This introduction to \(\LaTeX\) was presented to the Austin Student Chapter of the Acoustical Society of America as a two-part workshop, the first on September 27th, and the second on October 4th, 2024.
This page walks the new \(\TeX\) user through
Windows users should open TeXworks, while Mac users should open TeXShop. Copy and paste the following code into the editor and run.
\documentclass[12pt]{article}
\title{My document}
\author{Your Name}
\begin{document}
\maketitle
\section{This is the first section}
\section{This is the second section}
\end{document}
The preamble is the space after \documentclass and before \begin{document}.
\usepackage{amsmath} %a widely used math package
\usepackage{hyperref} %for hyperlinks
\usepackage{enumitem} %for (a) (b) (c) enumeration
\usepackage{fullpage} %sets the margins to 1 inch. Turn off for the more restrictive TeX default
For better looking links, try using
\usepackage{hyperref}
\hypersetup{
colorlinks=true,
linkcolor=blue!65!black,
linkcolor=blue!65!black,
filecolor=blue!65!black,
urlcolor=blue!65!black,
citecolor=blue!65!black
}
\urlstyle{same}
Start typing! For in-line math, enclose the math with either $math goes here$ or \(math goes here\).
For displayed (not numbered) math, enclose the math with either $$math goes here$$ or \[math goes here\].
For numbered equations, use
\begin{equation}
math goes here
\end{equation}
\begin{equation*}
math goes here
\end{equation*}
For aligned equations, use
\begin{align}
math &= goes here\\
math goes &= here
\end{align}
Include the following commands in your preamble. \renewcommand is used to redefine a pre-existing command.
\renewcommand{\vec}[1]{\mathbf{#1}} %Dr. Hamilton likes vectors denoted this way (boldface upright)
\newcommand{\gradient}{\boldsymbol{\nabla}}
\newcommand{\divergence}{\boldsymbol{\nabla}\cdot}
\newcommand{\curl}{\boldsymbol{\nabla}\times}
\newcommand{\Laplacian}{\nabla^2}
Here are some good alternatives to the default LaTeX font, Computer Modern:
\usepackage{newtx}\usepackage{kpfonts}\usepackage{libertine}For more fonts (in particular, those with complementary math support), see https://tug.org/FontCatalogue/mathfonts.html.
For a very good \(\LaTeX\) editor, I recommend TeXstudio. Other options are Sublime Text, VSCode, etc.
For graphics, including the following package in your preamble:
\usepackage{graphicx}
Now create a folder in your directory called fig, and save this image to that folder. Then copy and paste the code below in your script:
\begin{figure}
\centering\includegraphics[width=0.5\linewidth]{fig/ashby}
\caption{Parameter space of acoustic metamaterials, where the density \(\rho\) is the horizontal axis and the compressibility \(\beta\) is the vertical axis. A similar parameter space could be drawn for electromagnetics (for which \(\rho\) and \(\beta\) would be replaced by \(\epsilon\) and \(\mu\)).} \label{fig:ashby}
\end{figure}
Here's an example of a table.
