter \documentclass{smcmemo}[2018/10/12] or
\usepackage{foo}[[2017/07/07]] to require a class or package with certain
features by specifying that it must be released no earlier than the given date.
(Although, in practice package users only rarely include a date, and class users
almost never do.)
\ProvidesFile{filename}[additional information]
Declare a file other than the main class and package files, such as configu-
ration files or font definition files. Put this command in that file and you
get in the log a string like File: test.config 2017/10/12 config file for
test.cls for filename equal to ‘test.config’ and additional information equal
to ‘2017/10/12 config file for test.cls’.
\RequirePackage[option list]{package name}[release date]
\RequirePackageWithOptions{package name}[release date]
Load a package, like the command \usepackage (see Section 3.2 [Additional
packages], page 8). The LATEX development team strongly recommends use of
these commands over Plain TEX’s \input; see the Class Guide. An example is
\RequirePackage[landscape,margin=1in]{geometry}.
The option list, if present, is a comma-separated list. The release date, if
present, must have the form YYYY/MM/DD. If the release date of the pack-
age as installed on your system is earlier than release date then you get a
warning like You have requested, on input line 9, version ‘2017/07/03’
of package jhtest, but only version ‘2000/01/01’ is available.
The \RequirePackageWithOptions version uses the list of options for
the current class. This means it ignores any options passed to it via
\PassOptionsToClass. This is a convenience command to allow easily
building classes on existing ones without having to track which options were
passed.
The difference between \usepackage and \RequirePackage is small.
The \usepackage command is intended for the document file while
\RequirePackage is intended for package and class files. Thus, using
\usepackage before the \documentclass command causes LATEX to give error
like \usepackage before \documentclass, but you can use \RequirePackage
there.
16
4 Fonts
LATEX comes with powerful font capacities. For one thing, its New Font Selection Scheme al-
lows you to work easily with the font families in your document (for instance, see Section 4.2
[Font styles], page 22). And, LATEX documents can use most fonts that are available today,
including versions of Times Roman, Helvetica, Courier, etc. (Note, though, that many fonts
do not have support for mathematics.)
The first typeface in the TEX world was the Computer Modern family, developed by
Donald Knuth. It is the default for LATEX documents and is still the most widely used.
But changing to another font often only involves a few commands. For instance, putting
the following in your preamble gives you a Palatino-like font, which is handsome and more
readable online than many other fonts, while still allowing you to typeset mathematics.
(This example is from Michael Sharpe, https://math.ucsd.edu/~msharpe/RcntFnts.
pdf.)
\usepackage[osf]{newpxtext} % osf for text, not math
\usepackage{cabin} % sans serif
\usepackage[varqu,varl]{inconsolata} % sans serif typewriter
\usepackage[bigdelims,vvarbb]{newpxmath} % bb from STIX
\usepackage[cal=boondoxo]{mathalfa} % mathcal
In addition, the xelatex or lualatex engines allow you to use any fonts on your system
that are in OpenType or TrueType format (see Section 2.3 [TEX engines], page 3).
The LATEX Font Catalogue (https: / / tug . org / FontCatalogue) shows font sample
graphics and copy-and-pasteable source to use many fonts, including many with support
for mathematics. It aims to cover all Latin alphabet free fonts available for easy use with
LATEX.
More information is also available from the TEX Users Group, at https://www.tug.
org/fonts/.
gives you support for the most widespread European languages, including French, German,
Italian, Polish, and others. In particular, if you have words with accented letters then LATEX
will hyphenate them and your output can be copied and pasted. (The optional second line
allows you to directly enter accented characters into your source file.)
If you are using an encoding such as T1 and the characters appear blurry or do not
magnify well then your fonts may be bitmapped, sometimes called raster or Type 3. You
want vector fonts. Use a package such as lmodern or cm-super to get a font that extends
LATEX’s default using vector fonts.
For each font encoding given as an option but not already declared, this package
loads the encoding definition files, named font_encodingenc.def. It also sets
\encodingdefault to be the last encoding in the option list.
These are the common values for font encoding.
OT1 The original encoding for TEX. Limited to mostly English characters.
OMS, OML Math symbols and math letters encoding.
T1 TEX text extended. Sometimes called the Cork encoding for the Users Group
meeting where it was developed. Gives access to most European accented char-
acters. The most common option for this package.
TS1 Text Companion encoding.
LATEX’s default is to load OML, T1, OT1, and then OMS, and set the default to OT1.
Even if you do not use accented letters, you may need to specify a font encoding if your
font requires it.
If you use T1 encoded fonts other than the default Computer Modern family then you
may need to load the package that selects your fonts before loading fontenc, to prevent
the system from loading any T1 encoded fonts from the default.
The LATEX team reserve encoding names starting with: ‘T’ for the standard text en-
codings with 256 characters, ‘TS’ for symbols that extend the corresponding T encodings,
‘X’ for test encodings, ‘M’ for standard math encodings with 256 characters, ‘A’ for special
applications, ‘OT’ for standard text encodings with 128 characters, and ‘OM’ for standard
math encodings with 128 characters (‘O’ stands for ‘obsolete’).
This package provides a number of commands, detailed below. Many of them are
encoding-specific, so if you have defined a command that works for one encoding but the
current encoding is different then the command is not in effect.
4.1.1 \DeclareFontEncoding
Synopsis:
\DeclareFontEncoding{encoding}{text-settings}{math-settings}
Declare the font encoding encoding. It also saves the value of encoding in
\LastDeclaredEncoding (see Section 4.1.10 [\LastDeclaredEncoding], page 21).
The file t1enc.def contains this line (followed by many others).
\DeclareFontEncoding{T1}{}{}
Chapter 4: Fonts 18
The text-settings are the commands that LATEX will run every time it switches from
one encoding to another with the \selectfont or \fontencoding command. The math-
settings are the commands that LATEX will use whenever the font is accessed as a math
alphabet.
LATEX ignores any space characters inside text-settings and math-settings, to prevent
unintended spaces in the output.
If you invent an encoding you should pick a two or three letter name starting with ‘L’
for ‘local’, or ‘E’ for ‘experimental’.
Note that output encoding files may be read several times by LATEX so using, e.g.,
\newcommand may cause an error. In addition, such files should contain \ProvidesFile
line (see Section 3.3.2 [Class and package commands], page 10).
Note also that you should use the \...Default commands only in a package, not in the
encoding definition files, since those files should only contain declarations specific to that
encoding.
4.1.2 \DeclareTextAccent
Synopsis:
\DeclareTextAccent{cmd}{encoding}{slot}
Define an accent, to be put on top of other glyphs, in the encoding encoding at the
location slot.
This line from t1enc.def declares that to make a circumflex accent as in \^A,
the system will put the accent in slot 2 over the ‘A’ character, which is represented
in ASCII as 65. (This holds unless there is a relevant DeclareTextComposite or
\DeclareTextCompositeCommand declaration; see Section 4.1.6 [\DeclareTextComposite],
page 20.)
\DeclareTextAccent{\^}{T1}{2}
If cmd has already been defined then \DeclareTextAccent does not give an error but
it does log the redefinition in the transcript file.
4.1.3 \DeclareTextAccentDefault
Synopsis:
\DeclareTextAccentDefault{cmd}{encoding}
If there is an encoding-specific accent command cmd but there is no associated
\DeclareTextAccent for that encoding then this command will pick up the slack, by
saying to use it as described for encoding.
For example, to make the encoding OT1 be the default encoding for the accent \", declare
this.
\DeclareTextAccentDefault{\"}{OT1}
If you issue a \" when the current encoding does not have a definition for that accent then
LATEX will use the definition from OT1
That is, this command is equivalent to this call (see Section 4.1.11 [\UseTextSymbol &
\UseTextAccent], page 22).
\DeclareTextCommandDefault[1]{cmd}
Chapter 4: Fonts 19
{\UseTextAccent{encoding}{cmd}{#1}}
Note that \DeclareTextAccentDefault works for any one-argument fontenc com-
mand, not just the accent command.
Give a default definition for cmd, for when that command is not defined in the encoding
currently in force. This default should only use encodings known to be available.
This makes \copyright available.
\DeclareTextCommandDefault{\copyright}{\textcircled{c}}
It uses only an encoding (OMS) that is always available.
The \DeclareTextCommandDefault should not occur in the encoding definition files
since those files should declare only commands for use when you select that encoding. It
should instead be in a package.
As with the related non-default commands, the \ProvideTextCommandDefault has ex-
actly the same behavior as \DeclareTextCommandDefault except that it does nothing if
cmd is already defined (see Section 4.1.4 [\DeclareTextCommand & \ProvideTextCom-
mand], page 19). So, packages can use it to provide fallbacks that other packages can
improve upon.
4.1.6 \DeclareTextComposite
Synopsis:
\DeclareTextComposite{cmd}{encoding}{simple_object}{slot}
Access an accented glyph directly, that is, without having to put an accent over a separate
character.
This line from t1enc.def means that \^o will cause LATEX to typeset lowercase ‘o’ by
taking the character directly from location 224 in the font.
\DeclareTextComposite{\^}{T1}{o}{244}
See Section 4.1 [fontenc package], page 16, for a list of common encodings. The sim-
ple object should be a single character or a single command. The slot argument is usually
a positive integer represented in decimal (although octal or hexadecimal are possible). Nor-
mally cmd has already been declared for this encoding, either with \DeclareTextAccent
or with a one-argument \DeclareTextCommand. In t1enc.def, the above line follows the
\DeclareTextAccent{\^}{T1}{2} command.
4.1.7 \DeclareTextCompositeCommand
Synopsis:
\DeclareTextCompositeCommand{cmd}{encoding}{arg}{code}
A more general version of \DeclareTextComposite that runs arbitrary code with cmd.
This allows accents on ‘i’ to act like accents on dotless i, \i.
\DeclareTextCompositeCommand{\’}{OT1}{i}{\’\i}
See Section 4.1 [fontenc package], page 16, for a list of common encodings. Normally
cmd will have already been declared with \DeclareTextAccent or as a one argument
\DeclareTextCommand.
4.1.8 \DeclareTextSymbol
Synopsis:
\DeclareTextSymbol{cmd}{encoding}{slot}
Chapter 4: Fonts 21
Define a symbol in the encoding encoding at the location slot. Symbols defined in this
way are for use in text, not mathematics.
For example, this line from t1enc.def declares the number of the glyph to use for the
left guillemet.
\DeclareTextSymbol{\guillemotleft}{T1}{19}
The command \DeclareTextCommand{\guillemotleft}{T1}{\char 19} has the same ef-
fect but is slower (see Section 4.1.4 [\DeclareTextCommand & \ProvideTextCommand],
page 19).
See Section 4.1 [fontenc package], page 16, for a list of common encodings. The slot can
be specified in decimal, or octal (as in ’023), or hexadecimal (as in "13), although decimal
has the advantage that single quote or double quote could be redefined by another package.
If cmd has already been defined then \DeclareTextSymbol does not give an error but
it does log the redefinition in the transcript file.
4.1.9 \DeclareTextSymbolDefault
Synopsis:
\DeclareTextSymbolDefault{cmd}{encoding}
If there is an encoding-specific symbol command cmd but there is no associated
\DeclareTextSymbol for that encoding, then this command will pick up the slack, by
saying to get the symbol as described for encoding.
For example, to declare that if the current encoding has no meaning for \textdollar
then use the one from OT1, declare this.
\DeclareTextSymbolDefault{\textdollar}{OT1}
That is, this command is equivalent to this call (see Section 4.1.11 [\UseTextSymbol &
\UseTextAccent], page 22).
\DeclareTextCommandDefault{cmd}
{\UseTextSymbol{encoding}{cmd}}
Note that \DeclareTextSymbolDefault can be used to define a default for any zero-
argument fontenc command.
4.1.10 \LastDeclaredEncoding
Synopsis:
\LastDeclaredEncoding
Get the name of the most recently declared encoding. The \DeclareFontEncoding
command stores the name so that it can be retrieved with this command (see Section 4.1.1
[\DeclareFontEncoding], page 17).
This relies on \LastDeclaredEncoding rather than give the name of the encoding ex-
plicitly.
\DeclareFontEncoding{JH1}{}{}
\DeclareTextAccent{\’}{\LastDeclaredEncoding}{0}
Chapter 4: Fonts 22
\textmd (\mdseries)
Medium weight (default).
\textbf (\bfseries)
Boldface.
\textup (\upshape)
Upright (default).
\textsl (\slshape)
Slanted.
\textsf (\sffamily)
Sans serif.
\textsc (\scshape)
Small caps.
\texttt (\ttfamily)
Typewriter.
\textnormal (\normalfont)
Main document font.
Although it also changes fonts, the \emph{text} command is semantic, for text to be
emphasized, and should not be used as a substitute for \textit. For example, \emph{start
text \emph{middle text} end text} will result in the start text and end text in italics,
but middle text will be in roman.
LATEX also provides the following commands, which unconditionally switch to the given
style, that is, are not cumulative. They are used as declarations: {\cmd...} instead of
\cmd{...}.
(The unconditional commands below are an older version of font switching. The earlier
commands are an improvement in most circumstances. But sometimes an unconditional
font switch is what is needed.)
\bf Switch to bold face.
\cal Switch to calligraphic letters for math.
\it Italics.
\rm Roman.
\sc Small caps.
\sf Sans serif.
\sl Slanted (oblique).
\tt Typewriter (monospace, fixed-width).
The \em command is the unconditional version of \emph.
The following commands are for use in math mode. They are not cumulative, so
\mathbf{\mathit{symbol}} does not create a boldface and italic symbol; instead, it will
just be in italics. This is because typically math symbols need consistent typographic
treatment, regardless of the surrounding environment.
\mathrm Roman, for use in math mode.
Chapter 4: Fonts 24
Trying to use these commands in math, as with $\small mv^2/2$, results in ‘LaTeX
Font Warning: Command \small invalid in math mode’, and the font size doesn’t change.
To work with a too-large formula, often the best option is to use the displaymath envi-
ronment (see Chapter 16 [Math formulas], page 142), or one of the environments from the
amsmath package. For inline mathematics, such as in a table of formulas, an alternative
is something like {\small $mv^2/2$}. (Sometimes \scriptsize and \scriptstyle are
confused. Both change the font size, but the latter also changes a number of other aspects
of how mathematics is typset. See Section 16.7 [Math styles], page 167.)
An environment form of each of these commands is also defined; for instance,
\begin{tiny}...\end{tiny}. However, in practice this form can easily lead to unwanted
spaces at the beginning and/or end of the environment without careful consideration, so
it’s generally less error-prone to stick to the declaration form.
(Aside: Technically, due to the way LATEX defines \begin and \end, nearly every com-
mand that does not take an argument technically has an environment form. But in almost
all cases, it would only cause confusion to use it. The reason for mentioning the environment
form of the font size declarations specifically is that this particular use is not rare.)
sc Small caps
ui Upright italics
ol Outline
The two last shapes are not available for most font families, and small caps are
often missing as well.
\fontsize{size}{skip}
Set the font size and the line spacing. The unit of both parameters defaults
to points (pt). The line spacing is the nominal vertical space between lines,
baseline to baseline. It is stored in the parameter \baselineskip. The default
\baselineskip for the Computer Modern typeface is 1.2 times the \fontsize.
Changing \baselineskip directly is inadvisable since its value is reset every
time a size change happens; instead use \baselinestretch. (see Section 5.6
[\baselineskip & \baselinestretch], page 32).
\linespread{factor}
Equivalent to \renewcommand{\baselinestretch}{factor}, and therefore
must be followed by \selectfont to have any effect. Best specified in the
preamble. See Section 5.6 [\baselineskip & \baselinestretch], page 32, for
using setspace package instead.
\selectfont
The effects of the font commands described above do not happen until
\selectfont is called, as in \fontfamily{familyname}\selectfont. It is
often useful to put this in a macro:
\newcommand*{\myfont}{\fontfamily{familyname}\selectfont}
(see Section 12.1 [\newcommand & \renewcommand], page 113).
\usefont{enc}{family}{series}{shape}
The same as invoking \fontencoding, \fontfamily, \fontseries and
\fontshape with the given parameters, followed by \selectfont. For
example:
\usefont{ot1}{cmr}{m}{n}
28
5 Layout
Commands for controlling the general page layout.
5.1 \onecolumn
Synopsis:
\onecolumn
Start a new page and produce single-column output. If the document is given the class
option onecolumn then this is the default behavior (see Section 3.1 [Document class options],
page 7). This command is fragile (see Section 12.11 [\protect], page 123).
5.2 \twocolumn
Synopses:
\twocolumn
\twocolumn[prelim one column text]
Start a new page and produce two-column output. If the document is given the class
option twocolumn then this is the default (see Section 3.1 [Document class options], page 7).
This command is fragile (see Section 12.11 [\protect], page 123).
If the optional prelim one column text argument is present, it is typeset in one-column
mode before the two-column typesetting starts.
These parameters control typesetting in two-column output:
\columnsep
The distance between columns. The default is 35pt. Change it with a command
such as \setlength{\columnsep}{40pt}. You must change it before the two
column mode starts; in the preamble is a good place.
\columnseprule
The width of the rule between columns. The default is 0pt, meaning that
there is no rule. Otherwise, the rule appears halfway between the two columns.
Change it with a command such as \setlength{\columnseprule}{0.4pt},
before the two-column mode starts.
\columnwidth
The width of a single column. In one-column mode this is equal to \textwidth.
In two-column mode by default LATEX sets the width of each of the two columns,
\columnwidth, to be half of \textwidth minus \columnsep.
In a two-column document, the starred environments table* and figure* are two
columns wide, whereas the unstarred environments table and figure take up only one
column (see Section 8.10 [figure], page 62, and see Section 8.22 [table], page 86). LATEX
places starred floats at the top of a page. The following parameters control float behavior
of two-column output.
\dbltopfraction
The maximum fraction at the top of a two-column page that may be occupied
by two-column wide floats. The default is 0.7, meaning that the height of
Chapter 5: Layout 29
5.3 \flushbottom
Make all pages in the documents after this declaration have the same height, by stretching
the vertical space where necessary to fill out the page. This is most often used when making
two-sided documents since the differences in facing pages can be glaring.
If TEX cannot satisfactorily stretch the vertical space in a page then you get a message
like ‘Underfull \vbox (badness 10000) has occurred while \output is active’. If you
get that, one option is to change to \raggedbottom (see Section 5.4 [\raggedbottom],
page 30). Alternatively, you can adjust the textheight to make compatible pages,
or you can add some vertical stretch glue between lines or between paragraphs, as in
\setlength{\parskip}{0ex plus0.1ex}. Your last option is to, in a final editing stage,
adjust the height of individual pages (see Section 10.3 [\enlargethispage], page 106).
The \flushbottom state is the default only if you select the twoside document class
option (see Section 3.1 [Document class options], page 7).
5.4 \raggedbottom
Make all later pages the natural height of the material on that page; no rubber vertical
lengths will be stretched. Thus, in a two-sided document the facing pages may be differ-
ent heights. This command can go at any point in the document body. See Section 5.3
[\flushbottom], page 30.
This is the default unless you select the twoside document class option (see Section 3.1
[Document class options], page 7).
class the default is: when the type size is 10pt the default is ‘0.35in’, while at
11pt it is ‘0.38in’, and at 12pt it is ‘30pt’.
\linewidth
Width of the current line, decreased for each nested list (see Section 8.16 [list],
page 67). That is, the nominal value for \linewidth is to equal \textwidth
but for each nested list the \linewidth is decreased by the sum of that list’s
\leftmargin and \rightmargin (see Section 8.14 [itemize], page 65).
\marginparpush
\marginsep
\marginparwidth
The minimum vertical space between two marginal notes, the horizontal space
between the text body and the marginal notes, and the horizontal width of the
notes.
Normally marginal notes appear on the outside of the page, but the declaration
\reversemarginpar changes that (and \normalmarginpar changes it back).
The defaults for \marginparpush in both book and article classes are: ‘7pt’
if the document is set at 12pt, and ‘5pt’ if the document is set at 11pt or 10pt.
For \marginsep, in article class the default is ‘10pt’ except if the document
is set at 10pt and in two-column mode where the default is ‘11pt’.
For \marginsep in book class the default is ‘10pt’ in two-column mode and
‘7pt’ in one-column mode.
For \marginparwidth in both book and article classes, in two-column mode
the default is 60% of \paperwidth − \textwidth, while in one-column mode
it is 50% of that distance.
\oddsidemargin
\evensidemargin
The \oddsidemargin length is the extra distance between the left side of the
page and the text’s left margin, on odd-numbered pages when the document
class option twoside is chosen and on all pages when oneside is in effect. When
twoside is in effect, on even-numbered pages the extra distance on the left is
\evensidemargin.
LATEX’s default is that \oddsidemargin is 40% of the difference between
\paperwidth and \textwidth, and \evensidemargin is the remainder.
\paperheight
The height of the paper, as distinct from the height of the print area. Normally
set with a document class option, as in \documentclass[a4paper]{article}
(see Section 3.1 [Document class options], page 7).
\paperwidth
The width of the paper, as distinct from the width of the print area. Normally
set with a document class option, as in \documentclass[a4paper]{article}
(see Section 3.1 [Document class options], page 7).
\textheight
The normal vertical height of the page body. If the document is set at a
nominal type size of 10pt then for an article or report the default is
Chapter 5: Layout 32
the lines are spaced less than 12 pt apart then they risk touching. Rather these numbers are
typographic judgements. (Often, the \baselineskip is about twenty percent larger than
the font size.)
The \baselineskip is not a property of each line but of the entire paragraph. As a
result, large text in the middle of a paragraph, such as a single {\Huge Q}, will be squashed
into its line. TEX will make sure it doesn’t scrape up against the line above but won’t
change the \baselineskip for that one line to make extra room above. For the fix, use a
\strut (see Section 19.13 [\strut], page 184).
The value of \baselineskip that TEX uses for the paragraph is the value in effect
at the blank line or command that ends the paragraph unit. So if a document contains
this paragraph then its lines will be scrunched together, compared to lines in surrounding
paragraphs.
Many people see a page break between text and a displayed equation as
bad style, so in effect the display is part of the paragraph.
Because this display is in footnotesize, the entire paragraph has the
baseline spacing matching that size.
{\footnotesize $$a+b = c$$}
The process for making paragraphs is that when a new line is added, if the depth of the
previous line plus the height of the new line is less than \baselineskip then TEX inserts
vertical glue to make up the difference. There are two fine points. The first is that if
the lines would be too close together, closer than \lineskiplimit, then TEX instead uses
\lineskip as the interline glue. The second is that TEX doesn’t actually use the depth of
the previous line. Instead it uses \prevdepth, which usually contains that depth. But at
the beginning of the paragraph (or any vertical list) or just after a rule, \prevdepth has
the value -1000 pt and this special value tells TEX not to insert any interline glue at the
paragraph start.
In the standard classes \lineskiplimit is 0 pt and \lineskip is 1 pt. By the prior
paragraph then, the distance between lines can approach zero but if it becomes zero (or less
than zero) then the lines jump to 1 pt apart.
Sometimes authors must, for editing purposes, put the document in double space or one-
and-a-half space. The right way to influence the interline distance is via \baselinestretch.
It scales \baselineskip, and has a default value of 1.0. It is a command, not a length, so
change the scale factor as in \renewcommand{\baselinestretch}{1.5}\selectfont.
The most straightforward way to change the line spacing for an entire document
is to put \linespread{factor} in the preamble. For double spacing, take factor to
be 1.6 and for one-and-a-half spacing use 1.3. These number are rough: for instance,
since the \baselineskip is about 1.2 times the font size, multiplying by 1.6 gives a
baseline skip to font size ratio of about 2. (The \linespread command is defined as
\renewcommand{\baselinestretch}{factor} so it won’t take effect until a font setting
happens. But that always takes place at the start of a document, so there you don’t need
to follow it with \selectfont.)
A simpler approach is the setspace package. The basic example:
\usepackage{setspace}
\doublespacing % or \onehalfspacing for 1.5
Chapter 5: Layout 34
In the preamble these will start the document off with that sizing. But you can also use
these declarations in the document body to change the spacing from that point forward,
and consequently there is \singlespacing to return the spacing to normal. In the
document body, a better practice than using the declarations is to use environments, such
as \begin{doublespace} ... \end{doublespace}. The package also has commands
to do arbitrary spacing: \setstretch{factor} and \begin{spacing}{factor} ...
\end{spacing}. This package also keeps the line spacing single-spaced in places where
that is typically desirable, such as footnotes and figure captions. See the package
documentation.
5.7 Floats
Some typographic elements, such as figures and tables, cannot be broken across pages. They
must be typeset outside of the normal flow of text, for instance floating to the top of a later
page.
LATEX can have a number of different classes of floating material. The default is the
two classes, figure (see Section 8.10 [figure], page 62) and table (see Section 8.22 [table],
page 86), but you can create a new class with the package float.
Within any one float class LATEX always respects the order, so that the first figure in a
document source must be typeset before the second figure. However, LATEX may mix the
classes, so it can happen that while the first table appears in the source before the first
figure, it appears in the output after it.
The placement of floats is subject to parameters, given below, that limit the number
of floats that can appear at the top of a page, and the bottom, etc. If so many floats are
queued that the limits prevent them all from fitting on a page then LATEX places what it
can and defers the rest to the next page. In this way, floats may end up being typeset far
from their place in the source. In particular, a float that is big may migrate to the end of
the document. In which event, because all floats in a class must appear in sequential order,
every following float in that class also appears at the end.
In addition to changing the parameters, for each float you can tweak where the float
placement algorithm tries to place it by using its placement argument. The possible values
are a sequence of the letters below. The default for both figure and table, in both article
and book classes, is tbp.
t (Top)—at the top of a text page.
b (Bottom)—at the bottom of a text page. (However, b is not allowed for full-
width floats (figure*) with double-column output. To ameliorate this, use the
stfloats or dblfloatfix package, but see the discussion at caveats in the
FAQ: https://www.texfaq.org/FAQ-2colfloat.
h (Here)—at the position in the text where the figure environment appears.
However, h is not allowed by itself; t is automatically added.
To absolutely force a float to appear “here”, you can \usepackage{float} and
use the H specifier which it defines. For further discussion, see the FAQ entry
at https://www.texfaq.org/FAQ-figurehere.
p (Page of floats)—on a separate float page, which is a page containing no text,
only floats.
Chapter 5: Layout 35
! Used in addition to one of the above; for this float only, LATEX ignores the re-
strictions on both the number of floats that can appear and the relative amounts
of float and non-float text on the page. The ! specifier does not mean “put the
float here”; see above.
Note: the order in which letters appear in the placement argument does not change the
order in which LATEX tries to place the float; for instance, btp has the same effect as tbp.
All that placement does is that if a letter is not present then the algorithm does not try
that location. Thus, LATEX’s default of tbp is to try every location except placing the float
where it occurs in the source.
To prevent LATEX from moving floats to the end of the document or a chapter you can use
a \clearpage command to start a new page and insert all pending floats. If a pagebreak is
undesirable then you can use the afterpage package and issue \afterpage{\clearpage}.
This will wait until the current page is finished and then flush all outstanding floats.
LATEX can typeset a float before where it appears in the source (although on the same
output page) if there is a t specifier in the placement parameter. If this is not desired, and
deleting the t is not acceptable as it keeps the float from being placed at the top of the next
page, then you can prevent it by either using the flafter package or using the command
\suppressfloats[t], which causes floats for the top position on this page to moved to the
next page.
Parameters relating to fractions of pages occupied by float and non-float text (change
them with \renewcommand{parameter}{decimal between 0 and 1}):
\bottomfraction
The maximum fraction of the page allowed to be occupied by floats at the
bottom; default ‘.3’.
\floatpagefraction
The minimum fraction of a float page that must be occupied by floats; default
‘.5’.
\textfraction
Minimum fraction of a page that must be text; if floats take up too much space
to preserve this much text, floats will be moved to a different page. The default
is ‘.2’.
\topfraction
Maximum fraction at the top of a page that may be occupied before floats;
default ‘.7’.
Parameters relating to vertical space around floats (change them with a command of the
form \setlength{parameter}{length expression}):
\floatsep
Space between floats at the top or bottom of a page; default ‘12pt plus2pt
minus2pt’.
\intextsep
Space above and below a float in the middle of the main text; default ‘12pt
plus2pt minus2pt’ for 10 point and 11 point documents, and ‘14pt plus4pt
minus4pt’ for 12 point documents.
Chapter 5: Layout 36
\textfloatsep
Space between the last (first) float at the top (bottom) of a page; default ‘20pt
plus2pt minus4pt’.
Counters relating to the number of floats on a page (change them with a command of
the form \setcounter{ctrname}{natural number}):
bottomnumber
Maximum number of floats that can appear at the bottom of a text page; default
1.
dbltopnumber
Maximum number of full-sized floats that can appear at the top of a two-column
page; default 2.
topnumber
Maximum number of floats that can appear at the top of a text page; default
2.
totalnumber
Maximum number of floats that can appear on a text page; default 3.
The principal TEX FAQ entry relating to floats https://www.texfaq.org/FAQ-floats
contains suggestions for relaxing LATEX’s default parameters to reduce the problem of
floats being pushed to the end. A full explanation of the float placement algorithm
is in Frank Mittelbach’s article “How to influence the position of float environments
like figure and table in LATEX?” (https: / / www . latex-project . org / publications /
2014-FMi-TUB-tb111mitt-float-placement.pdf).
5.7.1 \caption
Synopsis:
\caption{caption-text}
or
\caption[short-caption-text]{caption-text}
Make a caption for a floating environment, such as a figure or table environment (see
Section 8.10 [figure], page 62, or Section 8.22 [table], page 86).
In this example, LATEX places a caption below the vertical blank space that is left by the
author for the later inclusion of a picture.
\begin{figure}
\vspace*{1cm}
\caption{Alonzo Cushing, Battery A, 4th US Artillery.}
\label{fig:CushingPic}
\end{figure}
The \caption command will label the caption-text with something like ‘Figure 1:’ for an
article or ‘Figure 1.1:’ for a book. The text is centered if it is shorter than the text width,
or set as an unindented paragraph if it takes more than one line.
In addition to placing the caption-text in the output, the \caption command also saves
that information for use in a list of figures or list of tables (see Section 25.1 [Table of contents
etc.], page 224).
Chapter 5: Layout 37
Here the \caption command uses the optional short-caption-text, so that the shorter
text appears in the list of tables, rather than the longer caption-text.
\begin{table}
\centering
\begin{tabular}{|*{3}{c}|}
\hline
4 &9 &2 \\
3 &5 &7 \\
8 &1 &6 \\
\hline
\end{tabular}
\caption[\textit{Lo Shu} magic square]{%
The \textit{Lo Shu} magic square, which is unique among
squares of order three up to rotation and reflection.}
\label{tab:LoShu}
\end{table}
L TEX will label the caption-text with something like ‘Table 1:’ for an article or
A
‘Table 1.1:’ for a book.
The caption can appear at the top of the figure or table. For instance, that would
happen in the prior example by putting the \caption between the \centering and the
\begin{tabular}.
Different floating environments are numbered separately, by default. It is \caption that
updates the counter, and so any \label must come after the \caption. The counter for the
figure environment is named figure, and similarly the counter for the table environment
is table.
The text that will be put in the list of figures or list of tables is moving argument.
If you get the LATEX error ‘! Argument of \@caption has an extra }’ then you must put
\protect in front of any fragile commands. See Section 12.11 [\protect], page 123.
The caption package has many options to adjust how the caption appears, for example
changing the font size, making the caption be hanging text rather than set as a paragraph,
or making the caption always set as a paragraph rather than centered when it is short.
38
6 Sectioning
Structure your text into divisions: parts, chapters, sections, etc. All sectioning commands
have the same form, one of:
sectioning-command{title}
sectioning-command*{title}
sectioning-command[toc-title]{title}
For instance, declare the start of a subsection as with \subsection{Motivation}.
The table has each sectioning-command in LATEX. All are available in all of LATEX’s stan-
dard document classes book, report, and article, except that \chapter is not available
in article.
6.1 \part
Synopsis, one of:
\part{title}
\part*{title}
\part[toc-title]{title}
Start a document part. The standard LATEX classes book, report, and article, all have
this command.
This produces a document part, in a book.
\part{VOLUME I \\
PERSONAL MEMOIRS OF U.\ S.\ GRANT}
\chapter{ANCESTRY--BIRTH--BOYHOOD.}
My family is American, and has been for generations,
in all its branches, direct and collateral.
In each standard class the \part command outputs a part number such as ‘Part I’,
alone on its line, in boldface, and in large type. Then LATEX outputs title, also alone on its
line, in bold and in even larger type. In class book, the LATEX default puts each part alone
on its own page. If the book is two-sided then LATEX will skip a page if needed to have the
new part on an odd-numbered page. In report it is again alone on a page, but LATEX won’t
force it onto an odd-numbered page. In an article LATEX does not put it on a fresh page,
but instead outputs the part number and part title onto the main document page.
The * form shows title but it does not show the part number, does not increment the
part counter, and produces no table of contents entry.
The optional argument toc-title will appear as the part title in the table of contents
(see Section 25.1 [Table of contents etc.], page 224) and in running headers (see Chapter 18
[Page styles], page 172). If it is not present then title will be there. This example puts a
line break in title but leaves out the break in the table of contents.
\part[Up from the bottom; my life]{Up from the bottom\\ my life}
Chapter 6: Sectioning 40
For determining which sectional units are numbered and which appear in the table of
contents, the level number of a part is -1 (see [Sectioning/secnumdepth], page 39, and
[Sectioning/tocdepth], page 39).
In the class article, if a paragraph immediately follows the part title then it is not
indented. To get an indent you can use the package indentfirst.
One package to change the behavior of \part is titlesec. See its documentation on
CTAN.
6.2 \chapter
Synopsis, one of:
\chapter{title}
\chapter*{title}
\chapter[toc-title]{title}
Start a chapter. The standard LATEX classes book and report have this command but
article does not.
This produces a chapter.
\chapter{Loomings}
Call me Ishmael.
Some years ago---never mind how long precisely---having little or no
money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I
thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of
the world.
The LATEX default starts each chapter on a fresh page, an odd-numbered page if the
document is two-sided. It produces a chapter number such as ‘Chapter 1’ in large boldface
type (the size is \huge). It then puts title on a fresh line, in boldface type that is still
larger (size \Huge). It also increments the chapter counter, adds an entry to the table of
contents (see Section 25.1 [Table of contents etc.], page 224), and sets the running header
information (see Chapter 18 [Page styles], page 172).
The * form shows title on a fresh line, in boldface. But it does not show the chapter
number, does not increment the chapter counter, produces no table of contents entry, and
does not affect the running header. (If you use the page style headings in a two-sided
document then the header will be from the prior chapter.) This example illustrates.
\chapter*{Preamble}
The optional argument toc-title will appear as the chapter title in the table of contents
(see Section 25.1 [Table of contents etc.], page 224) and in running headers (see Chapter 18
[Page styles], page 172). If it is not present then title will be there. This shows the full
name in the chapter title,
\chapter[Weyl]{Hermann Klaus Hugo (Peter) Weyl (1885--1955)}
but only ‘Weyl’ on the contents page. This puts a line break in the title but that doesn’t
work well with running headers so it omits the break in the contents
\chapter[Given it all; my story]{Given it all\\ my story}
For determining which sectional units are numbered and which appear in the table of
contents, the level number of a chapter is 0 (see [Sectioning/secnumdepth], page 39, and
see [Sectioning/tocdepth], page 39).
Chapter 6: Sectioning 41
The paragraph that follows the chapter title is not indented, as is a standard typograph-
ical practice. To get an indent use the package indentfirst.
You can change what is shown for the chapter number. To change it to something like
‘Lecture 1’, put in the preamble either \renewcommand{\chaptername}{Lecture} or this
(see Section 12.3 [\makeatletter & \makeatother], page 116).
\makeatletter
\renewcommand{\@chapapp}{Lecture}
\makeatother
To make this change because of the primary language for the document, see the package
babel.
In a two-sided document LATEX puts a chapter on odd-numbered page, if necessary
leaving an even-numbered page that is blank except for any running headers. To make that
page completely blank, see Section 10.1 [\clearpage & \cleardoublepage], page 105.
To change the behavior of the \chapter command, you can copy its definition from the
LATEX format file and make adjustments. But there are also many packages on CTAN that
address this. One is titlesec. See its documentation, but the example below gives a sense
of what it can do.
\usepackage{titlesec} % in preamble
\titleformat{\chapter}
{\Huge\bfseries} % format of title
{} % label, such as 1.2 for a subsection
{0pt} % length of separation between label and title
{} % before-code hook
This omits the chapter number ‘Chapter 1’ from the page but unlike \chapter* it keeps
the chapter in the table of contents and the running headers.
6.3 \section
Synopsis, one of:
\section{title}
\section*{title}
\section[toc-title]{title}
Start a section. The standard LATEX classes article, book, and report all have this
command.
This produces a section.
In this Part we tend to be more interested in the function,
in the input-output behavior,
than in the details of implementing that behavior.
\section{Turing machines}
Despite this desire to downplay implementation,
we follow the approach of A~Turing that the
first step toward defining the set of computable functions
is to reflect on the details of what mechanisms can do.
Chapter 6: Sectioning 42
For the standard LATEX classes book and report the default output is like ‘1.2 title’
(for chapter 1, section 2), alone on its line and flush left, in boldface and a larger type (the
type size is \Large). The same holds in article except that there are no chapters in that
class so it looks like ‘2 title’.
The * form shows title. But it does not show the section number, does not increment
the section counter, produces no table of contents entry, and does not affect the running
header. (If you use the page style headings in a two-sided document then the header will
be from the prior section.)
The optional argument toc-title will appear as the section title in the table of contents
(see Section 25.1 [Table of contents etc.], page 224) and in running headers (see Chapter 18
[Page styles], page 172). If it is not present then title will be there. This shows the full
name in the title of the section,
\section[Elizabeth~II]{Elizabeth the Second,
by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom,
Canada and Her other Realms and Territories Queen,
Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.}
but only ‘Elizabeth II’ on the contents page and in the headers. This has a line break in
title but that does not work with headers so it is omitted from the contents and headers.
\section[Truth is, I cheated; my life story]{Truth is,
I cheated\\my life story}
For determining which sectional units are numbered and which appear in the table of
contents, the level number of a section is 1 (see [Sectioning/secnumdepth], page 39, and see
[Sectioning/tocdepth], page 39).
The paragraph that follows the section title is not indented, as is a standard typograph-
ical practice. One way to get an indent is to use the package indentfirst.
In general, to change the behavior of the \section command, there are a number of
options. One is the \@startsection command (see Section 6.8 [\@startsection], page 46).
There are also many packages on CTAN that address this, including titlesec. See the
documentation but the example below gives a sense of what they can do.
\usepackage{titlesec} % in preamble
\titleformat{\section}
{\normalfont\Large\bfseries} % format of title
{\makebox[1pc][r]{\thesection\hspace{1pc}}} % label
{0pt} % length of separation between label and title
{} % before-code hook
\titlespacing*{\section}
{-1pc}{18pt}{10pt}[10pc]
That puts the section number in the margin.
6.4 \subsection
Synopsis, one of:
\subsection{title}
\subsection*{title}
\subsection[toc-title]{title}
Chapter 6: Sectioning 43
Start a subsection. The standard LATEX classes article, book, and report all have this
command.
This produces a subsection.
We will show that there are more functions than Turing machines and that
therefore some functions have no associated machine.
or one of:
\paragraph{title}
\paragraph*{title}
\paragraph[toc-title]{title}
or one of:
\subparagraph{title}
\subparagraph*{title}
\subparagraph[toc-title]{title}
Start a subsubsection, paragraph, or subparagraph. The standard LATEX classes
article, book, and report all have these commands, although they are not commonly
used.
This produces a subsubsection.
\subsubsection{Piston ring compressors: structural performance}
Provide exterior/interior wall cladding assemblies
capable of withstanding the effects of load and stresses from
consumer-grade gasoline engine piston rings.
The default output of each of the three does not change over the standard LATEX classes
article, book, and report. For \subsubsection the title is alone on its line, in boldface
and normal size type. For \paragraph the title is inline with the text, not indented, in
boldface and normal size type. For \subparagraph the title is inline with the text, with a
paragraph indent, in boldface and normal size type (Because an article has no chapters its
subsubsections are numbered and so it looks like ‘1.2.3 title’, for section 1, subsection 2,
and subsubsection 3. The other two divisions are not numbered.)
The * form shows title. But it does not increment the associated counter and produces
no table of contents entry (and does not show the number for \subsubsection).
The optional argument toc-title will appear as the division title in the table of contents
(see Section 25.1 [Table of contents etc.], page 224). If it is not present then title will be
there.
For determining which sectional units are numbered and which appear in the table of
contents, the level number of a subsubsection is 3, of a paragraph is 4, and of a subparagraph
is 5 (see [Sectioning/secnumdepth], page 39, and see [Sectioning/tocdepth], page 39).
The paragraph that follows the subsubsection title is not indented, as is a standard
typographical practice. One way to get an indent is to use the package indentfirst.
There are a number of ways to change the behavior of the these commands. One is
the \@startsection command (see Section 6.8 [\@startsection], page 46). There are also
many packages on CTAN that address this, including titlesec. See the documentation on
CTAN.
6.6 \appendix
Synopsis:
\appendix
This does not directly produce any output. But in a book or report it declares that
subsequent \chapter commands start an appendix. In an article it does the same, for
Chapter 6: Sectioning 45
\section commands. It also resets the chapter and section counters to 0 in a book or
report, and in an article resets the section and subsection counters.
In this book
\chapter{One} ...
\chapter{Two} ...
...
\appendix
\chapter{Three} ...
\chapter{Four} ...
the first two will generate output numbered ‘Chapter 1’ and ‘Chapter 2’. After the
\appendix the numbering will be ‘Appendix A’ and ‘Appendix B’. See Section A.4 [Larger
book template], page 256, for another example.
