An Introduction to Latex

The following documents are a variety of introductions to the Latex typesetting system. Most have been written by others and credit is given where credit is due. (Note: If I could not attribute the author, I've made a note to that fact. I gladly welcome anyone who can fill me in on the creator's name.)

What is Latex?

Latex is a sophisticated typesetting system which is especially well designed for format report writing. It is especially great in a hetergeneous computing environment since it doesn't require you to stick with one brand of wordprocessor over another. It is especially great if your graphics display is poor and lacks resolution. (It's a godsend for people like me who still use a 386 running Linux at home!)

To compose a Latex document all you need is a text editor. (Those of you who work uner UNIX may want to use emacs since there is great built in latex support.) Once you've composed the latex document you need to "compile" it into a DVI file. Once it is a in a DVI file you can preview it using the xdvi tool (under UNIX, DOS/Windows/Mac versions will vary) or convert it to a postscript file using the dvips tool.

Compiling a Latex document

Compile the LaTeX file as such:

	latex sample.tex
If there are any errors in the LaTeX file, it will be shown here. Once you have a clean compile, you'll have a file called "sample.dvi" which is a printer independant version of your document. To convert it to postscript and print it, type:


	dvips -f sample.dvi | lpr -P mailroom
Of course, replace mailroom with the appropriate printer name.

Latex Resources

FilenameDescription
sample.tex(2k) A small well documented latex file which shows how to use the basic features of latex. You'll be able to write about 70% of your documents with only the commands listed in this file. A good starting place.
sample.ps(132k) A postscript version of the sample.tex file ready for printing.
LatexLearn.tex (59k) A more complete document on learning how to use latex. Still covers the basics and then some...
latex_essentials.eps(181k) Another more exhaustive introduction to latex. Unfortunately, I only have the EPS (Encapsulated Postscript) for this.
LaTeX Reference Manual This is a full online hypertext reference manual for Latex.

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