Learn to finish your dissertation with LaTeX

Learn to finish your dissertation with LaTeX

As a standard slag, despite a series of changes but eventually the use of LaTeX completed my graduation thesis. To ask my thoughts, I strongly recommend that you use Word to complete your paper if you are not ready for the steep learning curve and the psychological preparation of a variety of small details that strike people. To tell the truth, if you can take the time to learn LaTeX to see how Word implements "content and style separation", how to turn on Visio hidden "developer Features" and how to use it correctly, as well as the correct Excel data processing, will be able to make the same fine graduation thesis. In this respect, LaTeX, TikZ and so on are just the same knowledge in a mandatory way to help you accomplish similar science.

Without being persuaded by the above words, I will share the experience of writing my own thesis, hoping to help you to fill this steep learning curve as much as possible. First of all, this article is to complete a high-quality paper typesetting as a matter of priority. So I don't mind recommending the use of pirated software, nor will we teach you how to use TikZ (I have never used this kind of slag anyway).

Want to 0 basic study latex, my suggestion is that there are two items on the desktop, one is a high-quality graduation thesis LaTeX template, the other is lnotes; the computer is loaded with two things, a texlive 2013, and a LaTeX-specific editor such as Texmaker or Te Xstudio and so on.

Of course, since the emphasis is on the 0 basis, we need to explain the above paragraph. Why do you have a paper LaTeX template and lnotes on hand? Because I think the quickest way for beginners to get started with Latex is not to recite the instructions, but to learn how to write their own tiger on the premise of understanding latex templates. A high-quality graduation thesis LaTeX template, should have the following characteristics:

1. Ongoing maintenance. TeX is a product of TUG community-led development, which means that developers are constantly adding new content to it, but it's hard to get access to the latest developments in the TUG community if the old template is not maintained. Once you get started with the old template, the result is that your mind still stays in

* Want to use Chinese environment is Ctex
* When you want to use the Times font in addition to \USEPACKAGE{MATHPTMX} do not know there is a better alternative
* Want to insert the picture is also considering how to guide the picture. eps format

In these stale settings. While the template that lasts for maintenance keeps up with the times, you can learn from the beginning of TeX what features are relatively new, and avoid the tragedy of "clearly installing a word 2013 car with the Wheel of Word 2003" in LaTeX.

2. A set of brief instructions for getting started. A good Latex paper template in addition to providing the most basic template functionality, its chapters are attached with some simple latex hands-on instructions, such as how to add a table and add pictures. What's even better is that when you install Texlive, you can compile the template yourself and export the corresponding PDF file. If you can compile successfully, try to replace the text with the text you want, then try to replace the picture with the one you want, and finally try to edit the table into the form you want to use in your paper ... So your paper has been completed 70%, is not very painless to learn the way to get started?

3. The quality of the template itself is set in full compliance with the university's dissertation format requirements. There should be no formatting problems in accordance with their compiled dissertation documents. This is more convenient for some LaTeX learning atmosphere of high school students, for some from the template quality is poor even at present there is no template of the birth of college students, we can find a template for other universities and then first handwritten papers, and finally in accordance with the requirements of the university to modify the template. Because it is more difficult for the novice to change the template than to change the content, it is advisable to start from the editing of the content of LaTeX grammar, from easy to difficult ~

Next say Lnotes, Lnotes full name is LaTeX notes. At the outset, I did not teach the premise of a few of my own LaTeX primer tutorial, and finally often put in the hand is the book. Li Aling also mentioned in previous articles (addressed to those who are rushing to graduate-all about Texnique-to the column), so the individual feels that the book is well-considered. The structure of the book is more reasonable, the content is more practical, writing papers in the content of the basic common problems in the books are mostly answered. Although part of the content is already a bit outdated, but at present I have not seen a better alternative.

Because the template has already defined the basic all the style, the content common question also concentrates on how the formula writes, the picture how to arrange, the table how to deal with these several kind of.

A very bad trend for the formula is that he was happy to tell me that the other software was friendly to the latex formula, such as the latex formula code that was automatically generated by the copy and paste MathType. I would like to say that this is really bad, basically not pure science-based students, all the formula elements appear in the paper to write down to really do not have much time. Even if do not want to remember, the upper corner marked with "^", the lower corner is marked with "_", the score with "\frac", the radical root with "\sqrt" these in lnotes can find, more use several times also on the back down. I'm not saying that the LaTeX formula code generated by MathType is not available, but the generated code is always very redundant and is said to fall out of the hole. In short, since has decided to learn LaTeX, is this small problem also rely on software automatic generation to help you solve it?

Pictures of the basic use of "\includegraphics" command is enough, the rest of the two cases, one is graphics, two is a picture. These two are very easy to distinguish, the former is that you use MATLAB, Visio or Mathematica software generated by the curve or production, they are in vector format, so you can not distort the premise of arbitrary scaling. Their file formats include. Fig,. eps,. VSD,. pdf,. wmf, and so on, while the latter are photographed with a camera, they are pixel-based bitmaps and cannot be scaled without distortion. Their file formats include. bmp,. png,. jpg, and so on. For the latter is not said, because it is a commonplace topic, if you need to modify the use of Photoshop, online content is also relatively full. It is worth mentioning that if the graphic is on a computer, it can be saved as a. png format, and if the camera is photographed, it can be saved in. jpg format. The file name is preferably in English, so as to avoid LaTeX error, for the former, I suggest you use all the time to convert to. pdf format. While editing, the graphics editing software for vector format mainly includes AI (Adobe illstrator), CorelDRAW, Inkscape, Visio and so on. AI and CorelDRAW can open. pdf files directly, but Visio cannot open the. pdf directly. As you do common and most familiar with the graphics editing software you want to use Visio is not an alternative, as long as in MATLAB and Mathematica these software will generate vector graphics stored in the. wmf format, Visio can open. For other vector graphics editing software Tutorials A lot, we can pick the right use. As I said, there's no problem with pirated software.