The appendix package adds the command \appendixpage to put a separate
‘Appendices’ in the document body before the first appendix, and the command
\addappheadtotoc to do the same in the table of contents. You can reset the name
‘Appendices’ with a command like \renewcommand{\appendixname}{Specification},
as well as a number of other features. See the documentation on CTAN.
page 39). For instance, in an article, if tocdepth is 1 then the table of contents
will list sections but not subsections.
indent A length giving the indentation of all of the title lines with respect to the left
margin. To have the title flush with the margin use 0pt. A negative indentation
such as -\parindent will move the title into the left margin.
beforeskip The absolute value of this length is the amount of vertical space that is inserted
before this sectioning unit’s title. This space will be discarded if the sectioning
unit happens to start at the beginning of a page. If this number is negative then
the first paragraph following the header is not indented, if it is non-negative
then the first paragraph is indented. (Note that the negative of 1pt plus 2pt
minus 3pt is -1pt plus -2pt minus -3pt.)
For example, if beforeskip is -3.5ex plus -1ex minus -0.2ex then to start the
new sectioning unit, LATEX will add about 3.5 times the height of a letter x in
vertical space, and the first paragraph in the section will not be indented. Using
a rubber length, with plus and minus, is good practice here since it gives LATEX
more flexibility in making up the page (see Chapter 14 [Lengths], page 131).
The full accounting of the vertical space between the baseline of the line prior
to this sectioning unit’s header and the baseline of the header is that it is the
sum of the \parskip of the text font, the \baselineskip of the title font, and
the absolute value of the beforeskip. This space is typically rubber so it may
stretch or shrink. (If the sectioning unit starts on a fresh page so that the
vertical space is discarded then the baseline of the header text will be where
LATEX would put the baseline of the first text line on that page.)
afterskip This is a length. If afterskip is non-negative then this is the vertical space
inserted after the sectioning unit’s title header. If it is negative then the title
header becomes a run-in header, so that it becomes part of the next paragraph.
In this case the absolute value of the length gives the horizontal space between
the end of the title and the beginning of the following paragraph. (Note that
the negative of 1pt plus 2pt minus 3pt is -1pt plus -2pt minus -3pt.)
As with beforeskip, using a rubber length, with plus and minus components,
is good practice here since it gives LATEX more flexibility in putting together
the page.
If afterskip is non-negative then the full accounting of the vertical space
between the baseline of the sectioning unit’s header and the baseline of the first
line of the following paragraph is that it is the sum of the \parskip of the title
font, the \baselineskip of the text font, and the value of after. That space
is typically rubber so it may stretch or shrink. (Note that because the sign of
afterskip changes the sectioning unit header’s from standalone to run-in, you
cannot use a negative afterskip to cancel part of the \parskip.)
style Controls the styling of the title. See the examples below. Typical commands to
use here are \centering, \raggedright, \normalfont, \hrule, or \newpage.
The last command in style may be one that takes one argument, such as
\MakeUppercase or \fbox that takes one argument. The section title will
be supplied as the argument to this command. For instance, setting style to
\bfseries\MakeUppercase would produce titles that are bold and uppercase.
Chapter 6: Sectioning 48
These are LATEX’s defaults for the first three sectioning units that are defined with
\@startsection, for the article, book, and report classes.
• For section: level is 1, indent is 0 pt, beforeskip is -3.5ex plus -1ex minus -0.2ex,
afterskip is 2.3ex plus 0.2ex, and style is \normalfont\Large\bfseries.
• For subsection: level is 2, indent is 0 pt, beforeskip is -3.25ex plus -1ex minus
-0.2ex, afterskip is 1.5ex plus 0.2ex, and style is \normalfont\large\bfseries.
• For subsubsection: level is 3, indent is 0 pt, beforeskip is -3.25ex
plus -1ex minus -0.2ex, afterskip is 1.5ex plus 0.2ex, and style is
\normalfont\normalsize\bfseries.
Some examples follow. These go either in a package or class file or in the pream-
ble of a LATEX document. If you put them in the preamble they must go between a
\makeatletter command and a \makeatother. (Probably the error message You can’t
use ‘\spacefactor’ in vertical mode. means that you forgot this.) See Section 12.3
[\makeatletter & \makeatother], page 116.
This will put section titles in large boldface type, centered. It says \renewcommand
because LATEX’s standard classes have already defined a \section. For the same reason it
does not define a section counter, or the commands \thesection and \l@section.
\renewcommand\section{%
\@startsection{section}% [name], page 46
{1}% [level], page 46
{0pt}% [indent], page 47
{-3.5ex plus -1ex minus -.2ex}% [beforeskip], page 47
{2.3ex plus.2ex}% [afterskip], page 47
{\centering\normalfont\Large\bfseries}% [style], page 47
}
This will put subsection titles in small caps type, inline with the paragraph.
\renewcommand\subsection{%
\@startsection{subsection}% [name], page 46
{2}% [level], page 46
{0em}% [indent], page 47
{-1ex plus 0.1ex minus -0.05ex}% [beforeskip], page 47
{-1em plus 0.2em}% [afterskip], page 47
{\scshape}% [style], page 47
}
The prior examples redefined existing sectional unit title commands. This defines a new
one, illustrating the needed counter and macros to display that counter.
\setcounter{secnumdepth}{6}% show counters this far down
\newcounter{subsubparagraph}[subparagraph]% counter for numbering
\renewcommand{\thesubsubparagraph}% how to display
{\thesubparagraph.\@arabic\c@subsubparagraph}% numbering
\newcommand{\subsubparagraph}{\@startsection
{subsubparagraph}%
{6}%
{0em}%
49
{\baselineskip}%
{0.5\baselineskip}%
{\normalfont\normalsize}}
\newcommand*\l@subsubparagraph{\@dottedtocline{6}{10em}{5em}}% for toc
\newcommand{\subsubparagraphmark}[1]{}% for page headers
50
7 Cross references
We often want something like ‘See Theorem~31’. But by-hand typing the 31 is poor practice.
Instead you should write a label such as \label{eq:GreensThm} and then reference it, as
with See equation~\ref{eq:GreensThm}. LATEX will automatically work out the number,
put it into the output, and will change that number later if needed.
We will see this with Theorem~\ref{th:GreensThm}. % forward reference
...
\begin{theorem} \label{th:GreensThm}
...
\end{theorem}
...
See Theorem~\ref{th:GreensThm} on page~\pageref{th:GreensThm}.
LATEX tracks cross reference information in a file having the extension .aux and with the
same base name as the file containing the \label. So if \label is in calculus.tex then
the information is in calculus.aux. LATEX puts the information in that file every time it
runs across a \label.
The behavior described in the prior paragraph results in a quirk that happens when your
document has a forward reference, a \ref that appears before the associated \label. If this
is the first time that you are compiling the document then you will get ‘LaTeX Warning:
Label(s) may have changed. Rerun to get cross references right’ and in the output
the forward reference will appear as two question marks ‘??’, in boldface. A similar thing
happens if you change some things so the references changes; you get the same warning and
the output contains the old reference information. In both cases, resolve this by compiling
the document a second time.
The cleveref package enhances LATEX’s cross referencing features. You can arrange
that if you enter \begin{thm}\label{th:Nerode}...\end{thm} then \cref{th:Nerode}
will output ‘Theorem 3.21’, without you having to enter the “Theorem.”
7.1 \label
Synopsis:
\label{key}
Assign a reference number to key. In ordinary text \label{key} assigns to key the
number of the current sectional unit. Inside an environment with numbering, such as a
table or theorem environment, \label{key} assigns to key the number of that environ-
ment. Retrieve the assigned number with the \ref{key} command (see Section 7.3 [\ref],
page 51).
A key name can consist of any sequence of letters, digits, or common punctuation char-
acters. Upper and lowercase letters are distinguished, as usual.
A common convention is to use labels consisting of a prefix and a suffix separated by
a colon or period. Thus, \label{fig:Post} is a label for a figure with a portrait of Emil
Post. This helps to avoid accidentally creating two labels with the same name, and makes
your source more readable. Some commonly-used prefixes:
ch for chapters
Chapter 7: Cross references 51
sec
subsec for lower-level sectioning commands
fig for figures
tab for tables
eq for equations
In the auxiliary file the reference information is kept as the text of a command of
the form \newlabel{label}{{currentlabel}{pagenumber}}. Here currentlabel is the
current value of the macro \@currentlabel that is usually updated whenever you call
\refstepcounter{counter}.
Below, the key sec:test will get the number of the current section and the key fig:test
will get the number of the figure. (Incidentally, put labels after captions in figures and
tables.)
\section{section name}
\label{sec:test}
This is Section~\ref{sec:test}.
\begin{figure}
...
\caption{caption text}
\label{fig:test}
\end{figure}
See Figure~\ref{fig:test}.
7.2 \pageref
Synopsis:
\pageref{key}
Produce the page number of the place in the text where the corresponding \label{key}
command appears.
If there is no \label{key} then you get something like ‘LaTeX Warning: Reference
‘th:GrensThm’ on page 1 undefined on input line 11.’
Below, the \label{eq:main} is used both for the formula number and for the page
number. (Note that the two references are forward references so this document would need
to be compiled twice to resolve those.)
The main result is formula~\ref{eq:main} on page~\pageref{eq:main}.
...
\begin{equation} \label{eq:main}
\mathbf{P}=\mathbf{NP}
\end{equation}
7.3 \ref
Synopsis:
\ref{key}
Chapter 7: Cross references 52
Produces the number of the sectional unit, equation, footnote, figure, . . . , of the cor-
responding \label command (see Section 7.1 [\label], page 50). It does not produce any
text, such as the word ‘Section’ or ‘Figure’, just the bare number itself.
If there is no \label{key} then you get something like ‘LaTeX Warning: Reference
‘th:GrensThm’ on page 1 undefined on input line 11.’
In this example the \ref{popular} produces ‘2’. Note that it is a forward reference
since it comes before \label{popular} so this document would have to be compiled twice.
The most widely-used format is item number~\ref{popular}.
\begin{enumerate}
\item Plain \TeX
\item \label{popular} \LaTeX
\item Con\TeX t
\end{enumerate}
The cleveref package includes text such as ‘Theorem’ in the reference. See the docu-
mentation on CTAN.
7.4 xr package
Synopsis:
\usepackage{xr}
\externaldocument{document-basename}
or
\usepackage{xr}
\externaldocument[reference-prefix]{document-basename}
Make cross references to the external document document-basename.tex.
Here is an example. If lectures.tex has this in the preamble
\usepackage{xr}
\externaldocument{exercises}
\externaldocument[H-]{hints}
\externaldocument{answers}
then it can use cross reference labels from the other three documents. Suppose that
exercises.tex has an enumerated list containing this,
\item \label{exer:EulersThm} What if every vertex has odd degree?
and hints.tex has an enumerated list with this,
\item \label{exer:EulersThm} Distinguish the case of two vertices.
and answers.tex has an enumerated list with this,
\item \label{ans:EulersThm} There is no Euler path, except if there
are exactly two vertices.
After compiling the exercises, hints, and answers documents, entering this in the body
of lectures.tex will result in the lectures getting the reference numbers used in the other
documents.
See Exercise~\ref{exer:EulersThm}, with Hint~\ref{H-exer:EulersThm}.
The solution is Answer~\ref{ans:EulersThm}.
53
The prefix H- for the reference from the hints file is needed because the label in the hints
file is the same as the label in the exercises file. Without that prefix, both references would
get the number from the later file.
Note: if the document uses the hyperref package then in place of xr, put
\usepackage{xr-hyper} before the \usepackage{hyperref}. Also, if any of the multiple
documents uses hyperref then they all must use it.
54
8 Environments
LATEX provides many environments for delimiting certain behavior. An environment begins
with \begin and ends with \end, like this:
\begin{environment-name}
...
\end{environment-name}
The environment-name at the beginning must exactly match that at the end. For
instance, the input \begin{table*}...\end{table} will cause an error like: ‘! LaTeX
Error: \begin{table*} on input line 5 ended by \end{table}.’
Environments are executed within a group.
8.1 abstract
Synopsis:
\begin{abstract}
...
\end{abstract}
Produce an abstract, possibly of multiple paragraphs. This environment is only defined
in the article and report document classes (see Chapter 3 [Document classes], page 7).
Using the example below in the article class produces a displayed paragraph. Docu-
ment class option titlepage causes the abstract to be on a separate page (see Section 3.1
[Document class options], page 7); this is the default only in the report class.
\begin{abstract}
We compare all known accounts of the proposal made by Porter Alexander
to Robert E Lee at the Appomattox Court House that the army continue
in a guerrilla war, which Lee refused.
\end{abstract}
The next example produces a one column abstract in a two column document (for a
more flexible solution, use the package abstract).
\documentclass[twocolumn]{article}
...
\begin{document}
\title{Babe Ruth as Cultural Progenitor: a Atavistic Approach}
\author{Smith \\ Jones \\ Robinson\thanks{Railroad tracking grant.}}
\twocolumn[
\begin{@twocolumnfalse}
\maketitle
\begin{abstract}
Ruth was not just the Sultan of Swat, he was the entire swat
team.
\end{abstract}
\end{@twocolumnfalse}
]
{ % by-hand insert a footnote at page bottom
Chapter 8: Environments 55
\renewcommand{\thefootnote}{\fnsymbol{footnote}}
\footnotetext[1]{Thanks for all the fish.}
}
8.2 array
Synopsis:
\begin{array}{cols}
column 1 entry &column 2 entry ... &column n entry \\
...
\end{array}
or:
\begin{array}[pos]{cols}
column 1 entry &column 2 entry ... &column n entry \\
...
\end{array}
Produce a mathematical array. This environment can only be used in math mode (see
Chapter 17 [Modes], page 170), and normally appears within a displayed mathematics
environment such as equation (see Section 8.9 [equation], page 61). Inside of each row
the column entries are separated by an ampersand, (&). Rows are terminated with double-
backslashes (see Section 9.1 [\\], page 100).
This example shows a three by three array.
\begin{equation*}
\chi(x) =
\left| % vertical bar fence
\begin{array}{ccc}
x-a &-b &-c \\
-d &x-e &-f \\
-g &-h &x-i
\end{array}
\right|
\end{equation*}
The required argument cols describes the number of columns, their alignment, and the
formatting of the intercolumn regions. For instance, \begin{array}{rcl}...\end{array}
gives three columns: the first flush right, the second centered, and the third flush left. See
Section 8.23 [tabular], page 87, for the complete description of cols and of the other common
features of the two environments, including the optional pos argument.
There are two ways that array diverges from tabular. The first is that array entries
are typeset in math mode, in textstyle (see Section 16.7 [Math styles], page 167) except if
the cols definition specifies the column with p{...}, which causes the entry to be typeset
in text mode. The second is that, instead of tabular’s parameter \tabcolsep, LATEX’s
intercolumn space in an array is governed by \arraycolsep, which gives half the width
between columns. The default for this is ‘5pt’ so that between two columns comes 10 pt of
space.
To obtain arrays with braces the standard is to use the amsmath package. It comes
with environments pmatrix for an array surrounded by parentheses (...), bmatrix for
Chapter 8: Environments 56
an array surrounded by square brackets [...], Bmatrix for an array surrounded by curly
braces {...}, vmatrix for an array surrounded by vertical bars |...|, and Vmatrix for
an array surrounded by double vertical bars ||...||, along with a number of other array
constructs.
The next example uses the amsmath package.
\usepackage{amsmath} % in preamble
\begin{equation}
\begin{vmatrix}{cc} % array with vert lines
a &b \\
c &d
\end{vmatrix}=ad-bc
\end{equation}
There are many packages concerning arrays. The array package has many useful exten-
sions, including more column types. The dcolumn package adds a column type to center on
a decimal point. For both see the documentation on CTAN.
8.3 center
Synopsis:
\begin{center}
line1 \\
line2 \\
...
\end{center}
Create a new paragraph consisting of a sequence of lines that are centered within the
left and right margins. Use double-backslash, \\, to get a line break (see Section 9.1 [\\],
page 100). If some text is too long to fit on a line then LATEX will insert line breaks that
avoid hyphenation and avoid stretching or shrinking any interword space.
This environment inserts space above and below the text body. See Section 8.3.1 [\cen-
tering], page 57, to avoid such space, for example inside a figure environment.
This example produces three centered lines. There is extra vertical space between the
last two lines.
\begin{center}
A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fufillment \\
of the Requirements of \\[0.5ex]
the School of Environmental Engineering
\end{center}
In this example, depending on the page’s line width, LATEX may choose a line break for
the part before the double backslash. If so, it will center each of the two lines and if not it
will center the single line. Then LATEX will break at the double backslash, and will center
the ending.
\begin{center}
My father considered that anyone who went to chapel and didn’t drink
alcohol was not to be tolerated.\\
Chapter 8: Environments 57
8.3.1 \centering
Synopsis:
{\centering ... }
or
\begin{group}
\centering ...
\end{group}
Center the material in its scope. It is most often used inside an environment such as
figure, or in a parbox.
This example’s \centering declaration causes the graphic to be horizontally centered.
\begin{figure}
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.6\textwidth]{ctan_lion.png}
\caption{CTAN Lion} \label{fig:CTANLion}
\end{figure}
The scope of this \centering ends with the \end{figure}.
Unlike the center environment, the \centering command does not add vertical space
above and below the text. That’s its advantage in the above example; there is not an excess
of space.
It also does not start a new paragraph; it simply changes how LATEX formats paragraph
units. If ww {\centering xx \\ yy} zz is surrounded by blank lines then LATEX will create
a paragraph whose first line ‘ww xx’ is centered and whose second line, not centered, contains
‘yy zz’. Usually what is desired is for the scope of the declaration to contain a blank line
or the \end command of an environment such as figure or table that ends the paragraph
unit. Thus, if {\centering xx \\ yy\par} zz is surrounded by blank lines then it makes
a new paragraph with two centered lines ‘xx’ and ‘yy’, followed by a new paragraph with
‘zz’ that is formatted as usual.
8.4 description
Synopsis:
\begin{description}
\item[label of first item] text of first item
\item[label of second item] text of second item
...
\end{description}
Environment to make a list of labeled items. Each item’s label is typeset in bold and
is flush left, so that long labels continue into the first line of the item text. There must
Chapter 8: Environments 58
be at least one item; having none causes the LATEX error ‘Something’s wrong--perhaps a
missing \item’.
This example shows the environment used for a sequence of definitions.
\begin{description}
\item[lama] A priest.
\item[llama] A beast.
\end{description}
The labels ‘lama’ and ‘llama’ are output in boldface, with the left edge on the left margin.
Start list items with the \item command (see Section 8.16.1 [\item], page 71). Use the
optional labels, as in \item[Main point], because there is no sensible default. Following
the \item is optional text, which may contain multiple paragraphs.
Since the labels are in bold style, if the label text calls for a font change given in argument
style (see Section 4.2 [Font styles], page 22) then it will come out bold. For instance, if
the label text calls for typewriter with \item[\texttt{label text}] then it will appear
in bold typewriter, if that is available. The simplest way around this, in this example to
get non-bold typewriter, is to use declarative style: \item[{\tt label text}]. Similarly,
get the standard roman font with \item[{\rm label text}].
For other major LATEX labelled list environments, see Section 8.14 [itemize], page 65,
and Section 8.7 [enumerate], page 59. Unlike those environments, nesting description
environments does not change the default label; it is boldface and flush left at all levels.
For information about list layout parameters, including the default values, and for infor-
mation about customizing list layout, see Section 8.16 [list], page 67. The package enumitem
is useful for customizing lists.
This example changes the description labels to small caps.
\renewcommand{\descriptionlabel}[1]{%
{\hspace{\labelsep}\textsc{#1}}}
8.5 displaymath
Synopsis:
\begin{displaymath}
mathematical text
\end{displaymath}
Environment to typeset the mathematical text on its own line, in display style and
centered. To make the text be flush-left use the global option fleqn; see Section 3.1
[Document class options], page 7.
In the displaymath environment no equation number is added to the math text. One
way to get an equation number is to use the equation environment (see Section 8.9 [equa-
tion], page 61).
LATEX will not break the math text across lines.
Note that the amsmath package has significantly more extensive displayed equation facil-
ities. For example, there are a number of ways in that package for having math text broken
across lines.
Chapter 8: Environments 59
8.6 document
The document environment encloses the entire body of a document. It is required in every
LATEX document. See Section 2.1 [Starting and ending], page 2.
8.6.1 \AtBeginDocument
Synopsis:
\AtBeginDocument{code}
Save code and execute it when \begin{document} is executed, at the very end of the
preamble. The code is executed after the font selection tables have been set up, so the
normal font for the document is the current font. However, the code is executed as part of
the preamble so you cannot do any typesetting with it.
You can issue this command more than once; the successive code lines will be executed
in the order that you gave them.
8.6.2 \AtEndDocument
Synopsis:
\AtEndDocument{code}
Save code and execute it near the end of the document. Specifically, it is executed when
\end{document} is executed, before the final page is finished and before any leftover floating
environments are processed. If you want some of the code to be executed after these two
processes then include a \clearpage at the appropriate point in code.
You can issue this command more than once; the successive code lines will be executed
in the order that you gave them.
8.7 enumerate
Synopsis:
\begin{enumerate}
\item[optional label of first item] text of first item
Chapter 8: Environments 60
8.8 eqnarray
The eqnarray environment is obsolete. It has infelicities, including spacing that is in-
consistent with other mathematics elements. (See “Avoid eqnarray!” by Lars Madsen
https://tug.org/TUGboat/tb33-1/tb103madsen.pdf). New documents should include
the amsmath package and use the displayed mathematics environments provided there, such
as the align environment. We include a description only for completeness and for working
with old documents.
Synopsis:
\begin{eqnarray}
first formula left &first formula middle &first formula right \\
...
\end{eqnarray}
or
\begin{eqnarray*}
first formula left &first formula middle &first formula right \\
...
\end{eqnarray*}
Display a sequence of equations or inequalities. The left and right sides are typeset in
display mode, while the middle is typeset in text mode.
It is similar to a three-column array environment, with items within a row separated
by an ampersand (&), and with rows separated by double backslash \\). The starred form
of line break (\\*) can also be used to separate equations, and will disallow a page break
there (see Section 9.1 [\\], page 100).
The unstarred form eqnarray places an equation number on every line (using the
equation counter), unless that line contains a \nonumber command. The starred form
eqnarray* omits equation numbering, while otherwise being the same.
The command \lefteqn is used for splitting long formulas across lines. It typesets its
argument in display style flush left in a box of zero width.
This example shows three lines. The first two lines make an inequality, while the third
line has not entry on the left side.
\begin{eqnarray*}
\lefteqn{x_1+x_2+\cdots+x_n} \\
&\leq &y_1+y_2+\cdots+y_n \\
&= &z+y_3+\cdots+y_n
\end{eqnarray*}
8.9 equation
Synopsis:
\begin{equation}
mathematical text
\end{equation}
The same as a displaymath environment (see Section 8.5 [displaymath], page 58) except
that LATEX puts an equation number flush to the right margin. The equation number is
generated using the equation counter.
Chapter 8: Environments 62
8.10 figure
Synopsis:
\begin{figure}[placement]
figure body
\caption[loftitle]{title} % optional
\label{label} % optional
\end{figure}
or:
\begin{figure*}[placement]
figure body
\caption[loftitle]{title} % optional
\label{label} % optional
\end{figure*}
Figures are for material that is not part of the normal text. An example is material that
you cannot have split between two pages, such as a graphic. Because of this, LATEX does
not typeset figures in sequence with normal text but instead “floats” them to a convenient
place, such as the top of a following page (see Section 5.7 [Floats], page 34).
The figure body can consist of imported graphics (see Chapter 22 [Graphics], page 199),
or text, LATEX commands, etc. It is typeset in a parbox of width \textwidth.
The possible values of placement are h for ‘here’, t for ‘top’, b for ‘bottom’, and p
for ‘on a separate page of floats’. For the effect of these options on the float placement
algorithm, see Section 5.7 [Floats], page 34.
The starred form figure* is used when a document is in double-column mode (see
Section 5.2 [\twocolumn], page 28). It produces a figure that spans both columns, at the
top of the page. To add the possibility of placing at a page bottom see the discussion of
placement b in Section 5.7 [Floats], page 34.
The label is optional; it is used for cross references (see Chapter 7 [Cross references],
page 50). The optional \caption command specifies caption text for the figure (see
Section 5.7.1 [\caption], page 36). By default it is numbered. If loftitle is present, it is used
in the list of figures instead of title (see Section 25.1 [Table of contents etc.], page 224).
This example makes a figure out of a graphic. LATEX will place that graphic and its
caption at the top of a page or, if it is pushed to the end of the document, on a page of
floats.
\usepackage{graphicx} % in preamble
...
\begin{figure}[t]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.5\textwidth]{CTANlion.png}
\caption{The CTAN lion, by Duane Bibby}
Chapter 8: Environments 63
\end{figure}
8.11 filecontents
Synopsis:
\begin{filecontents}[option]{filename}
text
\end{filecontents}
or
\begin{filecontents*}[option]{filename}
text
\end{filecontents*}
Create a file named filename in the current directory (or the output directory, if specified;
see [output directory], page 251) and write text to it. By default, an existing file is not
overwritten.
The unstarred version of the environment filecontents prefixes the content of the
created file with a header of TEX comments; see the example below. The starred version
filecontents* does not include the header.
The possible options are:
force
overwrite
Overwrite an existing file.
noheader Omit the header. Equivalent to using filecontents*.
nosearch Only check the current directory (and the output directory, if specified) for an
existing file, not the entire search path.
These options were added in a 2019 release of LATEX.
This environment can be used anywhere in the preamble, although it often appears
before the \documentclass command. It is commonly used to create a .bib or other such
data file from the main document source, to make the source file self-contained. Similarly,
it can be used to create a custom style or class file, again making the source self-contained.
For example, this document:
\documentclass{article}
\begin{filecontents}{JH.sty}
\newcommand{\myname}{Jim Hef{}feron}
\end{filecontents}
\usepackage{JH}
\begin{document}
Article by \myname.
\end{document}
produces this file JH.sty:
%% LaTeX2e file ‘JH.sty’
%% generated by the ‘filecontents’ environment
%% from source ‘test’ on 2015/10/12.
Chapter 8: Environments 64
%%
\newcommand{\myname}{Jim Hef{}feron}
8.12 flushleft
Synopsis:
\begin{flushleft}
line1 \\
line2 \\
...
\end{flushleft}
An environment that creates a paragraph whose lines are flush to the left-hand margin,
and ragged right. If you have lines that are too long then LATEX will linebreak them in a
way that avoids hyphenation and stretching or shrinking interword spaces. To force a new
line use a double backslash, \\. For the declaration form see Section 8.12.1 [\raggedright],
page 64.
This creates a box of text that is at most 3 inches wide, with the text flush left and
ragged right.
\noindent\begin{minipage}{3in}
\begin{flushleft}
A long sentence that will be broken by \LaTeX{}
at a convenient spot. \\
And, a fresh line forced by the double backslash.
\end{flushleft}
\end{minipage}
8.12.1 \raggedright
Synopses:
{\raggedright ... }
or
\begin{environment} \raggedright
...
\end{environment}
A declaration which causes lines to be flush to the left margin and ragged right. It can
be used inside an environment such as quote or in a parbox. For the environment form
see Section 8.12 [flushleft], page 64.
Unlike the flushleft environment, the \raggedright command does not start a new
paragraph; it only changes how LATEX formats paragraph units. To affect a paragraph unit’s
format, the scope of the declaration must contain the blank line or \end command that ends
the paragraph unit.
Here \raggedright in each second column keeps LATEX from doing very awkward type-
setting to fit the text into the narrow column. Note that \raggedright is inside the curly
braces {...} to delimit its effect.
\begin{tabular}{rp{2in}}
Team alpha &{\raggedright This team does all the real work.} \\
Chapter 8: Environments 65
8.13 flushright
\begin{flushright}
line1 \\
line2 \\
...
\end{flushright}
An environment that creates a paragraph whose lines are flush to the right-hand margin
and ragged left. If you have lines that are too long to fit the margins then LATEX will line-
break them in a way that avoids hyphenation and stretching or shrinking inter-word spaces.
To force a new line use a double backslash, \\. For the declaration form see Section 8.13.1
[\raggedleft], page 65.
For an example related to this environment, see Section 8.12 [flushleft], page 64, where
one just have mutatis mutandis to replace flushleft by flushright.
8.13.1 \raggedleft
Synopses:
{\raggedleft ... }
or
\begin{environment} \raggedleft
...
\end{environment}
A declaration which causes lines to be flush to the right margin and ragged left. It can
be used inside an environment such as quote or in a parbox. For the environment form
see Section 8.13 [flushright], page 65.
Unlike the flushright environment, the \raggedleft command does not start a new
paragraph; it only changes how LATEX formats paragraph units. To affect a paragraph unit’s
format, the scope of the declaration must contain the blank line or \end command that ends
the paragraph unit.
For an example related to this environment, see Section 8.12.1 [\raggedright], page 64,
where one just have mutatis mutandis to replace \raggedright by \raggedleft.
8.14 itemize
Synopsis:
\begin{itemize}
\item[optional label of first item] text of first item
\item[optional label of second item] text of second item
...
\end{itemize}
Chapter 8: Environments 66
Produce an unordered list, sometimes called a bullet list. There must be at least
one \item within the environment; having none causes the LATEX error ‘Something’s
wrong--perhaps a missing \item’.
This gives a two-item list.
\begin{itemize}
\item Pencil and watercolor sketch by Cassandra
\item Rice portrait
\end{itemize}
With the default locale—without loading e.g. babel package with another language than
USenglish—as a top-level list each label would come out as a bullet, •. The format of the
labeling depends on the nesting level; see below.
Start list items with the \item command (see Section 8.16.1 [\item], page 71). If you
give \item an optional argument by following it with square brackets, as in \item[Optional
label], then by default Optional label will appear in bold and be flush right, so it could
extend into the left margin. For labels that are flush left see the Section 8.4 [description],
page 57, environment. Following the \item is the text of the item, which may be empty or
contain multiple paragraphs.
Unordered lists can be nested within one another, up to four levels deep. They can also
be nested within other paragraph-making environments, such as enumerate (see Section 8.7
[enumerate], page 59).
The itemize environment uses the commands \labelitemi through \labelitemiv to
produce the default label (note the convention of lowercase roman numerals at the end of
the command names that signify the nesting level). These are the default marks at each
level.
1. • (bullet, from \textbullet)
2. -- (bold en-dash, from \normalfont\bfseries\textendash)
3. * (asterisk, from \textasteriskcentered)
4. · (vertically centered dot, from \textperiodcentered)
Change the labels with \renewcommand. For instance, this makes the first level use
diamonds.
\renewcommand{\labelitemi}{$\diamond$}
The distance between the left margin of the enclosing environment and the left margin of
the itemize list is determined by the parameters \leftmargini through \leftmarginvi.
(This also uses the convention of using lowercase roman numerals a the end of the command
name to denote the nesting level.) The defaults are: 2.5em in level 1 (2em in two-column
mode), 2.2em in level 2, 1.87em in level 3, and 1.7em in level 4, with smaller values for
more deeply nested levels.
For other major LATEX labeled list environments, see Section 8.4 [description], page 57,
and Section 8.7 [enumerate], page 59. The itemize, enumerate and description environ-
ment use the same list layout parameters. For a description, including the default values,
and for information about customizing list layout, see Section 8.16 [list], page 67. The
package enumitem is useful for customizing lists.
This example greatly reduces the margin space for outermost itemized lists.
\setlength{\leftmargini}{1.25em} % default 2.5em
Chapter 8: Environments 67
Especially for lists with short items, it may be desirable to elide space between items.
Here is an example defining an itemize* environment with no extra spacing between items,
or between paragraphs within a single item (\parskip is not list-specific, see Section 15.3
[\parindent & \parskip], page 140):
\newenvironment{itemize*}%
{\begin{itemize}%
\setlength{\itemsep}{0pt}%
\setlength{\parsep}{0pt}}%
\setlength{\parskip}{0pt}}%
{\end{itemize}}
8.16 list
Synopsis:
\begin{list}{labeling}{spacing}
\item[optional label of first item] text of first item
\item[optional label of second item] text of second item
...
\end{list}
An environment for constructing lists.
Note that this environment does not typically appear in the document body. Most lists
created by LATEX authors are the ones that come standard: the description, enumerate,
and itemize environments (see Section 8.4 [description], page 57, Section 8.7 [enumerate],
page 59, and Section 8.14 [itemize], page 65).
Instead, the list environment is most often used in macros. For example, many standard
L TEX environments that do not immediately appear to be lists are in fact constructed
A
using list, including quotation, quote, and center (see Section 8.20 [quotation & quote],
page 83, see Section 8.3 [center], page 56).
This uses the list environment to define a new custom environment.
\newcounter{namedlistcounter} % number the items
\newenvironment{named}
{\begin{list}
{Item~\Roman{namedlistcounter}.} % labeling
{\usecounter{namedlistcounter} % set counter
\setlength{\leftmargin}{3.5em}} % set spacing
}
{\end{list}}
\begin{named}
\item Shows as ‘‘Item~I.’’
\item[Special label.] Shows as ‘‘Special label.’’
\item Shows as ‘‘Item~II.’’
Chapter 8: Environments 68
\end{named}
The mandatory first argument labeling specifies the default labeling of list items.
It can contain text and LATEX commands, as above where it contains both ‘Item’ and
‘\Roman{...}’. LATEX forms the label by putting the labeling argument in a box of width
\labelwidth. If the label is wider than that, the additional material extends to the
right. When making an instance of a list you can override the default labeling by giving
\item an optional argument by including square braces and the text, as in the above
\item[Special label.]; see Section 8.16.1 [\item], page 71.
The mandatory second argument spacing has a list of commands. This list can be
empty. A command that can go in here is \usecounter{countername} (see Section 13.2
[\usecounter], page 128). Use this to tell LATEX to number the items using the given counter.
The counter will be reset to zero each time LATEX enters the environment, and the counter
is incremented by one each time LATEX encounters an \item that does not have an optional
argument.
Another command that can go in spacing is \makelabel, which constructs the la-
bel box. By default it puts the contents flush right. Its only argument is the label,
which it typesets in LR mode (see Chapter 17 [Modes], page 170). One example of
changing its definition is that to the above named example, before the definition of the
environment add \newcommand{\namedmakelabel}[1]{\textsc{#1}}, and between the
\setlength command and the parenthesis that closes the spacing argument also add
\let\makelabel\namedmakelabel. Then the labels will be typeset in small caps. Sim-
ilarly, changing the second code line to \let\makelabel\fbox puts the labels inside a
framed box. Another example of the \makelabel command is below, in the definition of
the redlabel environment.
Also often in spacing are commands to redefine the spacing for the list. Below are the
spacing parameters with their default values. (Default values for derived environments such
as itemize can be different than the values shown here.) See also the figure that follows the
list. Each is a length (see Chapter 14 [Lengths], page 131). The vertical spaces are normally
rubber lengths, with plus and minus components, to give TEX flexibility in setting the page.
Change each with a command such as \setlength{itemsep}{2pt plus1pt minus1pt}. For
some effects these lengths should be zero or negative.
\itemindent
Extra horizontal space indentation, beyond leftmargin, of the first line each
item. Its default value is 0pt.
\itemsep Vertical space between items, beyond the \parsep. The defaults for the first
three levels in LATEX’s ‘article’, ‘book’, and ‘report’ classes at 10 point size
are: 4pt plus2pt minus1pt, \parsep (that is, 2pt plus1pt minus1pt), and
\topsep (that is, 2pt plus1pt minus1pt). The defaults at 11 point are: 4.5pt
plus2pt minus1pt, \parsep (that is, 2pt plus1pt minus1pt), and \topsep
(that is, 2pt plus1pt minus1pt). The defaults at 12 point are: 5pt plus2.5pt
minus1pt, \parsep (that is, 2.5pt plus1pt minus1pt), and \topsep (that is,
2.5pt plus1pt minus1pt).
\labelsep
Horizontal space between the label and text of an item. The default for LATEX’s
‘article’, ‘book’, and ‘report’ classes is 0.5em.
Chapter 8: Environments 69
\labelwidth
Horizontal width. The box containing the label is nominally this wide. If
\makelabel returns text that is wider than this then the first line of the item
will be indented to make room for this extra material. If \makelabel returns
text of width less than or equal to \labelwidth then LATEX’s default is that
the label is typeset flush right in a box of this width.
The left edge of the label box is \leftmargin+\itemindent-\labelsep-
\labelwidth from the left margin of the enclosing environment.
The default for LATEX’s ‘article’, ‘book’, and ‘report’ classes at the top level
is \leftmargini-\labelsep, (which is 2em in one column mode and 1.5em in
two column mode). At the second level it is \leftmarginii-\labelsep, and
at the third level it is \leftmarginiii-\labelsep. These definitions make the
label’s left edge coincide with the left margin of the enclosing environment.
\leftmargin
Horizontal space between the left margin of the enclosing environment (or the
left margin of the page if this is a top-level list), and the left margin of this list.
It must be non-negative.
In the standard LATEX document classes, a top-level list has this set to the
value of \leftmargini, while a list that is nested inside a top-level list has
this margin set to \leftmarginii. More deeply nested lists get the values
of \leftmarginiii through \leftmarginvi. (Nesting greater than level five
generates the error message ‘Too deeply nested’.)
The defaults for the first three levels in LATEX’s ‘article’, ‘book’, and ‘report’
classes are: \leftmargini is 2.5em (in two column mode, 2em), \leftmarginii
is 2.2em, and \leftmarginiii is 1.87em.
\listparindent
Horizontal space of additional line indentation, beyond \leftmargin, for second
and subsequent paragraphs within a list item. A negative value makes this an
“outdent”. Its default value is 0pt.
\parsep Vertical space between paragraphs within an item. The defaults for the first
three levels in LATEX’s ‘article’, ‘book’, and ‘report’ classes at 10 point size
are: 4pt plus2pt minus1pt, 2pt plus1pt minus1pt, and 0pt. The defaults at
11 point size are: 4.5pt plus2pt minus1pt, 2pt plus1pt minus1pt, and 0pt.
The defaults at 12 point size are: 5pt plus2.5pt minus1pt, 2.5pt plus1pt
minus1pt, and 0pt.
\partopsep
Vertical space added, beyond \topsep+\parskip, to the top and bottom of the
entire environment if the list instance is preceded by a blank line. (A blank line
in the LATEX source before the list changes spacing at both the top and bottom
of the list; whether the line following the list is blank does not matter.)
The defaults for the first three levels in LATEX’s ‘article’, ‘book’, and ‘report’
classes at 10 point size are: 2pt plus1 minus1pt, 2pt plus1pt minus1pt, and
1pt plus0pt minus1pt. The defaults at 11 point are: 3pt plus1pt minus1pt,
3pt plus1pt minus1pt, and 1pt plus0pt minus1pt). The defaults at 12
Chapter 8: Environments 70
point are: 3pt plus2pt minus3pt, 3pt plus2pt minus2pt, and 1pt plus0pt
minus1pt.
\rightmargin
Horizontal space between the right margin of the list and the right margin of
the enclosing environment. Its default value is 0pt. It must be non-negative.
\topsep Vertical space added to both the top and bottom of the list, in addition to
\parskip (see Section 15.3 [\parindent & \parskip], page 140). The defaults
for the first three levels in LATEX’s ‘article’, ‘book’, and ‘report’ classes at
10 point size are: 8pt plus2pt minus4pt, 4pt plus2pt minus1pt, and 2pt
plus1pt minus1pt. The defaults at 11 point are: 9pt plus3pt minus5pt,
4.5pt plus2pt minus1pt, and 2pt plus1pt minus1pt. The defaults at 12
point are: 10pt plus4pt minus6pt, 5pt plus2.5pt minus1pt, and 2.5pt
plus1pt minus1pt.
This shows the horizontal and vertical distances.
v1
First item, second paragraph
h2 v2
Label Second item
h3 h4 h5 v3
Surrounding environment, following material
The lengths shown are listed below. The key relationship is that the right edge of the
bracket for h1 equals the right edge of the bracket for h4, so that the left edge of the label
box is at h3+h4-(h0+h1).
v0 \topsep + \parskip if the list environment does not start a new paragraph,
and \topsep+\parskip+\partopsep if it does
v1 \parsep
v2 \itemsep+\parsep
v3 Same as v0. (This space is affected by whether a blank line appears in the source
above the environment; whether a blank line appears in the source below the
environment does not matter.)
h0 \labelwidth
h1 \labelsep
h2 \listparindent
Chapter 8: Environments 71
h3 \leftmargin
h4 \itemindent
h5 \rightmargin
The list’s left and right margins, shown above as h3 and h5, are with respect to the
ones provided by the surrounding environment, or with respect to the page margins for
a top-level list. The line width used for typesetting the list items is \linewidth (see
Section 5.5 [Page layout parameters], page 30). For instance, set the list’s left margin to be
one quarter of the distance between the left and right margins of the enclosing environment
with \setlength{\leftmargin}{0.25\linewidth}.
Page breaking in a list structure is controlled by the three parameters below. For each,
the LATEX default is -\@lowpenalty, that is, -51. Because it is negative, it somewhat
encourages a page break at each spot. Change it with, e.g., \@beginparpenalty=9999; a
value of 10000 prohibits a page break.
\@beginparpenalty
The page breaking penalty for breaking before the list (default -51).
\@itempenalty
The page breaking penalty for breaking before a list item (default -51).
\@endparpenalty
The page breaking penalty for breaking after a list (default -51).
The package enumitem is useful for customizing lists.
This example has the labels in red. They are numbered, and the left edge of the label
lines up with the left edge of the item text. See Section 13.2 [\usecounter], page 128.
\usepackage{color}
\newcounter{cnt}
\newcommand{\makeredlabel}[1]{\textcolor{red}{#1.}}
\newenvironment{redlabel}
{\begin{list}
{\arabic{cnt}}
{\usecounter{cnt}
\setlength{\labelwidth}{0em}
\setlength{\labelsep}{0.5em}
\setlength{\leftmargin}{1.5em}
\setlength{\itemindent}{0.5em} % equals \labelwidth+\labelsep
\let\makelabel=\makeredlabel
}
}
{\end{list}}
An entry in a list. The entries are prefixed by a label, whose default depends on the list
type.
Because the optional label is surrounded by square brackets ‘[...]’, if you have an item
whose text starts with [, you have to hide the bracket inside curly braces, as in: \item {[}
is an open square bracket; otherwise, LATEX will think it marks the start of an optional
label.
Similarly, if the item does have the optional label and you need a close square bracket
inside that label, you must hide it in the same way: \item[Close square bracket, {]}].
