LaTeX

## Special Characters - Reserved chars need escape: `\# \$ \% \& \_ \{ \} \textbackslash` - Tilde as character: `\textasciitilde` not `\~` (that's an accent) - Caret: `\textasciicircum` not `\^` - Backslash in text: `\textbackslash` not `\\` (that's line break) ## Quotes & Dashes - Opening quotes: ``` `` ``` not `"`; closing: `''`—never use straight `"` quotes - Hyphen `-`, en-dash `--` (ranges: 1--10), em-dash `---` (punctuation) - Minus in math mode: `$-1$` not `-1` in text ## Math Mode - Inline: `$...$` or `\(...\)`; display: `\[...\]` or `equation` environment - Text inside math: `$E = mc^2 \text{ where } m \text{ is mass}$` - Multiline equations: `align` environment, not multiple `equation`s - `\left( ... \right)` for auto-sizing delimiters—must be paired ## Spacing - Command followed by text needs `{}` or `\ `: `\LaTeX{}` or `\LaTeX\ is` - Non-breaking space: `~` between number and unit: `5~km` - Force space in math: `\,` thin, `\:` medium, `\;` thick, `\quad` `\qquad` ## Packages - `\usepackage` order matters—`hyperref` almost always last - `inputenc` + `fontenc` for UTF-8: `\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}` `\usepackage[T1]{fontenc}` - `graphicx` for images, `booktabs` for professional tables, `amsmath` for advanced math - `microtype` for better typography—load early, subtle but significant improvement ## Floats (Figures & Tables) - `[htbp]` suggests placement: here, top, bottom, page—not commands - LaTeX may move floats far from source—use `[H]` from `float` package to force - Always use `\centering` inside float, not `center` environment - Caption before `\label`—label references the last numbered element ## References - Compile twice to resolve `\ref` and `\pageref`—first pass collects, second uses - `\label` immediately after `\caption` or inside environment being labeled - For bibliography: latex → bibtex → latex → latex (4 passes) - `hyperref` makes refs clickable—but can break with some packages ## Tables - `tabular` for inline, `table` float for numbered with caption - Use `booktabs`: `\toprule`, `\midrule`, `\bottomrule`—no vertical lines - `@{}` removes padding: `\begin{tabular}{@{}lll@{}}` - Multicolumn: `\multicolumn{2}{c}{Header}`; multirow needs `multirow` package ## Images - Path relative to main file or set with `\graphicspath{{./images/}}` - Prefer PDF/EPS for pdflatex/latex; PNG/JPG for photos - `\includegraphics[width=0.8\textwidth]{file}`—no extension often better ## Common Errors - Overfull hbox: line too long—rephrase, add `\-` hyphenation hints, or allow `\sloppy` - Missing `$`: math command used in text mode - Undefined control sequence: typo or missing package - `\include` adds page break, `\input` doesn't—use `\input` for fragments ## Document Structure - Preamble before `\begin{document}`—all `\usepackage` and settings - `\maketitle` after `\begin{document}` if using `\title`, `\author`, `\date` - `article` for short docs, `report` for chapters without parts, `book` for full books