\begin{table}
\centering\small
\begin{tabular}{ c | c c c c}
$\ell$ & $\chi_n$ & $\chi_n^{1/2}$ & $\Delta_n = \chi^{1/2}_{n+1}-\chi^{1/2}_n$ & $\Delta_{n+1}-\Delta_{n}$\\\hline
1& 0.3564 & 0.5970 & 0.3500& $-0.0250$\\
2& 0.8966 & 0.9469 & 0.3250 & $-0.0045$\\
3& 1.6177 & 1.2719 & 0.3205 & 0.0033\\
4& 2.5357 & 1.5924 & 0.3238 & 0.0058\\
5& 3.6718 & 1.9162 & 0.3296 & 0.0056\\
6& 5.0436 & 2.2458 & 0.3352 & 0.0044\\
7& 6.6614 & 2.5810 & 0.3395 & 0.0032\\
8& 8.5294 & 2.9205 & 0.3428 & 0.0023\\
9& 10.6489 & 3.2633& 0.3450 & 0.0016\\
10& 13.0196 & 3.6083 & 0.3466 & 0.0012\\
11& 15.6413 & 3.9549 & 0.3479 & 0.0009\\
12& 18.5138 & 4.3028 & 0.3488 & 0.0007\\
13& 21.6368 & 4.6515 & 0.3495 & 0.0006\\
14& 25.0102 & 5.0010 & 0.3500 & 0.0005\\
15& 28.6339 & 5.3511 & 0.3505 & 0.0004\\
16& 32.5078 & 5.7016 & 0.3509 & 0.0003\\
17& 36.6319 & 6.0524 & 0.3512 & 0.0002\\
18& 41.0062 & 6.4036 & 0.3514 & 0.0002\\
19& 45.6305 & 6.7550 & 0.3517 & 0.0002\\
20& 50.5050 & 7.1067 & 0.3518 & 0.0002\\
21& 55.6295 & 7.4585 & 0.3520 & 0.0001\\
22& 61.0041 & 7.8105 & 0.3521 & 0.0001\\
23& 66.6288 & 8.1626 & 0.3523 & \\
24& 72.5035 & 8.5149 & & \\\hline
50& 313.0008 & 17.6918 & 0.3533 & 0.0000 \\
51& 325.6258 & 18.0451 & 0.3533 & 0.0000 \\
52& 338.5007 & 18.3984 & 0.3533 & 0.0000 \\
53& 351.6257 & 18.7517 & 0.3533 & 0.0000 \\
54& 365.0007 & 19.1050 & 0.3533 & 0.0000 \\
55& 378.6257 & 19.4583 & 0.3533 & 0.0000 \\
56& 392.5006 & 19.8116 & 0.3533 & 0.0000 \\
57& 406.6256 & 20.1650 & 0.3533 &\\
58& 421.0006 & 20.5183 & & \\\hline
70& 613.0004 & 24.7588 & 0.3534 & 0.0000 \\
71& 630.6254 & 25.1123 & 0.3534 & 0.0000 \\
72& 648.5004 & 25.4657 & 0.3534 & 0.0000 \\
73& 666.6254 & 25.8191 & 0.3534 & \\
74& 685.0004 & 26.1725 & &\\
\end{tabular}
\caption{Tabulated values of the maximum of an equation for various values of $\ell$ ranging from \(1\) to \(74\). The fourth column shows how the difference $\Delta_n$ between subsequent values of $\chi_n^{1/2}$ generally grows as the orbital number increases, and the fifth column shows how the difference of the differences vanish as the orbital number decreases.}\label{table:parax:roots2}
\end{table}
Include the following package in your preamble:
\usepackage{tkz-euclide}
Copy and paste the following code into your script:
\begin{figure}
\begin{center}
\tikzset{every picture/.style={line width=0.75pt}} %set default line width to 0.75pt
\begin{tikzpicture}[x=0.75pt,y=0.75pt,yscale=-1,xscale=1]
%uncomment if require: \path (0,99); %set diagram left start at 0, and has height of 99
%Straight Lines [id:da3686952917845694]
\draw [color={rgb, 255:red, 155; green, 155; blue, 155 } ,draw opacity=1 ] [dash pattern={on 0.84pt off 2.51pt}] (231.47,20.4) -- (231.47,94.4) ;
%Straight Lines [id:da46454354486104354]
\draw [color={rgb, 255:red, 155; green, 155; blue, 155 } ,draw opacity=1 ] [dash pattern={on 0.84pt off 2.51pt}] (257.47,19.42) -- (257.47,93.42) ;
%Straight Lines [id:da7610428286780471]
\draw [color={rgb, 255:red, 155; green, 155; blue, 155 } ,draw opacity=1 ] [dash pattern={on 0.84pt off 2.51pt}] (206.47,45.4) -- (281.47,45.4) ;
%Straight Lines [id:da7271209617220877]
\draw [color={rgb, 255:red, 155; green, 155; blue, 155 } ,draw opacity=1 ] [dash pattern={on 0.84pt off 2.51pt}] (206.47,71.4) -- (281.47,71.4) ;
%Straight Lines [id:da9458279316034213]