See Section 2.4 [LATEX command syntax], page 5.
In this example the enumerate list has two items that use the default label and one that
uses the optional label.
\begin{enumerate}
\item Moe
\item[sometimes] Shemp
\item Larry
\end{enumerate}
The first item is labelled ‘1.’, the second item is labelled ‘sometimes’, and the third
item is labelled ‘2.’. Because of the optional label in the second item, the third item is not
labelled ‘3.’.
8.17 math
Synopsis:
\begin{math}
math
\end{math}
The math environment inserts given math material within the running text. \(...\)
and $...$ are synonyms. See Chapter 16 [Math formulas], page 142.
8.18 minipage
Synopses:
\begin{minipage}{width}
contents
\end{minipage}
or
\begin{minipage}[position][height][inner-pos]{width}
contents
\end{minipage}
Put contents into a box that is width wide. This is like a small version of a page; it can
contain its own footnotes, itemized lists, etc. (There are some restrictions, including that
it cannot have floats.) This box will not be broken across pages. So minipage is similar to
\parbox (see Section 20.3 [\parbox], page 191) but here you can have paragraphs.
This example will be 3 inches wide, and has two paragraphs.
\begin{minipage}{3in}
Stephen Kleene was a founder of the Theory of Computation.
b Match the bottom line in the minipage with the baseline of the surrounding
text (plain TEX’s \vbox).
To see the effects of these, contrast running this
---\begin{minipage}[c]{0.25in}
first\\ second\\ third
\end{minipage}
with the results of changing c to b or t.
The optional argument height is a rigid length (see Chapter 14 [Lengths], page 131). It
sets the height of the minipage. You can enter any value larger than, or equal to, or smaller
than the minipage’s natural height and LATEX will not give an error or warning. You can
also set it to a height of zero or a negative value.
The final optional argument inner-pos controls the placement of contents inside the box.
These are the possible values are (the default is the value of position).
t Place contents at the top of the box.
c Place it in the vertical center.
b Place it at the box bottom.
s Stretch contents out vertically; it must contain vertically stretchable space.
The inner-pos argument makes sense when the height option is set to a value larger than
the minipage’s natural height. To see the effect of the options, run this example with the
various choices in place of b.
Text before
\begin{center}
---\begin{minipage}[c][3in][b]{0.25\textwidth}
first\\ second\\ third
\end{minipage}
\end{center}
Text after
By default paragraphs are not indented in a minipage. Change that with a command
such as \setlength{\parindent}{1pc} at the start of contents.
Footnotes in a minipage environment are handled in a way that is particularly useful
for putting footnotes in figures or tables. A \footnote or \footnotetext command puts
the footnote at the bottom of the minipage instead of at the bottom of the page, and it
uses the \mpfootnote counter instead of the ordinary footnote counter (see Chapter 13
[Counters], page 127).
This puts the footnote at the bottom of the table, not the bottom of the page.
\begin{center} % center the minipage on the line
\begin{minipage}{2.5in}
\begin{center} % center the table inside the minipage
\begin{tabular}{ll}
\textsc{Monarch} &\textsc{Reign} \\ \hline
Elizabeth II &63 years\footnote{to date} \\
Victoria &63 years \\
Chapter 8: Environments 75
8.19 picture
Synopses:
\begin{picture}(width,height)
picture command
\end{picture}
or
\begin{picture}(width,height)(xoffset,yoffset)
picture command
\end{picture}
Where there may be any number of picture command’s.
Chapter 8: Environments 76
An environment to create simple pictures containing lines, arrows, boxes, circles, and
text. This environment is not obsolete, but new documents typically use much more pow-
erful graphics creation systems, such as TikZ, PSTricks, MetaPost, or Asymptote. None of
these are covered in this document; see CTAN.
To start, here’s an example showing the parallelogram law for adding vectors.
\setlength{\unitlength}{1cm}
\begin{picture}(6,6) % picture box will be 6cm wide by 6cm tall
\put(0,0){\vector(2,1){4}} % for every 2 over this vector goes 1 up
\put(2,1){\makebox(0,0)[l]{\ first leg}}
\put(4,2){\vector(1,2){2}}
\put(5,4){\makebox(0,0)[l]{\ second leg}}
\put(0,0){\vector(1,1){6}}
\put(3,3){\makebox(0,0)[r]{sum\ }}
\end{picture}
The picture environment has one required argument, a pair of positive real numbers
(width,height). Multiply these by the value \unitlength to get the nominal size of the
output, i.e. the space that LATEX reserves on the output page. This nominal size need not
be how large the picture really is; LATEX will draw things from the picture outside the
picture’s box.
This environment also has an optional argument (xoffset,yoffset). It is used to shift the
origin. Unlike most optional arguments, this one is not contained in square brackets. As
with the required argument, it consists of a pair of two real numbers, but these may also
be negative or null. Multiply these by \unitlength to get the coordinates of the point at
the lower-left corner of the picture.
For example, if \unitlength has been set to 1mm, the command
\begin{picture}(100,200)(10,20)
produces a box of width 100 millimeters and height 200 millimeters. The picture’s origin
is the point (10mm,20mm) and so the lower-left corner is there, and the upper-right corner
is at (110mm,220mm). When you first draw a picture you typically omit the optional
argument, leaving the origin at the lower-left corner. If you then want to modify your
picture by shifting everything, you can just add the appropriate optional argument.
Each picture command tells LATEX where to put something by providing its position. A
position is a pair such as (2.4,-5) giving the x- and y-coordinates. A coordinate is a not
a length, it is a real number (it may have a decimal point or a minus sign). It specifies a
length in multiples of the unit length \unitlength, so if \unitlength has been set to 1cm,
then the coordinate 2.54 specifies a length of 2.54 centimeters.
LATEX’s default for \unitlength is 1pt. It is a rigid length (see Chapter 14 [Lengths],
page 131). Change it with the \setlength command (see Section 14.2 [\setlength],
page 133). Make this change only outside of a picture environment.
The picture environment supports using standard arithmetic expressions as well as
numbers.
Coordinates are given with respect to an origin, which is by default at the lower-
left corner of the picture. Note that when a position appears as an argument, as with
Chapter 8: Environments 77
\put(1,2){...}, it is not enclosed in braces since the parentheses serve to delimit the ar-
gument. Also, unlike in some computer graphics systems, larger y-coordinates are further
up the page, for example, y = 1 is above y = 0.
There are four ways to put things in a picture: \put, \multiput, \qbezier, and
\graphpaper. The most often used is \put. This
\put(11.3,-0.3){...}
places the object with its reference point at coordinates (11.3, −0.3). The reference points
for various objects will be described below. The \put command creates an LR box (see
Chapter 17 [Modes], page 170). Anything that can go in an \mbox (see Section 20.1 [\mbox
& \makebox], page 189) can go in the text argument of the \put command. The reference
point will be the lower left corner of the box. In this picture
\setlength{\unitlength}{1cm}
...\begin{picture}(1,1)
\put(0,0){\line(1,0){1}}
\put(0,0){\line(1,1){1}}
\end{picture}
the three dots are just slightly left of the point of the angle formed by the two lines. (Also,
\line(1,1){1} does not call for a line of length one; rather the line has a change in the x
coordinate of 1.)
The \multiput, qbezier, and graphpaper commands are described below.
You can also use this environment to place arbitrary material at an exact location. For
example:
\usepackage{color,graphicx} % in preamble
...
\begin{center}
\setlength{\unitlength}{\textwidth}
\begin{picture}(1,1) % leave space, \textwidth wide and tall
\put(0,0){\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{desertedisland.jpg}}
\put(0.25,0.35){\textcolor{red}{X Treasure here}}
\end{picture}
\end{center}
The red X will be precisely a quarter of the \textwidth from the left margin, and
0.35\textwidth up from the bottom of the picture. Another example of this usage is to
put similar code in the page header to get repeat material on each of a document’s pages.
8.19.1 \put
Synopsis:
\put(xcoord,ycoord){content}
Place content at the coordinate (xcoord,ycoord). See the discussion of coordinates and
\unitlength in Section 8.19 [picture], page 75. The content is processed in LR mode (see
Chapter 17 [Modes], page 170) so it cannot contain line breaks.
This includes the text into the picture.
\put(4.5,2.5){Apply the \textit{unpoke} move}
Chapter 8: Environments 78
The reference point, the location (4.5,2.5), is the lower left of the text, at the bottom
left of the ‘A’.
8.19.2 \multiput
Synopsis:
\multiput(x,y)(delta_x,delta_y){num-copies}{obj}
Copy obj a total of num-copies times, with an increment of delta x,delta y. The obj
first appears at position (x, y), then at (x + δx , y + δy ), and so on.
This draws a simple grid with every fifth line in bold (see also Section 8.19.4 [\graphpa-
per], page 79).
\begin{picture}(10,10)
\linethickness{0.05mm}
\multiput(0,0)(1,0){10}{\line(0,1){10}}
\multiput(0,0)(0,1){10}{\line(1,0){10}}
\linethickness{0.5mm}
\multiput(0,0)(5,0){3}{\line(0,1){10}}
\multiput(0,0)(0,5){3}{\line(1,0){10}}
\end{picture}
8.19.3 \qbezier
Synopsis:
\qbezier(x1,y1)(x2,y2)(x3,y3)
\qbezier[num](x1,y1)(x2,y2)(x3,y3)
Draw a quadratic Bezier curve whose control points are given by the three required
arguments (x1,y1), (x2,y2), and (x3,y3). That is, the curve runs from (x1,y1) to (x3,y3),
is quadratic, and is such that the tangent line at (x1,y1) passes through (x2,y2), as does
the tangent line at (x3,y3).
This draws a curve from the coordinate (1,1) to (1,0).
\qbezier(1,1)(1.25,0.75)(1,0)
The curve’s tangent line at (1,1) contains (1.25,0.75), as does the curve’s tangent line at
(1,0).
The optional argument num gives the number of calculated intermediate points. The
default is to draw a smooth curve whose maximum number of points is \qbeziermax (change
this value with \renewcommand).
This draws a rectangle with a wavy top, using \qbezier for that curve.
\begin{picture}(8,4)
\put(0,0){\vector(1,0){8}} % x axis
\put(0,0){\vector(0,1){4}} % y axis
\put(2,0){\line(0,1){3}} % left side
\put(4,0){\line(0,1){3.5}} % right side
\qbezier(2,3)(2.5,2.9)(3,3.25)
\qbezier(3,3.25)(3.5,3.6)(4,3.5)
\thicklines % below here, lines are twice as thick
\put(2,3){\line(4,1){2}}
Chapter 8: Environments 79
\put(4.5,2.5){\framebox{Trapezoidal Rule}}
\end{picture}
8.19.4 \graphpaper
Synopsis:
\graphpaper(x_init,y_init)(x_dimen,y_dimen)
\graphpaper[spacing](x_init,y_init)(x_dimen,y_dimen)
Draw a coordinate grid. Requires the graphpap package. The grid’s origin is (x_init,y_
init). Grid lines come every spacing units (the default is 10). The grid extends x dimen
units to the right and y dimen units up. All arguments must be positive integers.
This make a grid with seven vertical lines and eleven horizontal lines.
\usepackage{graphpap} % in preamble
...
\begin{picture}(6,20) % in document body
\graphpaper[2](0,0)(12,20)
\end{picture}
The lines are numbered every ten units.
8.19.5 \line
Synopsis:
\line(x_run,y_rise){travel}
Draw a line. It slopes such that it vertically rises y rise for every horizontal x run. The
travel is the total horizontal change—it is not the length of the vector, it is the change in x.
In the special case of vertical lines, where (x run,y rise)=(0,1), the travel gives the change
in y.
This draws a line starting at coordinates (1,3).
\put(1,3){\line(2,5){4}}
For every over 2, this line will go up 5. Because travel specifies that this goes over 4, it must
go up 10. Thus its endpoint is (1, 3) + (4, 10) = (5, 13). In particular, note that travel = 4
is not the length of the line, it is the change in x.
The arguments x run and y rise are integers that can be positive, negative, or zero.
(If both are 0 then LATEX treats the second as 1.) With \put(x_init,y_init){\line(x_
run,y_rise){travel}}, if x run is negative then the line’s ending point has a first coordi-
nate that is less than x init. If y rise is negative then the line’s ending point has a second
coordinate that is less than y init.
If travel is negative then you get LaTeX Error: Bad \line or \vector argument.
Standard LATEX can only draw lines with a limited range of slopes because these lines are
made by putting together line segments from pre-made fonts. The two numbers x run and
y rise must have integer values from −6 through 6. Also, they must be relatively prime, so
that (x run,y rise) can be (2,1) but not (4,2) (if you choose the latter then instead of lines
you get sequences of arrowheads; the solution is to switch to the former). To get lines of
arbitrary slope and plenty of other shapes in a system like picture, see the package pict2e
(https: / / ctan . org / pkg / pict2e). Another solution is to use a full-featured graphics
system such as TikZ, PSTricks, MetaPost, or Asymptote.
Chapter 8: Environments 80
8.19.6 \linethickness
Synopsis:
\linethickness{dim}
Declares the thickness of subsequent horizontal and vertical lines in a picture to be
dim, which must be a positive length (see Chapter 14 [Lengths], page 131). It differs from
\thinlines and \thicklines in that it does not affect the thickness of slanted lines, circles,
or ovals (see Section 8.19.10 [\oval], page 80).
8.19.7 \thinlines
Declaration to set the thickness of subsequent lines, circles, and ovals in a picture environ-
ment to be 0.4 pt. This is the default thickness, so this command is unnecessary unless
the thickness has been changed with either Section 8.19.6 [\linethickness], page 80, or
Section 8.19.8 [\thicklines], page 80.
8.19.8 \thicklines
Declaration to set the thickness of subsequent lines, circles, and ovals in a picture envi-
ronment to be 0.8 pt. See also Section 8.19.6 [\linethickness], page 80, and Section 8.19.7
[\thinlines], page 80. This command is illustrated in the Trapezoidal Rule example of
Section 8.19.3 [\qbezier], page 78.
8.19.9 \circle
Synopsis:
\circle{diameter}
\circle*{diameter}
Produces a circle with a diameter as close as possible to the specified one. The * form
produces a filled-in circle.
This draws a circle of radius 6, centered at (5,7).
\put(5,7){\circle{6}}
The available radii for \circle are, in points, the even numbers from 2 to 20, inclusive.
For \circle* they are all the integers from 1 to 15.
8.19.10 \oval
Synopsis:
\oval(width,height)
\oval(width,height)[portion]
Produce a rectangle with rounded corners, hereinafter referred to as an oval. The op-
tional argument portion allows you to produce only half or a quarter of the oval. For half
an oval take portion to be one of these.
t top half
b bottom half
r right half
l left half
Chapter 8: Environments 81
Produce only one quarter of the oval by setting portion to tr, br, bl, or tl.
This draws the top half of an oval that is 3 wide and 7 tall.
\put(5,7){\oval(3,7)[t]}
The (5,7) is the center of the entire oval, not just the center of the top half.
These shapes are not ellipses. They are rectangles whose corners are made with quarter
circles. These circles have a maximum radius of 20 pt (see Section 8.19.9 [\circle], page 80,
for the sizes). Thus large ovals are just frames with a small amount of corner rounding.
8.19.11 \shortstack
Synopsis:
\shortstack[position]{line 1 \\ ... }
Produce a vertical stack of objects.
This labels the y axis by writing the word ‘y’ above the word ‘axis’.
\setlength{\unitlength}{1cm}
\begin{picture}(5,2.5)(-0.75,0)
\put(0,0){\vector(1,0){4}} % x axis
\put(0,0){\vector(0,1){2}} % y
\put(-0.2,2){\makebox(0,0)[r]{\shortstack[r]{$y$\\ axis}}}
\end{picture}
For a short stack, the reference point is the lower left of the stack. In the above example
the \makebox (see Section 20.1 [\mbox & \makebox], page 189) puts the stack flush right
in a zero width box so in total the short stack sits slightly to the left of the y axis.
The valid positions are:
r Make objects flush right
l Make objects flush left
c Center objects (default)
Separate objects into lines with \\. These stacks are short in that, unlike in a tabular or
array environment, here the rows are not spaced out to be of even baseline skips. Thus, in
\shortstack{X\\o\\o\\X} the first and last rows are taller than the middle two, and there-
fore the baseline skip between the two middle rows is smaller than that between the third
and last row. You can adjust row heights and depths either by putting in the usual inter-
line spacing with \shortstack{X\\ \strut o\\o\\X} (see Section 19.13 [\strut], page 184),
or explicitly, via an zero-width box \shortstack{X \\ \rule{0pt}{12pt} o\\o\\X} or by
using \\’s optional argument \shortstack{X\\[2pt] o\\o\\X}.
The \shortstack command is also available outside the picture environment.
8.19.12 \vector
Synopsis:
\vector(x_run,y_rise){travel}
Draw a line ending in an arrow. The slope of that line is: it vertically rises y rise for
every horizontal x run. The travel is the total horizontal change—it is not the length of the
Chapter 8: Environments 82
vector, it is the change in x. In the special case of vertical vectors, if (x run,y rise)=(0,1),
then travel gives the change in y.
For an example see Section 8.19 [picture], page 75.
For elaboration on x run and y rise see Section 8.19.5 [\line], page 79. As there, the
values of x run and y rise are limited. For \vector you must chooses integers between −4
and 4, inclusive. Also, the two you choose must be relatively prime. Thus, \vector(2,1){4}
is acceptable but \vector(4,2){4} is not (if you use the latter then you get a sequence of
arrowheads).
The required arguments are that the rectangle has overall width rect-width units and
height rect-height units.
The optional argument position specifies the position of text; see Section 8.19.13 [\make-
box (picture)], page 82, for the values that it can take.
The rule has thickness \fboxrule and there is a blank space \fboxsep between the
frame and the contents of the box.
For this command, you must specify the width and height. If you want to just put a
frame around some contents whose dimension is determined in some other way then either
use \fbox (see Section 20.2 [\fbox & \framebox], page 190) or \frame (see Section 8.19.15
[\frame], page 83).
8.19.15 \frame
Synopsis:
\frame{contents}
Puts a rectangular frame around contents. The reference point is the bottom left corner
of the frame. In contrast to \framebox (see Section 8.19.14 [\framebox (picture)], page 82),
this command puts no extra space is put between the frame and the object. It is fragile
(see Section 12.11 [\protect], page 123).
8.19.16 \dashbox
Synopsis:
\dashbox{dash-len}(rect-width,rect-height){text}
\dashbox{dash-len}(rect-width,rect-height)[position]{text}
Create a dashed rectangle around text. This command fits with the picture environ-
ment, although you can use it outside of there, because lengths are numbers specifying the
distance in terms of the \unitlength (see Section 8.19 [picture], page 75).
The required arguments are: dashes are dash-len units long, with the same length gap,
and the rectangle has overall width rect-width units and height rect-height units.
The optional argument position specifies the position of text; see Section 8.19.13 [\make-
box (picture)], page 82, for the values that it can take.
This shows that you can use non-integer value for dash-len.
\put(0,0){\dashbox{0.1}(5,0.5){My hovercraft is full of eels.}}
Each dash will be 0.1\unitlength long, the box’s width is 5\unitlength and its height is
0.5\unitlength.
As in that example, a dashed box looks best when rect-width and rect-height are mul-
tiples of the dash-len.
or
\begin{quote}
text
\end{quote}
Include a quotation. Both environments indent margins on both sides by \leftmargin
and the text is right-justified.
They differ in how they treat paragraphs. In the quotation environment, paragraphs are
indented by 1.5 em and the space between paragraphs is small, 0pt plus 1pt. In the quote
environment, paragraphs are not indented and there is vertical space between paragraphs
(it is the rubber length \parsep).
\begin{quotation} \small\it
Four score and seven years ago
... shall not perish from the earth.
\hspace{1em plus 1fill}---Abraham Lincoln
\end{quotation}
8.21 tabbing
Synopsis:
\begin{tabbing}
row1col1 \= row1col2 ... \\
row2col1 \> row2col2 ... \\
...
\end{tabbing}
Align text in columns, by setting tab stops and tabbing to them much as was done
on a typewriter. This is less often used than the environments tabular (see Section 8.23
[tabular], page 87) or array (see Section 8.2 [array], page 55) because in those the width of
each column need not be constant and need not be known in advance.
This example has a first line where the tab stops are set to explicit widths, ended by a
\kill command (which is described below):
\begin{tabbing}
\hspace{1.2in}\=\hspace{1in}\=\kill
Ship \>Guns \>Year \\
\textit{Sophie} \>14 \>1800 \\
\textit{Polychrest} \>24 \>1803 \\
\textit{Lively} \>38 \>1804 \\
\textit{Surprise} \>28 \>1805 \\
\end{tabbing}
Both the tabbing environment and the more widely-used tabular environment put
text in columns. The most important distinction is that in tabular the width of columns is
determined automatically by LATEX, while in tabbing the user sets the tab stops. Another
distinction is that tabular generates a box, but tabbing can be broken across pages.
Finally, while tabular can be used in any mode, tabbing can be used only in paragraph
mode and it always starts a new paragraph, without indentation.
Chapter 8: Environments 85
Moreover, as shown in the example above, there is no need to use the starred form of
the \hspace command at the beginning of a tabbed row. The right margin of the tabbing
environment is the end of line, so that the width of the environment is \linewidth.
The tabbing environment contains a sequence of tabbed rows. The first tabbed row
begins immediately after \begin{tabbing} and each row ends with \\ or \kill. The last
row may omit the \\ and end with just \end{tabbing}.
At any point the tabbing environment has a current tab stop pattern, a sequence of
n > 0 tab stops, numbered 0, 1, etc. These create n corresponding columns. Tab stop 0 is
always the left margin, defined by the enclosing environment. Tab stop number i is set if
it is assigned a horizontal position on the page. Tab stop number i can only be set if all
the stops 0, . . . , i − 1 have already been set; normally later stops are to the right of earlier
ones.
By default any text typeset in a tabbing environment is typeset ragged right and left-
aligned on the current tab stop. Typesetting is done in LR mode (see Chapter 17 [Modes],
page 170).
The following commands can be used inside a tabbing environment. They are all fragile
(see Section 12.11 [\protect], page 123).
\\ (tabbing)
End a tabbed line and typeset it.
\= (tabbing)
Sets a tab stop at the current position.
\> (tabbing)
Advances to the next tab stop.
\< Put following text to the left of the local margin (without changing the margin).
Can only be used at the start of the line.
\+ Moves the left margin of the next and all the following commands one tab stop
to the right, beginning tabbed line if necessary.
\- Moves the left margin of the next and all the following commands one tab stop
to the left, beginning tabbed line if necessary.
\’ (tabbing)
Moves everything that you have typed so far in the current column, i.e., every-
thing from the most recent \>, \<, \’, \\, or \kill command, to the previous
column and aligned to the right, flush against the current column’s tab stop.
\‘ (tabbing)
Allows you to put text flush right against any tab stop, including tab stop 0.
However, it can’t move text to the right of the last column because there’s no
tab stop there. The \‘ command moves all the text that follows it, up to the
\\ or \end{tabbing} command that ends the line, to the right margin of the
tabbing environment. There must be no \> or \’ command between the \‘
and the \\ or \end{tabbing} command that ends the line.
Chapter 8: Environments 86
\a (tabbing)
In a tabbing environment, the commands \=, \’ and \‘ do not produce accents
as usual (see Section 23.5 [Accents], page 215). Instead, use the commands \a=,
\a’ and \a‘.
\kill Sets tab stops without producing text. Works just like \\ except that it throws
away the current line instead of producing output for it. Any \=, \+ or \-
commands in that line remain in effect.
\poptabs Restores the tab stop positions saved by the last \pushtabs.
\pushtabs
Saves all current tab stop positions. Useful for temporarily changing tab stop
positions in the middle of a tabbing environment.
\tabbingsep
Distance of the text moved by \’ to left of current tab stop.
This example typesets a Pascal function:
\begin{tabbing}
function \= fact(n : integer) : integer;\\
\> begin \= \+ \\
\> if \= n > 1 then \+ \\
fact := n * fact(n-1) \- \\
else \+ \\
fact := 1; \-\- \\
end;\\
\end{tabbing}
The output looks like this.
function fact(n : integer) : integer;
begin
if n > 1 then
fact := n * fact(n-1);
else
fact := 1;
end;
This example is just for illustration of the environment. To actually typeset computer
code in typewriter like this, a verbatim environment (see Section 8.27 [verbatim], page 98)
would normally be best. For pretty-printed code, there are quite a few packages, including
algorithm2e, fancyvrb, listings, and minted.
8.22 table
Synopsis:
\begin{table}[placement]
table body
\caption[loftitle]{title} % optional
\label{label} % also optional
\end{table}
Chapter 8: Environments 87
A class of floats (see Section 5.7 [Floats], page 34). They cannot be split across pages
and so they are not typeset in sequence with the normal text but instead are floated to a
convenient place, such as the top of a following page.
This example table environment contains a tabular
\begin{table}
\centering\small
\begin{tabular}{ll}
\multicolumn{1}{c}{\textit{Author}}
&\multicolumn{1}{c}{\textit{Piece}} \\ \hline
Bach &Cello Suite Number 1 \\
Beethoven &Cello Sonata Number 3 \\
Brahms &Cello Sonata Number 1
\end{tabular}
\caption{Top cello pieces}
\label{tab:cello}
\end{table}
but you can put many different kinds of content in a table: the table body may contain
text, LATEX commands, graphics, etc. It is typeset in a parbox of width \textwidth.
For the possible values of placement and their effect on the float placement algorithm,
see Section 5.7 [Floats], page 34.
The label is optional; it is used for cross references (see Chapter 7 [Cross references],
page 50). The \caption command is also optional. It specifies caption text title for the
table (see Section 5.7.1 [\caption], page 36). By default it is numbered. If its optional
lottitle is present then that text is used in the list of tables instead of title (see Section 25.1
[Table of contents etc.], page 224).
In this example the table and caption will float to the bottom of a page, unless it is
pushed to a float page at the end.
\begin{table}[b]
\centering
\begin{tabular}{r|p{2in}} \hline
One &The loneliest number \\
Two &Can be as sad as one.
It’s the loneliest number since the number one.
\end{tabular}
\caption{Cardinal virtues}
\label{tab:CardinalVirtues}
\end{table}
8.23 tabular
Synopsis:
\begin{tabular}[pos]{cols}
column 1 entry &column 2 entry ... &column n entry \\
...
\end{tabular}
Chapter 8: Environments 88
or
\begin{tabular*}{width}[pos]{cols}
column 1 entry &column 2 entry ... &column n entry \\
...
\end{tabular*}
Produce a table, a box consisting of a sequence of horizontal rows. Each row consists of
items that are aligned vertically in columns. This illustrates many of the features.
\begin{tabular}{l|l}
\textit{Player name} &\textit{Career home runs} \\
\hline
Hank Aaron &755 \\
Babe Ruth &714
\end{tabular}
The output will have two left-aligned columns with a vertical bar between them. This is
specified in tabular’s argument {l|l}. Put the entries into different columns by separating
them with an ampersand, &. The end of each row is marked with a double backslash, \\.
Put a horizontal rule below a row, after a double backslash, with \hline. After the last
row the \\ is optional, unless an \hline command follows to put a rule below the table.
The required and optional arguments to tabular consist of:
pos Optional. Specifies the table’s vertical position. The default is to align the
table so its vertical center matches the baseline of the surrounding text. There
are two other possible alignments: t aligns the table so its top row matches the
baseline of the surrounding text, and b aligns on the bottom row.
This only has an effect if there is other text. In the common case of a tabular
alone in a center environment this option makes no difference.
cols Required. Specifies the formatting of columns. It consists of a sequence of
the following specifiers, corresponding to the types of column and intercolumn
material.
l A column of left-aligned items.
r A column of right-aligned items.
c A column of centered items.
| A vertical line the full height and depth of the environment.
@{text or space}
Insert text or space at this location in every row. The text or
space material is typeset in LR mode. This text is fragile (see
Section 12.11 [\protect], page 123).
If between two columns there is no @-expression then LATEX’s book,
article, and report classes will put on either side of each column
a space of length \tabcolsep, which by default is 6 pt. That is, by
default adjacent columns are separated by 12 pt (so \tabcolsep is
misleadingly named since it is only half of the separation between
tabular columns). In addition, a space of 6 pt also comes before the
Chapter 8: Environments 89
first column and after the final column, unless you put a @{...} or
| there.
If you override the default and use an @-expression then LATEX
does not insert \tabcolsep so you must insert any desired space
yourself, as in @{\hspace{1em}}.
An empty expression @{} will eliminate the space. In particular,
sometimes you want to eliminate the space before the first column
or after the last one, as in the example below where the tabular
lines need to lie on the left margin.
\begin{flushleft}
\begin{tabular}{@{}l}
...
\end{tabular}
\end{flushleft}
The next example shows text, a decimal point between the columns,
arranged so the numbers in the table are aligned on it.
\begin{tabular}{r@{$.$}l}
$3$ &$14$ \\
$9$ &$80665$
\end{tabular}
An \extracolsep{wd} command in an @-expression causes an
extra space of width wd to appear to the left of all subsequent
columns, until countermanded by another \extracolsep. Unlike
ordinary intercolumn space, this extra space is not suppressed by
an @-expression. An \extracolsep command can be used only
in an @-expression in the cols argument. Below, LATEX inserts
the right amount of intercolumn space to make the entire table 4
inches wide.
\begin{tabular*}{4in}{l@{\extracolsep{\fill}}l}
Seven times down, eight times up \ldots
&such is life!
\end{tabular*}
To insert commands that are automatically executed before a given
column, load the array package and use the >{...} specifier.
p{wd} Each item in the column is typeset in a parbox of width wd, as if
it were the argument of a \parbox[t]{wd}{...} command.
A line break double backslash \\ may not appear in the item,
except inside an environment like minipage, array, or tabular,
or inside an explicit \parbox, or in the scope of a \centering,
\raggedright, or \raggedleft declaration (when used in a p-
column element these declarations must appear inside braces, as
with {\centering .. \\ ..}). Otherwise LATEX will misinterpret
the double backslash as ending the tabular row. Instead, to get
a line break in there use \newline (see Section 9.3 [\newline],
page 102).
Chapter 8: Environments 90
*{num}{cols}
Equivalent to num copies of cols, where num is a positive
integer and cols is a list of specifiers. Thus the specifier
\begin{tabular}{|*{3}{l|r}|} is equivalent to the specifier
\begin{tabular}{|l|rl|rl|r|}. Note that cols may contain
another *-expression.
width Required for tabular*, not allowed for tabular. Specifies the width of the
tabular* environment. The space between columns should be rubber, as with
@{\extracolsep{\fill}}, to allow the table to stretch or shrink to make the
specified width, or else you are likely to get the Underfull \hbox (badness
10000) in alignment ... warning.
Parameters that control formatting:
\arrayrulewidth
A length that is the thickness of the rule created by |, \hline, and \vline in
the tabular and array environments. The default is ‘.4pt’. Change it as in
\setlength{\arrayrulewidth}{0.8pt}.
\arraystretch
A factor by which the spacing between rows in the tabular and array en-
vironments is multiplied. The default is ‘1’, for no scaling. Change it as
\renewcommand{\arraystretch}{1.2}.
\doublerulesep
A length that is the distance between the vertical rules produced by the ||
specifier. The default is ‘2pt’.
\tabcolsep
A length that is half of the space between columns. The default is ‘6pt’. Change
it with \setlength.
The following commands can be used inside the body of a tabular environment, the
first two inside an entry and the second two between lines:
8.23.1 \multicolumn
Synopsis:
\multicolumn{numcols}{cols}{text}
Make an array or tabular entry that spans several columns. The first argument numcols
gives the number of columns to span. The second argument cols specifies the formatting of
the entry, with c for centered, l for flush left, or r for flush right. The third argument text
gives the contents of that entry.
In this example, in the first row, the second and third columns are spanned by the single
heading ‘Name’.
\begin{tabular}{lccl}
\textit{ID} &\multicolumn{2}{c}{\textit{Name}} &\textit{Age} \\
\hline
978-0-393-03701-2 &O’Brian &Patrick &55 \\
...
Chapter 8: Environments 91
\end{tabular}
What counts as a column is: the column format specifier for the array or tabular
environment is broken into parts, where each part (except the first) begins with l, c, r,
or p. So from \begin{tabular}{|r|ccp{1.5in}|} the parts are |r|, c, c, and p{1.5in}|.
The cols argument overrides the array or tabular environment’s intercolumn area de-
fault adjoining this multicolumn entry. To affect that area, this argument can contain
vertical bars | indicating the placement of vertical rules, and @{...} expressions. Thus if
cols is ‘|c|’ then this multicolumn entry will be centered and a vertical rule will come in
the intercolumn area before it and after it. This table details the exact behavior.
\begin{tabular}{|cc|c|c|}
\multicolumn{1}{r}{w} % entry one
&\multicolumn{1}{|r|}{x} % entry two
&\multicolumn{1}{|r}{y} % entry three
&z % entry four
\end{tabular}
Before the first entry the output will not have a vertical rule because the \multicolumn has
the cols specifier ‘r’ with no initial vertical bar. Between entry one and entry two there will
be a vertical rule; although the first cols does not have an ending vertical bar, the second
cols does have a starting one. Between entry two and entry three there is a single vertical
rule; despite that the cols in both of the surrounding multicolumn’s call for a vertical rule,
you only get one rule. Between entry three and entry four there is no vertical rule; the
default calls for one but the cols in the entry three \multicolumn leaves it out, and that
takes precedence. Finally, following entry four there is a vertical rule because of the default.
The number of spanned columns numcols can be 1. Besides giving the ability to change
the horizontal alignment, this also is useful to override for one row the tabular definition’s
default intercolumn area specification, including the placement of vertical rules.
In the example below, in the tabular definition the first column is speci-
fied to default to left justified but in the first row the entry is centered with
\multicolumn{1}{c}{\textsc{Period}}. Also in the first row, the second and third
columns are spanned by a single entry with \multicolumn{2}{c}{\textsc{Span}},
overriding the specification to center those two columns on the page range en-dash.
\begin{tabular}{l|r@{--}l}
\multicolumn{1}{c}{\textsc{Period}}
&multicolumn{2}{c}{\textsc{Span}} \\ \hline
Baroque &1600 &1760 \\
Classical &1730 &1820 \\
Romantic &1780 &1910 \\
Impressionistic &1875 &1925
\end{tabular}
Although the tabular specification by default puts a vertical rule between the first and
second columns, no such vertical rule appears in the first row here. That’s because there is
no vertical bar in the cols part of the first row’s first \multicolumn command.
Chapter 8: Environments 92
8.23.2 \vline
Draw a vertical line in a tabular or array environment extending the full height and depth
of an entry’s row. Can also be used in an @-expression, although its synonym vertical
bar | is more common. This command is rarely used in the body of a table; typically a
table’s vertical lines are specified in tabular’s cols argument and overridden as needed with
\multicolumn (see Section 8.23 [tabular], page 87).
The example below illustrates some pitfalls. In the first row’s second entry the \hfill
moves the \vline to the left edge of the cell. But that is different than putting it halfway
between the two columns, so between the first and second columns there are two verti-
cal rules, with the one from the {c|cc} specifier coming before the one produced by the
\vline\hfill. In contrast, the first row’s third entry shows the usual way to put a vertical
bar between two columns. In the second row, the ghi is the widest entry in its column so
in the \vline\hfill the \hfill has no effect and the vertical line in that entry appears
immediately next to the g, with no whitespace.
\begin{tabular}{c|cc}
x &\vline\hfill y &\multicolumn{1}{|r}{z} \\ % row 1
abc &def &\vline\hfill ghi % row 2
\end{tabular}
8.23.3 \cline
Synopsis:
\cline{i-j}
In an array or tabular environment, draw a horizontal rule beginning in column i and
ending in column j. The dash, -, must appear in the mandatory argument. To span a single
column use the number twice, as with \cline{2-2}.
This example puts two horizontal lines between the first and second rows, one line in
the first column only, and the other spanning the third and fourth columns. The two lines
are side-by-side, at the same height.
\begin{tabular}{llrr}
a &b &c &d \\ \cline{1-1} \cline{3-4}
e &f &g &h
\end{tabular}
8.23.4 \hline
Draw a horizontal line the width of the enclosing tabular or array environment. It’s most
commonly used to draw a line at the top, bottom, and between the rows of a table.
In this example the top of the table has two horizontal rules, one above the other,
that span both columns. The bottom of the table has a single rule spanning both columns.
Because of the \hline, the tabular second row’s line ending double backslash \\ is required.
\begin{tabular}{ll} \hline\hline
Baseball &Red Sox \\
Basketball &Celtics \\ \hline
\end{tabular}
Chapter 8: Environments 93
8.24 thebibliography
Synopsis:
\begin{thebibliography}{widest-label}
\bibitem[label]{cite_key}
...
\end{thebibliography}
Produce a bibliography or reference list. There are two ways to produce bibliographic
lists. This environment is suitable when you have only a few references and can maintain
the list by hand. See Section 8.24.4 [Using BibTeX], page 95, for a more sophisticated
approach.
This shows the environment with two entries.
This work is based on \cite{latexdps}.
Together they are \cite{latexdps, texbook}.
...
\begin{thebibliography}{9}
\bibitem{latexdps}
Leslie Lamport.
\textit{\LaTeX{}: a document preparation system}.
Addison-Wesley, Reading, Massachusetts, 1993.
\bibitem{texbook}
Donald Ervin Knuth.
\textit{The \TeX book}.
Addison-Wesley, Reading, Massachusetts, 1983.
\end{thebibliography}
This styles the first reference as ‘[1] Leslie ...’, and so that ... based on
\cite{latexdps} produces the matching ‘... based on [1]’. The second \cite produces
‘[1, 2]’. You must compile the document twice to resolve these references.
The mandatory argument widest-label is text that, when typeset, is as wide as the widest
item label produced by the \bibitem commands. The tradition is to use 9 for bibliographies
with less than 10 references, 99 for ones with less than 100, etc.
The bibliographic list is headed by a title such as ‘Bibliography’. To change it
there are two cases. In the book and report classes, where the top level sectioning is
\chapter and the default title is ‘Bibliography’, that title is in the macro \bibname.
For article, where the class’s top level sectioning is \section and the default is
‘References’, the title is in macro \refname. Change it by redefining the command, as
with \renewcommand{\refname}{Cited references}, after \begin{document}.
Language support packages such as babel will automatically redefine \refname or
\bibname to fit the selected language.
See Section 8.16 [list], page 67, for the list layout control parameters.
8.24.1 \bibitem
Synopsis:
\bibitem{cite_key}
Chapter 8: Environments 94
or
\bibitem[label]{cite_key}
Generate an entry labeled by default by a number generated using the enumi counter.
The citation key cite key can be any string of letters, numbers, and punctuation symbols
(but not comma).
See Section 8.24 [thebibliography], page 93, for an example.
When provided, the optional label becomes the entry label and the enumi counter is not
incremented. With this
\begin{thebibliography}
\bibitem[Lamport 1993]{latexdps}
Leslie Lamport.
\textit{\LaTeX{}: a document preparation system}.
Addison-Wesley, Reading, Massachusetts, 1993.
\bibitem{texbook}
Donald Ervin Knuth.
\textit{The \TeX book}.
Addison-Wesley, Reading, Massachusetts, 1983.
\end{thebibliography}
the first entry will be styled as ‘[Lamport 1993] Leslie ...’ (The amount of horizon-
tal space that LATEX leaves for the label depends on the widest-label argument of the
thebibliography environment; see Section 8.24 [thebibliography], page 93.) Similarly, ...
based on \cite{latexdps} will produce ‘... based on [Lamport 1994]’.
If you mix \bibitem entries having a label with those that do not then LATEX will number
the unlabelled ones sequentially. In the example above the texbook entry will appear as
‘[1] Donald ...’, despite that it is the second entry.
If you use the same cite key twice then you get ‘LaTeX Warning: There were
multiply-defined labels’.
Under the hood, LATEX remembers the cite key and label information because \bibitem
writes it to the auxiliary file jobname.aux (see Section 28.3 [Jobname], page 253). For
instance, the above example causes the two \bibcite{latexdps}{Lamport, 1993}
and \bibcite{texbook}{1} to appear in that file. The .aux file is read by the
\begin{document} command and then the information is available for \cite commands.
This explains why you need to run LATEX twice to resolve references: once to write it out
and once to read it in.
Because of this two-pass algorithm, when you add a \bibitem or change its cite key you
may get ‘LaTeX Warning: Label(s) may have changed. Rerun to get cross-references
right’. Fix it by recompiling.
8.24.2 \cite
Synopsis:
\cite{keys}
or
\cite[subcite]{keys}
Chapter 8: Environments 95
Generate as output a citation to the references associated with keys. The mandatory keys
is a citation key, or a comma-separated list of citation keys (see Section 8.24.1 [\bibitem],
page 93).
This
The ultimate source is \cite{texbook}.
...
\begin{thebibliography}
\bibitem{texbook}
Donald Ervin Knuth.
\textit{The \TeX book}.
Addison-Wesley, Reading, Massachusetts, 1983.
\end{thebibliography}
produces output like ‘... source is [1]’. You can change the appearance of the ci-
tation and of the reference by using bibliography styles if you generate automatically
the thebibliography environment. More information in Section 8.24.4 [Using BibTeX],
page 95.
The optional argument subcite is appended to the citation. For example, See 14.3 in
\cite[p.~314]{texbook} might produce ‘See 14.3 in [1, p. 314]’.
In addition to what appears in the output, \cite writes information to the auxiliary
file jobname.aux (see Section 28.3 [Jobname], page 253). For instance, \cite{latexdps}
writes ‘\citation{latexdps}’ to that file. This information is used by BibTEX to include
in your reference list only those works that you have actually cited; see Section 8.24.3
[\nocite], page 95, also.
If keys is not in your bibliography information then you get ‘LaTeX Warning: There were
undefined references’, and in the output the citation shows as a boldface question mark
between square brackets. There are two possible causes. If you have mistyped something,
as in \cite{texbok} then you need to correct the spelling. On the other hand, if you
have just added or modified the bibliographic information and so changed the .aux file (see
Section 8.24.1 [\bibitem], page 93) then the fix may be to run LATEX again.
