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First Steps in LaTeX

This document provides instructions for getting started with LaTeX on Windows. It recommends downloading MikTeX for the LaTeX code and WinEdt as the text editor. It also suggests getting a LaTeX book for reference and practicing by typing assignments and notes in LaTeX. Sample document templates available on the school's website are described, including for articles, theses, publications, presentations, and resumes. The document encourages learning LaTeX through hands-on practice and provides resources to get started.

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Naz R
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68 views

First Steps in LaTeX

This document provides instructions for getting started with LaTeX on Windows. It recommends downloading MikTeX for the LaTeX code and WinEdt as the text editor. It also suggests getting a LaTeX book for reference and practicing by typing assignments and notes in LaTeX. Sample document templates available on the school's website are described, including for articles, theses, publications, presentations, and resumes. The document encourages learning LaTeX through hands-on practice and provides resources to get started.

Uploaded by

Naz R
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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First Steps in LATEX

Chris St. Jean


August 18, 2006

Abstract

This document provides the reader with the steps to get started using LATEX on Windows.

Also included are details about sample documents/templates available on the CNL website.

1 Introduction
If your reading this document, you presumably have a desire to learn and use LATEX. Perhaps

this is for the unmatched typesetting of LATEX, the ease of use, or the fact that this open

source marvel is the preferred format in many industries. Let me thus congratulate you,

and—as a reader of scientific papers myself—let me thank you for wanting to present your

work in a high-quality fashion.

2 Getting Started
Getting started using LATEX is relatively simple.

Get MiKTEX You first need the LATEX code itself, the inner core which is used to compile

the documents you will write. There are several collections of LATEX code available,

but my favorite is MiKTEX found at www.miktex.org. Download the latest version

of MiKTEX and install it.

(Note: installing the entire collection of libraries requires upwards of 500 MB of space.

If space is not an issue, I recommend the full version, since it’s inconvenient to have to

grab packages you might need later on.)

1
Get WinEdtTM Next, you need an application within which to compose and compile

your documents.1 A preferred application ideally suited for this is WinEdt, found

at www.winedt.com.2 Unlike LATEX itself, WinEdt is shareware. You can use it for free

for 30 days, and after that time, a registration reminder screen will appear with annoy-

ingly high frequency. The cost of registration for a student is a mere $30. Download

the latest version of WinEdt and install it.

Get a Book Get yourself (perhaps at GMU’s library) a book on LATEX to have with you on

your introductory journey. (I used George Grätzer’s book Math into LATEX, but many

other books are available.) The alternative for this is finding a comprehensive guide on

Internet. Either way, my recommendation is, when you choose a reference, to stick with

it throughout the steep part of the learning curve. Shuttling amongst many references

might lead to confusion. To aid you, a list of LATEX commands is provided on CNL’s

site.

Get Going Learning LATEX is done by doing, and so you need to practice as much as you

can. Type your homework assignments in LATEX. Write down your research notes in

LATEX. Grab a mathematically-intensive Transactions article and try to reproduce it.

There are multitudinous tutorials to be found on Internet, so make good use of them.

You also can find sample documents for a variety of purposes on CNL’s site. (See

Section 3.)

Get More Advanced Throughout my own LATEX education, I’ve learned various lessons

that you might find helpful. I’ve compiled these tips in a separate document.

3 Sample Documents
This section will detail the sample LATEX documents that are available at cnl.gmu.edu.
1
Technically, you can compose your code in the sparest of text editors and compile the document on the command
line. (I’ve met folks who have written entire dissertations this way in NotePad.) But in the interests of clarity and
efficiency, a modern editor is the way to go.
2
This is not a typo: WinEdi t is a different and unrelated application.

2
3.1 General Articles

The file Generic Article.tex provides a self-contained article template. This template is

suitable for LATEX experimentation and internal technical articles. (Publication submissions

should be composed using one of the templates in Section 3.3.)

3.2 Theses and Dissertations

With Daniel Awduche providing the starting point I’ve put together the collection of files

that constitutes the official LATEX template for GMU theses and dissertations. GMU’s library

website posts the templates at the following address:

http://www.gmu.edu/library/specialcollections/dtsamplepages.htm

In addition,

3.3 IEEE/IEE Publications

3.4 Presentations

I highly recommend adapting your LATEX code for slide show presentation, since having to

resort to PowerPoint for equation-heavy presentations would be counterproductive. There are

several LATEX packages available for this purpose, but a good starting point is the “prosper”

class.3 It is easy to use, and

Two templates have been provided:

1. Prosper Generic Slides.zip contains all of the files necessary for the

2.

3.5 Resumé

There

3
Note that the prosper class is not included in the basic MiKTEX distribution. You need to either download
the full distribution or specifically download the prosper class files if you’ve only installed the basic distribution.
(This, of course, is one of the reasons to start with the full release of MiKTEX from the beginning.)

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