\draw [color={rgb, 255:red, 155; green, 155; blue, 155 } ,draw opacity=1 ] [dash pattern={on 0.84pt off 2.51pt}] (386.47,71.4) -- (461.47,71.4) ;
%Straight Lines [id:da42476886331581865]
\draw [color={rgb, 255:red, 155; green, 155; blue, 155 } ,draw opacity=1 ] [dash pattern={on 0.84pt off 2.51pt}] (386.47,45.4) -- (461.47,45.4) ;
%Straight Lines [id:da3084567265781819]
\draw [color={rgb, 255:red, 155; green, 155; blue, 155 } ,draw opacity=1 ] [dash pattern={on 0.84pt off 2.51pt}] (411.47,20.4) -- (411.47,94.4) ;
%Straight Lines [id:da36884859012724514]
\draw [color={rgb, 255:red, 155; green, 155; blue, 155 } ,draw opacity=1 ] [dash pattern={on 0.84pt off 2.51pt}] (437.47,20.4) -- (437.47,94.42) ;
%Shape: Rectangle [id:dp45286711431417515]
\draw (205.43,18.29) -- (282.43,18.29) -- (282.43,95.29) -- (205.43,95.29) -- cycle ;
%Straight Lines [id:da7039561565934498]
\draw [color={rgb, 255:red, 208; green, 2; blue, 27 } ,draw opacity=1 ][fill={rgb, 255:red, 155; green, 155; blue, 155 } ,fill opacity=1 ] (205.43,18.29) -- (282.43,95.29) ;
%Shape: Rectangle [id:dp9609288434207952]
\draw (385.43,18.29) -- (462.43,18.29) -- (462.43,95.29) -- (385.43,95.29) -- cycle ;
%Straight Lines [id:da16981815210379358]
\draw [color={rgb, 255:red, 208; green, 2; blue, 27 } ,draw opacity=1 ][fill={rgb, 255:red, 155; green, 155; blue, 155 } ,fill opacity=1 ] (385.43,18.29) -- (462.43,95.29) ;
%Straight Lines [id:da18376883328551608]
\draw (303.47,65.4) -- (364.47,65.4) ;
\draw [shift={(366.47,65.4)}, rotate = 180] [color={rgb, 255:red, 0; green, 0; blue, 0 } ][line width=0.75] (10.93,-3.29) .. controls (6.95,-1.4) and (3.31,-0.3) .. (0,0) .. controls (3.31,0.3) and (6.95,1.4) .. (10.93,3.29) ;
% Text Node
\draw (247.85,32.16) node [anchor=north west][inner sep=0.75pt] [font=\small,color={rgb, 255:red, 208; green, 2; blue, 27 } ,opacity=1 ,rotate=-45] {$i=j$};
% Text Node
\draw (212,27.88) node [anchor=north west][inner sep=0.75pt] [font=\scriptsize] {$\textcolor[rgb]{0.61,0.61,0.61}{11}$};
% Text Node
\draw (238,27.4) node [anchor=north west][inner sep=0.75pt] [font=\scriptsize] {$\textcolor[rgb]{0.61,0.61,0.61}{12}$};
% Text Node
\draw (263,27.4) node [anchor=north west][inner sep=0.75pt] [font=\scriptsize] {$\textcolor[rgb]{0.61,0.61,0.61}{13}$};
% Text Node
\draw (213,53.88) node [anchor=north west][inner sep=0.75pt] [font=\scriptsize] {$\textcolor[rgb]{0.61,0.61,0.61}{21}$};
% Text Node
\draw (239,53.4) node [anchor=north west][inner sep=0.75pt] [font=\scriptsize] {$\textcolor[rgb]{0.61,0.61,0.61}{22}$};
% Text Node
\draw (264,53.4) node [anchor=north west][inner sep=0.75pt] [font=\scriptsize] {$\textcolor[rgb]{0.61,0.61,0.61}{23}$};
% Text Node
\draw (213,78.82) node [anchor=north west][inner sep=0.75pt] [font=\scriptsize] {$\textcolor[rgb]{0.61,0.61,0.61}{31}$};
% Text Node
\draw (239,78.33) node [anchor=north west][inner sep=0.75pt] [font=\scriptsize] {$\textcolor[rgb]{0.61,0.61,0.61}{32}$};
% Text Node
\draw (264,78.33) node [anchor=north west][inner sep=0.75pt] [font=\scriptsize] {$\textcolor[rgb]{0.61,0.61,0.61}{33}$};
% Text Node
\draw (301,44.48) node [anchor=north west][inner sep=0.75pt] [align=left] {{\scriptsize Transposition}};
% Text Node
\draw (427.85,32.16) node [anchor=north west][inner sep=0.75pt] [color={rgb, 255:red, 208; green, 2; blue, 27 } ,opacity=1 ,rotate=-45] {$i=j$};
% Text Node