8.24.3 \nocite
Synopsis:
\nocite{keys}
Produces no output but writes keys to the auxiliary file jobname.aux (see Section 28.3
[Jobname], page 253).
The mandatory argument keys is a comma-separated list of one or more citation keys
(see Section 8.24.1 [\bibitem], page 93). This information is used by BibTEX to include
these works in your reference list even though you have not explicitly cited them (see
Section 8.24.2 [\cite], page 94).
With BibTEX, you don’t use thebibliography (see Section 8.24 [thebibliography],
page 93). Instead, include these lines.
\bibliographystyle{bibstyle}
\bibliography{bibfile1, bibfile2, ...}
The bibstyle refers to a file bibstyle.bst, which defines how your citations will look. The
standard bibstyle’s distributed with BibTEX are:
alpha Labels are formed from name of author and year of publication. The biblio-
graphic items are sorted alphabetically.
plain Labels are integers. Sort the bibliographic items alphabetically.
unsrt Like plain, but entries are in order of citation.
abbrv Like plain, but more compact labels.
Many, many other BibTEX style files exist, tailored to the demands of various publications.
See CTAN’s listing https://mirror.ctan.org/biblio/bibtex/contrib.
The \bibliography command is what actually produces the bibliography. Its argument
is a comma-separated list, referring to files named bibfile1.bib, bibfile2.bib, . . . These
contain your database in BibTEX format. This shows a typical couple of entries in that
format.
@book{texbook,
title = {The {{\TeX}}book},
author = {D.E. Knuth},
isbn = {0201134489},
series = {Computers \& typesetting},
year = {1983},
publisher = {Addison-Wesley}
}
@book{sexbook,
author = {W.H. Masters and V.E. Johnson},
title = {Human Sexual Response},
year = {1966},
publisher = {Bantam Books}
}
Only the bibliographic entries referred to via \cite and \nocite will be listed in the
document’s bibliography. Thus you can keep all your sources together in one file, or a small
number of files, and rely on BibTEX to include in this document only those that you used.
8.25 theorem
Synopsis:
\begin{theorem}
theorem body
\end{theorem}
Produces ‘Theorem n’ in boldface followed by theorem body in italics. The number-
ing possibilities for n are described under \newtheorem (see Section 12.9 [\newtheorem],
page 121).
Chapter 8: Environments 97
\newtheorem{lem}{Lemma} % in preamble
\newtheorem{thm}{Theorem}
...
\begin{lem} % in document body
text of lemma
\end{lem}
8.26 titlepage
Synopsis:
\begin{titlepage}
... text and spacing ...
\end{titlepage}
Create a title page, a page with no printed page number or heading and with succeeding
pages numbered starting with page one.
In this example all formatting, including vertical spacing, is left to the author.
\begin{titlepage}
\vspace*{\stretch{1}}
\begin{center}
{\huge\bfseries Thesis \\[1ex]
title} \\[6.5ex]
{\large\bfseries Author name} \\
\vspace{4ex}
Thesis submitted to \\[5pt]
\textit{University name} \\[2cm]
in partial fulfilment for the award of the degree of \\[2cm]
\textsc{\Large Doctor of Philosophy} \\[2ex]
\textsc{\large Mathematics} \\[12ex]
\vfill
Department of Mathematics \\
Address \\
\vfill
\today
\end{center}
\vspace{\stretch{2}}
\end{titlepage}
To instead produce a standard title page without a titlepage environment, use
\maketitle (see Section 18.1 [\maketitle], page 172).
Chapter 8: Environments 98
8.27 verbatim
Synopsis:
\begin{verbatim}
literal-text
\end{verbatim}
A paragraph-making environment in which LATEX produces as output exactly what you
type as input. For instance inside literal-text the backslash \ character does not start
commands, it produces a printed ‘\’, and carriage returns and blanks are taken literally.
The output appears in a monospaced typewriter-like font (\tt).
\begin{verbatim}
Symbol swearing: %&$#?!.
\end{verbatim}
The only restriction on literal-text is that it cannot include the string
\end{verbatim}.
You cannot use the verbatim environment in the argument to macros, for instance in the
argument to a \section. This is not the same as commands being fragile (see Section 12.11
[\protect], page 123), instead it just cannot work, as the verbatim environment changes
the catcode regime before processing its contents, and restore it immediately afterward,
nevertheless with a macro argument the content of the argument has already be converted
to a token list along the catcode regime in effect when the macro was called. However, the
cprotect package can help with this.
One common use of verbatim input is to typeset computer code. There are packages
that are an improvement the verbatim environment. For instance, one improvement is to
allow the verbatim inclusion of external files, or parts of those files. Such packages include
listings, and minted.
A package that provides many more options for verbatim environments is fancyvrb.
Another is verbatimbox.
For a list of all the relevant packages, see CTAN (see Section 2.6 [CTAN], page 6).
8.27.1 \verb
Synopsis:
\verb char literal-text char
\verb* char literal-text char
Typeset literal-text as it is input, including special characters and spaces, using the
typewriter (\tt) font.
This example shows two different invocations of \verb.
This is \verb!literally! the biggest pumpkin ever.
And this is the best squash, \verb+literally!+
The first \verb has its literal-text surrounded with exclamation point, !. The second
instead uses plus, +, because the exclamation point is part of literal-text.
The single-character delimiter char surrounds literal-text—it must be the same character
before and after. No spaces come between \verb or \verb* and char, or between char and
literal-text, or between literal-text and the second occurrence of char (the synopsis shows
Chapter 8: Environments 99
a space only to distinguish one component from the other). The delimiter must not appear
in literal-text. The literal-text cannot include a line break.
The *-form differs only in that spaces are printed with a visible space character. (Namely,
␣.)
The output from this will include a visible space on both side of word ‘with’:
The command’s first argument is \verb*!filename with extension! and ...
For typesetting Internet addresses, urls, the package url is a better option than the
\verb command, since it allows line breaks.
For computer code there are many packages with advantages over \verb. One is
listings, another is minted.
You cannot use \verb in the argument to a macro, for instance in the argument to a
\section. It is not a question of \verb being fragile (see Section 12.11 [\protect], page 123),
instead it just cannot work, as the \verb command changes the catcode regime before
reading its argument, and restore it immediately afterward, nevertheless with a macro
argument the content of the argument has already be converted to a token list along the
catcode regime in effect when the macro was called. However, the cprotect package can
help with this.
8.28 verse
Synopsis:
\begin{verse}
line1 \\
line2 \\
...
\end{verse}
An environment for poetry.
Here are two lines from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.
Then plainly know my heart’s dear love is set \\
On the fair daughter of rich Capulet.
Separate the lines of each stanza with \\, and use one or more blank lines to separate
the stanzas.
\begin{verse}
\makebox[\linewidth][c]{\textit{Shut Not Your Doors} ---Walt Whitman}
\\[1\baselineskip]
Shut not your doors to me proud libraries, \\
For that which was lacking on all your well-fill’d shelves, \\
\qquad yet needed most, I bring, \\
Forth from the war emerging, a book I have made, \\
The words of my book nothing, the drift of it every thing, \\
A book separate, not link’d with the rest nor felt by the intellect, \\
But you ye untold latencies will thrill to every page.
\end{verse}
The output has margins indented on the left and the right, paragraphs are not indented,
and the text is not right-justified.
100
9 Line breaking
The first thing LATEX does when processing ordinary text is to translate your input file into
a sequence of glyphs and spaces. To produce a printed document, this sequence must be
broken into lines (and these lines must be broken into pages).
LATEX usually does the line (and page) breaking in the text body for you but in some
environments you manually force line breaks.
A common workflow is to get a final version of the document content before taking a
final pass through and considering line breaks (and page breaks). This differs from word
processing, where you are formatting text as you input it. Putting these off until the end
prevents a lot of fiddling with breaks that will change anyway.
9.1 \\
Synopsis, one of:
\\
\\[morespace]
or one of:
\\*
\\*[morespace]
End the current line. The optional argument morespace specifies extra vertical space to
be inserted before the next line. This is a rubber length (see Chapter 14 [Lengths], page 131)
and can be negative. The text before the line break is set at its normal length, that is,
it is not stretched to fill out the line width. This command is fragile (see Section 12.11
[\protect], page 123).
\title{My story: \\[0.25in]
a tale of woe}
The starred form, \\*, tells LATEX not to start a new page between the two lines, by issuing
a \nobreak.
Explicit line breaks in the main text body are unusual in LATEX. In particular, don’t
start new paragraphs with \\. Instead leave a blank line between the two paragraphs.
And don’t put in a sequence of \\’s to make vertical space. Instead use \vspace{length},
or \leavevmode\vspace{length}, or \vspace*{length} if you want the space to not be
thrown out at the top of a new page (see Section 19.14 [\vspace], page 186).
The \\ command is mostly used outside of the main flow of text such as in a tabular
or array environment or in an equation environment.
The \\ command is a synonym for \newline (see Section 9.3 [\newline], page 102) under
ordinary circumstances (an example of an exception is the p{...} column in a tabular
environment; see Section 8.23 [tabular], page 87).
The \\ command is a macro, and its definition changes by context so that its definition
in normal text, a center environment, a flushleft environment, and a tabular are all
different. In normal text when it forces a linebreak it is essentially a shorthand for \newline.
It does not end horizontal mode or end the paragraph, it just inserts some glue and penalties
so that when the paragraph does end a linebreak will occur at that point, with the short
line padded with white space.
Chapter 9: Line breaking 101
You get ‘LaTeX Error: There’s no line here to end’ if you use \\ to ask for a new
line, rather than to end the current line. An example is if you have \begin{document}\\
or, more likely, something like this.
\begin{center}
\begin{minipage}{0.5\textwidth}
\\
In that vertical space put your mark.
\end{minipage}
\end{center}
Fix it by replacing the double backslash with something like \vspace{\baselineskip}.
\obeycr
ccc
ddd
eee
\restorecr
fff
ggg
hhh
iii
produces output like this.
aaa bbb
ccc
ddd
eee
fff ggg
hhh iii
The indents are paragraph indents.
Chapter 9: Line breaking 102
9.3 \newline
In ordinary text, this ends a line in a way that does not right-justify it, so the text before
the end of line is not stretched. That is, in paragraph mode (see Chapter 17 [Modes],
page 170), the \newline command is equivalent to double-backslash (see Section 9.1 [\\],
page 100). This command is fragile (see Section 12.11 [\protect], page 123).
However, the two commands are different inside a tabular or array environment. In
a column with a specifier producing a paragraph box such as typically p{...}, \newline
will insert a line end inside of the column; that is, it does not break the entire tabular row.
To break the entire row use \\ or its equivalent \tabularnewline.
This will print ‘Name:’ and ‘Address:’ as two lines in a single cell of the table.
\begin{tabular}{p{1in}@{\hspace{2in}}p{1in}}
Name: \newline Address: &Date: \\ \hline
\end{tabular}
The ‘Date:’ will be baseline-aligned with ‘Name:’.
Handle word changes around hyphens. This command is not often used in LATEX docu-
ments.
If a line break occurs at the point where \discretionary appears then TEX puts pre-
break at the end of the current line and puts post-break at the start of the next line. If
there is no line break here then TEX puts no-break.
In ‘difficult’ the three letters ffi form a ligature. But TEX can nonetheless break
between the two ‘f’’s with this.
di\discretionary{f-}{fi}{ffi}cult
Note that users do not have to do this. It is typically handled automatically by TEX’s
hyphenation algorithm.
9.6.1 sloppypar
Synopsis:
\begin{sloppypar}
... paragraphs ...
\end{sloppypar}
Typeset the paragraphs with \sloppy in effect (see Section 9.6 [\fussy & \sloppy],
page 103). Use this to locally adjust line breaking, to avoid ‘Overfull box’ or ‘Underfull
box’ errors.
The example is simple.
\begin{sloppypar}
Her plan for the morning thus settled, she sat quietly down to her
book after breakfast, resolving to remain in the same place and the
same employment till the clock struck one; and from habitude very
little incommoded by the remarks and ejaculations of Mrs.\ Allen,
whose vacancy of mind and incapacity for thinking were such, that
as she never talked a great deal, so she could never be entirely
silent; and, therefore, while she sat at her work, if she lost her
needle or broke her thread, if she heard a carriage in the street,
or saw a speck upon her gown, she must observe it aloud, whether
there were anyone at leisure to answer her or not.
\end{sloppypar}
Chapter 9: Line breaking 104
9.7 \hyphenation
Synopsis:
\hyphenation{word1 ...}
Declares allowed hyphenation points within the words in the list. The words in that list
are separated by spaces. Show permitted points for hyphenation with a dash character, -.
Here is an example:
\hyphenation{hat-er il-lit-e-ra-ti tru-th-i-ness}
Use lowercase letters. TEX will only hyphenate if the word matches exactly, no inflections
are tried. Multiple \hyphenation commands accumulate.
10 Page breaking
Ordinarily LATEX automatically takes care of breaking output into pages with its usual
aplomb. But if you are writing commands, or tweaking the final version of a document,
then you may need to understand how to influence its actions.
LATEX’s algorithm for splitting a document into pages is more complex than just waiting
until there is enough material to fill a page and outputting the result. Instead, LATEX
typesets more material than would fit on the page and then chooses a break that is optimal
in some way (it has the smallest badness). An example of the advantage of this approach
is that if the page has some vertical space that can be stretched or shrunk, such as with
rubber lengths between paragraphs, then LATEX can use that to avoid widow lines (where a
new page starts with the last line of a paragraph; LATEX can squeeze the extra line onto the
first page) and orphans (where the first line of paragraph is at the end of a page; LATEX can
stretch the material of the first page so the extra line falls on the second page). Another
example is where LATEX uses available vertical shrinkage to fit on a page not just the header
for a new section but also the first two lines of that section.
But LATEX does not optimize over the entire document’s set of page breaks. So it can
happen that the first page break is great but the second one is lousy; to break the current
page LATEX doesn’t look as far ahead as the next page break. So occasionally you may want
to influence page breaks while preparing a final version of a document.
See Chapter 5 [Layout], page 28, for more material that is relevant to page breaking.
The command \newpage (see Section 10.2 [\newpage], page 106) also ends the current
page, but without clearing pending floats. And, if LATEX is in two-column mode then
\newpage ends the current column while \clearpage and \cleardoublepage end the cur-
rent page.
10.2 \newpage
Synopsis:
\newpage
End the current page. This command is robust (see Section 12.11 [\protect], page 123).
LATEX’s page breaks are optimized so ordinarily you only use this command in a document
body to polish the final version, or inside commands.
While the commands \clearpage and \cleardoublepage also end the current page,
in addition they clear pending floats (see Section 10.1 [\clearpage & \cleardoublepage],
page 105). And, if LATEX is in two-column mode then \clearpage and \cleardoublepage
end the current page, possibly leaving an empty column, while \newpage only ends the
current column.
In contrast with \pagebreak (see Section 10.4 [\pagebreak & \nopagebreak], page 107),
the \newpage command will cause the new page to start right where requested. This
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this
continent,
\newpage
\noindent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the
proposition that all men are created equal.
makes a new page start after ‘continent’, and the cut-off line is not right justified. In
addition, \newpage does not vertically stretch out the page, as \pagebreak does.
10.3 \enlargethispage
Synopsis, one of:
\enlargethispage{size}
\enlargethispage*{size}
Enlarge the \textheight for the current page. The required argument size must be a
rigid length (see Chapter 14 [Lengths], page 131). It may be positive or negative. This
command is fragile (see Section 12.11 [\protect], page 123).
A common strategy is to wait until you have the final text of a document, and then pass
through it tweaking line and page breaks. This command allows you some page size leeway.
This will allow one extra line on the current page.
\enlargethispage{\baselineskip}
The starred form \enlargesthispage* tries to squeeze the material together on the
page as much as possible, for the common use case of getting one more line on the page.
This is often used together with an explicit \pagebreak.
Chapter 10: Page breaking 107
11 Footnotes
Place a footnote at the bottom of the current page, as here.
Noël Coward quipped that having to read a footnote is like having
to go downstairs to answer the door, while in the midst of making
love.\footnote{%
I wouldn’t know, I don’t read footnotes.}
You can put multiple footnotes on a page. If the footnote text becomes too long then it
will flow to the next page.
You can also produce footnotes by combining the \footnotemark and the
\footnotetext commands, which is useful in special circumstances.
To make bibliographic references come out as footnotes you need to include a biblio-
graphic style with that behavior (see Section 8.24.4 [Using BibTeX], page 95).
11.1 \footnote
Synopsis, one of:
\footnote{text}
\footnote[number]{text}
Place a footnote text at the bottom of the current page.
There are over a thousand footnotes in Gibbon’s
\textit{Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire}.\footnote{%
After reading an early version with endnotes David Hume complained,
‘‘One is also plagued with his Notes, according to the present Method
of printing the Book’’ and suggested that they ‘‘only to be printed
at the Margin or the Bottom of the Page.’’}
The optional argument number allows you to specify the number of the footnote. If you
use this then LATEX does not increment the footnote counter.
By default, LATEX uses arabic numbers as footnote markers. Change this with some-
thing like \renewcommand{\thefootnote}{\fnsymbol{footnote}}, which uses a sequence
of symbols (see Section 13.1 [\alph \Alph \arabic \roman \Roman \fnsymbol], page 127).
To make this change global put that in the preamble. If you make the change local then
you may want to reset the counter with \setcounter{footnote}{0}.
LATEX determines the spacing of footnotes with two parameters.
\footnoterule
Produces the rule separating the main text on a page from the page’s foot-
notes. Default dimensions in the standard document classes (except slides,
where it does not appear) is: vertical thickness of 0.4pt, and horizontal size of
0.4\columnwidth long. Change the rule with something like this.
\renewcommand{\footnoterule}{% Kerns avoid vertical space
\kern -3pt % This -3 is negative
\hrule width \textwidth height 1pt % of the sum of this 1
\kern 2pt} % and this 2
Chapter 11: Footnotes 109
\footnotesep
The height of the strut placed at the beginning of the footnote (see Section 19.13
[\strut], page 184). By default, this is set to the normal strut for \footnotesize
fonts (see Section 4.3 [Font sizes], page 24), therefore there is no extra space
between footnotes. This is ‘6.65pt’ for ‘10pt’, ‘7.7pt’ for ‘11pt’, and ‘8.4pt’
for ‘12pt’. Change it as with \setlength{\footnotesep}{11pt}.
The \footnote command is fragile (see Section 12.11 [\protect], page 123).
LATEX’s default puts many restrictions on where you can use a \footnote; for instance,
you cannot use it in an argument to a sectioning command such as \chapter (it can only
be used in outer paragraph mode; see Chapter 17 [Modes], page 170). There are some
workarounds; see following sections.
In a minipage environment the \footnote command uses the mpfootnote counter in-
stead of the footnote counter, so they are numbered independently. They are shown at
the bottom of the environment, not at the bottom of the page. And by default they are
shown alphabetically. See Section 8.18 [minipage], page 73, and Section 11.5 [Footnotes in
a table], page 110.
11.2 \footnotemark
Synopsis, one of:
\footnotemark
\footnotemark[number]
Put the current footnote mark in the text. To specify associated text for the footnote
see Section 11.3 [\footnotetext], page 110. The optional argument number causes the
command to use that number to determine the footnote mark. This command can be used
in inner paragraph mode (see Chapter 17 [Modes], page 170).
If you use \footnotemark without the optional argument then it increments the footnote
counter but if you use the optional number then it does not. The next example produces
several consecutive footnote markers referring to the same footnote.
The first theorem\footnote{Due to Gauss.}
and the second theorem\footnotemark[\value{footnote}]
and the third theorem.\footnotemark[\value{footnote}]
If there are intervening footnotes then you must remember the value of the common
mark. This example gives the same institutional affiliation to both the first and third
authors (\thanks is a version of footnote), by-hand giving the number of the footnote.
\title{A Treatise on the Binomial Theorem}
\author{J Moriarty\thanks{University of Leeds}
\and A C Doyle\thanks{Durham University}
\and S Holmes\footnotemark[1]}
\begin{document}
\maketitle
This uses a counter to remember the footnote number. The third sentence is followed
by the same footnote marker as the first.
\newcounter{footnoteValueSaver}
Chapter 11: Footnotes 110
11.3 \footnotetext
Synopsis, one of:
\footnotetext{text}
\footnotetext[number]{text}
Place text at the bottom of the page as a footnote. It pairs with \footnotemark (see
Section 11.2 [\footnotemark], page 109) and can come anywhere after that command, but
must appear in outer paragraph mode (see Chapter 17 [Modes], page 170). The optional
argument number changes the number of the footnote mark.
See Section 11.2 [\footnotemark], page 109, and Section 11.5 [Footnotes in a table],
page 110, for usage examples.
\begin{minipage}{\textwidth} \centering
\begin{tabular}{l|l}
\textsc{Ship} &\textsc{Book} \\ \hline
\textit{HMS Sophie} &Master and Commander \\
\textit{HMS Polychrest} &Post Captain \\
\textit{HMS Lively} &Post Captain \\
\textit{HMS Surprise} &A number of books\footnote{%
Starting with HMS Surprise.}
\end{tabular}
\end{minipage}
\end{center}
Inside a minipage, footnote marks are lowercase letters. Change that with something like
\renewcommand{\thempfootnote}{\arabic{mpfootnote}} (see Section 13.1 [\alph \Alph
\arabic \roman \Roman \fnsymbol], page 127).
The footnotes in the prior example appear at the bottom of the minipage. To have
them appear at the bottom of the main page, as part of the regular footnote sequence, use
the \footnotemark and \footnotetext pair and make a new counter.
\newcounter{mpFootnoteValueSaver}
\begin{center}
\begin{minipage}{\textwidth}
\setcounter{mpFootnoteValueSaver}{\value{footnote}} \centering
\begin{tabular}{l|l}
\textsc{Woman} &\textsc{Relationship} \\ \hline
Mona &Attached\footnotemark \\
Diana Villiers &Eventual wife \\
Christine Hatherleigh Wood &Fiance\footnotemark
\end{tabular}
\end{minipage}% percent sign keeps footnote text close to minipage
\stepcounter{mpFootnoteValueSaver}%
\footnotetext[\value{mpFootnoteValueSaver}]{%
Little is known other than her death.}%
\stepcounter{mpFootnoteValueSaver}%
\footnotetext[\value{mpFootnoteValueSaver}]{%
Relationship is unresolved in XXI.}
\end{center}
For a floating table environment (see Section 8.22 [table], page 86), use the
tablefootnote package.
\usepackage{tablefootnote} % in preamble
...
\begin{table}
\centering
\begin{tabular}{l|l}
\textsc{Date} &\textsc{Campaign} \\ \hline
1862 &Fort Donelson \\
1863 &Vicksburg \\
1865 &Army of Northern Virginia\tablefootnote{%
Chapter 11: Footnotes 112
12 Definitions
LATEX has support for making new commands of many different kinds.
Blanks after a control word are ignored and do not produce any whitespace in the
ouput (see Section 12.1 [\newcommand & \renewcommand], page 113, and Section 19.6
[\(SPACE)], page 180).
Just as the \relax command does nothing, the following will print ‘Hello!’—where we
used visible spaces ‘␣’ instead of blanks,:
Hel\relax␣␣␣
␣␣␣lo!
This is because blanks after \relax, including the newline are ignored, and blanks at the
beginning of a line are also ignored (see [Leading blanks], page 180).
12.2 \providecommand
Synopses, one of:
\providecommand{cmd}{defn}
\providecommand{cmd}[nargs]{defn}
\providecommand{cmd}[nargs][optargdefault]{defn}
\providecommand*{cmd}{defn}
\providecommand*{cmd}[nargs]{defn}
\providecommand*{cmd}[nargs][optargdefault]{defn}
Defines a command, as long as no command of this name already exists. If no command
of this name already exists then this has the same effect as \newcommand. If a command of
this name already exists then this definition does nothing. This is particularly useful in a
file that may be loaded more than once, such as a style file. See Section 12.1 [\newcommand
& \renewcommand], page 113, for the description of the arguments.
This example
\providecommand{\myaffiliation}{Saint Michael’s College}
\providecommand{\myaffiliation}{Saint Michael’s College}
>From \myaffiliation.
outputs ‘From Saint Michael’s College’. Unlike \newcommand, the repeated use of
\providecommand does not give an error.
Chapter 12: Definitions 116
12.4 \@ifstar
Synopsis:
\newcommand{\mycmd}{\@ifstar{\mycmd@star}{\mycmd@nostar}}
\newcommand{\mycmd@nostar}[nostar-num-args]{nostar-body}
\newcommand{\mycmd@star}[star-num-args]{star-body}
Many standard LATEX environments or commands have a variant with the same name
but ending with a star character *, an asterisk. Examples are the table and table*
environments and the \section and \section* commands.
When defining environments, following this pattern is straightforward because
\newenvironment and \renewenvironment allow the environment name to contain a star.
So you just have to write \newenvironment{myenv} or \newenvironment{myenv*} and
continue the definition as usual. For commands the situation is more complex as the star
Chapter 12: Definitions 117
not being a letter cannot be part of the command name. As in the synopsis above, there
will be a user-called command, given above as \mycmd, which peeks ahead to see if it
is followed by a star. For instance, LATEX does not really have a \section* command;
instead, the \section command peeks ahead. This command does not accept arguments
but instead expands to one of two commands that do accept arguments. In the synopsis
these two are \mycmd@nostar and \mycmd@star. They could take the same number of
arguments or a different number, or no arguments at all. As always, in a LATEX document
a command using an at-sign @ in its name must be enclosed inside a \makeatletter ...
\makeatother block (see Section 12.3 [\makeatletter & \makeatother], page 116).
This example of \@ifstar defines the command \ciel and a variant \ciel*. Both
have one required argument. A call to \ciel{blue} will return "not starry blue sky" while
\ciel*{night} will return "starry night sky".
\makeatletter
\newcommand*{\ciel@unstarred}[1]{not starry #1 sky}
\newcommand*{\ciel@starred}[1]{starry #1 sky}
\newcommand*{\ciel}{\@ifstar{\ciel@starred}{\ciel@unstarred}}
\makeatother
In the next example, the starred variant takes a different number of arguments than
the unstarred one. With this definition, Agent 007’s ‘‘My name is \agentsecret*{Bond},
\agentsecret{James}{Bond}.’’ is equivalent to entering the commands ‘‘My name is
\textsc{Bond}, \textit{James} textsc{Bond}.’’
\newcommand*{\agentsecret@unstarred}[2]{\textit{#1} \textsc{#2}}
\newcommand*{\agentsecret@starred}[1]{\textsc{#1}}
\newcommand*{\agentsecret}{%
\@ifstar{\agentsecret@starred}{\agentsecret@unstarred}}
After a command name, a star is handled similarly to an optional argument. (This differs
from environment names in which the star is part of the name itself and as such could be
in any position.) Thus, it is technically possible to put any number of spaces between
the command and the star. Thus \agentsecret*{Bond} and \agentsecret *{Bond} are
equivalent. However, the standard practice is not to insert any such spaces.
There are two alternative ways to accomplish the work of \@ifstar. (1) The suffix
package allows the construct \newcommand\mycommand{unstarred-variant} followed
by \WithSuffix\newcommand\mycommand*{starred-variant}. (2) LATEX provides the
xparse package, which allows this code:
\NewDocumentCommand\foo{s}{\IfBooleanTF#1
{starred-variant}%
{unstarred-variant}%
}
The name countername must consist of letters only. It does not begin with a backslash.
This name must not already be in use by another counter.
When you use the optional argument [supercounter] then the counter countername
will be reset to zero whenever supercounter is incremented. For example, ordinarily
subsection is numbered within section so that any time you increment section, either
with \stepcounter (see Section 13.7 [\stepcounter], page 130) or \refstepcounter (see
Section 13.6 [\refstepcounter], page 129), then LATEX will reset subsection to zero.
This example
\newcounter{asuper} \setcounter{asuper}{1}
\newcounter{asub}[asuper] \setcounter{asub}{3} % Note ‘asuper’
The value of asuper is \arabic{asuper} and of asub is \arabic{asub}.
\stepcounter{asuper}
Now asuper is \arabic{asuper} while asub is \arabic{asub}.
produces ‘The value of asuper is 1 and that of asub is 3’ and ‘Now asuper is 2
while asub is 0’.
If the counter already exists, for instance by entering asuper twice, then you get
something like ‘LaTeX Error: Command \c@asuper already defined. Or name \end...
illegal, see p.192 of the manual.’.
If you use the optional argument then the super counter must already exist. Entering
\newcounter{jh}[lh] when lh is not a defined counter will get you ‘LaTeX Error: No
counter ’lh’ defined.’
12.6 \newlength
Synopsis:
\newlength{\len}
Allocate a new length register (see Chapter 14 [Lengths], page 131). The required argu-
ment \len has to be a control sequence (see Section 12.1.1 [Control sequences], page 115),
and as such must begin with a backslash, \ under normal circumstances. The new register
holds rubber lengths such as 72.27pt or 1in plus.2in minus.1in (a LATEX length register
is what plain TEX calls a skip register). The initial value is zero. The control sequence
\len must not be already defined.
An example:
\newlength{\graphichgt}
If you forget the backslash then you get ‘Missing control sequence inserted’. If
the control sequence already exists then you get something like ‘LaTeX Error: Command
\graphichgt already defined. Or name \end... illegal, see p.192 of the manual’.
12.7 \newsavebox
Synopsis:
\newsavebox{\cmd}
Define \cmd, the string consisting of a backslash followed by cmd, to refer to a new bin
for storing material. These bins hold material that has been typeset, to use multiple times
or to measure or manipulate (see Chapter 20 [Boxes], page 189). The bin name \cmd is
Chapter 12: Definitions 119
required, must start with a backslash, \, and must not already be a defined command. This
command is fragile (see Section 12.11 [\protect], page 123).
This allocates a bin and then puts typeset material into it.
\newsavebox{\logobox}
\savebox{\logobox}{LoGo}
Our logo is \usebox{\logobox}.
The output is ‘Our logo is LoGo’.
If there is an already defined bin then you get something like ‘LaTeX Error: Command
\logobox already defined. Or name \end... illegal, see p.192 of the manual’.
The allocation of a box is global.
optargdefault
Optional; if this is present then the first argument of the defined environment
is optional, with default value optargdefault (which may be the empty string).
If this is not in the definition then the environment does not take an optional
argument.
That is, when optargdefault is present in the definition of the environ-
ment then you can start the environment with square brackets, as in
\begin{env}[optval]{...} ... \end{env}. In this case, within begdefn the
parameter #1 is set to the value of optval. If you call \begin{env} without
square brackets, then within begdefn the parameter #1 is set to the value of
the default optargdefault. In either case, any required arguments start with
#2.
Omitting [myval] in the call is different than having the square brackets with
no contents, as in []. The former results in #1 expanding to optargdefault; the
latter results in #1 expanding to the empty string.
begdef Required; the text expanded at every occurrence of \begin{env}. Within
begdef, the parameters #1, #2, ... #nargs, are replaced by the values that
you supply when you call the environment; see the examples below.
enddef Required; the text expanded at every occurrence of \end{env}. This may not
contain any parameters, that is, you cannot use #1, #2, etc., here (but see the
final example below).
All environments, that is to say the begdef code, the environment body, and the enddef
code, are processed within a group. Thus, in the first example below, the effect of the
\small is limited to the quote and does not extend to material following the environment.
If you try to define an environment and the name has already been used then you
get something like ‘LaTeX Error: Command \fred already defined. Or name \end...
illegal, see p.192 of the manual’. If you try to redefine an environment and the name
has not yet been used then you get something like ‘LaTeX Error: Environment hank
undefined.’.
This example gives an environment like LATEX’s quotation except that it will be set in
smaller type.
\newenvironment{smallquote}{%
\small\begin{quotation}
}{%
\end{quotation}
}
This has an argument, which is set in boldface at the start of a paragraph.
\newenvironment{point}[1]{%
\noindent\textbf{#1}
}{%
}
This one shows the use of a optional argument; it gives a quotation environment that
cites the author.
\newenvironment{citequote}[1][Shakespeare]{%
Chapter 12: Definitions 121
\begin{quotation}
\noindent\textit{#1}:
}{%
\end{quotation}
}
The author’s name is optional, and defaults to ‘Shakespeare’. In the document, use the
environment like this.
\begin{citequote}[Lincoln]
...
\end{citequote}
The final example shows how to save the value of an argument to use in enddef, in this
case in a box (see Section 20.5 [\sbox & \savebox], page 193).
\newsavebox{\quoteauthor}
\newenvironment{citequote}[1][Shakespeare]{%
\sbox\quoteauthor{#1}%
\begin{quotation}
}{%
\hspace{1em plus 1fill}---\usebox{\quoteauthor}
\end{quotation}
}
12.9 \newtheorem
Synopses:
\newtheorem{name}{title}
\newtheorem{name}{title}[numbered_within]
\newtheorem{name}[numbered_like]{title}
Define a new theorem-like environment. You can specify one of numbered within and
numbered like, or neither, but not both.
The first form, \newtheorem{name}{title}, creates an environment that will be labelled
with title; see the first example below.
The second form, \newtheorem{name}{title}[numbered_within], creates an environ-
ment whose counter is subordinate to the existing counter numbered within, so this counter
will be reset when numbered within is reset. See the second example below.
The third form \newtheorem{name}[numbered_like]{title}, with optional argument
between the two required arguments, creates an environment whose counter will share the
previously defined counter numbered like. See the third example.
This command creates a counter named name. In addition, unless the optional argument
numbered like is used, inside of the theorem-like environment the current \ref value will
be that of \thenumbered_within (see Section 7.3 [\ref], page 51).
This declaration is global. It is fragile (see Section 12.11 [\protect], page 123).
Arguments:
name The name of the environment. It is a string of letters. It must not begin with
a backslash, \. It must not be the name of an existing environment, and the
command name \name must not already be defined.
Chapter 12: Definitions 122
title The text to be printed at the beginning of the environment, before the number.
For example, ‘Theorem’.
numbered within
Optional; the name of an already defined counter, usually a sectional unit such
as chapter or section. When the numbered within counter is reset then the
name environment’s counter will also be reset.
If this optional argument is not used then the command \thename is set to
\arabic{name}.
numbered like
Optional; the name of an already defined theorem-like environment. The new
environment will be numbered in sequence with numbered like.
Without any optional arguments the environments are numbered sequentially. The
example below has a declaration in the preamble that results in ‘Definition 1’ and
‘Definition 2’ in the output.
\newtheorem{defn}{Definition}
\begin{document}
\section{...}
\begin{defn}
First def
\end{defn}
\section{...}
\begin{defn}
Second def
\end{defn}
This example has the same document body as the prior one. But here \newtheorem’s
optional argument numbered within is given as section, so the output is like
‘Definition 1.1’ and ‘Definition 2.1’.
\newtheorem{defn}{Definition}[section]
\begin{document}
\section{...}
\begin{defn}
First def
\end{defn}
\section{...}
\begin{defn}
Second def
\end{defn}
In the next example there are two declarations in the preamble, the second of which calls
for the new thm environment to use the same counter as defn. It gives ‘Definition 1.1’,
followed by ‘Theorem 2.1’ and ‘Definition 2.2’.
\newtheorem{defn}{Definition}[section]
\newtheorem{thm}[defn]{Theorem}
Chapter 12: Definitions 123
\begin{document}
\section{...}
\begin{defn}
First def
\end{defn}
\section{...}
\begin{thm}
First thm
\end{thm}
\begin{defn}
Second def
\end{defn}
12.10 \newfont
This command is obsolete. This description is here only to help with old documents. New
documents should define fonts in families through the New Font Selection Scheme which
allows you to, for example, associate a boldface with a roman (see Chapter 4 [Fonts],
page 16).
Synopsis:
\newfont{\cmd}{font description}
Define a command \cmd that will change the current font. The control sequence must
not already be defined. It must begin with a backslash, \.
The font description consists of a fontname and an optional at clause. LATEX will look
on your system for a file named fontname.tfm. The at clause can have the form either at
dimen or scaled factor, where a factor of ‘1000’ means no scaling. For LATEX’s purposes,
all this does is scale all the character and other font dimensions relative to the font’s design
size, which is a value defined in the .tfm file.
This defines two equivalent fonts and typesets a few characters in each.
\newfont{\testfontat}{cmb10 at 11pt}
\newfont{\testfontscaled}{cmb10 scaled 1100}
\testfontat abc
\testfontscaled abc
12.11 \protect
All LATEX commands are either fragile or robust. A fragile command can break when it is
used in the argument to certain other commands. Commands that contain data that LATEX
writes to an auxiliary file and re-reads later are fragile. This includes material that goes
into a table of contents, list of figures, list of tables, etc. Fragile commands also include line
breaks, any command that has an optional argument, and many more. To prevent such
commands from breaking, one solution is to preceded them with the command \protect.
For example, when LATEX runs the \section{section name} command it writes the sec-
tion name text to the .aux auxiliary file, moving it there for use elsewhere in the document
Chapter 12: Definitions 124
such as in the table of contents. Any argument that is internally expanded by LATEX without
typesetting it directly is referred to as a moving argument. A command is fragile if it can
expand during this process into invalid TEX code. Some examples of moving arguments are
those that appear in the \caption{...} command (see Section 8.10 [figure], page 62), in
the \thanks{...} command (see Section 18.1 [\maketitle], page 172), and in @-expressions
in the tabular and array environments (see Section 8.23 [tabular], page 87).
If you get strange errors from commands used in moving arguments, try preceding it
with \protect. Every fragile commands must be protected with their own \protect.
Although usually a \protect command doesn’t hurt, length commands are robust and
should not be preceded by a \protect command. Nor can a \protect command be used
in the argument to \addtocounter or \setcounter command.
In this example the \caption command gives a mysterious error about an extra curly
brace. Fix the problem by preceding each \raisebox command with \protect.
\begin{figure}
...
\caption{Company headquarters of A\raisebox{1pt}{B}\raisebox{-1pt}{C}}
\end{figure}
In the next example the \tableofcontents command gives an error because the \(..\)
in the section title expands to illegal TEX in the .toc file. You can solve this by changing
\(..\) to \protect\(..\protect\).
\begin{document}
\tableofcontents
...
\section{Einstein’s \( e=mc^2 \)}
...
\end{enumerate}
The solution is to change to this.
\newcommand{\points}[1]{%
\makebox[0pt]{\makebox[10em][l]{#1~pts}}\ignorespaces}
A second example shows blanks being removed from the front of text. The commands
below allow a user to uniformly attach a title to names. But, as given, if a title accidentally
starts with a space then \fullname will reproduce that.
\newcommand{\honorific}[1]{\def\honorific{#1}} % remember title
\newcommand{\fullname}[1]{\honorific~#1} % put title before name
\begin{tabular}{|l|}
\honorific{Mr/Ms} \fullname{Jones} \\ % no extra space here
\honorific{ Mr/Ms} \fullname{Jones} % extra space before title
\end{tabular}
To fix this, change to \newcommand{\fullname}[1]{\ignorespaces\honorific~#1}.
The \ignorespaces is also often used in a \newenvironment at the end of the begin
clause, as in \begin{newenvironment}{env name}{... \ignorespaces}{...}.
To strip blanks off the end of an environment use \ignorespacesafterend. An example
is that this will show a much larger vertical space between the first and second environments
than between the second and third.
\newenvironment{eq}{\begin{equation}}{\end{equation}}
\begin{eq}
e=mc^2
\end{eq}
\begin{equation}
F=ma
\end{equation}
\begin{equation}
E=IR
\end{equation}
Putting a comment character % immediately after the \end{eq} will make the
vertical space disappear, but that is inconvenient. The solution is to change to
\newenvironment{eq}{\begin{equation}}{\end{equation}\ignorespacesafterend}.
acters. Thus, in the first sentence below, the output has ‘Vermont’ placed snugly against
the period, without any intervening space.
\newcommand{\VT}{Vermont}
Our college is in \VT .
The \VT{} summers are nice.
But because of the gobbling, the second sentence needs the dummy curly braces or
else there would be no space separating ‘Vermont’ from ‘summers’. (Many authors instead
instead use a backslash-space \ for this. See Section 19.6 [\(SPACE)], page 180.)
The xspace package provides \xspace. It is for writing commands which are designed
to be used mainly in text. It must be place at the very end of the definition of these
commands. It inserts a space after that command unless what immediately follows is in a
list of exceptions. In this example, the dummy braces are not needed.
\newcommand{\VT}{Vermont\xspace}
Our college is in \VT .
\VT summers are nice.
The default exception list contains the characters ,.’/?;:!~-), the open curly brace
and the backslash-space command discussed above, and the commands \footnote or
\footnotemark. Add to that list as with \xspaceaddexceptions{\myfni \myfnii}
which adds \myfni and \myfnii to the list, and remove from that list as with
\xspaceremoveexception{!}.
A comment: many experts prefer not to use \xspace. Putting it in a definition means
that the command will usually get the spacing right. But it isn’t easy to predict when
to enter dummy braces because \xspace will get it wrong, such as when it is followed by
another command, and so \xspace can make editing material harder and more error-prone
than instead always remembering the dummy braces.
127
13 Counters
Everything LATEX numbers for you has a counter associated with it. The name of the
counter is often the same as the name of the environment or command associated with the
number, except that the counter’s name has no backslash \. Thus, associated with the
\chapter command is the chapter counter that keeps track of the chapter number.
Below is a list of the counters used in LATEX’s standard document classes to control
numbering.
part paragraph figure enumi
chapter subparagraph table enumii
section page footnote enumiii
subsection equation mpfootnote enumiv
subsubsection
The mpfootnote counter is used by the \footnote command inside of a minipage
(see Section 8.18 [minipage], page 73). The counters enumi through enumiv are used in
the enumerate environment, for up to four levels of nesting (see Section 8.7 [enumerate],
page 59).
Counters can have any integer value but they are typically positive.
New counters are created with \newcounter. See Section 12.5 [\newcounter], page 117.
\fnsymbol{counter}
Prints the value of counter using a sequence of nine symbols that are tradi-
tionally used for labeling footnotes. The value of counter should be between 1
and 9, inclusive. If the counter’s value is less than 0 or more than 9 then you
get ‘LaTeX Error: Counter too large’, while if it is 0 then you get no error or
warning but LATEX does not output anything.
