# All Questions

861 views

### What is Metapost/Metafont and how can I get started using it?

Inspired by Why Metapost discrimination?, I'd like to come to know Metapost far better than I do now. All I really know is that Metapost is a language for describing graphics, and Metafont is used ...
31k views

### Good way to make \textcircled numbers?

I'm trying to make some good-looking numbers in a circle, using the simple command: \textcircled{1} However, the circle is misaligned vertically with the number, and look a bit sloppy: Any ...
24k views

### What is the difference between \def and \newcommand?

Inspired by a question about \let and \def, I have some that essentially all boil down to asking What are the differences between \def and \newcommand? In particular, I wonder Is it possible to ...
18k views

### How does one type Chinese in LaTeX?

Can anyone describe how one can type Chinese in LaTeX? When I compile this: \documentclass{article} \begin{document} 你好吗？ \end{document} the resulting document shows nothing. For reference my IME ...
2k views

### Workflow for managing references?

What is your workflow for managing references? How does this workflow scale? Do you use programs like zotero, mendeley, jabref? What are their pros and cons? Does it allow easy integration of ...
50k views

### How to convert PDF to (La)TeX?

I know that hardly any information is passed to the PDF when a .tex file is compiled. But is there a tool that can convert a PDF document back to (La)TeX?
8k views

### Define additional math operators to be typeset in roman

Mathematical operators, such as function names, should be set in roman type, not italics. Latex already has commands for some operators, including \max, \min, and \log. How can I define additional ...
15k views

### How to remove the warnings “Font shape OT1/cmss/m/n' in size <4> not available” and “Size substitutions with differences” in beamer?

LaTeX Font Warning: Font shape OT1/cmss/m/n' in size <4> not available LaTeX Font Warning: Size substitutions with differences I am using the files from ...
36k views

### What are the advantages of TeX Live over MiKTeX?

I have been using MiKTeX for a couple of years. I don't know whether it is "wise" to insist on using it. Could you give me a list of advantages of TeX Live over MiKTeX?
4k views

### How can I invert a 'clip' selection within TikZ?

I wish to draw an arc for a reflex angle on the outside of a triangle with coordinates (A), (B) and (C). If I wanted to draw the arc inside the triangle I could use something like \begin{scope} ...
2k views

### Drawbacks of xspace

I'm certain I have read that xspace can cause more problems than it solves. But I cannot find anything to that effect either on this site or the web. Are there any drawbacks or risks associated with ...
2k views

### What is the meaning of double pound symbol (##1) in an argument?

I've seen sometimes that people use a double pound sign (##) when defining/using arguments. What is the difference between the normal argument, #1, and the double sign one, ##1? Are there any ...
5k views

### Defining commands/abbreviations that contain numbers

14k views

### Cyrillic in (La)TeX

What are different ways to use Cyrillic in (La)TeX? What are their pros and cons?
13k views

### How to include graphics with spaces in their path?

I want to import graphics into my main input file using the macro \includegraphics. It does not work if the filename contains spaces. Include image with spaces in path directory to be processed with ...
3k views

### How to keep a constant baselineskip when using minipages (or \parboxes)?

When a minipage is used to box a text paragraph, the first line of the minipaged text and the last line of the previous text paragraph are closer than two consecutive lines in a standard text ...
14k views

### Two figures side by side [duplicate]

How can I put two figures side-by-side? Not two sub-figures, but two actual figures with separate "Fig.: bla bla" captions. A figure is supposed to spread over the entire text width, but I have two ...
587 views

### Writing a table with equally spaced columns, based on the widest column

Friends, I'm trying to generate a table in which I have all columns equally spaced (same width). In my case, the width for all columns would be the width of the widest column of the table: ...
71k views

### How to include SVG diagrams in LaTeX?

I'm making all my diagrams in SVG format using Inkscape and then I export them to some other format (e.g. PDF, EPS or PNG). I wrote a short script that does this for me automatically, but I'd like to ...
16k views

### Compile a LaTeX document into a PNG image that's as short as possible

I need to convert my LaTeX documents into PNG. The problem is, I also need the resulting image to be as short as possible (height-wise). I've tried latex followed by dvipng, but the result is always ...
5k views

### How to include a picture over two pages, left part on left side, right on right (for books)?

When writing a long book (from 300 to over a 1000 pages), there is often need to include large pictures and one wishes to have them displayed over two pages, left half on the left page, right half on ...
20k views

### Style/class tutorials

What are some good tutorials on writing custom styles (classes) that clearly explain commands used and some of the features that TeX has to offer in the way of styles?
8k views

### How to write (La)TeX (with parentheses) [or any other TeX-related logo]

I'm looking after a macro to write the (La)TeX logo (with parentheses), i.e. something similar to \TeX, \LaTeX, but where the output includes ()'s.
41k views

### utf8x vs. utf8 (inputenc)

I normally use \usepackage[utf8]{inputenc} for my latex document but on this site i saw a lot of code with \usepackage[utf8x]{inputenc}. What are the differences between the 2 options ? Is there one ...
5k views

### Extract x, y coordinate of an arbitrary point in TikZ

I need a macro to extract the x and y coordinates from an arbitrary point, like (3,4), or like (A), or like ([xshift=-2pt] A.north west), where A is the name of a node. I've seen the solution ...
11k views

