Create two sets of caption labels

Question

I would like to create two sets of caption labels in latex, but research online has not yielded any satisfactory solution. I was wondering if anyone can provide help.

More specifically, I have many images to insert into a paper that need to be sorted. Some will be labeled normally (i.e. Figure 1, Figure 2, etc.). However, there is another set I would like to name sequentially in a different format (i.e. Plate 1, Plate 2, etc.). I am using \includegraphics in the float environment for inserting images. However, I am open to any adjustments.

Answer 1

If you're already using the float package, then it's easy to set up a new kind of float for your Plate images:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{float}
\usepackage[demo]{graphicx}
\usepackage{kantlipsum}% for dummy text
\newfloat{plate}{pb}{plt} % second argument should be {htbp} in your actual document
\floatname{plate}{Plate}
\begin{document}
\listoffigures
\listof{plate}{List of Plates}
\section{A section}
\kant[1-2]
\begin{figure}[bp]
  \centering
  \includegraphics[width=2in]{fig}
  \caption{A figure}
\end{figure}
\kant[2]
\begin{plate}
  \centering
  \includegraphics[width=3in]{plate}
  \caption{A plate}
\end{plate}
\kant[3]
\end{document}

If you also want to use the caption package to manage caption formatting, you can achieve the same result with the newfloat package, which is more compatible with caption. The code is almost the same:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{newfloat}
\usepackage[demo]{graphicx}
\usepackage{kantlipsum}% for dummy text
\DeclareFloatingEnvironment{plate}
\begin{document}
\listoffigures
\listofplates
\section{A section}
\kant[1-2]
\begin{figure}[bp]
  \centering
  \includegraphics[width=2in]{fig}
  \caption{A figure}
\end{figure}
\kant[2]
\begin{plate}
  \centering
  \includegraphics[width=3in]{plate}
  \caption{A plate}
\end{plate}
\kant[3]
\end{document}

Answer 2

Here's another variation using the caption package, borrowing from New figure environment

It creates a file \jobname.lop that stores a list of the plates.

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{caption}

\DeclareCaptionType[fileext=lop,placement={!ht}]{plate}

\begin{document}
\listofplates

\begin{plate}
    \centering
    \rule{0.75\textwidth}{0.5\textwidth}
    \caption{My plate caption}
    \label{plate:mylabel}
\end{plate}

\end{document}