Here are the symbols:
13.2 \usecounter
Synopsis:
\usecounter{counter}
Used in the second argument of the list environment (see Section 8.16 [list], page 67),
this declares that list items will be numbered by counter. It initializes counter to zero,
and arranges that when \item is called without its optional argument then counter is
incremented by \refstepcounter, making its value be the current ref value (see Section 7.3
[\ref], page 51). This command is fragile (see Section 12.11 [\protect], page 123).
Put in the document preamble, this example makes a new list environment enumerated
with testcounter:
\newcounter{testcounter}
\newenvironment{test}{%
\begin{list}{}{%
\usecounter{testcounter}
}
}{%
\end{list}
}
13.3 \value
Synopsis:
\value{counter}
Expands to the value of the counter counter. (Note that the name of a counter does not
begin with a backslash.)
Chapter 13: Counters 129
13.4 \setcounter
Synopsis:
\setcounter{counter}{value}
Globally set the counter counter to have the value of the value argument, which must
be an integer. Thus, you can set a counter’s value as \setcounter{section}{5}. Note
that the counter name does not start with a backslash.
In this example if the counter theorem has value 12 then the second line will print ‘XII’.
\setcounter{exercise}{\value{theorem}}
Here it is in Roman: \Roman{exercise}.
13.5 \addtocounter
Synopsis:
\addtocounter{counter}{value}
Globally increment counter by the amount specified by the value argument, which may
be negative.
In this example the section value appears as ‘VII’.
\setcounter{section}{5}
\addtocounter{section}{2}
Here it is in Roman: \Roman{section}.
13.6 \refstepcounter
Synopsis:
\refstepcounter{counter}
Globally increments the value of counter by one, as does \stepcounter (see Section 13.7
[\stepcounter], page 130). The difference is that this command resets the value of any
Chapter 13: Counters 130
counter numbered within it. (For the definition of “counters numbered within”, see
Section 12.5 [\newcounter], page 117.)
In addition, this command also defines the current \ref value to be the result of
\thecounter.
While the counter value is set globally, the \ref value is set locally, i.e., inside the current
group.
13.7 \stepcounter
Synopsis:
\stepcounter{counter}
Globally adds one to counter and resets all counters numbered within it. (For the
definition of “counters numbered within”, see Section 12.5 [\newcounter], page 117.)
This command differs from \refstepcounter in that this one does not influence refer-
ences; that is, it does not define the current \ref value to be the result of \thecounter
(see Section 13.6 [\refstepcounter], page 129).
14 Lengths
A length is a measure of distance. Many LATEX commands take a length as an argument.
Lengths come in two types. A rigid length such as 10pt does not contain a plus or
minus component. (Plain TEX calls this a dimen.) A rubber length (what plain TEX calls
a skip or glue) such as with 1cm plus0.05cm minus0.01cm can contain either or both of
those components. In that rubber length, the 1cm is the natural length while the other
two, the plus and minus components, allow TEX to stretch or shrink the length to optimize
placement.
The illustrations below use these two commands.
% make a black bar 10pt tall and #1 wide
\newcommand{\blackbar}[1]{\rule{#1}{10pt}}
XXX\showhbox{300pt}{%
\blackbar{105pt}\hspace{100pt minus 1pt}\blackbar{105pt}}YYY
But the second one gets a warning like ‘Overfull \hbox (1.0pt too wide) detected at
line 17’. In the output the first ‘Y’ is overwritten by the end of the black bar, because the
box’s material is wider than the 300 pt allocated, as TEX has refused to shrink the total to
less than 309 points.
Stretching is like shrinking except that if TEX is asked to stretch beyond the given
amount, it will do it. Here the first line is fine, producing a space of 110 points between the
bars.
XXX\showhbox{300pt}{%
\blackbar{95pt}\hspace{100pt plus 10pt}\blackbar{95pt}}YYY
XXX\showhbox{300pt}{%
\blackbar{95pt}\hspace{100pt plus 1pt}\blackbar{95pt}}YYY
In the second line TEX needs a stretch of 10 points and only 1 point was specified. TEX
stretches the space to the required length but it gives you a warning like ‘Underfull \hbox
(badness 10000) detected at line 22’. (We won’t discuss badness.)
Chapter 14: Lengths 132
You can put both stretch and shrink in the same length, as in 1ex plus 0.05ex minus
0.02ex.
If TEX is setting two or more rubber lengths then it allocates the stretch or shrink in
proportion.
XXX\showhbox{300pt}{%
\blackbar{100pt}% left
\hspace{0pt plus 50pt}\blackbar{80pt}\hspace{0pt plus 10pt}% middle
\blackbar{100pt}}YYY % right
The left and right bars take up 100 points, so the middle needs another 100. The middle
bar is 80 points so the two \hspace’s must stretch 20 points. Because the two are plus
50pt and plus 10pt, TEX gets 5/6 of the stretch from the first space and 1/6 from the
second.
The plus or minus component of a rubber length can contain a fill component, as in 1in
plus2fill. This gives the length infinite stretchability or shrinkability so that TEX could
set it to any distance. Here the two figures will be equal-spaced across the page.
\begin{minipage}{\linewidth}
\hspace{0pt plus 1fill}\includegraphics{godel.png}%
\hspace{0pt plus 1fill}\includegraphics{einstein.png}%
\hspace{0pt plus 1fill}
\end{minipage}
TEX actually has three levels of infinity for glue components: fil, fill, and filll. The
later ones are more infinite than the earlier ones. Ordinarily document authors only use
the middle one (see Section 19.3 [\hfill], page 177, and see Section 19.15 [\vfill], page 187).
Multiplying a rubber length by a number turns it into a rigid length, so that after
\setlength{\ylength}{1in plus 0.2in} and \setlength{\zlength}{3\ylength} then
the value of \zlength is 3in.
Two other lengths that are often used are values set by the designer of the font. The
x-height of the current font ex, traditionally the height of the lowercase letter x, is often
used for vertical lengths. Similarly em, traditionally the width of the capital letter M, is
often used for horizontal lengths (there is also \enspace, which is 0.5em). Use of these can
help make a definition work better across font changes. For example, a definition of the
vertical space between list items given as \setlength{\itemsep}{1ex plus 0.05ex minus
0.01ex} is more likely to still be reasonable if the font is changed than a definition given
in points.
In math mode, many definitions are expressed in terms of the math unit mu given by 1
em = 18 mu, where the em is taken from the current math symbols family. See Section 16.6
[Spacing in math mode], page 164.
14.2 \setlength
Synopsis:
\setlength{\len}{amount}
Set the length \len to amount. The length name \len has to be a control sequence
(see Section 12.1.1 [Control sequences], page 115), and as such must begin with a back-
slash, \ under normal circumstances. The amount can be a rubber length (see Chapter 14
[Lengths], page 131). It can be positive, negative or zero, and can be in any units that
LATEX understands (see Section 14.1 [Units of length], page 132).
Below, with LATEX’s defaults the first paragraph will be indented while the second will
not.
I told the doctor I broke my leg in two places.
\setlength{\parindent}{0em}
He said stop going to those places.
If you did not declare \len with \newlength, for example if you mistype it as in
\newlength{\specparindent}\setlength{\sepcparindent}{...}, then you get an error
like ‘Undefined control sequence. <argument> \sepcindent’. If you omit the backslash
at the start of the length name then you get an error like ‘Missing number, treated as
zero. <to be read again> \relax l.19 \setlength{specparindent}{0.6\parindent}’
14.3 \addtolength
Synopsis:
\addtolength{\len}{amount}
Increment the length \len by amount. The length name \len has to be a control se-
quence (see Section 12.1.1 [Control sequences], page 115), and as such must begin with a
backslash, \ under normal circumstances. The amount is a rubber length (see Chapter 14
[Lengths], page 131). It can be positive, negative or zero, and can be in any units that
LATEX understands (see Section 14.1 [Units of length], page 132).
Below, if \parskip starts with the value 0pt plus 1pt
Doctor: how is the boy who swallowed the silver dollar?
\addtolength{\parskip}{1pt}
Chapter 14: Lengths 134
Nurse: no change.
then it has the value 1pt plus 1pt for the second paragraph.
If you did not declare \len with \newlength, for example if you mistype it as in
\newlength{\specparindent}\addtolength{\sepcparindent}{...}, then you get an er-
ror like ‘Undefined control sequence. <argument> \sepcindent’. If the amount uses
some length that has not been declared, for instance if for example you mistype the
above as \addtolength{\specparindent}{0.6\praindent}, then you get something like
‘Undefined control sequence. <argument> \praindent’. If you leave off the backslash
at the start of \len, as in \addtolength{parindent}{1pt}, then you get something like
‘You can’t use ‘the letter p’ after \advance’.
14.4 \settodepth
Synopsis:
\settodepth{\len}{text}
Set the length \len to the depth of box that LATEX gets on typesetting the text argument.
The length name \len has to be a control sequence (see Section 12.1.1 [Control sequences],
page 115), and as such must begin with a backslash, \ under normal circumstances.
This will print how low the character descenders go.
\newlength{\alphabetdepth}
\settodepth{\alphabetdepth}{abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz}
\the\alphabetdepth
If you did not declare \len with \newlength, if for example you mistype the above
as \settodepth{\aplhabetdepth}{abc...}, then you get something like ‘Undefined
control sequence. <argument> \aplhabetdepth’. If you leave the backslash out of \len,
as in \settodepth{alphabetdepth}{...} then you get something like ‘Missing number,
treated as zero. <to be read again> \setbox’.
14.5 \settoheight
Synopsis:
\settoheight{\len}{text}
Sets the length \len to the height of box that LATEX gets on typesetting the text ar-
gument. The length name \len has to be a control sequence (see Section 12.1.1 [Control
sequences], page 115), and as such must begin with a backslash, \ under normal circum-
stances.
This will print how high the characters go.
\newlength{\alphabetheight}
\settoheight{\alphabetheight}{abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz}
\the\alphabetheight
If no such length \len has been declared with \newlength, if for example you mistype
as \settoheight{\aplhabetheight}{abc...}, then you get something like ‘Undefined
control sequence. <argument> \alphabetheight’. If you leave the backslash out of \len,
as in \settoheight{alphabetheight}{...} then you get something like ‘Missing number,
treated as zero. <to be read again> \setbox’.
Chapter 14: Lengths 135
14.6 \settowidth
Synopsis:
\settowidth{\len}{text}
Set the length \len to the width of the box that LATEX gets on typesetting the text
argument. The length name \len has to be a control sequence (see Section 12.1.1 [Control
sequences], page 115), and as such must begin with a backslash, \ under normal circum-
stances.
This prints the width of the lowercase ASCII alphabet.
\newlength{\alphabetwidth}
\settowidth{\alphabetwidth}{abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz}
\the\alphabetwidth
If no such length \len has been declared with \newlength, if for example you mistype
the above as \settowidth{\aplhabetwidth}{abc...}, then you get something like
‘Undefined control sequence. <argument> \aplhabetwidth’. If you leave the backslash
out of \len, as in \settoheight{alphabetwidth}{...} then you get something like
‘Missing number, treated as zero. <to be read again> \setbox’.
14.7 \stretch
Synopsis:
\stretch{number}
Produces a rubber length with zero natural length and number times \fill units of
stretchability (see Chapter 14 [Lengths], page 131). The number can be positive or negative.
This command is robust (see Section 12.11 [\protect], page 123).
It works for both vertical and horizontal spacing. In this horizontal example, LATEX
produces three tick marks, and the distance between the first and second is half again as
long as the distance between the second and third.
\rule{0.4pt}{1ex}\hspace{\stretch{1.5}}%
\rule{0.4pt}{1ex}\hspace{\stretch{1}}%
\rule{0.4pt}{1ex}
In this vertical example, the ‘We dedicate ...’ will have three times as much space
under it as above it.
\newenvironment{dedication}{% in document preamble
\clearpage\thispagestyle{empty}%
\vspace*{\stretch{1}} % stretchable space at top
\it
}{%
\vspace{\stretch{3}} % space at bot is 3x as at top
\clearpage
}
...
\begin{dedication} % in document body
We dedicate this book to our wives.
\end{dedication}
Chapter 14: Lengths 136
14.8 Expressions
Synopsis, one of:
\numexpr expression
\dimexpr expression
\glueexpr expression
\muglue expression
Any place where you may write an integer, or a TEX dimen, or TEX glue, or muglue,
you can instead write an expression to compute that type of quantity.
An example is that \the\dimexpr\linewidth-4pt\relax will produce as output the
length that is four points less than width of a line (the only purpose of \the is to show
the result in the document). Analogously, \romannumeral\numexpr6+3\relax will produce
‘ix’, and \the\glueexpr 5pt plus 1pt * 2 \relax will produce ‘10.0pt plus 2.0pt’.
A convenience here over doing calculations by allocating registers and then using
\advance, etc., is that the evaluation of expressions does not involve assignments and can
therefore be performed in places where assignments are not allowed. The next example
computes the width of the \parbox.
\newlength{\offset}\setlength{\offset}{2em}
\begin{center}
\parbox{\dimexpr\linewidth-\offset*3}{With malice toward none
with charity for all with firmness in the right as God gives us to see
the right let us strive on to finish the work we are in to bind up the
nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and
for his widow and his orphan \textasciitilde\ to do all which may
achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with
all nations. ---Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address, from the
memorial}
\end{center}
The expression consists of one or more terms of the same type (integer, dimension, etc.)
that are added or subtracted. A term that is a type of number, dimension, etc., consists of
a factor of that type, optionally multiplied or divided by factors. A factor of a type is either
a quantity of that type or a parenthesized subexpression. The expression produces a result
of the given type, so that \numexpr produces an integer, \dimexpr produces a dimension,
etc.
In the quotation example above, changing to \dimexpr\linewidth-3*\offset gives
the error Illegal unit of measure (pt inserted). This is because for \dimexpr and
\glueexpr, the input consists of a dimension or glue value followed by an optional multi-
plication factor, and not the other way around. Thus \the\dimexpr 1pt*10\relax is valid
and produces ‘10.0pt’, but \the\dimexpr 10*1pt\relax gives the Illegal unit error.
The expressions absorb tokens and carry out appropriate mathematics up to a \relax
(which will be absorbed), or up to the first non-valid token. Thus, \the\numexpr2+3px will
print ‘5px’, because LATEX reads the \numexpr2+3, which is made up of numbers, and then
finds the letter p, which cannot be part of a number. It therefore terminates the expression
and produces the ‘5’, followed by the regular text ‘px’.
Chapter 14: Lengths 137
15 Making paragraphs
To start a paragraph, just type some text. To end the current paragraph, put an empty
line. This is three paragraphs, the separatation of which is made by two empty lines.
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession
of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.
However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his
first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds
of the surrounding families, that he is considered the rightful property
of some one or other of their daughters.
‘‘My dear Mr. Bennet,’’ said his lady to him one day,
‘‘have you heard that Netherfield Park is let at last?’’
The paragraph separator can be made of any sequence of at least one blank line, amongst
which at least one is not terminated by a comment. A blank line is a line that is empty or
made only of blank characters such as space or tab. Comments in source code are started
with a % and span up to the end of line. In the following example the two columns are
identical:
\documentclass[twocolumn]{article}
\begin{document}
First paragraph.
Second paragraph.
\newpage
First paragraph.
Second paragraph.
\end{document}
Once LATEX has gathered all of a paragraph’s contents it divides that content into lines in
a way that is optimized over the entire paragraph (see Chapter 9 [Line breaking], page 100).
There are places where a new paragraph is not permitted. Don’t put a blank line in math
mode (see Chapter 17 [Modes], page 170); here the blank line before the \end{equation}
\begin{equation}
2^{|S|} > |S|
\end{equation}
will get you the error ‘Missing $ inserted’. Similarly, the blank line in this \section
argument
\section{aaa
bbb}
gets ‘Runaway argument? {aaa ! Paragraph ended before \@sect was complete’.
Chapter 15: Making paragraphs 139
15.1 \par
Synopsis (note that while reading the input TEX converts any sequence of one or more blank
lines to a \par, Chapter 15 [Making paragraphs], page 138):
\par
End the current paragraph. The usual way to separate paragraphs is with a blank line
but the \par command is entirely equivalent. This command is robust (see Section 12.11
[\protect], page 123).
This example uses \par rather than a blank line simply for readability.
\newcommand{\syllabusLegalese}{%
\whatCheatingIs\par\whatHappensWhenICatchYou}
In LR mode the \par command does nothing and is ignored. In pragraph mode, the \par
command terminates paragraph mode, switching LATEX to vertical mode (see Chapter 17
[Modes], page 170).
You cannot use the \par command in a math mode. You also cannot use it in the
argument of many commands, such as the sectionning commands, e.g. \section (see
Chapter 15 [Making paragraphs], page 138, and Section 12.1 [\newcommand & \renew-
command], page 113).
The \par command is not the same as the \paragraph command. The latter is, like
\section or \subsection, a sectioning command used by the LATEX document standard
classes (see Section 6.5 [\subsubsection & \paragraph & \subparagraph], page 43).
The \par command is not the same as \newline or the line break double backslash,
\\. The difference is that \par ends the paragraph, not just the line, and also triggers the
addition of the between-paragraph vertical space \parskip (see Section 15.3 [\parindent &
\parskip], page 140).
The output from this example
xyz
\setlength{\parindent}{3in}
\setlength{\parskip}{5in}
\noindent test\indent test1\par test2
is: after ‘xyz’ there is a vertical skip of 5 inches and then ‘test’ appears, aligned with the
left margin. On the same line, there is an empty horizontal space of 3 inches and then
‘test1’ appears. Finally. there is a vertical space of 5 inches, followed by a fresh paragraph
with a paragraph indent of 3 inches, and then LATEX puts the text ‘test2’.
Ordinarily you create a new paragraph by putting in a blank line. See Section 15.1
[\par], page 139, for the difference between this command and \par. To start a paragraph
without an indent, or to continue an interrupted paragraph, use \noindent.
In the middle of a paragraph the \noindent command has no effect, because LATEX is
already in horizontal mode there. The \indent command’s only effect is to output a space.
This example starts a fresh paragraph.
... end of the prior paragraph.
\begin{center}
\begin{tabular}{rl} ... \end{tabular}
\end{center}
16 Math formulas
Produce mathematical text by putting LATEX into math mode or display math mode (see
Chapter 17 [Modes], page 170). This example shows both.
The wave equation for \( u \) is
\begin{displaymath}
\frac{\partial^2u}{\partial t^2} = c^2\nabla^2u
\end{displaymath}
where \( \nabla^2 \) is the spatial Laplacian and \( c \) is constant.
Math mode is for inline mathematics. In the above example it is invoked by the starting
\( and finished by the matching ending \). Display math mode is for displayed equations
and here is invoked by the displaymath environment. Note that any mathematical text
whatever, including mathematical text consisting of just one character, is handled in math
mode.
When in math mode or display math mode, LATEX handles many aspects of your input
text differently than in other text modes. For example,
contrast x+y with \( x+y \)
in math mode the letters are in italics and the spacing around the plus sign is different.
There are three ways to make inline formulas, to put LATEX in math mode.
\( mathematical material \)
$ mathematical material $
\begin{math} mathematical material \end{math}
The first form is preferred and the second is quite common, but the third form is rarely
used. You can sometimes use one and sometimes another, as in \(x\) and $y$. You can
use these in paragraph mode or in LR mode (see Chapter 17 [Modes], page 170).
To make displayed formulas, put LATEX into display math mode with either:
\begin{displaymath}
mathematical material
\end{displaymath}
or
\begin{equation}
mathematical material
\end{equation}
(see Section 8.5 [displaymath], page 58, see Section 8.9 [equation], page 61). The only
difference is that with the equation environment, LATEX puts a formula number alongside
the formula. The construct \[ math \] is equivalent to \begin{displaymath} math
\end{displaymath}. These environments can only be used in paragraph mode (see
Chapter 17 [Modes], page 170).
The American Mathematical Society has made freely available a set of packages that
greatly expand your options for writing mathematics, amsmath and amssymb (also be aware
of the mathtools package that is an extension to, and loads, amsmath). New documents
that will have mathematical text should use these packages. Descriptions of these packages
is outside the scope of this document; see their documentation on CTAN.
Chapter 16: Math formulas 143
W
\bigvee Variable-sized, or n-ary, logical-or (operator).
\bigwedge V
Variable-sized, or n-ary, logical-and (operator).
\bot Up tack, bottom, least element of a partially ordered set, or a contradiction
(ordinary). See also \top.
\bowtie ./ Natural join of two relations (relation).
\Box 2 Modal operator for necessity; square open box (ordinary). Not available in
plain TEX. In LATEX you need to load the amssymb package.
\bullet • Bullet (binary). Similar: multiplication dot \cdot.
\cap ∩ Intersection of two sets (binary). Similar: variable-sized operator \bigcap.
\cdot · Multiplication (binary). Similar: Bullet dot \bullet.
\chi χ Lowercase Greek chi (ordinary).
\circ ◦ Function composition, ring operator (binary). Similar: variable-sized opera-
tor \bigcirc.
\clubsuit
♣ Club card suit (ordinary).
\complement
Set complement, used as a superscript as in $S^\complement$ (ordinary). Not
available in plain TEX. In LATEX you need to load the amssymb package. Also
used: $S^{\mathsf{c}}$ or $\bar{S}$.
\cong ∼ Congruent (relation).
=
`
\coprod Coproduct (operator).
\cup ∪ Union of two sets (binary). Similar: variable-sized operator \bigcup.
\dagger † Dagger relation (binary).
\dashv a Dash with vertical, reversed turnstile (relation). Similar: turnstile \vdash.
\ddagger ‡ Double dagger relation (binary).
\Delta Δ Greek uppercase delta, used for increment (ordinary).
\delta δ Greek lowercase delta (ordinary).
\Diamond 3 Large diamond operator (ordinary). Not available in plain TEX. In LATEX
you need to load the amssymb package.
\diamond Diamond operator (binary). Similar: large diamond \Diamond, circle bul-
let \bullet.
\diamondsuit
♦ Diamond card suit (ordinary).
\div ÷ Division sign (binary).
.
\doteq = Approaches the limit (relation). Similar: geometrically equal to \Doteq.
Chapter 16: Math formulas 146
\downarrow
↓ Down arrow, converges (relation). Similar: \Downarrow double line down
arrow.
\Downarrow
⇓ Double line down arrow (relation). Similar: \downarrow single line down
arrow.
\ell ` Lowercase cursive letter l (ordinary).
\emptyset
∅ Empty set symbol (ordinary). The variant form is \varnothing.
\epsilon Lowercase lunate epsilon (ordinary). Similar to Greek text letter. More widely
used in mathematics is the script small letter epsilon \varepsilon ε. Related:
the set membership relation \in ∈.
\equiv ≡ Equivalence (relation).
\eta η Lowercase Greek letter (ordinary).
\exists ∃ Existential quantifier (ordinary).
\flat [ Musical flat (ordinary).
\forall ∀ Universal quantifier (ordinary).
\frown _ Downward curving arc (ordinary).
\Gamma Γ uppercase Greek letter (ordinary).
\gamma γ Lowercase Greek letter (ordinary).
\ge ≥ Greater than or equal to (relation). This is a synonym for \geq.
\geq ≥ Greater than or equal to (relation). This is a synonym for \ge.
\gets ← Is assigned the value (relation). Synonym: \leftarrow.
\gg Much greater than (relation). Similar: much less than \ll.
\hbar h̄ Planck constant over two pi (ordinary).
\heartsuit
♥ Heart card suit (ordinary).
\hookleftarrow
←- Hooked left arrow (relation).
\hookrightarrow
,→ Hooked right arrow (relation).
\iff ⇐⇒ If and only if (relation). It is \Longleftrightarrow with a \thickmuskip
on either side.
\Im = Imaginary part (ordinary). See: real part \Re.
\imath Dotless i; used when you are putting an accent on an i (see Section 16.4 [Math
accents], page 163).
Chapter 16: Math formulas 147
\in ∈ Set element (relation). See also: lowercase lunate epsilon \epsilon and
small letter script epsilon \varepsilon.
\infty ∞ Infinity (ordinary).
R
\int Integral (operator).
\iota ι Lowercase Greek letter (ordinary).
\Join 1 Condensed bowtie symbol (relation). Not available in Plain TEX.
\jmath Dotless j; used when you are putting an accent on a j (see Section 16.4 [Math
accents], page 163).
\kappa κ Lowercase Greek letter (ordinary).
\Lambda Λ uppercase Greek letter (ordinary).
\lambda λ Lowercase Greek letter (ordinary).
\land ∧ Logical and (binary). Synonym: \wedge. See also logical or \lor.
\langle h Left angle, or sequence, bracket (opening). Similar: less-than <.
Matches \rangle.
\lbrace { Left curly brace (opening). Synonym: \{. Matches \rbrace.
\lbrack [ Left square bracket (opening). Synonym: [. Matches \rbrack.
\lceil d Left ceiling bracket, like a square bracket but with the bottom shaved off
(opening). Matches \rceil.
\le ≤ Less than or equal to (relation). This is a synonym for \leq.
\leadsto ; Squiggly right arrow (relation). To get this symbol outside of math mode you
can put \newcommand*{\Leadsto}{\ensuremath{\leadsto}} in the preamble
and then use \Leadsto instead.
\Leftarrow
⇐ Is implied by, double-line left arrow (relation). Similar: single-line left ar-
row \leftarrow.
\leftarrow
← Single-line left arrow (relation). Synonym: \gets. Similar: double-line left
arrow \Leftarrow.
\leftharpoondown
) Single-line left harpoon, barb under bar (relation).
\leftharpoonup
( Single-line left harpoon, barb over bar (relation).
\Leftrightarrow
⇔ Bi-implication; double-line double-headed arrow (relation). Similar: single-
line double headed arrow \leftrightarrow.
\leftrightarrow
↔ Single-line double-headed arrow (relation). Similar: double-line double
headed arrow \Leftrightarrow.
Chapter 16: Math formulas 148
\neg ¬ Logical negation (ordinary). Synonym: \lnot. Sometimes instead used for
negation: \sim.
\neq 6= Not equal (relation). Synonym: \ne.
\ni 3 Reflected membership epsilon; has the member (relation). Synonym: \owns.
Similar: is a member of \in.
\not 6 Long solidus, or slash, used to overstrike a following operator (relation).
Many negated operators are available that don’t require \not, particularly with
the amssymb package. For example, \notin is typographically preferable to
\not\in.
\notin ∈
/ Not an element of (relation). Similar: not subset of \nsubseteq.
\nu ν Lowercase Greek letter (ordinary).
\nwarrow - North-west arrow (relation).
\odot Dot inside a circle (binary). Similar: variable-sized operator \bigodot.
H
\oint Contour integral, integral with circle in the middle (operator).
\Omega Ω uppercase Greek letter (ordinary).
\omega ω Lowercase Greek letter (ordinary).
\ominus Minus sign, or dash, inside a circle (binary).
\oplus ⊕ Plus sign inside a circle (binary). Similar: variable-sized operator \bigoplus.
\oslash Solidus, or slash, inside a circle (binary).
\otimes ⊗ Times sign, or cross, inside a circle (binary). Similar: variable-sized opera-
tor \bigotimes.
\owns 3 Reflected membership epsilon; has the member (relation). Synonym: \ni.
Similar: is a member of \in.
\parallel
k Parallel (relation). Synonym: \|.
\partial ∂ Partial differential (ordinary).
\perp ⊥ Perpendicular (relation). Similar: \bot uses the same glyph but the spacing
is different because it is in the class ordinary.
\Phi Φ Uppercase Greek letter (ordinary).
\phi φ Lowercase Greek letter (ordinary). The variant form is \varphi ϕ.
\Pi Π uppercase Greek letter (ordinary).
\pi π Lowercase Greek letter (ordinary). The variant form is \varpi $.
\pm ± Plus or minus (binary).
\prec ≺ Precedes (relation). Similar: less than <.
\preceq Precedes or equals (relation). Similar: less than or equals \leq.
Chapter 16: Math formulas 150
\rightleftharpoons
*
) Right harpoon up above left harpoon down (relation).
\searrow & Arrow pointing southeast (relation).
\setminus
\ Set difference, reverse solidus or reverse slash, like \ (binary). Similar: back-
slash \backslash and also \textbackslash outside of math mode.
\sharp ] Musical sharp (ordinary).
\Sigma Σ uppercase Greek letter (ordinary).
\sigma σ Lowercase Greek letter (ordinary). The variant form is \varsigma ς.
\sim ∼ Similar, in a relation (relation).
\simeq ' Similar or equal to, in a relation (relation).
\smallint
∫ Integral sign that does not change to a larger size in a display (operator).
\smile ^ Upward curving arc, smile (ordinary).
\spadesuit
♠ Spade card suit (ordinary).
\sqcap u Square intersection symbol (binary). Similar: intersection cap.
\sqcup t Square union symbol (binary). Similar: union cup. Related: variable-sized
operator \bigsqcup.
\sqsubset
Square subset symbol (relation). Similar: subset \subset. Not available in
plain TEX. In LATEX you need to load the amssymb package.
\sqsubseteq
v Square subset or equal symbol (binary). Similar: subset or equal
to \subseteq.
\sqsupset
Square superset symbol (relation). Similar: superset \supset. Not available
in plain TEX. In LATEX you need to load the amssymb package.
\sqsupseteq
w Square superset or equal symbol (binary). Similar: superset or
equal \supseteq.
\star ? Five-pointed star, sometimes used as a general binary operation but some-
times reserved for cross-correlation (binary). Similar: the synonyms asterisk *
and \ast, which are six-pointed, and more often appear as a superscript or
subscript, as with the Kleene star.
\subset ⊂ Subset (occasionally, is implied by) (relation).
\subseteq
⊆ Subset or equal to (relation).
Chapter 16: Math formulas 152
\updownarrow
l Single-line upward-and-downward-pointing arrow (relation). Similar: double-
line upward-and-downward-pointing arrow \Updownarrow.
\upharpoonright
Up harpoon, with barb on right side (relation). Synonym: \restriction. Not
available in plain TEX. In LATEX you need to load the amssymb package.
\uplus ] Multiset union, a union symbol with a plus symbol in the middle (binary).
Similar: union \cup. Related: variable-sized operator \biguplus.
\Upsilon ϒ uppercase Greek letter (ordinary).
\upsilon υ Lowercase Greek letter (ordinary).
\varepsilon
ε Small letter script epsilon (ordinary). This is more widely used in math-
ematics than the non-variant lunate epsilon form \epsilon . Related: set
membership \in.
\vanothing
Empty set symbol. Similar: \emptyset. Related: \revemptyset. Not avail-
able in plain TEX. In LATEX you need to load the amssymb package.
\varphi ϕ Variant on the lowercase Greek letter (ordinary). The non-variant form is
\phi φ.
\varpi $ Variant on the lowercase Greek letter (ordinary). The non-variant form is
\pi π.
\varrho % Variant on the lowercase Greek letter (ordinary). The non-variant form is
\rho ρ.
\varsigma
ς Variant on the lowercase Greek letter (ordinary). The non-variant form is
\sigma σ.
\vartheta
ϑ Variant on the lowercase Greek letter (ordinary). The non-variant form is
\theta θ.
\vdash ` Provable; turnstile, vertical and a dash (relation). Similar: turnstile rotated
a half-circle \dashv.
\vee ∨ Logical or; a downwards v shape (binary). Related: logical and \wedge.
Similar: variable-sized operator \bigvee.
\Vert k Vertical double bar (ordinary). See Section 16.2.5 [Delimiters], page 156, for
how to use the mathtools package to create flexibly-sized norm symbols.
\vert | Single line vertical bar (ordinary). For “such that”, as in the definition of a
set, use \mid because it is a relation. See Section 16.2.5 [Delimiters], page 156,
for how to use the mathtools package to create flexibly-sized absolute-value
symbols.
\wedge ∧ Logical and (binary). Synonym: \land. See also logical or \vee. Similar:
variable-sized operator \bigwedge.
Chapter 16: Math formulas 154
16.2.1 Arrows
These are the arrows that come with standard LATEX. The latexsym and amsfonts packages
contain many more.
Symbol Command
⇓ \Downarrow
↓ \downarrow
←- \hookleftarrow
,→ \hookrightarrow
← \leftarrow
⇐ \Leftarrow
⇔ \Leftrightarrow
↔ \leftrightarrow
←− \longleftarrow
⇐= \Longleftarrow
←→ \longleftrightarrow
⇐⇒ \Longleftrightarrow
7−→ \longmapsto
=⇒ \Longrightarrow
−→ \longrightarrow
7→ \mapsto
% \nearrow
- \nwarrow
⇒ \Rightarrow
Chapter 16: Math formulas 155
→ \rightarrow, or \to
& \searrow
. \swarrow
↑ \uparrow
⇑ \Uparrow
l \updownarrow
m \Updownarrow
An example of the difference between \to and \mapsto is: \( f\colon D\to C \) given
by \( n\mapsto n^2 \).
For commutative diagrams there are a number of packages, including tikz-cd and amscd.
Here
\( \forall n \in \mathbb{N}, n^2 \geq 0 \)
the \mathbb{N} gives blackboard bold symbol representing the natural numbers.
If you use other than an uppercase letter then you do not get an error but you get strange
results, including unexpected characters.
There are packages that give access to symbols other than just the capital letters; look
on CTAN.
16.2.4 Calligraphic
Synopsis:
\mathcal{uppercase-letters}
Use a script-like font.
In this example the graph identifier is output in a cursive font.
Let the graph be \( \mathcal{G} \).
If you use something other than an uppercase letter then you do not get an error but
you also do not get math calligraphic output. For instance, \mathcal{g} outputs a close
curly brace symbol.
16.2.5 Delimiters
Delimiters are parentheses, braces, or other characters used to mark the start and end of
subformulas. This formula has three sets of parentheses delimiting the three subformulas.
(z-z_0)^2 = (x-x_0)^2 + (y-y_0)^2
The delimiters do not need to match, so you can enter \( [0,1) \).
Here are the common delimiters:
then you get two commands for single-line vertical bars (they only work in math mode). The
starred version, such as \abs*{\frac{22}{7}}, has the height of the vertical bars match
the height of the argument. The unstarred version, such as \abs{\frac{22}{7}}, has the
bars fixed at a default height. This version accepts an optional argument, as in \abs[size
command]{\frac{22}{7}}, where the height of the bars is given in size command, such as
\Bigg. Using \lVert and \rVert as the symbols will give you a norm symbol with the
same behavior.
LATEX won’t break the line, causing the formula to extend into the margin.
Because \left ... \right make a group, all the usual grouping rules hold. Here, the
value of \testlength set inside the equation will be forgotten, and the output is ‘1.2pt’.
\newlength{\testlength} \setlength{\testlength}{1.2pt}
\begin{equation}
\left( a+b=c \setlength{\testlength}{3.4pt} \right)
\the\testlength
\end{equation}
The \left ... \right pair affect the horizontal spacing of the enclosed formula, in two
ways. The first is that in \( \sin(x) = \sin\left(x\right) \) the one after the equals
sign has more space around the x. That’s because \left( ... \right) inserts an inner node
while ( ... ) inserts an opening node. The second way that the pair affect the horizontal
spacing is that because they form a group, the enclosed subformula will be typeset at its
natural width, with no stretching or shrinking to make the line fit better.
TEX scales the delimiters according to the height and depth of the contained formula.
Here LATEX grows the brackets to extend the full height of the integral.
\begin{equation}
\left[ \int_{x=r_0}^{\infty} -G\frac{Mm}{r^2}\, dr \right]
\end{equation}
Manual sizing is often better. For instance, although below the rule has no depth, TEX
will create delimiters that extend far below the rule.
\begin{equation}
\left( \rule{1pt}{1cm} \right)
\end{equation}
TEX can choose delimiters that are too small, as in \( \left| |x|+|y| \right| \). It can
also choose delimiters that are too large, as here.
\begin{equation}
\left( \sum_{0\leq i<n} i^k \right)
\end{equation}
A third awkward case is when a long displayed formula is on more than one line and you
must match the sizes of the opening and closing delimiter; you can’t use \left on the first
line and \right on the last because they must be paired.
To size the delimiters manually, see Section 16.2.5.2 [\bigl & \bigr etc.], page 158.
\biggmdelimiter
\Biggmdelimiter
(as with \bigm|), or one of:
\bigdelimiter
\Bigdelimiter
\biggdelimiter
\Biggdelimiter
(as with \big[).
Produce manually-sized delimiters. For delimiters that are automatically sized
see Section 16.2.5.1 [\left & \right], page 157).
This produces slightly larger outer vertical bars.
\bigl| |x|+|y| \bigr|
The commands above are listed in order of increasing size. You can use the smallest size
such as \bigl...\bigr in a paragraph without causing LATEX to spread the lines apart.
The larger sizes are meant for displayed equations.
See Section 16.2.5 [Delimiters], page 156, for a list of the common delimiters. In the
family of commands with ‘l’ and ‘r’, delimiter1 and delimiter2 need not be the same.
The ‘l’ and ‘r’ commands produce open and close delimiters that insert no horizontal
space between a preceding atom and the delimiter, while the commands without ‘l’ and ‘r’
insert some space (because each delimiter is set as an ordinary variable). Compare these
two.
\begin{tabular}{l}
\(\displaystyle \sin\biggl(\frac{1}{2}\biggr) \) \\ % good
\(\displaystyle \sin\bigg(\frac{1}{2}\bigg) \) \\ % bad
\end{tabular}
The traditional typographic treatment is on the first line. On the second line the output
will have some extra space between the \sin and the open parenthesis.
Commands without ‘l’ or ‘r’ do give correct spacing in some circumstances, as with this
large vertical line
\begin{equation}
\int_{x=a}^b x^2\,dx = \frac{1}{3} x^3 \Big|_{x=a}^b
\end{equation}
(many authors would replace \frac with the \tfrac command from the amsmath package),
and as with this larger slash.
\begin{equation}
\lim_{n\to\infty}\pi(n) \big/ (n/\log n) = 1
\end{equation}
Unlike the \left...\right pair (see Section 16.2.5.1 [\left & \right], page 157), the
commands here with ‘l’ and ‘r’ do not make a group. Strictly speaking they need not be
matched so you can write something like this.
\begin{equation}
\Biggl[ \pi/6 ]
\end{equation}
Chapter 16: Math formulas 160
The commands with ‘m’ are for relations, which are in the middle of formulas, as here.
\begin{equation}
\biggl\{ a\in B \biggm| a=\sum_{0\leq i<n}3i^2+4 \biggr\}
\end{equation}
\Pr Probability Pr
The amsmath package adds improvements on some of these, and also allows you to define
your own. The full documentation is on CTAN, but briefly, you can define an identity
operator with \DeclareMathOperator{\identity}{id} that is like the ones above but
prints as ‘id’. The starred form \DeclareMathOperator*{\op}{op} sets any limits above
and below, as is traditional with \lim, \sup, or \max.
Chapter 16: Math formulas 163
\underbrace{math}
Put a brace under math. For example, this (1-\underbrace{1/2)+(1/2}-
1/3) emphasizes the telescoping part. The result looks like this:
(1 − 1/2) + (1/2 −1/3). Attach text to the brace by using subscript, _, or
| {z }
superscript, ^, as here.
\begin{displaymath}
1+1/2+\underbrace{1/3+1/4}_{>1/2}+
\underbrace{1/5+1/6+1/7+1/8}_{>1/2}+\cdots
\end{displaymath}
The superscript appears on top of the expression, and so can look unconnected
to the underbrace.
\overbrace{math}
Put a brace over math, as with \overbrace{x+x+\cdots+x}^{\mbox{\(k\)
times}}. See also \underbrace.
The package mathtools adds an over- and underbrace, as well as some improvements
on the braces. See the documentation on CTAN.
\, Synonym: \thinspace. Normally 3mu, which is 1/6 em. Can be used in both
math mode and text mode (see Section 19.8 [\thinspace & \negthinspace],
page 182).
This space is widely used, for instance between the function and the infinitesimal
in an integral \int f(x)\,dx and, if an author does this, before punctuation
in a displayed equation.
The antiderivative is
\begin{equation}
3x^{-1/2}+3^{1/2}\,.
\end{equation}
\! Synonym: \negthinspace. A negative thin space. Normally -3mu. With the
amsmath package, or as of the 2020-10-01 LATEX release, can be used in text
mode as well as math mode; otherwise, the \! command is math mode only
but the \negthinspace command has always also worked in text mode (see
Section 19.8 [\thinspace & \negthinspace], page 182).
\quad This is 18 mu, that is, 1 em. This is often used for space surrounding equa-
tions or expressions, for instance for the space between two equations inside a
displaymath environment. It is available in both text and math mode.
\qquad A length of 2 quads, that is, 36 mu = 2 em. It is available in both text and
math mode.
16.6.1 \smash
Synopsis:
\smash{subformula}
Typeset subformula as if its height and depth were zero.
In this example the exponential is so tall that without the \smash command LATEX would
separate its line from the line above it, and the uneven line spacing might be unsightly.
To compute the tetration $\smash{2^{2^{2^2}}}$,
evaluate from the top down, as $2^{2^4}=2^{16}=65536$.
(Because of the \smash the printed expression could run into the line above so you may
want to wait until the final version of the document to make such adjustments.)
This pictures the effect of \smash by using \fbox to surround the box that LATEX will
put on the line. The \blackbar command makes a bar extending from 10 points below the
baseline to 20 points above.
\newcommand{\blackbar}{\rule[-10pt]{5pt}{30pt}}
\fbox{\blackbar}
\fbox{\smash{\blackbar}}
The first box that LATEX places is 20 points high and 10 points deep. But the second
box is treated by LATEX as having zero height and zero depth, despite that the ink printed
on the page still extends well above and below the line.
The \smash command appears often in mathematics to adjust the size of an element
that surrounds a subformula. Here the first radical extends below the baseline while the
second lies just on the baseline.
\begin{equation}
Chapter 16: Math formulas 166
The three phantom commands appear often but note that LATEX provides a suite of
other commands to work with box sizes that may be more convenient, including \makebox
(see Section 20.1 [\mbox & \makebox], page 189) as well as \settodepth (see Section 14.4
[\settodepth], page 134), \settoheight (see Section 14.5 [\settoheight], page 134), and
\settowidth (see Section 14.6 [\settowidth], page 135). In addition, the mathtools package
has many commands that offer fine-grained control over spacing.
