LaTeX Basics#
LaTeX using Overleaf#
Create documents via a cloud-based account
Source code or rich text format
Collaborating and sharing documents
Versioning and track changes
Templates for a variety of documents and publishers
Link with other tools in your research workflow
Pro account with your berkeley.edu address
Example#
Look at the template below to get a sense of how Overleaf works. On the left side, you’ll see the content written in LaTeX. On the right side, the rendered document.
Structure of a document#
Term |
Description |
Example |
---|---|---|
Command |
Control sequence which performs an action |
|
Preamble |
Block of commands that define the type of document you are writing, the language you are writing in, the packages you would like to use. Comes before \begin{document} |
|
Package |
Enable you to create bibliographies, insert images and figures, and write formulas. |
|
Environment |
Block of code with specific behavior depending on its type |
|
Body |
Content of document enclosed inside an environment |
|
Note
Comments: Use % to create a comment. Nothing on the line after the % will be typeset.
Restricted Characters: Certain symbols require a backslash to appear, like $, &, #, and %.
Basic Commands#
Bold:
\textbf{example}
Italics:
\textit{example}
Underline:
\underline{example}
Font typefaces: Change in preamble. More information: https://v2.overleaf.com/learn/Font_typefaces
Make Title#
The simplest option for making a title is to use the \maketitle command which draws from the following declarations within the preamble:
\author
\date
\thanks
\title
OR use the
\begin{titlepage} ... \end{titlepage}
environment.
The titlepage environment creates a title page, i.e. a page with no printed page number or heading. It also causes the following page to be numbered page one.
Formatting is left to you, but commands like \centering
, \vspace
, and \vfill
are helpful.
Basic Math#
To display math inline with text, place formula or symbol in between $:
$x + y = z$
renders inline: \(x + y = z\)
Display mode \[ x + y = z \]
will center the equation on its own line:
Lists#
Use the \begin{itemize}...\end{itemize}
environment to create unnumbered lists.
\begin{itemize}
\item Apples
\item Cherries
\item Oranges
\item Peaches
\item Watermelon
\end{itemize}
This code results in:
Apples
Cherries
Oranges
Peaches
Watermelon
Use the similar \begin{enumerate}...\end{enumerate}
environment to create numbered lists.
Exercise 1#
Objective:
Practice several basic LaTeX commands in a new project.
Open a new project in Overleaf.
Create a title page
Add
[title page]
to make preamble command\documentclass[titlepage]{article}
After
\title
, add “VOLT LaTeX Basics Assignment”After
\author
, add your nameConfirm that the date is correct or edit if needed
Create Title Page using command
\maketitle
inserted after\begin{document}
Add a new section labeled “Practice” using the
\section*
command.Add the following paragraph under that section using “inline” math commands:
We know the initial pressure \(P_0 = 7.00 \times 10^5 Pa\), the initial temperature \(T_0 = 18.0 ^{\circ}C\), and the final temperature \(T_f = 35.0 ^{\circ}C\).
Question: What is the final pressure \(P_f\)?
Hint
Add the command \usepackage{gensymb}
to the preamble in order to use the \degree
command.
Add a new section labeled “California Road Trip Destinations”
Make a numbered list of four items, for example:
Yosemite
Big Sur
Lake Tahoe
Death Valley
Commands needed: \section*{}
, \times
, $...$
, \begin{enumerate}...\end{enumerate}
. Degree can be represented several ways such as $^\circ$
or \degree
(requires the {gensymb}
package). Subscripts and superscripts are written using the symbols _ and ^.
Tip
Questions? Compare your LaTeX code to the solutions to troubleshoot.