# All Questions

18k views

### Biblatex/biber fails with a strange error about missing recode_data.xml file

I'm trying to use biblatex and when I compile my document I get an error like the following: Windows data source C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Temp\par-5061756c\ ...
9k views

### Why is LaTeX so complicated? [closed]

I have been using LaTeX professionally almost every day for almost 10 years, so I think I can say that, by now, I more or less know what I'm doing. I also do a lot of ordinary computer programming, in ...
41k views

### Totally sweet horizontal rules in LaTeX

I have been trying to find a way to easily drop a nice horizontal rule into a LaTeX document. \hline just makes a line across the page. It would seem that some package must provide something that is ...
30k views

### \pagebreak vs \newpage

What's the difference? I know that \pagebreak can take an optional argument that specifies how much a page break is desired, but is there any difference if the optional argument is not used?
18k views

### What is the most bizarre thing you have seen done with TeX

I think the questions says it all! :) By TeX, I mean any derivative of TeX as long as the code is clearly a derivative of TeX, i.e. that it could belong on TeX.SX (and not pure Lua for example). ...
7k views

### Consistent typography

When working with large documents, or even across multiple (smaller) documents, I often find that I forget which typographical consistencies I should stick to. With TeX being inherently consistent in ...
44k views

### Vertical space in lists

What is the best way to globally change the amount of vertical space between items in list environments?
9k views

### How productive are you with TikZ?

First, I must say I have very limited knowledge about PGF/TikZ. Most things I do are blind copy-pastes of examples I find on the Internet with lots of trial-and-error and googling around. After ...
36k views

### How to typeset $:=$ correctly?

I like to use $:=$ for "is defined to be equal to", but this is never typeset with the symmetry one would like, as the colon is always too low relatively to the equals sign. Is there any way of ...
37k views

### List of available TikZ libraries with a short introduction

Quick links: Summary ❧ Intersections library ❧ Arrow tips library ❧ Calc library ❧ Mindmap Library ❧ Shapes library ❧ Paper Folding Library ❧ Chains Library ❧ Shapes library Very often I ...
7k views

### Best practice on organising your preamble

I am putting together a large document and my preamble is unwieldly and disorganised. What order does it make sense to load packages. Obviously, hyperref goes last, apart from things that have to go ...
166k views

### How to create fixed width table columns with text raggedright/centered/raggedleft?

I would like to create a table with some columns' width specified, while the text in those columns should be centered both horizontally and vertically. I found out that \usepackage{array} ...
21k views

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

What is the difference between the \let and \def commands in TeX/LaTeX? Ideally please provide a simple example that will illustrate the difference between them.
132k views

### Omitting the date when using \maketitle

I'm using the \author and \title commands to produce a title with \maketitle. I also know that there is a \date command to specify the date of my work. However, if I omit \date, \maketitle will ...
9k views

### Is there an easy way to have my whole document with a space between paragraphs rather than indentation?

I would like to have my whole document showing a blank line (or space) between paragraphs and no indentation. I know how to do it line by line, but is there a way to change that with just one or a few ...
46k views

### Why should I use LaTeX?

I have heard a lot about LaTeX, but never used it myself. It is mainly used for typesetting professional research papers. But I am not writing research papers. Is LaTeX for me? If yes, why should I ...
39k views

### How can I add “page # of ##” on my document?

I want to add a footer to my document displaying the current number out of total number of pages. How do I do that?
24k views

### Should \tikzset or \tikzstyle be used to define TikZ styles?

The PGF/TikZ manual states in section 12.4 Using Graphic Options, page 120 (v2.10), that TikZ styles can be set using: \tikzset{my style/.style={<tikz options>},...} However, in several ...
11k views

### Simulating hand-drawn lines

I am working on a project that will have some vector graphics, perhaps using TikZ (or a similar package). All of the graphics consists of lines, in shades of gray. However, the lines from TikZ appear ...
6k views

### How to prolong compilation time while engaging in leisure activities?

I thought of that old joke today, where a programmer can make an undeniable excuse for his leisure activities while in work on the basis that he is just waiting for his code to compile. Although I ...
41k views

### Showcase of beautiful title page done in TeX

The book is mostly meets by the Title Page. Default TeX \maketitle are simple and minimalistic. I'm looking for examples of Title Pages: complex - have different formatting; beautiful and awesome; ...
27k views

### Manual/automatic line breaks and text alignment in TikZ nodes

How can I insert a line break in a TikZ node? Simply putting \\ where I want the break doesn't work (see MWE). Is there a way to make lines break automatically at some specified width? And can I ...
35k 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?
49k views

### Is it wrong to use \clearpage instead of \newpage?

The commands \newpage and \clearpage both force a page break. In addtion, the latter command also "flushes" all pending floats from the stack, i.e., forces them to be typeset starting on the page that ...
25k views