All three commands produce an ordinary box, without any special mathematics status.
So to do something like attaching a superscript you should give it such a status, for example
with the \operatorname command from the package amsmath.
While most often used in mathematics, these three can appear in other contexts. How-
ever, they don’t cause LATEX to change into horizontal mode. So if one of these starts a
paragraph then you should prefix it with \leavevmode.
16.6.3 \mathstrut
Synopsis:
\mathstrut
The analogue of \strut for mathematics. See Section 19.13 [\strut], page 184.
The input $\sqrt{x} + \sqrt{x^i}$ gives output where the second radical is taller than
the first. To add extra vertical space without any horizontal space, so that the two have
the same height, use $\sqrt{x\mathstrut} + \sqrt{x^i\mathstrut}$.
The \mathstrut command adds the vertical height of an open parenthesis, (, but no hor-
izontal space. It is defined as \vphantom{(}, so see Section 16.6.2 [\phantom & \vphantom
& \hphantom], page 166, for more. An advantage over \strut is that \mathstrut adds no
depth, which is often the right thing for formulas. Using the height of an open parenthesis
is just a convention; for complete control over the amount of space, use \rule with a width
of zero. See Section 23.8 [\rule], page 218.
16.8.2 \*
Synopsis:
\*
A multiplication symbol that allows a line break. If there is a break then LATEX puts a
\times symbol, ×, before that break.
In \( A_1\* A_2\* A_3\* A_4 \), if there is no line break then LATEX outputs it as
though it were \( A_1 A_2 A_3 A_4 \). If a line break does happen, for example between
the two middle ones, then LATEX sets it like \( A_1 A_2 \times \), followed by the break,
followed by \( A_3 A_4 \).
16.8.3 \frac
Synopsis:
\frac{numerator}{denominator}
Produces the fraction. Used as: \begin{displaymath} \frac{1}{\sqrt{2\pi\sigma}}
\end{displaymath}. In inline math mode it comes out small; see the discussion of
\displaystyle (see Chapter 16 [Math formulas], page 142).
16.8.4 \sqrt
Synopsis, one of:
\sqrt{arg}
\sqrt[root-number]{arg}
The square root, or optionally other roots, of arg. The optional argument root-number
gives the root, i.e., enter the cube root of x+y as \sqrt[3]{x+y}. It comes out like this:
√
3
x + y. The radical grows with the size of arg (as the height of the radical grows, the angle
on the leftmost part gets steeper, until for a large enough arg, it is vertical).
LATEX has a separate \surd character (see Section 16.2 [Math symbols], page 143).
16.8.5 \stackrel
Synopsis, one of:
\stackrel{text}{relation}
Put text above relation. To put a function name above an arrow enter
f
\stackrel{f}{\longrightarrow}. The result looks like this: −→.
170
17 Modes
As LATEX processes your document, at any point it is in one of six modes. They fall into
three categories of two each, the horizontal modes, the math modes, and the vertical modes.
Some commands only work in one mode or another (in particular, many commands only
work in one of the math modes), and error messages will refer to these.
• Paragraph mode (in plain TEX this is called horizontal mode) is what LATEX is in when
processing ordinary text. It breaks the input text into lines and finds the positions of
line breaks, so that in vertical mode page breaks can be done. This is the mode LATEX
is in most of the time.
LR mode (for left-to-right mode; in plain TEX this is called restricted horizontal mode)
is in effect when LATEX starts making a box with an \mbox command. As in paragraph
mode, LATEX’s output is a string of words with spaces between them. Unlike in para-
graph mode, in LR mode LATEX never starts a new line, it just keeps going from left
to right. (Although LATEX will not complain that the LR box is too long, when it is
finished and next tries to put that box into a line, it could very well complain that the
finished LR box won’t fit there.)
• Math mode is when LATEX is generating an inline mathematical formula.
Display math mode is when LATEX is generating a displayed mathematical formula.
(Displayed formulas differ somewhat from inline ones. One example is that the place-
ment of the subscript on \int differs in the two situations.)
• Vertical mode is when LATEX is building the list of lines and other material making the
output page, which comprises insertion of page breaks. This is the mode LATEX is in
when it starts a document.
Internal vertical mode is in effect when LATEX starts making a \vbox. It has not such
thing as page breaks, and as such is the vertical analogue of LR mode.
For instance, if you begin a LATEX article with ‘Let \( x \) be ...’ then these are the
modes: first LATEX starts every document in vertical mode, then it reads the ‘L’ and switches
to paragraph mode, then the next switch happens at the ‘\(’ where LATEX changes to math
mode, and then when it leaves the formula it pops back to paragraph mode.
Paragraph mode has two subcases. If you use a \parbox command or a minipage then
LATEX is put into paragraph mode. But it will not put a page break here. Inside one of
these boxes, called a parbox, LATEX is in inner paragraph mode. Its more usual situation,
where it can put page breaks, is outer paragraph mode (see Chapter 10 [Page breaking],
page 105).
17.1 \ensuremath
Synopsis:
\ensuremath{formula}
Ensure that formula is typeset in math mode.
For instance, you can redefine commands that ordinarily can be used only in math mode,
so that they can be used both in math and in plain text.
\newcommand{\dx}{\ensuremath{dx}}
171
18 Page styles
The style of a page determines where LATEX places the components of that page, such
as headers and footers, and the text body. This includes pages in the main part of the
document but also includes special pages such as the title page of a book, a page from an
index, or the first page of an article.
The package fancyhdr is very helpful for constructing page styles. See its documentation
on CTAN.
18.1 \maketitle
Synopsis:
\maketitle
Generate a title. In the standard classes the title appears on a separate page, except in
the article class where it is at the top of the first page. (See Section 3.1 [Document class
options], page 7, for information about the titlepage document class option.)
This example shows \maketitle appearing in its usual place, immediately after
\begin{document}.
\documentclass{article}
\title{Constructing a Nuclear Reactor Using Only Coconuts}
\author{Jonas Grumby\thanks{%
With the support of a Ginger Grant from the Roy Hinkley Society.} \\
Skipper, \textit{Minnow}
\and
Willy Gilligan\thanks{%
Thanks to the Mary Ann Summers foundation
and to Thurston and Lovey Howell.} \\
Mate, \textit{Minnow}
}
\date{1964-Sep-26}
\begin{document}
\maketitle
Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip.
That started from this tropic port, aboard this tiny ship. The mate was
a mighty sailin’ man, the Skipper brave and sure. Five passengers set
sail that day for a three hour tour. A three hour tour.
...
You tell LATEX the information used to produce the title by making the following declara-
tions. These must come before the \maketitle, either in the preamble or in the document
body.
\author{name1 \and name2 \and ...}
Required. Declare the document author or authors. The argument is a list
of authors separated by \and commands. To separate lines within a single
author’s entry, for instance to give the author’s institution or address, use a
double backslash, \\. If you omit the \author declaration then you get ‘LaTeX
Warning: No \author given’.
Chapter 18: Page styles 173
\date{text}
Optional. Declare text to be the document’s date. The text doesn’t need to
be in a date format; it can be any text at all. If you omit \date then LATEX
uses the current date (see Section 23.9 [\today], page 219). To have no date,
instead use \date{}.
\thanks{text}
Optional. Produce a footnote. You can use it in the author information for
acknowledgements as illustrated above, but you can also use it in the title, or
any place a footnote makes sense. It can be any text at all so you can use it for
any purpose, such as to print an email address.
\title{text}
Required. Declare text to be the title of the document. Get line breaks inside
text with a double backslash, \\. If you omit the \title declaration then you
get ‘LaTeX Error: No \title given’.
To make your own title page, see Section 8.26 [titlepage], page 97. You can either create
this as a one-off or you can include it as part of a renewed \maketitle command. (Many
publishers will provide a class to use in place of article that formats the title according
to their house requirements.)
18.2 \pagenumbering
Synopsis:
\pagenumbering{number-style}
Specifies the style of page numbers, and resets the page number. The numbering style
is reflected on the page, and also in the table of contents and other page references. This
declaration has global scope so its effect is not delimited by braces or environments.
In this example, before the Main section the pages are numbered ‘a’, etc. Starting on
the page containing that section, the pages are numbered ‘1’, etc.
\begin{document}\pagenumbering{alph}
...
\section{Main}\pagenumbering{arabic}
...
The argument number-style is one of the following (see also Section 13.1 [\alph \Alph
\arabic \roman \Roman \fnsymbol], page 127).
arabic Arabic numerals: 1, 2, . . .
roman lowercase Roman numerals: i, ii, . . .
Roman uppercase Roman numerals: I, II, . . .
alph lowercase letters: a, b, . . . If you have more than 26 pages then you get ‘LaTeX
Error: Counter too large’.
Alph uppercase letters: A, B, . . . If you have more than 26 pages then you get ‘LaTeX
Error: Counter too large’.
Chapter 18: Page styles 174
gobble LATEX does not output a page number, although it does get reset. References
to that page also are blank. (This does not work with the popular package
hyperref so to have the page number not appear you may want to instead use
\pagestyle{empty} or \thispagestyle{empty}.)
Traditionally, if a document has front matter—preface, table of contents, etc.—then it
is numbered with lowercase Roman numerals. The main matter of a document uses arabic.
See Section 6.7 [\frontmatter & \mainmatter & \backmatter], page 45.
If you want to address where the page number appears on the page, see Section 18.3
[\pagestyle], page 174. If you want to change the value of page number then you will
manipulate the page counter (see Chapter 13 [Counters], page 127).
18.3 \pagestyle
Synopsis:
\pagestyle{style}
Declaration that specifies how the page headers and footers are typeset, from the current
page onwards.
A discussion with an example is below. Note first that the package fancyhdr is now the
standard way to manipulate headers and footers. New documents that need to do anything
other than one of the standard options below should use this package. See its documentation
on CTAN.
Values for style:
plain The header is empty. The footer contains only a page number, centered.
empty The header and footer is empty.
headings Put running headers and footers on each page. The document style specifies
what goes in there; see the discussion below.
myheadings
Custom headers, specified via the \markboth or the \markright commands.
Some discussion of the motivation for LATEX’s mechanism will help you work with the
options headings or myheadings. The document source below produces an article, two-
sided, with the pagestyle headings. On this document’s left hand pages, LATEX wants (in
addition to the page number) the title of the current section. On its right hand pages
LATEX wants the title of the current subsection. When it makes up a page, LATEX gets this
information from the commands \leftmark and \rightmark. So it is up to \section and
\subsection to store that information there.
\documentclass[twoside]{article}
\pagestyle{headings}
\begin{document}
... \section{Section 1} ... \subsection{Subsection 1.1} ...
\section{Section 2}
...
\subsection{Subsection 2.1}
...
Chapter 18: Page styles 175
\subsection{Subsection 2.2}
...
Suppose that the second section falls on a left page. Although when the page starts it is in
the first section, LATEX will put ‘Section 2’ in the left page header. As to the right header,
if no subsection starts before the end of the right page then LATEX blanks the right hand
header. If a subsection does appear before the right page finishes then there are two cases.
If at least one subsection starts on the right hand page then LATEX will put in the right
header the title of the first subsection starting on that right page. If at least one of 2.1, 2.2,
. . . , starts on the left page but none starts on the right then LATEX puts in the right hand
header the title of the last subsection to start, that is, the one in effect during the right
hand page.
To accomplish this, in a two-sided article, LATEX has \section issue a command
\markboth, setting \leftmark to ‘Section 2’ and setting \rightmark to blank.
And, LATEX has \subsection issue a command \markright, setting \rightmark to
‘Subsection 2.1’, etc.
Here are the descriptions of \markboth and \markright:
\markboth{left-head}{right-head}
Sets both the right hand and left hand heading information for either a page
style of headings or myheadings. A left hand page heading left-head is gener-
ated by the last \markboth command before the end of the page. A right hand
page heading right-head is generated by the first \markboth or \markright
that comes on the page if there is one, otherwise by the last one that came
before that page.
\markright{right}
Sets the right hand page heading, leaving the left unchanged.
18.4 \thispagestyle
Synopsis:
\thispagestyle{style}
Works in the same way as the \pagestyle (see Section 18.3 [\pagestyle], page 174),
except that it changes to style for the current page only. This declaration has global scope,
so its effect is not delimited by braces or environments.
Often the first page of a chapter or section has a different style. For example, this LATEX
book document has the first page of the first chapter in plain style, as is the default (see
Chapter 18 [Page styles], page 172).
\documentclass{book}
\pagestyle{headings}
\begin{document}
\chapter{First chapter}
...
\chapter{Second chapter}\thispagestyle{empty}
...
The plain style has a page number on it, centered in the footer. To make the page entirely
empty, the command \thispagestyle{empty} immediately follows the second \chapter.
176
19 Spaces
LATEX has many ways to produce white space, or filled space. Some of these are best suited
to mathematical text; for these see Section 16.6 [Spacing in math mode], page 164.
19.2 \hspace
Synopsis, one of:
\hspace{length}
\hspace*{length}
Insert the amount length of horizontal space. The length can be positive, negative, or
zero; adding a negative amount of space is like backspacing. It is a rubber length, that is,
it may contain a plus or minus component, or both (see Chapter 14 [Lengths], page 131).
Because the space is stretchable and shrinkable, it is sometimes called glue.
This makes a line with ‘Name:’ an inch from the right margin.
\noindent\makebox[\linewidth][r]{Name:\hspace{1in}}
The *-form inserts horizontal space that is non-discardable. More precisely, when TEX
breaks a paragraph into lines any white space—glues and kerns—that come at a line break
are discarded. The *-form avoids that (technically, it adds a non-discardable invisible item
in front of the space).
In this example
\parbox{0.8\linewidth}{%
Fill in each blank: Four \hspace*{1in} and seven years ago our
fathers brought forth on this continent, a new \hspace*{1in},
conceived in \hspace*{1in}, and dedicated to the proposition
that all men are created \hspace*{1in}.}
Chapter 19: Spaces 177
the 1 inch blank following ‘conceived in’ falls at the start of a line. If you erase the * then
LATEX discards the blank.
Here, the \hspace separates the three graphics.
\begin{center}
\includegraphics{lion.png}% comment keeps out extra space
\hspace{1cm minus 0.25cm}\includegraphics{tiger.png}%
\hspace{1cm minus 0.25cm}\includegraphics{bear.png}
\end{center}
Because the argument to each \hspace has minus 0.25cm, each can shrink a little if the
three figures are too wide. But each space won’t shrink more than 0.25 cm (see Chapter 14
[Lengths], page 131).
19.3 \hfill
Synopsis:
\hfill
Produce a rubber length which has no natural space but that can stretch horizontally
as far as needed (see Chapter 14 [Lengths], page 131).
This creates a one-line paragraph with ‘Name:’ on the left side of the page and ‘Quiz
One’ on the right.
\noindent Name:\hfill Quiz One
The \hfill command is equivalent to \hspace{\fill} and so the space can be discarded
at line breaks. To avoid that instead use \hspace*{\fill} (see Section 19.2 [\hspace],
page 176).
Here the graphs are evenly spaced in the middle of the figure.
\newcommand*{\vcenteredhbox}[1]{\begin{tabular}{@{}c@{}}#1\end{tabular}}
...
\begin{figure}
\hspace*{\fill}%
\vcenteredhbox{\includegraphics{graph0.png}}%
\hfill\vcenteredhbox{\includegraphics{graph1.png}}%
\hspace*{\fill}%
\caption{Comparison of two graphs} \label{fig:twographs}
\end{figure}
Note the \hspace*’s where the space could otherwise be dropped.
19.4 \hss
Synopsis:
\hss
Produce a horizontal space that is infinitely shrinkable as well as infinitely stretchable
(this command is a TEX primitive). LATEX authors should reach first for the \makebox
command to get the effects of \hss (see Section 20.1 [\mbox & \makebox], page 189).
Chapter 19: Spaces 178
Here, the first line’s \hss makes the Z stick out to the right, overwriting the Y. In the
second line the Z sticks out to the left, overwriting the X.
X\hbox to 0pt{Z\hss}Y
X\hbox to 0pt{\hss Z}Y
Without the \hss you get something like ‘Overfull \hbox (6.11111pt too wide)
detected at line 20’.
19.5 \spacefactor
Synopsis:
\spacefactor=integer
Influence LATEX’s glue stretch and shrink behavior. Most user-level documents do not
use this command.
While LATEX is laying out the material, it may stretch or shrink the gaps between words.
(This space is not a character; it is called the interword glue; see Section 19.2 [\hspace],
page 176). The \spacefactor command (from Plain TEX) allows you to, for instance, have
the space after a period stretch more than the space after a word-ending letter.
After LATEX places each character, or rule or other box, it sets a parameter called the
space factor. If the next thing in the input is a space then this parameter affects how
much stretching or shrinking can happen. A space factor that is larger than the normal
value means that the glue can stretch more and shrink less. Normally, the space factor is
1000. This value is in effect following most characters, and any non-character box or math
formula. But it is 3000 after a period, exclamation mark, or question mark, it is 2000 after
a colon, 1500 after a semicolon, 1250 after a comma, and 0 after a right parenthesis or
bracket, or closing double quote or single quote. Finally, it is 999 after a capital letter.
If the space factor f is 1000 then the glue gap will be the font’s normal space value (for
Computer Modern Roman 10 point this is 3.3333 points). Otherwise, if the space factor f is
greater than 2000 then TEX adds the font’s extra space value (for Computer Modern Roman
10 point this is 1.11111 points), and then the font’s normal stretch value is multiplied by
f /1000 and the normal shrink value is multiplied by 1000/f (for Computer Modern Roman
10 point these are 1.66666 and 1.11111 points).
For example, consider the period ending A man’s best friend is his dog. After it,
TEX puts in a fixed extra space, and also allows the glue to stretch 3 times as much and
shrink 1/3 as much, as the glue after friend, which does not end in a period.
The rules for space factors are even more complex because they play additional roles.
In practice, there are two consequences. First, if a period or other punctuation is followed
by a right parenthesis or bracket, or right single or double quote then the spacing effect of
that period carries through those characters (that is, the following glue will have increased
stretch and shrink). Second, if punctuation comes after a capital letter then its effect is not
in place so you get an ordinary space. This second case also affects abbreviations that do
not end in a capital letter (see Section 19.5.1 [\@], page 179).
You can only use \spacefactor in paragraph mode or LR mode (see Chapter 17
[Modes], page 170). You can see the current value with \the\spacefactor or
\showthe\spacefactor.
Chapter 19: Spaces 179
(Comment, not really related to \spacefactor: if you get errors like ‘You can’t use
‘\spacefactor’ in vertical mode’, or ‘You can’t use ‘\spacefactor’ in math mode.’,
or ‘Improper \spacefactor’ then you have probably tried to redefine an internal command.
See Section 12.3 [\makeatletter & \makeatother], page 116.)
19.5.1 \@
Synopsis:
capital-letter\@.
Treat a period as sentence-ending, where LATEX would otherwise think it is part of an
abbreviation. LATEX thinks that a period ends an abbreviation if the period comes after a
capital letter, and otherwise thinks the period ends the sentence. By default, in justifying a
line LATEX adjusts the space after a sentence-ending period (or a question mark, exclamation
point, comma, or colon) more than it adjusts the space between words (see Section 19.5
[\spacefactor], page 178).
This example shows the two cases to remember.
The songs \textit{Red Guitar}, etc.\ are by Loudon Wainwright~III\@.
The second period ends the sentence, despite that it is preceded by a capital. We tell LATEX
that it ends the sentence by putting \@ before it. The first period ends the abbreviation
‘etc.’ but not the sentence. The backslash-space, \ , produces a mid-sentence space.
So: if you have a capital letter followed by a period that ends the sentence, then put \@
before the period. This holds even if there is an intervening right parenthesis or bracket, or
right single or double quote, because the spacing effect of that period carries through those
characters. For example, this
Use the \textit{Instructional Practices Guide},
(a book by the MAA)\@.
will have correct inter-sentence spacing after the period.
The \@ command is only for a text mode. If you use it outside of a text mode then you get
‘You can’t use ‘\spacefactor’ in vertical mode’ (see Chapter 17 [Modes], page 170).
Comment: the converse case is a period ending an abbreviation whose last letter is not a
capital letter, and that abbreviation is not the last word in the sentence. For that case follow
the period with a backslash-space, (\ ), or a tie, (~), or \@. Examples are Nat.\ Acad.\
Science, and Mr.~Bean, and (manure, etc.\@) for sale (note in the last one that the \@
comes before the closing parenthesis).
the space between words that are in the middle of a sentence. Declaring \frenchspacing
(the command is from plain TEX) switches to the tradition that all spaces are treated
equally.
19.5.3 \normalsfcodes
Synopsis:
\normalsfcodes
Reset the LATEX space factors to the default values (see Section 19.5 [\spacefactor],
page 178).
19.6 Backslash-space, \
This section refers to the command consisting of two characters, a backslash followed by a
space.
Synopsis:
\
Produce a space. By default it produces white space of length 3.33333 pt plus 1.66666 pt
minus 1.11111 pt.
When you type one or more blanks between words, LATEX produces white space. But
that is different than an explicit space. This illustrates.
\begin{tabular}{rl}
One blank:& makes some space \\
Three blanks:& in a row \\
Three spaces:&\ \ \ in a row \\
\end{tabular}
On the first line LATEX puts some space after the colon. On the second line LATEX collapses
the three blanks to output one whitespace, so you end with the same space after the colon
as in the first line. LATEX would similarly collapse them to a single whitespace if one, two
or all of the three blanks were replaced by a tab, or by a newline. However, the bottom
line asks for three spaces so the white area is wider. That is, the backslash-space command
creates a fixed amount of horizontal space. (Note that you can define a horizontal space of
any width at all with \hspace; see Section 19.2 [\hspace], page 176.)
The backslash-space command has two main uses. It is often used after control sequences
to keep them from gobbling the blank that follows, as after \TeX in \TeX\ (or \LaTeX).
(But using curly braces has the advantage of still working whether the next character is a
blank or any other non-letter, as in \TeX{} (or \LaTeX{}) in which {} can be added after
\LaTeX as well as after \TeX.) The other common use is that it marks a period as ending
an abbreviation instead of ending a sentence, as in Prof.\ Smith or Jones et al.\ (1993)
(see Section 19.5.1 [\@], page 179).
Under normal circumstances, \TAB and \NEWLINE are equivalent to backslash-space, \ .
Please also note that in order to allow source code indentation, under normal circum-
stances, TEX ignores leading blanks in a line. So the following prints ‘one word’:
one
word
Chapter 19: Spaces 181
where the white space between ‘one’ and ‘word’ is produced by the newline after ‘one’, not
by the space before ‘word’.
19.7 ~
Synopsis:
before~after
The tie character, ~, produces a space between before and after at which the line will
not be broken. By default the white space has length 3.33333 pt plus 1.66666 pt minus
1.11111 pt (see Chapter 14 [Lengths], page 131).
Note that the ‘tie’ word has this meaning in the TEX/Texinfo community, this differs
from the term tie in ango-saxon typography which is some sort of diacrtic symbol in the
shape of an arc.
Here LATEX will not break the line between the final two words.
Thanks to Prof.~Lerman.
In addition, despite the period, LATEX does not use the end-of-sentence spacing (see
Section 19.5.1 [\@], page 179).
Ties prevent the end of line separation of things where that could cause confusion. They
also still allow hyphenation (of either of the tied words), so they are generally preferable to
putting consecutive words in an \mbox (see Section 20.1 [\mbox & \makebox], page 189).
They are also matters of taste, sometimes alarmingly dogmatic taste, among readers.
Nevertheless, here are some usage models, many of them from The TEXbook.
• Between an enumerator label and number, such as in references: Chapter~12, or
Theorem~\ref{th:Wilsons}, or Figure~\ref{fig:KGraph}.
• When cases are enumerated inline: (b)~Show that $f(x)$ is (1)~continuous, and
(2)~bounded.
• Between a number and its unit: $745.7.8$~watts (the siunitx package has a special
facility for this) or 144~eggs. This includes between a month and day number in
a date: October~12 or 12~Oct. In general, in any expressions where numbers and
abbreviations or symbols are separated by a space: AD~565, or 2:50~pm, or Boeing~747,
or 268~Plains Road, or \$$1.4$~billion. Other common choices here are a thin space
(see Section 19.8 [\thinspace & \negthinspace], page 182) and no space at all.
• When mathematical phrases are rendered in words: equals~$n$, or less
than~$\epsilon$, or given~$X$, or modulo~$p^e$ for all large~$n$ (but compare
is~$15$ with is $15$~times the height). Between mathematical symbols in
apposition with nouns: dimension~$d$ or function~$f(x)$ (but compare with
length $l$~or more). When a symbol is a tightly bound object of a preposition:
of~$x$, or from $0$ to~$1$, or in common with~$m$.
• Between symbols in series: $1$,~$2$, or~$3$ or $1$,~$2$, \ldots,~$n$.
• Between a person’s given names and between multiple surnames: Donald~E. Knuth, or
Luis~I. Trabb~Pardo, or Charles~XII—but you must give TEX places to break the
line so you might do Charles Louis Xavier~Joseph de~la Vall\’ee~Poussin.
Chapter 19: Spaces 182
19.9 \/
Synopsis:
before-character\/after-character
Insert an italic correction, a small space defined by the font designer for each character
(possibly zero), to avoid the character colliding with whatever follows. When you use \/,
LATEX takes the correction from the font metric file, scales it by any scaling that has been
applied to the font, and then inserts that much horizontal space.
Here, were it not for the \/, the before-character italic f would hit the after-character
roman H
\newcommand{\companylogo}{{\it f}\/H}
because the italic letter f leans far to the right.
If after-character is a period or comma then don’t insert an italic correction since those
punctuation symbols are so low to the baseline already. However, with semicolons or colons,
as well as with normal letters, the italic correction can help. It is typically used between a
switch from italic or slanted fonts to an upright font.
When you use commands such as \emph and \textit and \textsl to change fonts,
LATEX automatically inserts the italic correction when needed (see Section 4.2 [Font styles],
page 22). However, declarations such as \em and \itshape and \slshape do not automat-
ically insert italic corrections.
Upright characters can also have an italic correction. An example where this is needed is
the name pdf\/\TeX. However, most upright characters have a zero italic correction. Some
font creators do not include italic correction values even for italic fonts.
Technically, LATEX uses another font-specific value, the so-called slant parameter (namely
\fontdimen1), to determine whether to possibly insert an italic correction, rather than tying
the action to particular font commands.
Chapter 19: Spaces 183
There is no concept of italic correction in math mode; math spacing is done in a different
way.
\bigskip
‘‘A hundred and fifty-seven miles and one third, in twenty-four hours,’’
said Peter.
Each command is associated with a length defined in the document class file.
\bigskip The same as \vspace{\bigskipamount}, ordinarily about one line space, with
stretch and shrink. The default for the book and article classes is 12pt plus
4pt minus 4pt.
\medskip The same as \vspace{\medskipamount}, ordinarily about half of a line space,
with stretch and shrink. The default for the book and article classes is 6pt
plus 2pt minus 2pt.
\smallskip
The same as \vspace{\smallskipamount}, ordinarily about a quarter of a line
space, with stretch and shrink. The default for the book and article classes
is 3pt plus 1pt minus 1pt.
Because each command is a \vspace, if you use it in mid-paragraph then it will insert
its vertical space between the line in which you use it and the next line, not necessarily at
the place that you use it. So these are best between paragraphs.
The commands \bigbreak, \medbreak, and \smallbreak are similar but also suggest
to LATEX that this is a good place to put a page break (see Section 19.12 [\bigbreak &
\medbreak & \smallbreak], page 184.
19.13 \strut
Synopsis:
\strut
Chapter 19: Spaces 185
Ensure that the current line has height at least 0.7\baselineskip and depth at least
0.3\baselineskip. Essentially, LATEX inserts into the line a rectangle having zero width,
\rule[-0.3\baselineskip]{0pt}{\baselineskip} (see Section 23.8 [\rule], page 218).
The \baselineskip changes with the current font or fontsize.
In this example the \strut keeps the box inside the frame from having zero height.
\setlength{\fboxsep}{0pt}\framebox[2in]{\strut}
This example has four lists. In the first there is a much bigger gap between items 2
and 3 than there is between items 1 and 2. The second list fixes that with a \strut at the
end of its first item’s second line.
\setlength{\fboxsep}{0pt}
\noindent\begin{minipage}[t]{0.2\linewidth}
\begin{enumerate}
\item \parbox[t]{15pt}{test \\ test}
\item test
\item test
\end{enumerate}
\end{minipage}%
\begin{minipage}[t]{0.2\linewidth}
\begin{enumerate}
\item \parbox[t]{15pt}{test \\ test\strut}
\item test
\item test
\end{enumerate}
\end{minipage}%
\begin{minipage}[t]{0.2\linewidth}
\begin{enumerate}
\item \fbox{\parbox[t]{15pt}{test \\ test}}
\item \fbox{test}
\item \fbox{test}
\end{enumerate}
\end{minipage}%
\begin{minipage}[t]{0.2\linewidth}
\begin{enumerate}
\item \fbox{\parbox[t]{15pt}{test \\ test\strut}}
\item \fbox{test}
\item \fbox{test}
\end{enumerate}
\end{minipage}%
The final two lists use \fbox to show what’s happening. The first item \parbox of the third
list goes only to the bottom of its second ‘test’, which happens not have any characters
that descend below the baseline. The fourth list adds the strut that gives the needed extra
below-baseline space.
The \strut command is often useful in graphics, such as in TikZ or Asymptote. For
instance, you may have a command such as \graphnode{node-name} that fits a circle
around node-name. However, unless you are careful the node-name’s ‘x’ and ‘y’ will produce
Chapter 19: Spaces 186
different-diameter circles because the characters are different sizes. A careful \graphnode
might insert a \strut, then node-name, and then draw the circle.
The general approach of using a zero width \rule is useful in many circumstances. In
this table, the zero-width rule keeps the top of the first integral from hitting the \hline.
Similarly, the second rule keeps the second integral from hitting the first.
\begin{tabular}{rl}
\textsc{Integral} &\textsc{Value} \\
\hline
$\int_0^x t\, dt$ &$x^2/2$ \rule{0em}{2.5ex} \\
$\int_0^x t^2\, dt$ &$x^3/3$ \rule{0em}{2.5ex}
\end{tabular}
(Although the line-ending double backslash command has an available optional argument
to change the corresponding baseline skip, that won’t solve this issue. Changing the first
double backslash to something like \\[2.5ex] will put more room between the header line
and the \hline rule, and the integral would still hit the rule.)
19.14 \vspace
Synopsis, one of:
\vspace{length}
\vspace*{length}
Add the vertical space length. The length can be positive, negative, or zero. It is
a rubber length—it may contain a plus or minus component (see Chapter 14 [Lengths],
page 131).
This puts space between the two paragraphs.
And I slept.
1) Who put the bomp in the bomp bah bomp bah bomp?
\vspace{1in plus 1fill}
19.15 \vfill
Synopsis:
\vfill
End the current paragraph and insert a vertical rubber length that is infinite, so it can
stretch or shrink as far as needed (see Chapter 14 [Lengths], page 131).
It is often used in the same way as \vspace{\fill}, except that \vfill ends the
current paragraph whereas \vspace{\fill} adds the infinite vertical space below its line,
irrespective of the paragraph structure. In both cases that space will disappear at a page
boundary; to circumvent this see the starred option in Section 19.14 [\vspace], page 186.
In this example the page is filled, so the top and bottom lines contain the text ‘Lost
Dog!’ and the second ‘Lost Dog!’ is exactly halfway between them.
\begin{document}
Lost Dog!
\vfill
Lost Dog! % perfectly in the middle
\vfill
Lost Dog!
\end{document}
19.16 \addvspace
Synopsis:
\addvspace{vert-length}
Add a vertical space of vert-length. However, if there are two or more \addvspace’s
in a sequence then together they only add the space needed to make the natural length
equal to the maximum of the vert-length’s in that sequence. This command is fragile (see
Section 12.11 [\protect], page 123). The vert-length is a rubber length (see Chapter 14
[Lengths], page 131).
This example illustrates. The picture draws a scale over which to rules are placed.
In a standard LATEX article the length \baselineskip is 12 pt. As shown by the scale,
the two rules are 22 pt apart: the sum of the \baselineskip and the 10 pt from the first
\addvspace.
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{color}
\begin{document}
\setlength{\unitlength}{2pt}%
\noindent\begin{picture}(0,0)%
\multiput(0,0)(0,-1){25}{{\color{blue}\line(1,0){1}}}
Chapter 19: Spaces 188
\multiput(0,0)(0,-5){6}{{\color{red}\line(1,0){2}}}
\end{picture}%
\rule{0.25\linewidth}{0.1pt}%
\par\addvspace{10pt}% \addvspace{20pt}%
\par\noindent\rule{0.25\linewidth}{0.1pt}%
\end{document}
Now uncomment the second \addvspace. It does not make the gap 20 pt longer; instead the
gap is the sum of \baselineskip and 20 pt. So \addvspace in a sense does the opposite of
its name—it makes sure that multiple vertical spaces do not accumulate, but instead that
only the largest one is used.
LATEX uses this command to adjust the vertical space above or below an environment
that starts a new paragraph. For instance, a theorem environment begins and ends with
\addvspace so that two consecutive theorem’s are separated by one vertical space, not two.
A error ‘Something’s wrong--perhaps a missing \item’ pointing to an \addvspace
means that you were not in vertical mode when you hit this command. One way to change
that is to precede \addvspace with a \par command (see Section 15.1 [\par], page 139),
as in the above example.
189
20 Boxes
At its core, LATEX puts things in boxes and then puts the boxes on a page. So these
commands are central.
There are many packages on CTAN that are useful for manipulating boxes. One useful
adjunct to the commands here is adjustbox.
A common use of \makebox is to make zero-width text boxes. This puts the value of the
quiz questions to the left of those questions.
\newcommand{\pts}[1]{\makebox[0em][r]{#1 points\hspace*{1em}}}
\pts{10}What is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow?
\fboxrule
The thickness of the rules around the enclosed box. The default is 0.2 pt.
Change it with a command such as \setlength{\fboxrule}{0.8pt} (see
Section 14.2 [\setlength], page 133).
\fboxsep The distance from the frame to the enclosed box. The default is 3 pt. Change
it with a command such as \setlength{\fboxsep}{0pt} (see Section 14.2
[\setlength], page 133). Setting it to 0 pt is useful sometimes: this will put a
frame around the picture with no white border.
{\setlength{\fboxsep}{0pt}%
\framebox{%
\includegraphics[width=0.5\textwidth]{prudence.jpg}}}
The extra curly braces keep the effect of the \setlength local.
As with \mbox and \makebox, LATEX will not break lines in text. But this example has
LAT
EX break lines to make a paragraph, and then frame the result.
\framebox{%
\begin{minipage}{0.6\linewidth}
My dear, here we must run as fast as we can, just to stay in place.
And if you wish to go anywhere you must run twice as fast as that.
\end{minipage}}
See Section 21.3.3 [Colored boxes], page 198, for colors other than black and white.
The picture environment has a version of the \framebox command where the units
depend on picture’s \unitlength (see Section 8.19.14 [\framebox (picture)], page 82).
20.3 \parbox
Synopses, one of:
\parbox{width}{contents}
\parbox[position]{width}{contents}
\parbox[position][height]{width}{contents}
\parbox[position][height][inner-pos]{width}{contents}
Produce a box of text that is width wide. Use this command to make a box of small
pieces of text, of a single paragraph. This command is fragile (see Section 12.11 [\protect],
page 123).
\begin{picture}(0,0)
...
\put(1,2){\parbox{1.75in}{\raggedright Because the graph is a line on
this semilog paper, the relationship is
exponential.}}
\end{picture}
The contents are processed in a text mode (see Chapter 17 [Modes], page 170) so LATEX
will break lines to make a paragraph. But it won’t make multiple paragraphs; for that, use
a minipage environment (see Section 8.18 [minipage], page 73).
The options for \parbox (except for contents) are the same as those for minipage. For
convenience a summary of the options is here but see Section 8.18 [minipage], page 73, for
a complete description.
Chapter 20: Boxes 192
There are two required arguments. The width is a rigid length (see Chapter 14 [Lengths],
page 131). It sets the width of the box into which LATEX typesets contents. The contents is
the text that is placed in that box. It should not have any paragraph-making components.
There are three optional arguments, position, height, and inner-pos. The position gives
the vertical alignment of the parbox with respect to the surrounding material. The sup-
ported values are c or m to make the vertical center of the parbox lines up with the center
of the adjacent text line (this is the default), or t to match the top line of the parbox with
the baseline of the surrounding material, or b to match the bottom line.
The optional argument height overrides the natural height of the box.
The optional argument inner-pos controls the placement of content inside the parbox.
Its default is the value of position. Its possible values are: t to put the content at the top
of the box, c to put it in the vertical center, b to put it at the bottom of the box, and s to
stretch it out vertically (for this, the text must contain vertically stretchable space).
20.4 \raisebox
Synopsis, one of:
\raisebox{distance}{text}
\raisebox{distance}[height]{text}
\raisebox{distance}[height][depth]{text}
Raise or lower text. This command is fragile (see Section 12.11 [\protect], page 123).
This example makes a command for denoting the restriction of a function by lowering
the vertical bar symbol.
\newcommand*\restricted[1]{\raisebox{-.5ex}{$|$}_{#1}}
$f\restricted{A}$
The first mandatory argument distance specifies how far to raise the second mandatory
argument text. This is a rigid length (see Chapter 14 [Lengths], page 131). If it is negative
then it lowers text. The text is processed in LR mode so it cannot contain line breaks (see
Chapter 17 [Modes], page 170).
The optional arguments height and depth are dimensions. If they are specified, they
override the natural height and depth of the box LATEX gets by typesetting text.
In the arguments distance, height, and depth you can use the following lengths that refer
to the dimension of the box that LATEX gets on typesetting text: \depth, \height, \width,
\totalheight (this is the box’s height plus its depth).
This will align two graphics on their top (see Chapter 22 [Graphics], page 199).
\usepackage{graphicx,calc} % in preamble
...
\begin{center}
\raisebox{1ex-\height}{%
\includegraphics[width=0.4\linewidth]{lion.png}}
\qquad
\raisebox{1ex-\height}{%
\includegraphics[width=0.4\linewidth]{meta.png}}
\end{center}
The first \height is the height of lion.png while the second is the height of meta.png.
Chapter 20: Boxes 193
\savebox{\sealreg}{%
\setlength{\unitlength}{1in}%
\begin{picture}(0,0)%
\put(1.5,-2.5){%
\begin{tabular}{c}
\includegraphics[height=2in]{companylogo.png} \\
Office of the President
\end{tabular}}
\end{picture}%
}
\markright{\usebox{\sealreg}}
\pagestyle{headings}
The picture environment is good for fine-tuning the placement.
If the register \noreg has not already been defined then you get something like
‘Undefined control sequence. <argument> \noreg’.
20.6 lrbox
Synopsis:
\begin{lrbox}{box-cmd}
text
\end{lrbox}
This is the environment form of the \sbox and \savebox commands, and is equivalent
to them. for the full description, See Section 20.5 [\sbox & \savebox], page 193.
The text inside the environment is saved in the box register referred to by variable box-
cmd. The variable name box-cmd must begin with a backslash, \. You must allocate this
box register in advance with \newsavebox (see Section 12.7 [\newsavebox], page 118). In
this example the environment is convenient for entering the tabular.
\newsavebox{\jhreg}
\begin{lrbox}{\jhreg}
\begin{tabular}{c}
\includegraphics[height=1in]{jh.png} \\
Jim Hef{}feron
\end{tabular}
\end{lrbox}
...
\usebox{\jhreg}
20.7 \usebox
Synopsis:
\usebox{box-cmd}
Produce the box most recently saved in the box register box-cmd by the commands
\sbox or \savebox, or the lrbox environment. For more information and examples, see
Section 20.5 [\sbox & \savebox], page 193. (Note that the variable name box-cmd starts
with a backslash, \.) This command is robust (see Section 12.11 [\protect], page 123).
195
21 Color
You can add color to text, rules, etc. You can also have color in a box or on an entire page
and write text on top of it.
Color support comes as an additional package. So put \usepackage{color} in your
document preamble to use the commands described here.
Many other packages also supplement LATEX’s color abilities. Particularly worth men-
tioning is xcolor, which is widely used and significantly extends the capabilities described
here, including adding ‘HTML’ and ‘Hsb’ color models.
Subtractive mixes pigments, such as with inks, so that combining full intensity of cyan,
magenta, and yellow makes black.
cmyk A comma-separated list with four real numbers between 0 and 1, inclusive. The
first number is the intensity of cyan, the second is magenta, and the others are
yellow and black. A number value of 0 means minimal intensity, while a 1 is
for full intensity. This model is often used in color printing. It is a subtractive
model.
gray A single real number between 0 and 1, inclusive. The colors are shades of grey.
The number 0 produces black while 1 gives white.
rgb A comma-separated list with three real numbers between 0 and 1, inclusive.
The first number is the intensity of the red component, the second is green, and
the third the blue. A number value of 0 means that none of that component is
added in, while a 1 means full intensity. This is an additive model.
RGB (pdftex, xetex, luatex drivers) A comma-separated list with three integers
between 0 and 255, inclusive. This model is a convenience for using rgb since
outside of LATEX colors are often described in a red-green-blue model using
numbers in this range. The values entered here are converted to the rgb model
by dividing by 255.
named Colors are accessed by name, such as ‘PrussianBlue’. The list of names
depends on the driver, but all support the names ‘black’, ‘blue’, ‘cyan’,
‘green’, ‘magenta’, ‘red’, ‘white’, and ‘yellow’ (See the dvipsnames option
in Section 21.1 [Color package options], page 195).
22 Graphics
You can use graphics such as PNG or PDF files in your LATEX document. You need an
additional package, which comes standard with LATEX. This example is the short how-to.
\include{graphicx} % goes in the preamble
...
\includegraphics[width=0.5\linewidth]{plot.pdf}
To use the commands described here your document preamble must contain either
\usepackage{graphicx} or \usepackage{graphics}. Most of the time, graphicx is the
better choice.