The use of the form, in the lnotes has been introduced in more detail, here will not repeat. At the end of the day, the above three items, together with the text, constitute all the contents of the body of a paper. Considerations for formulas recommended that you read the Chen Hao teacher wrote "Obsessive-compulsive play LaTeX" (Obsessive-compulsive disorder latex-all about texnique-informed column); graphics (not pictures) processing is a big hole, you may wish to see how to draw beautiful illustrations in the paper? (How do you draw beautiful illustrations in your paper?) ）。 In this question personally agree with the answer of the FU-not superstitious tools, the most commonly used tools to learn is enough. Incidentally, the GIF animation link used in Loeffler's answer is posted here (http/i.imgur.com/wntrm6p.gif ）。

At the end of the cross-reference, LaTeX is a big feature of the emphasis on content and format separation, so whether it is the insertion of formulas or pictures, tables, it must be emphasized when you are in the text named Figure x.x or formula (Y.Y), do not go to the number of numbers or use "such as/ As shown, instead of using tags (for reasons: For those who are rushing to graduate-all about Texnique-the column). So when we need to increase or decrease the image or formula in the paper, the figure x.x or formula (Y.Y) that has been named in the text will be automatically recalculated, and it does not need to be manually re-adjusted all over again. Similarly, references are also used in BibTeX in the form of cross-references. I believe that everyone will applaud after the attempt, so there is no need to stress what we have to keep good habits is XD

The above describes the paper template, as well as lnotes, the following talk about Texlive and editor.

A lot of beginners ask is "If you don't have MacTeX on your Mac, can you use Texmaker or Texstudio directly?" Thank you! (If you don't have MacTeX on your Mac, can you use Texmaker or Texstudio directly?) Thank you! ) is similar to this problem. Since I am facing 0 basic readers, I hope I can explain this in a few words: Texmaker and Texstudio are actually just notebooks optimized for LaTeX instructions. In addition to the user interface for some of the commonly used latex instructions have shortcut buttons and a dedicated to the Latex debug interface, other features are not much better than Notepad function. Really helps you to finally compile the LaTeX source code in the text file into a. pdf document, which is texlive. As for the texlive, I don't think we need to know for a moment that you will understand yourself in the course of use (a bad smile on your face).

The editor has just said it, and it's a reinforced version of Notepad. So for many computer veterans, even the use of Vim can write LaTeX code, but for beginners, a powerful and easy-to-use editor can save you a lot of energy, such as do not need to look up a formula Greek characters or a line of text bold and now go to the book, do not waste in the configuration LaTeX to the editor. Texlive comes with the texworks I personally think that functionality and ease of use are not doing so well (of course it doesn't prevent Li Aling from sticking with it). I personally feel that Texstudio is the best usability, but Texstudio has a problem with word wrap support for Chinese (Li Aling in the previous article (the editor is a pit, you must not jump in-all about Texnique-in the column). So I usually use the texmaker. Of course, if you have a certain computer application base and your preferred universal editor such as Vim, you can also configure the Universal editor to support the LaTeX file compilation. I used to use EmEditor as the LaTeX editor.

The compiled PDF document can be viewed by software such as Adobe Reader, but I don't know if it's not set up, and I just open the compiled document with Adobe Reader on my computer and then compile it--because it doesn't turn on auto-refresh. Another PDF reader at this point Sumatra PDF is doing very well, and the reverse search function of the Sumatra PDF is also very good. Current Sumatra PDF The only problem I find is that the rendering of the Type 1 font is not very good (May 13, 14 update Note: The latest version of Sumatra 2.5+ has been corrected for this rendering problem, you can rest assured that).

Finally said to modify the template and printing bookbinding, in fact, the modification of the template is mainly focused on the following: line spacing, various text and title of the font size, font, original statement and the specific content of the use of these (cover without modification, this in the last paragraph has a description); Reference formats for references all universities basically follow GB_T7714-2005 National Standard So there is nothing to change.

Before printing, you can use a virtual printer on your own computer to print a good PDF document in black and white, to determine whether the article may appear in the color map due to black and white printing caused an unrecognized problem, especially to note that if you use gray fill in some diagrams, gray must not be too heavy, Doing so will result in black text on the fill pattern being less readable. If the paper is related to the finite element graphics and cloud images, etc. must be color-printed places, you can advance the page number, in the print shop let staff separate those pages out to color printing. Color printing when the need to remember to ask for colour laser printing, if the store said there is no color shock-you will change a print shop.

As for the binding need to note that the cover people do not have to do their own, let the print shop people help you do just fine. Because each person's paper length is different, also causes the final binding out the finished product thickness is different. The print shop staff can only determine the position of the spine after measuring the thickness of your paper with a ruler.

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Learn to finish your dissertation with LaTeX