### How to have local package override default package

I have an non-root account on a shared server which has an old version of a package available to all users, and I want to use a newer one on my account. I cannot just use \$TEXINPUTS, because latex ...
14k views

### TikZ: How to draw an arrow in the middle of the line?

Like this: .------<------. | | v ^ | | '------>------' I am currently using \begin{scope}[very thick,->] \draw (-4,1)--(-4,0)--(0.1,0); \draw ...
10k views

### Diagonal lines in table cell

I need this table: (each row and column should have the same height and length, last cell should be divided by diagonal line). I tried the following code: \documentclass[11pt]{article} ...
1k views

### Print programs with its proper syntax

I have defined my own language whose syntax is very close to the one of Pascal. I would like to type the following program for instance. Many people use the packages algorithmicx or algorithm2e to ...
10k views

### How to make \left, \right pairs of delimiter work over multiple lines?

I have a very long equation that must be separated into two lines, and it has several pairs of nesting \left \right delimiters. Unfortunately, it seems that they need to be on the same line in order ...
5k views

### \includegraphics PDF, color problem

I'm using pdflatex, and use \includegraphics to include content of figures from PDF. PDF are exported from InkScape. \begin{figure} [!h] \centering \includegraphics[height=3cm]{fig/SUSAN.pdf} ...
13k views

### How to make the PDFs produced by pdflatex smaller?

I feel that the PDFs produced by pdflatex are too huge. So for example my 50 page book with no illustrations is 500KB. I feel it should be more like 50K or even less. The .tex files together are just ...
115k views

### How can I get bold math symbols?

To make Latin-letter variables bold I can use e.g. \mathbf{a}, but while putting Greek letters or symbols such as \nabla inside \mathbf doesn't cause any errors or warnings, it also doesn't do ...
6k views

### Different command definitions with and without optional argument

I want to define a command that expands to two completely different things depending on whether I supply, or not, an optional argument. For example, \mycmd{normal} -> something(normal) ...
16k views

### Using BibTeX to make a list of references without having citations in the body of the document?

Is there any way to have BibTeX insert a bibliography without having citations in the body of the document itself? Maybe a way to hide the in-text citations, so that BibTeX still sees them and ...
17k views

### Why is the ifthen package obsolete?

In the LaTeX companion, the authors recommend to use the package ifthen for complex conditional. But in his answer to LaTeX conditional expression Will Robertson doesn't mention it, and in the ...
6k views

### Citing a range of papers (using numeric keys)?

Is there a way so that, when I cite a range of papers, the output is a range of numbers, instead of a list of numbers? In other words, when I type ... some dummy text here is due to me \cite{me1, ...
8k views

### What GUI applications are there to assist in generating graphics for TeX?

I found GeoGebra to be a useful tool to help generate code for graphs. I suppose there must be other tools to help draw diagrams such as Sets/Venn Diagrams or Electrical Circuits (Logic Gates). Which ...
5k views

### Cross-reference packages: which to use, which conflict?

Inspired by my earlier question Theorem packages: which to use, which conflict?, here is another similar question. There are many different packages for making cross references. Among them hyperref, ...
23k views

### Space after LaTeX commands

I have a definition \newcommand{\arnold}{Arnold Schwarzenegger} when I refer to it by \arnold is a it is rendered as Arnold Schwarzeneggeris a In order to have a space in front of "is" I ...
8k views

### Is there any way to get real-time compilation for LaTeX?

I would really love to have a software or tool which provided real time compilation of my LaTeX document (to be able to see the final pdf or dvi document as I type the latex code), especially for when ...
5k views

### How to avoid splitting tables between sections

I have 5 tables and a section after them. After creation of an output file I have two tables on one page, then a section and last 3 tables on next page. What I want to achieve is to put tables and ...
2k views

### Incompatibilities between KOMA-Script and titlesec

This is a complementary question to About memoir and titlesec incompatibility. The titlesec manual states (p. 2) that the package [...] works with the standard classes and with many others, ...
13k views

### Contest: Show Off Your Skillz in TeX & Friends [TeX.sx birthday]

Submission Deadline and Voting are over, thank you for participating! Results Academic Gonzalo Medina – 31 Andy – 19 cmhughes – 11 mbork – 6 Other Yiannis Lazarides – 38 szantaii – 20 Ant – ...
72k views

### How to write “ä” and other umlauts and accented letters in bibliography?

How to write in bibliography (package natbib) letter "a" with two dots above? Specially, I mean the word Birkhäuser. Is there a general rule or way how to write such umlauts or other accented letters ...
16k views

### What is the difference between TeX and LaTeX?

I know LaTeX and I've heard that LaTeX is a set of macros in TeX. But what does it exactly mean?
5k views

### Vertical and horizontal lines in pgf-tikz

It is easy to produce a path between two nodes consisting of a single horizontal and a single vertical line (from the manual): \begin{tikzpicture} \draw (0,0) node(a) [draw] {A} (1,1) node(b) ...
2k views

### The differences between TeX engines

I am confused about what TeX and its offspring (LaTeX, pdfTeX/pdfLaTeX, e-TeX, ConTeXt, LuaTeX, etc.) are. Some, like LaTeX, seem like add ons to TeX (maybe a change to the eyes and mouth, but not ...