StoryboardeLearning essentials gate 3

An introduction to LATEX

D J Goossens

August 8, 2019

High-level plan – contentWhat is LATEX and what can it do?Why would you use it?Why would you not use it?Where can you get it and how can you install it?Yes, but how do I actually create a document?

Yes, but how do I make a document?LATEX onlineOverleafDocument creation in Overleaf

Skip some sections

Main topics

I find I must begin a storyboard with some content. I have to tellmyself what I’m going to cover before I can think about what itwill look like. The first part of this document therefore consists ofa (rough) summary of the content. Explanatory notes (like thisone) are in this colour.

I What is LATEX and what can it do?

I Why would you use it?

I Why would you not use it?

I Where can you get it and how can you install it?

I Yes, but how do I make a document?

What isLATEX?

It is a:

I document creation system, a bit like a word processor

I document layout program, but there are many interfaces to itI way to write paper or PDF dopcuments, like

I articlesI thesesI reportsI presentationsI lecturesI booksI any other kind of document

I great way to write mathematics, and remains very popular inSTEM subjects

I open source, community driven project

What isLATEX?LATEX files are plain text files (left). The LATEX program reads themin, formats them according to rules stored in a class file, and putsout a formatted document (right). If you are familiar with suchthings, it’s a bit like HTML+CSS.

Some familiarity with the underlying text is useful, but there aregraphical editors so you don’t have to know lots of ‘code’.

What can it do?

It can:

I format your document for youI automatically manage your

I citationsI figure numbersI table numbersI cross-referencesI index entriesI glossary entriesI document layout

I output to PDF, PostScript, HTML and some other formats

I be used on any computer system, Windows, Mac, Androidand elsewhere

I be obtained for free

I be used on the web (like Google Docs)

Why would you use it?You might use it if you:

I need to present a lot of mathematicsI need to wrangle a lot of referencesI are going to produce the document as PDF or paperI like automatic renumbering of figures, tables, citations and

cross-references when you edit the documentI like the idea of separating form from function, so you can

reformat the whole document with a few small changes in oneplace

I don’t like Microsoft WordI like free stuffI are comfortable editing plain text files and don’t feel the need

to do everything through a GUII are writing for a journal or organisation that prefers LATEX

manuscriptsI have a philosophical preference for open source, community

driven projects.

Why would you not use it?

You might want to avoid it if you:

I don’t work with mathematics or technical material

I don’t need to wrangle a lot of references

I are going to produce the document as HTML (as a website)

I don’t care about automatic renumbering of figures, tables,citations and cross-references when you edit the document

I really like Microsoft Word

I prefer GUIs (though you can get LATEX with a GUI)

I already have strong established workflows that use other tools,like Word (and Track Changes), PerfectIt and so on

I are writing for a journal or organisation that prefers Word orRTF (and similar) manuscripts

I have a preference for products you can purchase from a big,established supplier.

Where can you get it and how can you install it?

You can use LATEX in 2 ways – installed on your computer and inthe cloud. To install:

1. Go to https://www.ctan.org/starter

2. Choose Windows (proTEXt or MiKTEX), Mac (MacTEX,MiKTEX) or Linux (TEXLive, MiKTEX)

3. Follow the instructions, like with any other software package

4. Go.

To use online:

1. Go to https://www.authorea.com/ orhttps://www.overleaf.com

2. Create an account

3. Go.

Yes, but how do I actually create a document?

Each of the sections above might have been expanded,storyboarded etc. I am choosing this section to expand as astoryboard.

Note that the notional audience is a university student (or evenacademic), likely a fairly senior one, who is looking to write apaper, report or thesis. This is not material for the general public.

Yes, but how do I make a document?

We’ll go through these steps:

1. Create an Overleaf account

2. Create a document

3. Add content of various kinds to show the process; theseinclude

I text (including symbols)I sectionsI equations and formulasI citations and cross-referencesI figures and tables

4. Produce the document to various formats

5. Customise the document in simple ways

LATEX in the cloud

Note usual benefits of cloud:

I access from anywhere that’s on the ’net

I collaboration

I cross-platform (runs in browser)

I should be well backed-up

I portal works as the hub of a community of users

I buttressed approach to the topic (site hosts tutorials,templates etc)

I up-to-date software.

Note usual disbenefits of cloud:

I relies on connectivity

I your data is on someone else’s computer

I service requires a fee for advanced capabilities.

Overleaf

Creating an Overleaf account. Here we’ll capture a narrated screensession of the main ways of opening an Overleaf account.

We’ll end with a blank document, ready to enter some content.

Document creation in Overleaf

The best way to do this would be for the user to open their ownaccount, and have the e-learning open in one window and theirOverleaf account open in another.

We’ll have a series of screens that show the inputs and theexpected outputs, and the user can try cutting and pasting ortyping in the inputs and seeing that they get the same outputs.

The Overleaf screen

First, outline the interface. Screen movie, showing clicking around,typing, menus, upload/download, etc.

Interactive examples

Here we have a series of examples of LATEX instructions on the leftand the resulting output on the right. The user can try these outin their own Overleaf session.

Entering and formatting text

Entering text – emphasis, bold, changing fonts and so on.

Entering and formatting mathematics

Entering maths.

Fi =i∑

j=k

x2j − sin

(θ

2

)

Entering and formatting section titles, including ToCs

snippet to try plus expected output

Entering and formatting images

snippet to try plus expected output

Entering and formatting tables

snippet to try plus expected output

Entering and formatting citations

snippet to try plus expected output

Entering and formatting bullets and numbered lists

snippet to try plus expected output

Customising the layout

snippet to try plus expected output

Creating your own commands

snippet to try plus expected output

The aim of this resource is to tell people who might benefit fromLATEX what it is and what it can do, and to give them a sense ofhow it works. By the end, we want them to be able to judgewhether it can help them complete their project. So, we will nothave an assessment component, but we will include a 5-minutesurvey on the resource itself – perhaps using SurveyMonkey, I don’tknow – to halp find out whether the resource is meeting its goal.