\draw (393,28.88) node [anchor=north west][inner sep=0.75pt] [font=\scriptsize] {$\textcolor[rgb]{0.61,0.61,0.61}{11}$};
% Text Node
\draw (419,28.4) node [anchor=north west][inner sep=0.75pt] [font=\scriptsize] {$\textcolor[rgb]{0.61,0.61,0.61}{21}$};
% Text Node
\draw (445,28.4) node [anchor=north west][inner sep=0.75pt] [font=\scriptsize] {$\textcolor[rgb]{0.61,0.61,0.61}{31}$};
% Text Node
\draw (393,53.88) node [anchor=north west][inner sep=0.75pt] [font=\scriptsize] {$\textcolor[rgb]{0.61,0.61,0.61}{12}$};
% Text Node
\draw (419,54.4) node [anchor=north west][inner sep=0.75pt] [font=\scriptsize] {$\textcolor[rgb]{0.61,0.61,0.61}{22}$};
% Text Node
\draw (445,54.4) node [anchor=north west][inner sep=0.75pt] [font=\small] {$\textcolor[rgb]{0.61,0.61,0.61}{32}$};
% Text Node
\draw (393,78.82) node [anchor=north west][inner sep=0.75pt] [font=\scriptsize] {$\textcolor[rgb]{0.61,0.61,0.61}{13}$};
% Text Node
\draw (419,78.33) node [anchor=north west][inner sep=0.75pt] [font=\scriptsize] {$\textcolor[rgb]{0.61,0.61,0.61}{23}$};
% Text Node
\draw (445,78.33) node [anchor=north west][inner sep=0.75pt] [font=\scriptsize] {$\textcolor[rgb]{0.61,0.61,0.61}{33}$};
% Text Node
\draw (236.47,-1.12) node [anchor=north west][inner sep=0.75pt] [font=\small] {$a_{ij}$};
% Text Node
\draw (418.47,-1.6) node [anchor=north west][inner sep=0.75pt] [font=\small] {$a_{ji}$};
\end{tikzpicture}
\end{center}
\caption{The transposition of a rank-2 tensor is often conceptualized as exchanging the elements of its matrix representation about the line along which \(i=j\), shown in red.\label{fig:math:trans:2}}
\end{figure}
I did not type all of this code! To make graphics, go to https://www.mathcha.io/ > open editor > sign in.
(Does anyone know if this can be done in Inkscape?)
This is a vast topic, and there are several options. I prefer biblatex, but bibtex is more commonly used (by JASA, and in the UT dissertation template, for example).
Include the following code in your preamble:
\usepackage[
backend=biber,
style=phys,
sorting=none,
]{biblatex}
\addbibresource{refs.bib}%path to bib file
Change the backend from BibTeX to biber. For example, in TeXstudio, navigate to Options > Configure TeXstudio > Build > Default Bibliography Tool > Biber.
Now download refs.bib file and type \cite{gokani2024paraxial} in your script.
Name your bib entries wisely! I recommend the default output of Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/
Read Overleaf documentation for more information about bibliographies.
Save the following MATLAB code in a subfolder of your directory (you can call it code, for example). Save in that folder the MATLAB figure formatting file fig_pres.m.
Then paste and save the following MATLAB code to your code folder (or download here):
x = linspace(0,1);
plot(x,x.^2,'color','b');
set(gcf,'Position',[0 25 400 200]) %first number = left-right position
%second number= up-down position
%third number = figure width
%fourth number= figure height
fig_pres
f = gcf;
exportgraphics(f,'../fig/test.pdf','ContentType','vector', 'BackgroundColor','none')
test.pdf has been saved in your fig folder. You can now use insert test.pdf into your LaTeX script by using \includegraphics[width=0.3\linewidth]{fig/test}
You can "decorate" the figure in Mathcha with labels, legends, etc.
Include
\usepackage{halloweenmath}
in the preamble and try typing \mathbat in math mode in your script.