Graphics come in two main types, raster and vector. LATEX can use both. In raster
graphics the file contains an entry for each location in an array, describing what color it
is. An example is a photograph in JPG format. In vector graphics, the file contains a list
of instructions such as ‘draw a circle with this radius and that center’. An example
is a line drawing produced by the Asymptote program, in PDF format. Generally vector
graphics are more useful because you can rescale their size without pixelation or other
problems, and because they often have a smaller size.
There are systems particularly well-suited to make graphics for a LATEX document. For
example, these allow you to use the same fonts as in your document. LATEX comes with a
picture environment (see Section 8.19 [picture], page 75) that has simple capabilities. Be-
sides that, there are other ways to include the graphic-making commands in the document.
Two such systems are the PSTricks and TikZ packages. There are also systems external to
LATEX, that generate a graphic that you include using the commands of this chapter. Two
that use a programming language are Asymptote and MetaPost. One that uses a graphical
interface is Xfig. Full description of these systems is outside the scope of this document;
see their documentation on CTAN.
truetex, tcidvi, vtex (and dviwindo is an alias for dvipsone). These are stored in files
with a .def extension, such as pdftex.def.
The second kind of options are below.
demo Instead of an image file, LATEX puts in a 150 pt by 100 pt rectangle (unless
another size is specified in the \includegraphics command).
draft For each graphic file, it is not shown but instead its file name is printed in a
box of the correct size. In order to determine the size, the file must be present.
final (Default) Override any previous draft option, so that the document shows the
contents of the graphic files.
hiderotate
Do not show rotated text. (This allows for the possibility that a previewer does
not have the capability to rotate text.)
hidescale
Do not show scaled text. (This allows for the possibility that a previewer does
not have the capability to scale.)
hiresbb In a PS or EPS file the graphic size may be specified in two ways. The
%%BoundingBox lines describe the graphic size using integer multiples of a Post-
Script point, that is, integer multiples of 1/72 inch. A later addition to the Post-
Script language allows decimal multiples, such as 1.23, in %%HiResBoundingBox
lines. This option has LATEX to read the size from the latter.
22.2.1 \graphicspath
Synopsis:
\graphicspath{list of directories inside curly braces}
Declare a list of directories to search for graphics files. This allows you to later say
something like \includegraphics{lion.png} instead of having to give its path.
LATEX always looks for graphic files first in the current directory (and the output direc-
tory, if specified; see [output directory], page 251). The declaration below tells the system
to then look in the subdirectory pix, and then ../pix.
\usepackage{graphicx} % or graphics; put in preamble
...
\graphicspath{ {pix/} {../pix/} }
The \graphicspath declaration is optional. If you don’t include it then LATEX’s default
is to search all of the places that it usually looks for a file (it uses LATEX’s \input@path).
In particular, in this case one of the places it looks is the current directory.
Chapter 22: Graphics 201
Enclose each directory name in curly braces; for example, above it says ‘{pix}’. Do
this even if there is only one directory. Each directory name must end in a forward slash,
/. This is true even on Windows, where good practice is to use forward slashes for all the
directory separators since it makes the document portable to other platforms. If you have
spaces in your directory name then use double quotes, as with {"my docs/"}. Getting one
of these rules wrong will cause LATEX to report Error: File ‘filename’ not found.
Basically, the algorithm is that with this example, after looking in the current directory,
\graphicspath{ {pix/} {../pix/} }
...
\usepackage{lion.png}
for each of the listed directories, LATEX concatenates it with the filename and searches for
the result, checking for pix/lion.png and then ../pix/lion.png. This algorithm means
that the \graphicspath command does not recursively search subdirectories: if you issue
\graphicspath{{a/}} and the graphic is in a/b/lion.png then LATEX will not find it. It
also means that you can use absolute paths such as \graphicspath{{/home/jim/logos/}}
or \graphicspath{{C:/Users/Albert/Pictures/}}. However, using these means that the
document is not portable. (You could preserve portability by adjusting your TEX system
settings configuration file parameter TEXINPUTS; see the documentation of your system.)
You can use \graphicspath anywhere in the document. You can use it more than once.
Show its value with \makeatletter\typeout{\Ginput@path}\makeatother.
The directories are taken with respect to the base file. That is, suppose that you are work-
ing on a document based on book/book.tex and it contains \include{chapters/chap1}.
If in chap1.tex you put \graphicspath{{plots/}} then LATEX will not search for graphics
in book/chapters/plots, but instead in book/plots.
22.2.2 \DeclareGraphicsExtensions
Synopses:
\DeclareGraphicsExtensions{comma-separated list of file extensions}
Declare the filename extensions to try. This allows you to specify the order in which to
choose graphic formats when you include graphic files by giving the filename without the
extension, as in \includegraphics{functionplot}.
In this example, LATEX will find files in the PNG format before PDF files.
\DeclareGraphicsExtensions{.png,PNG,.pdf,.PDF}
...
\includegraphics{lion} % will find lion.png before lion.pdf
Because the filename lion does not have a period, LATEX uses the extension list. For each
directory in the graphics path (see Section 22.2.1 [\graphicspath], page 200), LATEX will
try the extensions in the order given. If it does not find such a file after trying all the
directories and extensions then it reports ‘! LaTeX Error: File ‘lion’ not found’. Note
that you must include the periods at the start of the extensions.
Because GNU/Linux and Macintosh filenames are case sensitive, the list of file extensions
is case sensitive on those platforms. The Windows platform is not case sensitive.
You are not required to include \DeclareGraphicsExtensions in your document; the
printer driver has a sensible default. For example, the most recent pdftex.def has this
extension list.
Chapter 22: Graphics 202
.pdf,.png,.jpg,.mps,.jpeg,.jbig2,.jb2,.PDF,.PNG,.JPG,.JPEG,.JBIG2,.JB2
To change the order, use the grfext package.
You can use this command anywhere in the document. You can use it more than once.
Show its value with \makeatletter\typeout{\Gin@extensions}\makeatother.
22.2.3 \DeclareGraphicsRule
Synopsis:
\DeclareGraphicsRule{extension}{type}{size-file extension}{command}
Declare how to handle graphic files whose names end in extension.
This example declares that all files with names have the form filename-without-
dot.mps will be treated as output from MetaPost, meaning that the printer driver will
use its MetaPost-handling code to input the file.
\DeclareGraphicsRule{.mps}{mps}{.mps}{}
This
\DeclareGraphicsRule{*}{mps}{*}{}
tells LAT
EX that it should handle as MetaPost output any file with an extension not covered
by another rule, so it covers filename.1, filename.2, etc.
This describes the four arguments.
extension The file extension to which this rule applies. The extension is anything after
and including the first dot in the filename. Use the Kleene star, *, to denote
the default behavior for all undeclared extensions.
type The type of file involved. This type is a string that must be defined in the
printer driver. For instance, files with extensions .ps, .eps, or .ps.gz may
all be classed as type eps. All files of the same type will be input with the
same internal command by the printer driver. For example, the file types that
pdftex recognizes are: jpg, jbig2, mps, pdf, png, tif.
size-file extension
The extension of the file to be read to determine the size of the graphic, if there
is such a file. It may be the same as extension but it may be different.
As an example, consider a PostScript graphic. To make it smaller, it might be
compressed into a .ps.gz file. Compressed files are not easily read by LATEX
so you can put the bounding box information in a separate file. If size-file
extension is empty then you must specify size information in the arguments of
\includegraphics.
If the driver file has a procedure for reading size files for type then that will be
used, otherwise it will use the procedure for reading .eps files. (Thus you may
specify the size of bitmap files in a file with a PostScript style %%BoundingBox
line if no other format is available.)
command A command that will be applied to the file. This is very often left
empty. This command must start with a single backward quote. Thus,
\DeclareGraphicsRule{.eps.gz}{eps}{.eps.bb}{‘gunzip -c #1} specifies
that any file with the extension .eps.gz should be treated as an eps file, with
Chapter 22: Graphics 203
the BoundingBox information stored in the file with extension .eps.bb, and
that the command gunzip -c will run on your platform to decompresses the
file.
Such a command is specific to your platform. In addition, your TEX system
must allow you to run external commands; as a security measure modern sys-
tems restrict running commands unless you explicitly allow it. See the docu-
mentation for your TEX distribution.
22.3.1 \includegraphics
Synopses for graphics package:
\includegraphics{filename}
\includegraphics[urx,ury]{filename}
\includegraphics[llx,lly][urx,ury]{filename}
\includegraphics*{filename}
\includegraphics*[urx,ury]{filename}
\includegraphics*[llx,lly][urx,ury]{filename}
Synopses for graphicx package:
\includegraphics{filename}
\includegraphics[key-value list]{filename}
\includegraphics*{filename}
\includegraphics*[key-value list]{filename}
Include a graphics file. The starred form \includegraphics* will clip the graphic to
the size specified, while for the unstarred form any part of the graphic that is outside the
box of the specified size will over-print the surrounding area.
This
\usepackage{graphicx} % in preamble
...
\begin{center}
\includegraphics{plot.pdf}
\end{center}
will incorporate into the document the graphic in plot.pdf, centered and at its nominal size.
You can also give a path to the file, as with \includegraphics{graphics/plot.pdf}. To
specify a list of locations to search for the file, see Section 22.2.1 [\graphicspath], page 200.
If your filename includes spaces then put it in double quotes. An example is
\includegraphics{"sister picture.jpg"}.
The \includegraphics{filename} command decides on the type of graphic
by splitting filename on the first dot. You can instead use filename with no dot,
as in \includegraphics{turing}, and then LATEX tries a sequence of extensions
such as .png and .pdf until it finds a file with that extension (see Section 22.2.2
[\DeclareGraphicsExtensions], page 201).
Chapter 22: Graphics 204
If your file name contains dots before the extension then you can hide them with curly
braces, as in \includegraphics{{plot.2018.03.12.a}.pdf}. Or, if you use the graphicx
package then you can use the options type and ext; see below. This and other filename
issues are also handled with the package grffile.
This example puts a graphic in a figure environment so LATEX can move it to the next
page if fitting it on the current page is awkward (see Section 8.10 [figure], page 62).
\begin{figure}
\centering
\includegraphics[width=3cm]{lungxray.jpg}
\caption{The evidence is overwhelming: don’t smoke.} \label{fig:xray}
\end{figure}
This places a graphic that will not float, so it is sure to appear at this point in the
document even if makes LATEX stretch the text or resort to blank areas on the page. It will
be centered and will have a caption.
\usepackage{caption} % in preamble
...
\begin{center}
\includegraphics{pix/nix.png}
\captionof{figure}{The spirit of the night} \label{pix:nix} % optional
\end{center}
This example puts a box with a graphic side by side with one having text, with the two
vertically centered.
\newcommand*{\vcenteredhbox}[1]{\begin{tabular}{@{}c@{}}#1\end{tabular}}
...
\begin{center}
\vcenteredhbox{\includegraphics[width=0.4\textwidth]{plot}}
\hspace{1em}
\vcenteredhbox{\begin{minipage}{0.4\textwidth}
\begin{displaymath}
f(x)=x\cdot \sin (1/x)
\end{displaymath}
\end{minipage}}
\end{center}
If you use the graphics package then the only options involve the size of the graphic
(but see Section 22.3.2 [\rotatebox], page 208, and Section 22.3.3 [\scalebox], page 209).
When one optional argument is present then it is [urx,ury] and it gives the coordinates
of the top right corner of the image, as a pair of TEX dimensions (see Section 14.1 [Units of
length], page 132). If the units are omitted they default to bp. In this case, the lower left
corner of the image is assumed to be at (0,0). If two optional arguments are present then
the leading one is [llx,lly], specifying the coordinates of the image’s lower left. Thus,
\includegraphics[1in,0.618in]{...} calls for the graphic to be placed so it is 1 inch
wide and 0.618 inches tall and so its origin is at (0,0).
The graphicx package gives you many more options. Specify them in a key-value form,
as here.
\begin{center}
Chapter 22: Graphics 205
\includegraphics[width=1in,angle=90]{lion}
\hspace{2em}
\includegraphics[angle=90,width=1in]{lion}
\end{center}
The options are read left-to-right. So the first graphic above is made one inch wide and
then rotated, while the second is rotated and then made one inch wide. Thus, unless the
graphic is perfectly square, the two will end with different widths and heights.
There are many options. The primary ones are listed first.
Note that a graphic is placed by LATEX into a box, which is traditionally referred to as its
bounding box (distinct from the PostScript BoundingBox described below). The graphic’s
printed area may go beyond this box, or sit inside this box, but when LATEX makes up a
page it puts together boxes and this is the box allocated for the graphic.
width The graphic will be shown so its bounding box is this width. An example
is \includegraphics[width=1in]{plot}. You can use the standard TEX di-
mensions (see Section 14.1 [Units of length], page 132) and also convenient
is \linewidth, or in a two-column document, \columnwidth (see Section 5.5
[Page layout parameters], page 30). An example is that by using the calc
package you can make the graphic be 1 cm narrower than the width of the text
with \includegraphics[width=\linewidth-1.0cm]{hefferon.jpg}.
height The graphic will be shown so its bounding box is this height. You can
use the standard TEX dimensions (see Section 14.1 [Units of length],
page 132), and also convenient are \pageheight and \textheight (see
Section 5.5 [Page layout parameters], page 30). For instance, the command
\includegraphics[height=0.25\textheight]{godel} will make the graphic
a quarter of the height of the text area.
totalheight
The graphic will be shown so its bounding box has this height plus depth. This
differs from the height if the graphic was rotated. For instance, if it has been
rotated by -90 then it will have zero height but a large depth.
keepaspectratio
If set to true, or just specified as here
\includegraphics[...,keepaspectratio,...]{...}
and you give as options both width and height (or totalheight), then LATEX
will make the graphic is as large as possible without distortion. That is, LATEX
will ensure that neither is the graphic wider than width nor taller than height
(or totalheight).
scale Factor by which to scale the graphic. To make a graphic twice its nominal size,
enter \includegraphics[scale=2.0]{...}. This number may be any value;
a number between 0 and 1 will shrink the graphic and a negative number will
reflect it.
angle Rotate the graphic. The angle is taken in degrees and counterclockwise. The
graphic is rotated about its origin; see that option. For a complete description
of how rotated material is typeset, see Section 22.3.2 [\rotatebox], page 208.
Chapter 22: Graphics 206
origin The point of the graphic about which the rotation happens. Possible
values are any string containing one or two of: l for left, r for right, b
for bottom, c for center, t for top, and B for baseline. Thus, entering
the command \includegraphics[angle=180,origin=c]{moon} will turn
the picture upside down about that picture’s center, while the command
\includegraphics[angle=180,origin=lB]{LeBateau} will turn its picture
upside down about its left baseline. (The character c gives the horizontal
center in bc or tc, but gives the vertical center in lc or rc.) The default is lB.
To rotate about an arbitrary point, see Section 22.3.2 [\rotatebox], page 208.
These are lesser-used options.
viewport Pick out a subregion of the graphic to show. Takes four arguments, sepa-
rated by spaces and given in TEX dimensions, as with \includegraphics[..,
viewport=0in 0in 1in 0.618in]{...}. When the unit is omitted, the dimen-
sions default to big points, bp. They are taken relative to the origin specified
by the bounding box. See also the trim option.
trim Gives parts of the graphic to not show. Takes four arguments, separated by spa-
ces, that are given in TEX dimensions, as with \includegraphics[.., trim=
0in 0.1in 0.2in 0.3in, ...]{...}. These give the amounts of the graphic
not to show, that is, LATEX will crop the picture by 0 inches on the left, 0.1 inches
on the bottom, 0.2 inches on the right, and 0.3 inches on the top. See also the
viewport option.
clip If set to true, or just specified as here
\includegraphics[...,clip,...]{...}
then the graphic is cropped to the bounding box. This is the same as using the
starred form of the command, \includegraphics*[...]{...}.
page Give the page number of a multi-page PDF file. The default is page=1.
pagebox Specifies which bounding box to use for PDF files from among mediabox,
cropbox, bleedbox, trimbox, or artbox. PDF files do not have the Bounding-
Box that PostScript files have, but may specify up to four predefined rectangles.
The MediaBox gives the boundaries of the physical medium. The CropBox is
the region to which the contents of the page are to be clipped when displayed.
The BleedBox is the region to which the contents of the page should be clipped
in production. The TrimBox is the intended dimensions of the finished page.
The ArtBox is the extent of the page’s meaningful content. The driver will set
the image size based on CropBox if present, otherwise it will not use one of the
others, with a driver-defined order of preference. MediaBox is always present.
interpolate
Enable or disable interpolation of raster images by the viewer. Can be set with
interpolate=true or just specified as here.
\includegraphics[...,interpolate,...]{...}
quiet Do not write information to the log. You can set it with quiet=true or just
specified it with \includegraphics[...,quiet,...]{...},
Chapter 22: Graphics 207
22.3.2 \rotatebox
Synopsis if you use the graphics package:
\rotatebox{angle}{material}
Synopses if you use the graphicx package:
\rotatebox{angle}{material}
\rotatebox[key-value list]{angle}{material}
Put material in a box and rotate it angle degrees counterclockwise.
This example rotates the table column heads forty-five degrees.
\begin{tabular}{ll}
\rotatebox{45}{Character} &\rotatebox{45}{NATO phonetic} \\
A &AL-FAH \\
B &BRAH-VOH
\end{tabular}
The material can be anything that goes in a box, including a graphic.
\rotatebox[origin=c]{45}{\includegraphics[width=1in]{lion}}
To place the rotated material, the first step is that LATEX sets material in a box, with a
reference point on the left baseline. The second step is the rotation, by default about the
reference point. The third step is that LATEX computes a box to bound the rotated material.
Fourth, LATEX moves this box horizontally so that the left edge of this new bounding box
coincides with the left edge of the box from the first step (they need not coincide vertically).
This new bounding box, in its new position, is what LATEX uses as the box when typesetting
this material.
If you use the graphics package then the rotation is about the reference point of the
box. If you use the graphicx package then these are the options that can go in the key-value
list, but note that you can get the same effect without needing this package, except for the
x and y options (see Section 22.3.1 [\includegraphics], page 203).
origin The point of the material’s box about which the rotation happens. Possible
value is any string containing one or two of: l for left, r for right, b for bottom,
c for center, t for top, and B for baseline. Thus, the first line here
\rotatebox[origin=c]{180}{moon}
\rotatebox[origin=lB]{180}{LeBateau}
will turn the picture upside down from the center while the second will turn
its picture upside down about its left baseline. (The character c gives the
horizontal center in bc or tc but gives the vertical center in lc or rc, and gives
both in c.) The default is lB.
x, y Specify an arbitrary point of rotation with \rotatebox[x=TEX dimension,y=TEX
dimension]{...} (see Section 14.1 [Units of length], page 132). These give the
offset from the box’s reference point.
units This key allows you to change the default of degrees counterclockwise.
Setting units=-360 changes the direction to degrees clockwise and setting
units=6.283185 changes to radians counterclockwise.
Chapter 22: Graphics 209
22.3.3 \scalebox
Synopses:
\scalebox{horizontal factor}{material}
\scalebox{horizontal factor}[vertical factor]{material}
\reflectbox{material}
Scale the material.
This example halves the size, both horizontally and vertically, of the first text and
doubles the size of the second.
\scalebox{0.5}{DRINK ME} and \scalebox{2.0}{Eat Me}
If you do not specify the optional vertical factor then it defaults to the same value as
the horizontal factor.
You can use this command to resize a graphic, as here.
\scalebox{0.5}{\includegraphics{lion}}
If you use the graphicx package then you can accomplish the same thing with optional
arguments to \includegraphics (see Section 22.3.1 [\includegraphics], page 203).
The \reflectbox command abbreviates \scalebox{-1}[1]{material}. Thus, Able
was I\reflectbox{Able was I} will show the phrase ‘Able was I’ immediately followed
by its mirror reflection.
22.3.4 \resizebox
Synopses:
\resizebox{horizontal length}{vertical length}{material}
\resizebox*{horizontal length}{vertical length}{material}
Given a size, such as 3cm, transform material to make it that size. If either horizontal
length or vertical length is an exclamation point ! then the other argument is used to
determine a scale factor for both directions.
This example makes the graphic be a half inch wide and scales it vertically by the same
factor to keep it from being distorted.
\resizebox{0.5in}{!}{\includegraphics{lion}}
The unstarred form \resizebox takes vertical length to be the box’s height while the
starred form \resizebox* takes it to be height+depth. For instance, make the text have
a height+depth of a quarter inch with \resizebox*{!}{0.25in}{\parbox{1in}{This box
has both height and depth.}}.
You can use \depth, \height, \totalheight, and \width to refer to the original
size of the box. Thus, make the text two inches wide but keep the original height with
\resizebox{2in}{\height}{Two inches}.
210
23 Special insertions
LATEX provides commands for inserting characters that have a special meaning do not
correspond to simple characters you can type.
To change the case of text that results from a macro inside text you need to do expansion.
Here the \Schoolname produces ‘COLLEGE OF MATHEMATICS’.
\newcommand{\schoolname}{College of Mathematics}
\newcommand{\Schoolname}{\expandafter\MakeUppercase
\expandafter{\schoolname}}
The textcase package brings some of the missing feature of the standard LATEX com-
mands \MakeUppercase and \MakeLowerCase.
To uppercase only the first letter of words, you can use the package mfirstuc.
Handling all the casing rules specified by Unicode, e.g., for non-Latin scripts, is a much
bigger job than anything envisioned in the original TEX and LATEX. It has been implemented
in the expl3 package as of 2020. The article “Case changing: From TEX primitives to the
Unicode algorithm”, (Joseph Wright, TUGboat 41:1, https://tug.org/TUGboat/tb41-1/
tb127wright-case.pdf), gives a good overview of the topic, past and present.
\ldots
\dots
\textellipsis
. . . An ellipsis (three dots at the baseline): \ldots and \dots also work in
math mode.
\lq ‘ Left (opening) quote.
\P
\textparagraph
¶ Paragraph sign (pilcrow).
\pounds
\textsterling
£ English pounds sterling.
\quotedblbase („ )
\quotesinglbase (‚ )
„ and ‚ Double and single quotation marks on the baseline.
\rq ’ Right (closing) quote.
\S
\textsection
§ Section sign.
\TeX The TEX logo.
\textasciicircum
^ ASCII circumflex.
\textasciitilde
~ ASCII tilde.
\textasteriskcentered
* Centered asterisk.
\textbackslash
\ Backslash.
\textbar | Vertical bar.
\textbardbl
|| Double vertical bar.
\textbigcircle
Big circle symbol.
\textbraceleft
{ Left brace.
\textbraceright
} Right brace.
\textbullet
• Bullet.
Chapter 23: Special insertions 213
\textcircled{letter}
Circle around letter.
\textcompwordmark
\textcapitalcompwordmark
\textascendercompwordmark
Used to separate letters that would normally ligature. For example,
f\textcompwordmark i produces ‘fi’ without a ligature. This is most useful
in non-English languages. The \textcapitalcompwordmark form has the
cap height of the font while the \textascendercompwordmark form has the
ascender height.
\textdagger
† Dagger.
\textdaggerdbl
‡ Double dagger.
\textdollar (or \$)
$ Dollar sign.
\textemdash (or ---)
— Em-dash. Used for punctuation, usually similar to commas or
parentheses, as in ‘The playoffs---if you’re lucky enough to make the
playoffs---are more like a sprint.’ Conventions for spacing around
em-dashes vary widely.
\textendash (or --)
– En-dash. Used for ranges, as in ‘see pages 12--14’.
\texteuro
The Euro currency symbol: e. For an alternative glyph design, try the
eurosym package; also, most fonts nowadays come with their own Euro symbol
(Unicode U+20AC).
\textexclamdown (or !‘)
¡ Upside down exclamation point.
\textfiguredash
Dash used between numerals, Unicode U+2012. Defined in the June 2021 release
of LATEX. When used in pdfTEX, approximated by an en-dash; with a Unicode
engine, either typesets the glyph if available in the current font, or writes the
usual “Missing character” warning to the log file.
\textgreater
> Greater than symbol.
\texthorizontalbar
Horizontal bar character, Unicode U+2015. Defined in the June 2021 release of
LATEX. Behavior as with \textfiguredash above; the pdfTEX approximation
is an em-dash.
\textless
< Less than symbol.
Chapter 23: Special insertions 214
\textleftarrow
Left arrow.
\textnonbreakinghyphen
Non-breaking hyphen character, Unicode U+2011. Defined in the June 2021
release of LATEX. Behavior as with \textfiguredash above; the pdfTEX ap-
proximation is a regular ASCII hyphen (with breaks disallowed after).
\textordfeminine
\textordmasculine
a o
, Feminine and masculine ordinal symbols.
\textperiodcentered
· Centered period.
\textquestiondown (or ?‘)
¿ Upside down question mark.
\textquotedblleft (or ‘‘)
“ Double left quote.
\textquotedblright (or ’’)
” Double right quote.
\textquoteleft (or ‘)
‘ Single left quote.
\textquoteright (or ’)
’ Single right quote.
\textquotesingle
Straight single quote. (From TS1 encoding.)
\textquotestraightbase
\textquotestraightdblbase
Single and double straight quotes on the baseline.
\textregistered
R
Registered symbol.
\textrightarrow
Right arrow.
\textthreequartersemdash
“Three-quarters” em-dash, between en-dash and em-dash.
\texttrademark
TM Trademark symbol.
\texttwelveudash
“Two-thirds” em-dash, between en-dash and em-dash.
\textunderscore
Underscore.
\textvisiblespace
Visible space symbol.
Chapter 23: Special insertions 215
23.5 Accents
LATEX has wide support for many of the world’s scripts and languages, provided through the
core babel package, which supports pdfLATEX, XeLATEX and LuaLATEX. The polyglossia
package provides similar support with the latter two engines.
This section does not cover that support. It only lists the core LATEX commands for
creating accented characters. The \capital... commands shown here produce alternative
forms for use with capital letters. These are not available with OT1.
Below, to make them easier to find, the accents are all illustrated with lowercase ‘o’.
Note that \i produces a dotless i, and \j produces a dotless j. These are often used in
place of their dotted counterparts when they are accented.
\"
\capitaldieresis
ö Umlaut (dieresis).
\’
\capitalacute
ó Acute accent.
\. ȯ Dot accent.
\=
\capitalmacron
ō Macron (overbar) accent.
\^
\capitalcircumflex
o Circumflex (hat) accent.
^
\‘
\capitalgrave
ò Grave accent.
\~
\capitaltilde
n
~ Tilde accent.
\b o Bar accent underneath.
¯
Related to this, \underbar{text} produces a bar under text. The argument
is always processed in LR mode (see Chapter 17 [Modes], page 170). The bar
is always a fixed position under the baseline, thus crossing through descenders.
See also \underline in Section 16.8 [Math miscellany], page 168.
\c
\capitalcedilla
ç Cedilla accent underneath.
\d
\capitaldotaccent
o. Dot accent underneath.
Chapter 23: Special insertions 216
\H
\capitalhungarumlaut
ő Long Hungarian umlaut accent.
\k
\capitalogonek
o˛ Ogonek. Not available in the OT1 encoding.
\r
\capitalring
o̊ Ring accent.
\t
\capitaltie
\newtie
\capitalnewtie
o o Tie-after accent (used for transliterating from Cyrillic, such as in the ALA-
LC romanization). It expects that the argument has two characters. The
\newtie form is centered in its box.
\u
\capitalbreve
ŏ Breve accent.
\v
\capitalcaron
ǒ Háček (check, caron) accent.
23.5.1 \accent
Synopsis:
\accent number character
A TEX primitive command used to generate accented characters from accent marks and
letters. The accent mark is selected by number, a numeric argument, followed by a space
and then a character argument constructs the accented character in the current font.
These are accented ‘e’ characters.
\accent18 e
\accent20 e
\accent21 e
\accent22 e
\accent23 e
The first is a grave, the second is breve, etc.
The position of the accent is determined by the font designer and so the outcome of
\accent use may differ between fonts. In LATEX it is desirable to have glyphs for accented
characters rather than building them using \accent. Using glyphs that already contain the
accented characters (as in T1 encoding) allows correct hyphenation whereas \accent dis-
ables hyphenation (specifically with OT1 font encoding where accented glyphs are absent).
There can be an optional font change between number and character. Note also that
this command sets the \spacefactor to 1000 (see Section 19.5 [\spacefactor], page 178).
Chapter 23: Special insertions 217
An unavoidable characteristic of some Cyrillic letters and the majority of accented Cyril-
lic letters is that they must be assembled from multiple elements (accents, modifiers, etc.)
while \accent provides for a single accent mark and a single letter combination. There are
also cases where accents must appear between letters that \accent does not support. Still
other cases exist where the letters I and J have dots above their lowercase counterparts that
conflict with dotted accent marks. The use of \accent in these cases will not work as it
cannot analyze upper/lower case.
\aa
\AA å and Å.
\ae
\AE æ and Æ.
\dh
\DH Icelandic letter eth: ð and Ð. Not available with OT1 encoding, you need the
fontenc package to select an alternate font encoding, such as T1.
\dj
\DJ Crossed d and D, a.k.a. capital and small letter d with stroke. Not available
with OT1 encoding, you need the fontenc package to select an alternate font
encoding, such as T1.
\ij
\IJ ij and IJ (except somewhat closer together than appears here).
\l
\L l and L.
\ng
\NG Lappish letter eng, also used in phonetics.
\o
\O ø and Ø.
\oe
\OE œ and Œ.
\ss
\SS ß and SS.
\th
\TH Icelandic letter thorn: þ and Þ. Not available with OT1 encoding, you need
the fontenc package to select an alternate font encoding, such as T1.
Chapter 23: Special insertions 218
23.8 \rule
Synopsis, one of:
\rule{width}{thickness}
\rule[raise]{width}{thickness}
Produce a rule, a filled-in rectangle.
This example produces a rectangular blob, sometimes called a Halmos symbol, or just
“qed”, often used to mark the end of a proof:
\newcommand{\qedsymbol}{\rule{0.4em}{2ex}}
The amsthm package includes this command, with a somewhat different-looking symbol.
Chapter 23: Special insertions 219
The mandatory arguments give the horizontal width and vertical thickness of the rect-
angle. They are rigid lengths (see Chapter 14 [Lengths], page 131). The optional argument
raise is also a rigid length, and tells LATEX how much to raise the rule above the baseline,
or lower it if the length is negative.
This produces a line, a rectangle that is wide but not tall.
\noindent\rule{\textwidth}{0.4pt}
The line is the width of the page and 0.4 points tall. This line thickness is common in
LATEX.
A rule that has zero width, or zero thickness, will not show up in the output, but can
cause LATEX to change the output around it. See Section 19.13 [\strut], page 184, for
examples.
23.9 \today
Synopsis:
\today
Produce today’s date in the format ‘month dd, yyyy’. An example of a date in that
format is ‘July 4, 1976’.
Multilingual packages such as babel or polyglossia, or classes such as lettre, will
localize \today. For example, the following will output ‘4 juillet 1976’:
\year=1976 \month=7 \day=4
\documentclass{minimal}
\usepackage[french]{babel}
\begin{document}
\today
\end{document}
\today uses the counters \day, \month, and \year (see Section 13.8 [\day & \month &
\year], page 130).
A number of package on CTAN work with dates. One is datetime package which can
produce a wide variety of date formats, including ISO standards.
The date is not updated as the LATEX process runs, so in principle the date could be
incorrect by the time the program finishes.
220
24.1 \endinput
Synopsis:
\endinput
When you \include{filename}, inside filename.tex the material after \endinput will
not be included. This command is optional; if filename.tex has no \endinput then LATEX
will read all of the file.
For example, suppose that a document’s root file has \input{chap1} and this is
chap1.tex.
\chapter{One}
This material will appear in the document.
Chapter 24: Splitting the input 221
\endinput
This will not appear.
This can be useful for putting documentation or comments at the end of a file, or for
avoiding junk characters that can be added if the file is transmitted in the body of an
email. It is also useful for debugging: one strategy to localize errors is to put \endinput
halfway through the included file and see if the error disappears. Now, knowing which half
contains the error, moving \endinput to halfway through that area further narrows down
the location. This process rapidly finds the offending line.
After reading \endinput, LATEX continues to read to the end of the line, so something
can follow this command and be read nonetheless. This allows you, for instance, to close
an \if... with a \fi.
\chapter{Preamble}
We the People of the United States,
in Order to form a more perfect Union, ...
Running LATEX on constitution.tex makes the material from the three files appear in
the document but also generates the auxiliary files preamble.aux, articles.aux, and
amendments.aux. These contain information such as page numbers and cross-references (see
Chapter 7 [Cross references], page 50). If you now comment out \includeonly’s lines with
preamble and amendments and run LATEX again then the resulting document shows only
the material from articles.tex, not the material from preamble.tex or amendments.tex.
Nonetheless, all of the auxiliary information from the omitted files is still there, including
the starting page number of the chapter.
If the document preamble does not have \includeonly then LATEX will include all the
files you call for with \include commands.
The \include command makes a new page. To avoid that, see Section 24.3 [\input],
page 223, (which, however, does not retain the auxiliary information).
See Section A.4 [Larger book template], page 256, for another example using \include
and \includeonly. That example also uses \input for some material that will not neces-
sarily start on a new page.
File names can involve paths.
\documentclass{book}
\includeonly{
chapters/chap1,
}
\begin{document}
\include{chapters/chap1}
\end{document}
To make your document portable across distributions and platforms you should avoid
spaces in the file names. The tradition is to instead use dashes or underscores. Nevertheless,
for the name ‘amo amas amat’, this works under TEX Live on GNU/Linux:
\documentclass{book}
\includeonly{
"amo\space amas\space amat"
}
\begin{document}
\include{"amo\space amas\space amat"}
\end{document}
and this works under MiKTEX on Windows:
\documentclass{book}
\includeonly{
{"amo amas amat"}
}
\begin{document}
\include{{"amo amas amat"}}
\end{document}
Chapter 24: Splitting the input 223
You cannot use \include inside a file that is being included or you get ‘LaTeX Error:
\include cannot be nested.’ The \include command cannot appear in the document
preamble; you will get ‘LaTeX Error: Missing \begin{document}’.
If a file that you \include does not exist, for instance if you \include{athiesm} but
you meant \include{atheism}, then LATEX does not give you an error but will warn you
‘No file athiesm.tex.’ (It will also create athiesm.aux.)
If you \include the root file in itself then you first get ‘LaTeX Error: Can be used only
in preamble.’ Later runs get ‘TeX capacity exceeded, sorry [text input levels=15]’.
To fix this, you must remove the inclusion \include{root} but also delete the file root.aux
and rerun LATEX.
24.3 \input
Synopsis:
\input{filename}
L TEX processes the file as if its contents were inserted in the current file. For a more
A
sophisticated inclusion mechanism see Section 24.2 [\include & \includeonly], page 221.
If filename does not end in ‘.tex’ then LATEX first tries the filename with that extension;
this is the usual case. If filename ends with ‘.tex’ then LATEX looks for the filename as it
is.
For example, this
\input{macros}
will cause LATEX to first look for macros.tex. If it finds that file then it processes its contents
as thought they had been copy-pasted in. If there is no file of the name macros.tex then
LATEX tries the name macros, without an extension. (This may vary by distribution.)
To make your document portable across distributions and platforms you should avoid
spaces in the file names. The tradition is to instead use dashes or underscores. Nevertheless,
for the name ‘amo amas amat’, this works under TEX Live on GNU/Linux:
\input{"amo\space amas\space amat"}
and this works under MiKTEX on Windows:
\input{{"amo amas amat"}}
224
25 Front/back matter
\renewcommand{\listfigurename}{Plots}
\renewcommand{\listtablename}{Specifications}
Internationalization packages such as babel or polyglossia will change these headers
depending on the chosen base language.
25.1.1 \@dottedtocline
Synopsis:
\@dottedtocline{section-level-num}{indent}{numwidth}{text}{pagenumber}
Used internally by LATEX to format an entry line in the table of contents, list of figures,
or list of tables. Authors do not directly enter \@dottedtocline commands.
This command is typically used by \l@section, \l@subsection, etc., to format the
content lines. For example, the article.cls file contains these definitions:
\newcommand*\l@section{\@dottedtocline{1}{1.5em}{2.3em}}
\newcommand*\l@subsection{\@dottedtocline{2}{3.8em}{3.2em}}
\newcommand*\l@subsubsection{\@dottedtocline{3}{7.0em}{4.1em}}
In this example, \@dottedcline appears to have been given only three arguments. But
tracing the internal code shows that it picks up the final text and pagenumber arguments
in the synopsis from a call to \contentsline (see Section 25.1.4 [\contentsline], page 228).
Between the box for the title text of a section and the right margin box, these
\@dottedtocline commands insert leaders, that is, evenly-spaced dots. The
dot-to-dot space is given by the command \@dotsep. By default it is 4.5 (it is in
math units, aka. mu, which are 1/18 em. Change it using \renewcommand, as in
\renewcommand{\@dotsep}{3.5}.
In the standard book class, LATEX does not use dotted leaders for the Part and Chapter
table entries, and in the standard article class it does not use dotted leaders for Section
entries.
25.1.2 \addcontentsline
Synopsis:
\addcontentsline{ext}{unit}{text}
Add an entry to the auxiliary file with extension ext.
The following will result in an ‘Appendices’ line in the table of contents.
\addcontentsline{toc}{section}{\protect\textbf{Appendices}}
It will appear at the same indentation level as the sections, will be in boldface, and will
be assigned the page number associated with the point where the command appears in the
input file.
The \addcontentsline command writes information to the file root-name.ext, where
root-name is the file name of the root file (see Chapter 24 [Splitting the input], page 220).
It writes that information as the text of the command \contentsline{unit}{text}{num},
where num is the current value of counter unit (see Section 25.1.4 [\contentsline], page 228).
The most common case is the table of contents and there num is the page number of the
first page of unit.
This command is invoked by the sectioning commands \chapter, etc. (see Chapter 6
[Sectioning], page 38), and also by \caption inside a float environment (see Section 5.7
Chapter 25: Front/back matter 227
[Floats], page 34). But it is also directly used by authors. For example, an author writing
a book whose style is to have an unnumbered preface may use the starred \chapter*. But
that command leaves out table of contents information, which can be entered manually, as
here.
\chapter*{Preface}
\addcontentsline{toc}{chapter}{\protect\numberline{}Preface}
In the root-name.toc file LATEX will put the line \contentsline {chapter}{\numberline
{}Preface}{3}; note that the page number ‘3’ is automatically generated by the system,
not entered manually.
All of the arguments for \addcontentsline are required.
ext Typically one of the strings toc for the table of contents, lof for the list of
figures, or lot for the list of tables. The filename extension of the information
file.
unit A string that depends on the value of the ext argument, typically one of:
toc For the table of contents, this is the name of a sectional unit: part,
chapter, section, subsection, etc.
lof For the list of figures: figure.
lot For the list of tables: table.
text The text of the entry. You must \protect any fragile commands (see
Section 12.11 [\protect], page 123) used in it.
The \addcontentsline command has an interaction with \include (see Section 24.2
[\include & \includeonly], page 221). If you use them at the same level, as with
\addcontentsline{...}{...}{...}\include{...} then lines in the table of contents
can come out in the wrong order. The solution is to move \addcontentsline into the file
being included.
If you use a unit that LATEX does not recognize, as with the typo here
\addcontentsline{toc}{setcion}{\protect\textbf{Appendices}}
then you don’t get an error but the formatting in the table of contents will not make sense.
25.1.3 \addtocontents
Synopsis:
\addtocontents{ext}{text}
Add text, which may be text or formatting commands, directly to the auxiliary file with
extension ext. This is most commonly used for the table of contents so that is the discussion
here, but it also applies to the list of figures and list of tables.
This will put some vertical space in the table of contents after the ‘Contents’ header.
\tableofcontents\newpage
\addtocontents{toc}{\protect\vspace*{3ex}}
This puts the word ‘Page’, in boldface, above the column of page numbers and after the
header.
\tableofcontents
Chapter 25: Front/back matter 228
\addtocontents{toc}{~\hfill\textbf{Page}\par}
\chapter{...}
This adds a line announcing work by a new author.
\addtocontents{toc}{%
\protect\vspace{2ex}
\textbf{Chapters by N. Other Author}\par}
The difference between \addtocontents and \addcontentsline is that the latter is
strictly for lines, such as with a line giving the page number for the start of a new subset of
the chapters. As the above examples show, \addtocontents is for material such as spacing.
The \addtocontents command has two arguments. Both are required.
ext Typically one of: toc for the table of contents, lof for the list of figures, or lot
for the list of tables. The extension of the file holding the information.
text The text, and possibly commands, to be written.
The sectioning commands such as \chapter use the \addcontentsline command to
store information. This command creates lines in the .toc auxiliary file containing the
\contentsline command (see Section 25.1.2 [\addcontentsline], page 226). In contrast,
the command \addtocontents puts material directly in that file.
The \addtocontents command has an interaction with \include (see Section 24.2
[\include & \includeonly], page 221). If you use them at the same level, as with
\addtocontents{...}{...}\include{...} then lines in the table of contents can come
out in the wrong order. The solution is to move \addtocontents into the file being
included.
25.1.4 \contentsline
Synopsis:
\contentsline{unit}{text}{pagenumber}
Used internally by LATEX to typeset an entry of the table of contents, list of figures, or
list of tables (see Section 25.1 [Table of contents etc.], page 224). Authors do not directly
enter \contentsline commands.
Usually adding material to these lists is done automatically by the commands \chapter,
\section, etc. for the table of contents, or by the \caption command inside of a \figure or
\table environment (see Section 8.10 [figure], page 62, and see Section 8.22 [table], page 86).
Thus, where the root file is thesis.tex, and contains the declaration \tableofcontents,
the command \chapter{Chapter One} produces something like this in the file thesis.toc.
\contentsline {chapter}{\numberline {1}Chapter One}{3}
If the file contains the declaration \listoffigures then a figure environment involving
\caption{Test} will produce something like this in thesis.lof.
\contentsline {figure}{\numberline {1.1}{\ignorespaces Test}}{6}
To manually add material, use \addcontentsline{filetype}{unit}{text}, where file-
type is toc, lof, or lot (see Section 25.1.2 [\addcontentsline], page 226).
For manipulating how the \contentline material is typeset, see the tocloft package.