### What is XeTeX exactly and why should I use it?

I have been using LaTeX for five years now and have been using PDFLaTeX ever since. I find it hard to monitor the progress of LaTeX development. Recently there is a lot of talk about XeTeX. What is ...
171k views

### How do I change the enumerate list format to use letters instead of the default Arabic numerals?

I've seen documentation whereby an \alph command is put around the \begin{enumerate} somewhere, but I'm not entirely sure how that operates...
58k views

### Correctly scaling a tikzpicture

I was wondering which is the correct way to scale a tikzpicture. I tried with \begin{tikzpicture}[scale=0.50] but what I obtain is that distances between elements are scaled but not their sizes or ...
150k views

### eqnarray vs align

Motivation I want to include a list of related equations, say, for a proof, in my LaTeX document. As far as I know, I have two good options, eqnarray and align. Question What is the difference ...
20k views

### \includegraphics: Dots in filename

\includegraphics cannot handle filenames that contain more than the one dot, separating the filename from the extension. Apparently it uses everything after the first dot as extension and then, of ...
28k views

### Creating fillable PDFs

I'd like to create a LaTeX document that when rendered into PDF, has forms that can be filled out using Adobe Reader or other such programs. Then I'd like to be able to extract the data. I ...
7k views

### LaTeX packages for use with revision control

I use revision control (Subversion, to be exact) to keep track of the edits to my LaTeX documents. Is there a LaTeX package that interfaces with revision control? Specifically, it would be nice to see ...
48k views

### Continuous v. per-chapter/section numbering of figures, tables, and other document elements

Some document elements (e.g., figures in the book class) are numbered per chapter (figure 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, ...). How can I achieve continuous numbering (figure 1, 2, 3, ...)? And vice versa: Some ...
55k 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 ...
6k views

### How to draw a Sankey Diagram using TikZ

I would like to draw something similar to this (not exactly): using TikZ. Ideally I would be able to set the width by variables and rejoin two flows into one again. Is there a good way to do this? ...
11k views

### Choosing whether to include PDF or PNG in PDFLaTeX

Can I tell graphicx somehow which graphic format to choose when I omit the file extension in includegraphics and both a PDF and a PNG version of the same image exist? The reason is that I have some ...
48k views

### Forcing linebreaks in \url

I wish to typeset some relatively long URLs in a piece of text, and when I use \url{..}, the resulting text does not respect the margin boundaries that govern the main text body, instead going all the ...
16k views

### Which measurement units should one use in LaTeX?

There are various measurement units that one can use (such as pt, mm, in, em, ex etc.) for specifying lengths and heights. For font-based units (em and ex) the actual spacing will vary slightly ...
11k views

### Suppress “In:” biblatex

How do I suppress the "In: " before the journaltitle? Like so: In: Journal of Applied Physics
5k views

### Put entire thesis on one A0 poster?

The question Is there any way to automatically scale and put an entire document on an A0 page? The thesis for which this is to be done is available as LaTeX code, as well as PDF output. Of course I ...
29k views

### How do I ensure that figures appear in the section they're associated with?

Often floats may land quite a bit later in the document than the point they are created, sometimes after a section break. Is there a way to force a new section to start on a new page, after any ...
103k views

### When should we use \begin{center} instead of \centering?

After reading this question Should I use center or centering for figures?, I want to know the answer of the following. When should we use \begin{center} instead of \centering? For example, should we ...
28k 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?
22k views

### Latin Modern vs cm-super?

I've read various answers to questions on here that suggest the original Computer Modern fonts have been superceded. Sometimes it is suggested we use the cm-super package, sometimes that we instead ...
6k views

### Starting a PhD; Any guides to setting up a 'system'?

I'm starting a PhD and am being overwhelmed with the different possible ways people do things, and how they very rarely mix. I'm (obviously) sold on TeXing it, and have a ViM background I intend on ...
20k views

### Speeding up LaTeX compilation

Usually I don't mind about LaTeX's compilation speed, because a paper of less than 20 pages is compiled rather fast. However, I am working on a large document - A report with more than 80 pages. ...
39k views

### Regarding the book, report, and article document classes: what are the main differences?

What are the main differences between the book, report, and article document classes? I am interested in the following: visual differences in the final document; differences in the way the ...
27k views

### How can I design a book cover?

Can anyone share his or her experience on designing a book cover? I just finished writing my "Awk One-Liners Explained" e-book and now I am designing the cover. I tried \maketitle and the result was ...
53k views

### fontenc vs inputenc

I just don't seem to get it. So I come from the german speaking part of Switzerland and naturally I need ä ü ö a lot when I write german texts. So in LaTeX I have the option to go via "a "u "o which ...