Note that the hyperref package changes the definition of \contentsline (and
\addcontentsline) to add more arguments, to make hyperlinks. This is the source of
Chapter 25: Front/back matter 229
the error Argument of \contentsline has an extra } when one adds/remove the use of
package hyperref and a compilation was already run. Fix this error by deleting the .toc
or .lof or .lot file, and running LATEX again.
25.1.5 \nofiles
Synopsis:
\nofiles
Prevent LATEX from writing any auxiliary files. The only output will be the .log and
.pdf (or .dvi) files. This command must go in the preamble.
Because of the \nofiles command this example will not produce a .toc file.
\documentclass{book}
\nofiles
\begin{document}
\tableofcontents\newpage
\chapter{...}
...
LATEX will not erase any existing auxiliary files, so if you insert the \nofiles command
after you have run the file and gotten a .toc then the table of contents page will continue
to show the old information.
25.1.6 \numberline
Synopsis:
\numberline{number}
Typeset its argument flush left in a box. This is used in a \contentsline command to
typeset the section number (see Section 25.1.4 [\contentsline], page 228).
For example, this line in a .toc file causes the 1.1 to be typeset flush left.
\contentsline {subsection}{\numberline {1.1}Motivation}{2}
By default, LATEX typesets the section numbers in a box of length \@tempdima.
That length is set by the commands \l@section, \l@subsection, etc. Put section
numbers inside a natural-width box with \renewcommand{\numberline}[1]{#1~} before
\tableofcontents.
This command is fragile so you may need to precede it with \protect (see Section 12.11
[\protect], page 123). An example is the use of \protect in this command,
\addcontentsline{toc}{section}{\protect\numberline{}Summary}
to get the \numberline into the \contentsline command in the .toc file: \contentsline
{section}{\numberline {}Summary}{6} (the page number ‘6’ is automatically added by
LATEX; see Section 25.1.2 [\addcontentsline], page 226).
25.2 Indexes
If you tell LATEX what terms you want to appear in an index then it can produce that
index, alphabetized and with the page numbers automatically maintained. This illustrates
the basics.
\documentclass{article}
Chapter 25: Front/back matter 230
25.2.2 \index
Synopsis:
\index{index-entry-string}
Declare an entry in the index. This command is fragile (see Section 12.11 [\protect],
page 123).
For example, as described in Section 25.2 [Indexes], page 229, one way to get an index
from what’s below is to compile the document with pdflatex test, then process the index
entries with makeindex test, and then compile again with pdflatex test.
% file test.tex
...
W~Ackermann (1896--1962).\index{Ackermann}
...
Ackermann function\index{Ackermann!function}
...
rate of growth\index{Ackermann!function!growth rate}
All three index entries will get a page number, such as ‘Ackermann, 22’. LATEX will format
the second as a subitem of the first, on the line below it and indented, and the third as a
subitem of the second. Three levels deep is as far as you can nest subentries. (If you add
\index{Ackermann!function!growth rate!comparison} then makeindex says ‘Scanning
input file test.idx....done (4 entries accepted, 1 rejected)’ and the fourth level
is silently missing from the index.)
If you enter a second \index with the same index-entry-string then you will get a
single index entry with two page numbers (unless they happen to fall on the same page).
Thus, adding as for Ackermann.\index{Ackermann} later in the same document as
above will give an index entry like ‘Ackermann, 22, 151’. Also, you can enter the index
entries in any order, so for instance \index{Ackermann!function} could come before
\index{Ackermann}.
Get a page range in the output, like ‘Hilbert, 23--27’, as here.
W~Ackermann (1896--1962).\index{Ackermann}
...
D~Hilbert (1862--1943)\index{Ackermann!Hilbert|(}
...
Chapter 25: Front/back matter 232
If you omit the closing brace of an \index command then you get a message like this.
Runaway argument? {Ackermann!function
! Paragraph ended before \@wrindex was complete.
25.2.3 makeindex
Synopsis, one of:
makeindex filename
makeindex -s style-file filename
makeindex options filename0 ...
Sort, and otherwise process, the index information in the auxiliary file filename. This
is a command line program. It takes one or more raw index files, filename.idx files, and
produces the actual index file, the filename.ind file that is input by \printindex (see
Section 25.2.4 [\printindex], page 235).
The first form of the command suffices for many uses. The second allows you to format
the index by using an index style file, a .isty file. The third form is the most general; see
the full documentation on CTAN.
This is a simple .isty file.
% book.isty
% $ makeindex -s book.isty -p odd book.idx
% creates the index as book.ind, starting on an odd page.
preamble
"\\pagestyle{empty}
\\small
\\begin{theindex}
\\thispagestyle{empty}"
postamble
"\n
\\end{theindex}"
The description here covers only some of the index formatting possibilities in style-file.
For a full list see the documentation on CTAN.
A style file consists of a list of pairs: specifier and attribute. These can appear in the file
in any order. All of the attributes are strings, except where noted. Strings are surrounded
with double quotes, ", and the maximum length of a string is 144 characters. The \n is for
a newline and \t is for a tab. Backslashes are escaped with another backslash, \\. If a line
begins with a percent sign, %, then it is a comment.
preamble Preamble of the output index file. Defines the context in which the index is
formatted. Default: "\\begin{theindex}\n".
postamble
Postamble of the output index file. Default: "\n\n\\end{theindex}\n".
group_skip
Traditionally index items are broken into groups, typically a group for entries
starting with letter ‘a’, etc. This specifier gives what is inserted when a new
Chapter 25: Front/back matter 234
indent_space
What is inserted at the start of a wrapped line. Default: "\t\t".
indent_length
A number. The length of the wrapped line indentation. The default indent_
space is two tabs and each tab is eight spaces so the default here is 16.
page_precedence
A document may have pages numbered in different ways. For example, a book
may have front matter pages numbered in lowercase roman while main matter
pages are in arabic. This string specifies the order in which they will appear in
the index. The makeindex command supports five different types of numerals:
lowercase roman r, and numeric or arabic n, and lowercase alphabetic a, and
uppercase roman R, and uppercase alphabetic A. Default: "rnaRA".
There are a number of other programs that do the job makeindex does. One is xindy
(https://ctan.org/pkg/xindy), which does internationalization and can process indexes
for documents marked up using LATEX and a number of other languages. It is written in
Lisp, highly configurable, both in markup terms and in terms of the collating order of the
text, as described in its documentation.
A more recent indexing program supporting Unicode is xindex, written in Lua
(https://ctan.org/pkg/xindex).
25.2.4 \printindex
Synopsis:
\printindex
Place the index into the output.
To get an index you must first include \usepackage{makeidx}\makeindex in the doc-
ument preamble and compile the document, then run the system command makeindex,
and then compile the document again. See Section 25.2 [Indexes], page 229, for further
discussion and an example of the use of \printindex.
25.3 Glossaries
Synopsis:
\usepackage{glossaries} \makeglossaries
...
\newglossaryentry{label}{settings}
...
\gls{label}.
...
\printglossaries
The glossaries package allows you to make glossaries, including multiple glossaries, as
well as lists of acronyms.
To get the output from this example, compile the document (for instance with pdflatex
filename), then run the command line command makeglossaries filename, and then
compile the document again.
\documentclass{...}
Chapter 25: Front/back matter 236
\usepackage{glossaries} \makeglossaries
\newglossaryentry{tm}{%
name={Turing machine},
description={A model of a machine that computes. The model is simple
but can compute anything any existing device can compute.
It is the standard model used in Computer Science.},
}
\begin{document}
Everything begins with the definition of a \gls{tm}.
...
\printglossaries
\end{document}
That gives two things. In the main text it outputs ‘... definition of a Turing machine’.
In addition, in a separate sectional unit headed ‘Glossary’ there appears a description list.
In boldface it says ‘Turing machine’ and the rest of the item says in normal type ‘A model
of a machine ... Computer Science’.
The command \makeglossary opens the file that will contain the entry information,
root-file.glo. Put the \printglossaries command where you want the glossaries to
appear in your document.
The glossaries package is very powerful. For instance, besides the commands
\newglossaryentry and \gls, there are similar commands for a list of acronyms. See the
package documentations on CTAN.
25.3.1 \newglossaryentry
Synopsis, one of:
\newglossaryentry{label}
{
name={name},
description={description},
other options, ...
}
or
\longnewglossaryentry{label}
{
name={name},
other options ...,
}
{description}
Declare a new entry for a glossary. The label must be unique for the document. The
settings associated with the label are pairs: key=value.
This puts the blackboard bold symbol for the real numbers in the glossary.
\newglossaryentry{R}
{
name={\ensuremath{\mathbb{R}}},
description={the real numbers},
Chapter 25: Front/back matter 237
}
Use the second command form if the description spans more than one paragraph.
For a full list of keys see the package documentation on CTAN but here are a few.
name (Required.) The word, phrase, or symbol that you are defining.
description
(Required.) The description that will appear in the glossary. If this has more
than one paragraph then you must use the second command form given in the
synopsis.
plural The plural form of name. Refer to the plural form using \glspl or \Glspl (see
Section 25.3.2 [\gls], page 237).
sort How to place this entry in the list of entries that the glossary holds.
symbol A symbol, such as a mathematical symbol, besides the name.
25.3.2 \gls
Synopsis, one of:
\gls{label}
\glspl{label}
\Gls{label}
\Glspl{label}
Refer to a glossary entry. The entries are declared with \newglossaryentry (see
Section 25.3.1 [\newglossaryentry], page 236).
This
\newglossaryentry{N}{%
name={the natural numbers},
description={The numbers $0$, $1$, $2$, $\ldots$\@},
symbol={\ensuremath{\mathbb{N}}},
}
...
Consider \gls{N}.
gives the output ‘Consider the natural numbers’.
The second command form \glspl{label} produces the plural of name (by default it
tries adding an ‘s’). The third form capitalizes the first letter of name, as does the fourth
form, which also takes the plural.
238
26 Letters
Synopsis:
\documentclass{letter}
\address{senders address} % return address
\signature{sender name}
\begin{document}
\begin{letter}{recipient address}
\opening{salutation}
letter body
\closing{closing text}
\end{letter}
...
\end{document}
Produce one or more letters.
Each letter is in a separate letter environment, whose argument recipient address often
contains multiple lines separated with a double backslash, (\\). For example, you might
have:
\begin{letter}{Ninon de l’Enclos \\
l’h\^otel Sagonne}
...
\end{letter}
The start of the letter environment resets the page number to 1, and the footnote
number to 1 also.
The sender address and sender name are common to all of the letters, whether there is
one or more, so these are best put in the preamble. As with the recipient address, often
sender address contains multiple lines separated by a double backslash (\\). LATEX will put
the sender name under the closing, after a vertical space for the traditional hand-written
signature.
Each letter environment body begins with a required \opening command such as
\opening{Dear Madam or Sir:}. The letter body text is ordinary LATEX so it can con-
tain everything from enumerated lists to displayed math, except that commands such as
\chapter that make no sense in a letter are turned off. Each letter environment body
typically ends with a \closing command such as \closing{Yours,}.
Additional material may come after the \closing. You can say who is receiving a copy
of the letter with a command like \cc{the Boss \\ the Boss’s Boss}. There’s a similar
\encl command for a list of enclosures. And, you can add a postscript with \ps.
LATEX’s default is to indent the sender name and the closing above it by a length of
\longindentation. By default this is 0.5\textwidth. To make them flush left, put
\setlength{\longindentation}{0em} in your preamble.
To set a fixed date use something like \renewcommand{\today}{1958-Oct-12}. If put
in your preamble then it will apply to all the letters.
This example shows only one letter environment. The three lines marked as optional
are typically omitted.
\documentclass{letter}
Chapter 26: Letters 239
26.1 \address
Synopsis:
\address{senders address}
Specify the return address, as it appears on the letter and on the envelope. Separate
multiple lines in senders address with a double backslash, \\.
Because it can apply to multiple letters this declaration is often put in the preamble.
However, it can go anywhere, including inside an individual letter environment.
This command is optional: if you do not use it then the letter is formatted with some
blank space on top, for copying onto pre-printed letterhead paper. If you do use the
\address declaration then it is formatted as a personal letter.
Here is an example.
\address{Stephen Maturin \\
The Grapes of the Savoy}
26.2 \cc
Synopsis:
\cc{name0 \\
... }
Produce a list of names to which copies of the letter were sent. This command is optional.
If it appears then typically it comes after \closing. Put the names on different lines by
separating them with a double backslash, \\, as in:
\cc{President \\
Vice President}
26.3 \closing
Synopsis:
\closing{text}
Chapter 26: Letters 240
Produce the letter’s closing. This is optional, but usual. It appears at the end of a letter,
above a handwritten signature. For example:
\closing{Regards,}
26.4 \encl
Synopsis:
\encl{first enclosed object \\
... }
Produce a list of things included with the letter. This command is optional; when it is
used, it typically is put after \closing. Separate multiple lines with a double backslash,
\\.
\encl{License \\
Passport}
26.5 \location
Synopsis:
\location{text}
The text appears centered at the bottom of the page. It only appears if the page style
is firstpage.
26.6 \makelabels
Synopsis:
\makelabels % in preamble
Optional, for a document that contains letter environments. If you just put
\makelabels in the preamble then at the end of the document you will get a sheet with
labels for all the recipients, one for each letter environment, that you can copy to a sheet
of peel-off address labels.
Customize the labels by redefining the commands \startlabels, \mlabel, and
\returnaddress (and perhaps \name) in the preamble. The command \startlabels sets
the width, height, number of columns, etc., of the page onto which the labels are printed.
The command \mlabel{return address}{recipient address} produces the two labels
(or one, if you choose to ignore the return address) for each letter environment. The first
argument, return address, is the value returned by the macro \returnaddress. The
second argument, recipient address, is the value passed in the argument to the letter
environment. By default \mlabel ignores the first argument, the return address, causing
the default behavior described in the prior paragraph.
This illustrates customization. Its output includes a page with two columns having two
labels each.
\documentclass{letter}
\renewcommand*{\returnaddress}{Fred McGuilicuddy \\
Oshkosh, Mineola 12305}
\newcommand*\originalMlabel{}
Chapter 26: Letters 241
\let\originalMlabel\mlabel
\def\mlabel#1#2{\originalMlabel{}{#1}\originalMlabel{}{#2}}
\makelabels
...
\begin{document}
\begin{letter}{A Einstein \\
112 Mercer Street \\
Princeton, New Jersey, USA 08540}
...
\end{letter}
\begin{letter}{K G\"odel \\
145 Linden Lane \\
Princeton, New Jersey, USA 08540}
...
\end{letter}
\end{document}
The first column contains the return address twice. The second column contains the address
for each recipient.
The package envlab makes formatting the labels easier, with standard sizes already pro-
vided. The preamble lines \usepackage[personalenvelope]{envlab} and \makelabels
are all that you need to print envelopes.
26.7 \name
Synopsis:
\name{name}
Optional. Sender’s name, used for printing on the envelope together with the return
address.
26.8 \opening
Synopsis:
\opening{salutation}
Required. Follows the \begin{letter}{...}. The argument salutation is mandatory.
For instance:
\opening{Dear John:}
26.9 \ps
Synopsis:
\ps{text}
Add a postscript. This command is optional and usually is used after \closing.
\ps{P.S. After you have read this letter, burn it. Or eat it.}
Chapter 26: Letters 242
26.10 \signature
Synopsis:
\signature{first line \\
... }
The sender’s name. This command is optional, although its inclusion is usual.
The argument text appears at the end of the letter, after the closing. LATEX leaves
some vertical space for a handwritten signature. Separate multiple lines with a double
backslash, \\. For example:
\signature{J Fred Muggs \\
White House}
L TEX’s default for the vertical space from the \closing text down to the \signature
A
text is 6\medskipamount, which is six times \medskipamount (where \medskipamount is
equal to a \parskip, which in turn is defined by default here to 0.7 em).
This command is usually in the preamble, to apply to all the letters in the document.
To have it apply to one letter only, put it inside a letter environment and before the
\closing.
You can include a graphic in the signature as here.
\signature{\vspace{-6\medskipamount}\includegraphics{sig.png}\\
My name}
For this you must put \usepackage{graphicx} in the preamble (see Chapter 22 [Graphics],
page 199).
26.11 \telephone
Synopsis:
\telephone{number}
The sender’s telephone number. This is typically in the preamble, where it applies to all
letters. This only appears if the firstpage pagestyle is selected. If so, it appears on the
lower right of the page.
243
27 Input/output
LATEX uses the ability to write to a file and later read it back in to build document com-
ponents such as a table of contents or index. You can also read a file that other programs
written, or write a file for others to read. You can communicate with users through the
terminal. And, you can issue instructions for the operating system.
\InputIfFileExists, see Section 3.3.2 [Class and package commands], page 10). If you
try to use the same number twice, LATEX won’t give you an error. If you try to use a
bad number then you get an error message like ‘! Bad number (16). <to be read again>
= l.30 \openin16=test.jh’.
27.2 \read
Synopsis:
\read number tomacro
Make the command macro contain the next line of input from text stream number, as
in \read5 to\data.
This opens the file email.tex for reading, puts the contents of the first line into the
command \email, and then closes the file.
\newread\recipientfile
\openin\recipientfile=email
\read\recipientfile to\email
\typeout{Email address: \email}
\closein\recipientfile
If number is outside the range from 0 to 15 or if no file of that number is open, or if the
file has ended, then \read will take input from the terminal (or exit if interaction is not
allowed, e.g., \nonstopmode; see [interaction modes], page 250). (However, the natural way
in LATEX to take input from the terminal is \typein (see Section 27.3 [\typein], page 244.)
To read an entire file as additional LATEX source, use \input (see Section 24.3 [\input],
page 223) or \include (see Section 24.2 [\include & \includeonly], page 221).
A common reason to want to read from a data file is to do mail merges. CTAN has a
number of packages for that; one is datatool.
27.3 \typein
Synopsis, one of:
\typein{prompt-msg}
\typein[cmd]{prompt-msg}
Print prompt-msg on the terminal and cause LATEX to stop and wait for you to type a
line of input. This line of input ends when you hit the return key.
For example, this
As long as I live I shall never forget \typein{Enter student name:}
coupled with this command line interaction
Enter student name:
\@typein=Aphra Behn
gives the output ‘... never forget Aphra Behn’.
The first command version, \typein{prompt-msg}, causes the input you typed to be
processed as if it had been included in the input file in place of the \typein command.
Chapter 27: Input/output 245
In the second command version the optional argument cmd argument must be a command
name, that is, it must begin with a backslash, \. This command name is then defined or
redefined to be the input that you typed. For example, this
\typein[\student]{Enter student name:}
\typeout{Recommendation for \student .}
gives this output on the command line,
Enter student name:
\student=John Dee
Recommendation for John Dee.
where the user has entered ‘John Dee.’
27.4 \typeout
Synopsis:
\typeout{msg}
Print msg on the terminal and in the log file.
This
\newcommand{\student}{John Dee}
\typeout{Recommendation for \student .}
outputs ‘Recommendation for John Dee’. Like what happens here with \student, com-
mands that are defined with \newcommand or \renewcommand (among others) are replaced
by their definitions before being printed.
LATEX’s usual rules for treating multiple spaces as a single space and ignoring spaces
after a command name apply to msg. Use the command \space to get a single space,
independent of surrounding spaces. Use ^^J to get a newline. Get a percent character with
\csname @percentchar\endcsname.
This command can be useful for simple debugging, as here:
\newlength{\jhlength}
\setlength{\jhlength}{5pt}
\typeout{The length is \the\jhlength.}
produces on the command line ‘The length is 5.0pt’.
27.5 \write
Synopsis:
\write number{string}
Write string to the log file, to the terminal, or to a file opened by \openout. For instance,
\write6 writes to text stream number 6.
If the following appears in basefile.tex then it opens basefile.jh, writes ‘Hello
World!’ and a newline to it, and closes that file.
\newwrite\myfile
\immediate\openout\myfile=\jobname.jh % \jobname is root file basename
...
Chapter 27: Input/output 246
\immediate\write\myfile{Hello world!}
...
\immediate\closeout\myfile
The \newwrite allocates a stream number, giving it a symbolic name to make life easier,
so that stream \newwrite\myfile\the\myfile produces something like ‘stream 3’. Then
\openout associates the stream number with the given file name. TEX ultimately executed
\write3 which puts the string in the file.
Typically number is between 0 and 15, because typically LATEX authors follow the prior
example and the number is allocated by the system. If number is outside the range from 0
to 15 or if it is not associated with an open file then LATEX writes string to the log file. If
number is positive then in addition LATEX writes string to the terminal.
Thus, test \write-1{Hello World!} puts ‘Hello World!’ followed by a newline in the
log file. (This is what the \wlog command does; see Section 27.5.3 [\wlog], page 248).
And \write100{Hello World!} puts the same in the log file but also puts ‘Hello World!’
followed by a newline in the terminal output. (But 16, 17, and 18 are special as number;
see below.)
In LuaTEX, instead of 16 output streams there are 256 (see Section 2.3 [TEX engines],
page 3).
Use \write\@auxout{string} to write to the current .aux file, which is associated with
either the root file or with the current include file; and use \write\@mainaux{string} to
write to the main .aux. These symbolic names are defined by LATEX.
By default LATEX does not write string to the file right away. This is because, for
example, you may need \write to save the current page number, but when TEX comes
across a \write it typically does not know what the page number is, since it has not yet
done the page breaking. So, you use \write in one of three contexts:
\immediate\write\@auxout{string} %1
\write\@auxout{string} %2
\protected@write\@auxout{}{string} %3
1. With the first, LATEX writes string to the file immediately. Any macros in string are
fully expanded (just as in \edef) so to prevent expansion you must use \noexpand,
toks, etc., except that you should use # instead of ##).
2. With the second, string is stored on the current list of things (as a TEX “whatsit” item)
and kept until the page is shipped out and likewise the macros are unexpanded until
\shipout. At \shipout, string is fully expanded.
3. The third, \protected@write, is like the second except that you can use \protect to
avoid expansion. The extra first argument allows you to locally insert extra definitions
to make more macros protected or to have some other special definition for the write.
As a simple example of expansion with \write, string here contains a control sequence
\triplex which we’ve defined to be the text ‘XYZ’:
\newwrite\jhfile
\openout\jhfile=test.jh
\newcommand{\triplex}{XYZ}
\write\jhfile{test \triplex test}
This results in the file test.jh containing the text ‘test XYZtest’ followed by a newline.
Chapter 27: Input/output 247
The cases where number is 16, 17, or 18 are special. Because of \write’s behavior when
number is outside the range from 0 to 15 described above, in Plain TEX \write16 and
\write17 were sometimes used to write to the log file and the terminal; however, in LATEX,
the natural way to do that is with \typeout (see Section 27.4 [\typeout], page 245). The
\write18 command is even more special; modern TEX systems use it for giving commands
to the operating system (see Section 27.5.4 [\write18], page 248).
Ordinarily \write outputs a single line. You can include a newline with ^^J. Thus, this
produces two lines in the log file:
\wlog{Parallel lines have a lot in common.^^JBut they never meet.}
A common case where authors need to write their own file is for answers to exercises,
or another situation where you want to write out verbatim, without expanding the macros.
CTAN has a number of packages for this; one is answers.
27.5.2 \message
Synopsis:
\message{string}
Write string to the log file and the terminal.
Typically, LATEX authors use \typeout (see Section 27.4 [\typeout], page 245). It al-
lows you to use \protect on any fragile commands in string (see Section 12.11 [\protect],
page 123). But \typeout always inserts a newline at the end of string while \message does
not, so the latter can be useful.
With this example document body.
before\message{One Two}\message{Three}\message{Four^^JI}
\message{declare a thumb war.}After
under some circumstances (see below) LATEX writes the following to both the terminal and
the log file.
One Two Three Four
I declare a thumb war.
Chapter 27: Input/output 248
The ^^J produces a newline. Also, in the output document, between ‘before’ and ‘After’
will be a single space (from the end of line following ‘I}’).
While \message allows you more control over formatting, a gotcha is that LATEX may
mess up that formatting because it inserts line breaks depending on what it has already
written. Contrast this document body, where the ‘Two’ has moved, to the one given above.
before\message{One}\message{Two Three}\message{Four^^JI}
\message{declare a thumb war.}After
This can happen: when LATEX is outputting the messages to the terminal, now the
message with ‘One’ is shorter and it fits at the end of the output terminal line, and so LATEX
breaks the line between it and the ‘Two Three’. That line break appears also in the log file.
This line break insertion can depend on, for instance, the length of the full path names of
included files. So producing finely-formatted lines in a way that is portable is hard, likely
requiring starting your message at the beginning of a line.
27.5.3 \wlog
Synopsis:
\wlog{string}
Write string to the log file.
\wlog{Did you hear about the mathematician who hates negatives?}
\wlog{He’ll stop at nothing to avoid them.}
Ordinarily string appears in a single separate line. Use ^^J to insert a newline.
\wlog{Helvetica and Times Roman walk into a bar.}
\wlog{The barman says,^^JWe don’t serve your type.}
27.5.4 \write18
Synopsis:
\write18{shell_command}
Issue a command to the operating system shell. The operating system runs the command
and LATEX’s execution is blocked until that finishes.
This sequence (on Unix)
\usepackage{graphicx} % in preamble
...
\newcommand{\fignum}{1}
\immediate\write18{cd pix && asy figure\fignum}
\includegraphics{pix\figure\fignum.pdf}
will run Asymptote (the asy program) on pix/figure1.asy, so that the document can
later read in the resulting graphic (see Section 22.3.1 [\includegraphics], page 203). Like
any \write, here LATEX expands macros in shell command so that \fignum is replaced by
‘1’.
Another example is that you can automatically run BibTEX at the start of each LATEX run
(see Section 8.24.4 [Using BibTeX], page 95) by including \immediate\write18{bibtex8
\jobname} as the first line of the file. Note that \jobname expands to the basename of the
root file unless the --jobname option is passed on the command line, in which case this is
the option argument.
Chapter 27: Input/output 249
You sometimes need to do a multi-step process to get the information that you want.
This will insert into the input a list of all PDF files in the current directory (but see
texosquery below):
\immediate\write18{ls *.pdf > tmp.dat}
\input{tmp.dat}
The standard behavior of any \write is to wait until a page is being shipped out before
expanding the macros or writing to the stream (see Section 27.5 [\write], page 245). But
sometimes you want it done now. For this, use \immediate\write18{shell_command}.
There are obvious security issues with allowing system commands inside a LATEX file. If
you download a file off the net and it contains commands to delete all your files then you
would be unhappy. The standard settings in modern distributions turn off full shell access.
You can turn it on, if you are sure the shell commands are safe, by compiling with latex
--enable-write18 filename (see Section 28.1 [Command line options], page 250). (The
--shell-escape option is a synonym, in TEX Live.)
In the place of full shell access, modern distributions by default use a restricted version
that allows some commands to work, such as those that run Metafont to generate missing
fonts, even if you do not use the enable-write18 option. By default this list of allowed
commands is short and features only commands that are under the control of the distribution
maintainers (see Section 28.1 [Command line options], page 250).
The shell command text is always passed to /bin/sh on Unix-like operating systems,
and the DOS command interpreter cmd.exe on Windows. Any different shell set by the
user, and the SHELL environment variable, is ignored.
If what you need is system information, such as the operating system name, locale
information, or directory contents, take a look at the texosquery package, which provides
a convenient and secure interface for this, unlike the above examples using the raw \write18:
https://ctan.org/pkg/texosquery.
LATEX provides a package shellesc on top of the primitive \write18 command. Its
primary purpose is to provide a command \ShellEscape which works identically on all
TEX engines; LuaTEX intentionally did not retain \write18 as a way to invoke a shell
command, so some engine-specific code is needed. The shellesc package also provides a
command \DelayedShellEscape, executed at \output time, for the same reason.
250
-interaction=mode
TEX compiles a document in one of four interaction modes: batchmode,
nonstopmode, scrollmode, errorstopmode. In errorstopmode (the default),
TEX stops at each error and asks for user intervention. In batchmode it
prints nothing on the terminal, errors are scrolled as if the user hit RETURN
at every error, and missing files cause the job to abort. In nonstopmode,
diagnostic message appear on the terminal but as in batch mode there is no
user interaction. In scrollmode, TEX stops for missing files or keyboard input,
but nothing else.
For instance, starting LATEX with this command line
pdflatex -interaction=batchmode filename
eliminates most terminal output.
-jobname=string
Set the value of TEX’s jobname to the string. The log file and output file
will then be named string.log and string.pdf. see Section 28.3 [Jobname],
page 253.
-output-directory=directory
Write files in the directory directory. It must already exist. This applies to
all external files created by TEX or LATEX, such as the .log file for the run,
the .aux, .toc, etc., files created by LATEX, as well as the main .pdf or .dvi
output file itself.
When specified, the output directory directory is also automatically checked
first for any file that it is input, so that the external files can be read back
in, if desired. The true current directory (in which LATEX was run) remains
unchanged, and is also checked for input files.
--enable-write18
--disable-write18
--shell-escape
--no-shell-escape
Enable or disable \write18{shell_command} (see Section 27.5.4 [\write18],
page 248). The first two options are supported by both TEX Live and MiKTEX,
while the second two are synonyms supported by TEX Live.
Enabling this functionality has major security implications, since it allows a
LATEX file to run any command whatsoever. Thus, by default, unrestricted
\write18 is not allowed. (The default for TEX Live, MacTEX, and MiKTEX
is to allow the execution of a limited number of TEX-related programs, which
they distribute.)
For example, if you invoke LATEX with the option no-shell-escape, and in
your document you call \write18{ls -l}, then you do not get an error but the
log file says ‘runsystem(ls -l)...disabled’.
-halt-on-error
Stop processing at the first error.
Chapter 28: Command line interface 252
-file-line-error
-no-file-line-error
Enable or disable filename:lineno:error-style error messages. These are
only available with TEX Live or MacTEX.
will give output that has the first chapter but no other chapter. See Chapter 24 [Splitting
the input], page 220.
28.3 Jobname
Running LATEX creates a number of files, including the main PDF (or DVI) output but also
including others. These files are named with the so-called jobname. The most common case
is also the simplest, where for instance the command pdflatex thesis creates thesis.pdf
and also thesis.log and thesis.aux. Here the job name is thesis.
In general, LATEX is invoked as latex-engine options argument, where latex-engine is
pdflatex, lualatex, etc. (see Section 2.3 [TEX engines], page 3). If argument does not
start with a backslash, as is the case above with thesis, then TEX considers it to be the
name of the file to input as the main document. This file is referred to as the root file
(see Chapter 24 [Splitting the input], page 220, and Section 24.3 [\input], page 223). The
name of that root file, without the .tex extension if any, is the jobname. If argument does
start with a backslash, or if TEX is in interactive mode, then it waits for the first \input
command, and the jobname is the argument to \input.
There are two more possibilities for the jobname. It can be directly specified with the
-jobname option, as in pdflatex -jobname=myname (see Section 28.2 [Command line input],
page 252, for a real example).
The final possibility is texput, which is the final fallback default if no other name is
available to TEX. That is, if no -jobname option was specified, and the compilation stops
before any input file is met, then the log file will be named texput.log.
A special case of this is that in LATEX versions of (approximately) 2020 or later, the
jobname is also texput if the first \input occurs as a result of being called by either
\documentclass or \RequirePackage. So this will produce a file named texput.pdf:
pdflatex "\documentclass{minimal}\begin{document}Hello!\end{document}"
However, this special case only applies to those two commands. Thus, with
pdflatex "\documentclass{article}\usepackage{lipsum}\input{thesis}"
the output file is lipsum.pdf, as \usepackage calls \input.
Within the document, the macro \jobname expands to the jobname. (When you run
LATEX on a file whose name contains spaces, the string returned by \jobname contains
matching start and end quotes.) In the expansion of that macro, all characters are of
catcode 12 (other) except that spaces are category 10, including letters that are normally
catcode 11.
Because of this catcode situation, using the jobname in a conditional can become com-
plicated. One solution is to use the macro \IfBeginWith from the xstring package in its
star variant, which is insensitive to catcode. For example, in the following text the footnote
“Including Respublica Bananensis Francorum.” is only present if the task name starts with
my-doc.
If a democracy is just a regime where citizens vote then
all banana republics \IfBeginWith*{\jobname}{my-doc}%
{\footnote{Including Respublica Bananensis Francorum.}}{} are
democracies.
Chapter 28: Command line interface 254
Manipulating the value of \jobname inside of a document does not change the name of
the output file or the log file.
\begin{document}
\maketitle
\begin{verbatim}
This is \verbatim!
\end{verbatim}
\end{frame}
\end{document}
The Beamer package on CTAN: https://ctan.org/pkg/beamer.
\begin{document}
\maketitle
\section{First section}
Some text.
\section{Second section}
Some more text.
\end{document}
\begin{document}
\maketitle
\chapter{First}
Some text.
\chapter{Second}
Some other text.
\section{A subtopic}
The end.
\end{document}
\includeonly{%
% frontcover,
preface,
chap1,
% appenA,
}
\begin{document}
\frontmatter
\include{frontcover}
% maybe comment out while drafting:
\maketitle \input{dedication} \input{copyright}
\tableofcontents
\include{preface}
\mainmatter
\include{chap1}
...
\appendix
\include{appenA}
...
\backmatter
\bibliographystyle{apalike}
\addcontentsline{toc}{chapter}{Bibliography}
\bibliography
\addcontentsline{toc}{chapter}{Index}
\printindex
\include{backcover}
\end{document}
258
Index
$ :
$ inline math . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 : for math . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
$$...$$ plain TEX display math . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
[
& [...] for optional arguments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
& for table cells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
^
* ^ superscript. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
^^J, in \write . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
‘*’ prompt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
*-form of environment commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
*-form of sectioning commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
*-form, defining new commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
_ subscript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
– \
--disable-write18 command-line option . . . . . 251
\ (backslash-space) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
--enable-write18 command-line option . . . . . . 251
\ character starting commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
--file-line-error command-line option . . . . . 251
\! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
--halt-on-error command-line option. . . . . . . . 251
\" (umlaut accent). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
--help command-line option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
\# . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
--interaction command-line option . . . . . . . . . . 250
\$ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
--jobname command-line option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
\% . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
--no-file-line-error command-line option . . 251
\& . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
--no-shell-escape command-line option . . . . . 251
\’ (acute accent) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
--output-directory command-line option . . . . 251 \’ (tabbing) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
--shell-escape command-line option . . . . . . . . . 251 \(...\) inline math . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
--version command-line option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250 \* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
−1, write stream number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246 \+ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
\, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
\- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
. \- (hyphenation) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
.aux file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 \. (dot-over accent) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
.dvi file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 \/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
.fmt file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 \: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
.glo file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236 \; . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
.idx file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229, 233 \< . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
.ind file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233 \= (macron accent) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
.isty file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233 \= (tabbing) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
.lof file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3, 224, 228 \> . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85, 164
.log file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 \> (tabbing) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
.lot file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3, 224, 228 \@ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
.pdf file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 \@auxout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
.tex, default extension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250 \@beginparpenalty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
.toc file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3, 224, 228 \@dottedtocline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
.xdv file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 \@endparpenalty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
\@fnsymbol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
\@ifstar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
/ \@itempenalty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
\@mainaux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
/bin/sh, used by \write18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
\@startsection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
\[...\] display math . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Index 259
\ExecuteOptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 \hline. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
\exists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146 \hom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
\exp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162 \hookleftarrow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
\externaldocument . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 \hookrightarrow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
\extracolsep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 \hrulefill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
\fbox. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190 \hsize. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
\fboxrule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83, 191 \hspace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
\fboxsep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83, 191 \hss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
\fill. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177 \huge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
\flat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146 \Huge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
\floatpagefraction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 \hyphenation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
\floatsep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 \i (dotless i) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
\flushbottom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 \IfBeginWith* macro from xstring . . . . . . . . . . 253
\fnsymbol, and footnotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 \iff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
\fnsymbol{counter} . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 \IfFileExists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
\fontdimen1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182 \ignorespaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
\fontencoding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 \ignorespacesafterend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
\fontfamily . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 \ij (ij) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
\fontseries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 \IJ (IJ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
\fontshape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 \Im . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
\fontsize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 \imath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
\footnote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 \immediate\write . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
\footnotemark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 \in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
\footnoterule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 \include . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
\footnotesep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 \includegraphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
\footnotesize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 \includeonly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
\footnotetext . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 \indent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
\footskip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 \index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229, 231
\forall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146 \indexentry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
\frac. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169 \indexspace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231, 233
\frame. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 \inf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
\framebox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82, 190 \infty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
\frenchspacing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179 \input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
\frontmatter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 \inputencoding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
\frown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146 \InputIfFileExists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
\fussy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 \int . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
\Gamma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146 \intextsep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
\gamma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146 \iota. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
\gcd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162 \it . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
\ge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146 \item . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58, 60, 65, 66, 231
\geq . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146 \itemindent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
\gets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146 \itemsep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
\gg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146 \itshape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
\gls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237 \j (dotless j) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
\graphicspath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 \jmath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
\graphpaper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 \jobname . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
\grave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163 \Join. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
\guillemotleft («) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211 \k (ogonek) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
\guillemotright (») . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211 \kappa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
\guilsinglleft (‹) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211 \ker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
\guilsinglright (›). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211 \kill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
\H (Hungarian umlaut accent) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216 \l (␣l) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
\hat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163 \l@chapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
\hbar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146 \l@section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
\headheight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 \l@subsection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
\headsep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 ␣L) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
\L (
\heartsuit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146 \label. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
\hfill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177 \labelenumi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Index 262
\multiput . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 \onecolumn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
\nabla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 \openin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
\name. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241 \opening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
\natural . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 \openout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
\ne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 \oplus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
\nearrow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 \OptionNotUsed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
\NeedsTeXFormat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 \oslash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
\neg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 \otimes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
\negmedspace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164 \oval . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
\negthickspace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164 \overbrace{math} . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
\negthinspace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165, 182 \overline{text} . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
\neq . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 \owns. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
\newcommand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 \PackageError . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
\newcounter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 \PackageInfo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
\newenvironment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 \PackageInfoNoLine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
\newfont . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 \PackageWarning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
\newglossaryentry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236 \PackageWarningNoLine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
\newlength . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 \pagebreak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
\newline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 \pagenumbering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
\NEWLINE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180 \pageref . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
\newpage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 \pagestyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
\newsavebox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 \paperheight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
\newtheorem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 \paperwidth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
\newtie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216 \par . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
\newwrite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246 \paragraph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38, 43
\ng . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217 \parallel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
\NG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217 \parbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
\ni . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 \parindent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74, 139, 140
\nocite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 \parsep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
\nocorr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 \parskip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
\nocorrlist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 \parskip example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
\nofiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229 \part . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38, 39
\noindent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 \partial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
\nolinebreak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 \partopsep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
\nonfrenchspacing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179 \PassOptionsToClass. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
\nonumber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 \PassOptionsToPackage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
\nopagebreak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 \pdfpageheight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
\normalfont . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 \pdfpagewidth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
\normalmarginpar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 \perp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
\normalsfcodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180 \phi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
\normalsize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 \Phi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
\not . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 \pi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
\notin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 \Pi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
\nu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 \pm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
\numberline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229 \pmod. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
\nwarrow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 \poptabs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
\o (ø) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217 \pounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
\O (Ø) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217 \Pr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
\obeycr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 \prec. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
\oddsidemargin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 31 \preceq . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
\odot. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 \prevdepth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
\oe (œ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217 \prime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
\OE (Œ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217 \printglossaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235, 236
\oint. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 \printindex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
\oldstylenums . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 \ProcessOptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
\omega . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 \ProcessOptions* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
\Omega . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 \prod. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
\ominus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 \propto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Index 264
N P
name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237 package file layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
name of document root . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253 package options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9, 11
NBSP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181 package, abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
nested \include, not allowed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222 package, adjustbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
new class commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 package, algorithm2e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
new command, check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 package, amscd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
new command, definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 package, amsfonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142, 154
new commands, defining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113, 115 package, amsmath . . . . . . 55, 56, 58, 62, 97, 142, 157,
new line, output as input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 159, 160, 162, 164, 167, 168, 182
new line, starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 package, amsthm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97, 218
new line, starting (paragraph mode). . . . . . . . . . . 102 package, answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
new page, starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 package, appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
newline, in \write . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247 package, array . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
noheader option for filecontents . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 package, Asymptote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79, 185, 190, 248
non-breaking hyphen character . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214 package, babel . . . . . . . . . . 41, 93, 215, 219, 226, 232
non-English characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217 package, beamer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
nonstopmode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251 package, bigfoot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
nosearch option for filecontents . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 package, bm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
notes in the margin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 package, caption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
notitlepage option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 package, cleveref . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50, 52, 110
null delimiter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157 package, cm-super . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
numbered items, specifying counter . . . . . . . . . . . 128 package, comprehensive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
numerals, old-style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 package, cprotect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98, 99
package, datatool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
package, datetime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
O package, dcolumn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
oblique font . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 package, enumitem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66, 71
oe ligature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217 package, envlab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
ogonek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216 package, etoolbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
old-style numerals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 package, eurosym . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
one-column output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 package, expl3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5, 211
onecolumn option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 package, fancyhdr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172, 174
oneside option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 package, fancyvrb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86, 98
open a file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243 package, flafter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
openany option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 package, float . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
openbib option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 package, fontspec . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
opening quote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212 package, geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
openright option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 package, graphpap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
OpenType fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 package, grfext . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
operating system information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249 package, hyperref . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110, 174, 228, 252
options, class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 package, indentfirst . . . . . . . . . . 40, 42, 43, 44, 140
options, color package . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195 package, index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
options, command line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250 package, latexsym . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
options, document class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 9 package, listings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86, 98, 99
options, global . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 package, lmodern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
options, graphics package . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199 package, macros2e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
options, package . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9, 11 package, makeidx . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
ordinals, feminine and masculine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214 package, mathtools . . . . . . . . 142, 156, 157, 164, 166
oslash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217 package, MetaPost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
OT1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 package, mfirstuc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
outer paragraph mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170 package, mhchem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
output directory for all external files . . . . . . . . . . 251 package, minted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86, 98, 99
overbar accent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215 package, multind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
overdot accent, math. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163 package, pict2e. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
overlining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163 package, polyglossia . . . . . . . . . . 215, 219, 226, 232
overview of LATEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 package, PSTricks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
overwrite option for filecontents . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 package, setspace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Index 274