LaTeX course

Lesson 1 • Installing a LaTeX Distribution

Guides installation of a full TeX distribution on major operating systems. Connects a working distribution to successful document compilation later.

Lesson 2 • Choosing and Configuring an Editor

Surveys dedicated LaTeX editors and general-purpose editors with LaTeX plugins. Proper editor setup reduces friction throughout the entire course.

Lesson 3 • What LaTeX Is and Why Use It

Contrasts LaTeX with word processors and explains the markup paradigm. Establishes motivation for learning LaTeX in academic and professional contexts.

Lesson 4 • Anatomy of a LaTeX Document

Dissects the preamble, document body, and closing commands of a minimal file. Understanding document structure is prerequisite for every subsequent chapter.

Lesson 1 • Table of Contents and Document Classes

Generates a table of contents automatically and selects appropriate document classes. Document class choice determines available sectioning levels and default layout.

Lesson 2 • Font Styles, Sizes, and Families

Applies bold, italic, underline, and monospace styles using semantic commands. Semantic font commands improve document maintainability over manual overrides.

Lesson 3 • Paragraphs, Spacing, and Line Breaks

Explains how LaTeX handles whitespace, paragraph breaks, and forced line breaks. Correct spacing habits prevent common formatting errors in longer documents.

Lesson 4 • Sectioning and Document Hierarchy

Uses \chapter, \section, \subsection, and related commands to build document outlines. Proper hierarchy enables automatic numbering and table-of-contents generation.

Lesson 1 • Greek Letters and Mathematical Symbols

Inserts Greek letters, operators, relations, and arrows from the standard symbol set. The amsmath and amssymb packages extend the available symbol library significantly.

Lesson 2 • Inline and Display Math Modes

Distinguishes inline math from display math and applies the correct delimiters. Choosing the right mode controls equation placement and vertical spacing.

Lesson 3 • Matrices and Arrays

Constructs matrices using amsmath matrix environments with various bracket styles. Arrays generalize matrix layout for aligned tabular math content.

Lesson 4 • Superscripts, Subscripts, and Fractions

Builds exponents, indices, and fractions using fundamental math commands. These constructs appear in nearly every mathematical document and must be mastered first.

Lesson 1 • Cases, Gathered, and Split Environments

Applies specialized amsmath environments for piecewise functions and grouped equations. Each environment solves a distinct layout problem in mathematical exposition.

Lesson 2 • Equation Numbering and Cross-Referencing

Labels equations and references them by number anywhere in the document. Consistent numbering with \label and \eqref is essential for technical writing.

Lesson 3 • Mathematical Fonts and Operators

Applies calligraphic, blackboard bold, and fraktur fonts for specialized notation. Custom operators defined with \DeclareMathOperator ensure correct spacing and style.

Lesson 4 • Theorems, Proofs, and Math Environments

Defines theorem-like environments using amsthm and applies standard proof structure. Numbered theorem environments integrate with the document's sectioning counter.

Lesson 1 • Professional Tables with booktabs

Replaces vertical lines and double rules with booktabs horizontal rules for clean design. Publication venues commonly require booktabs-style tables without vertical separators.

Lesson 2 • Basic Tables with tabular

Builds tables using the tabular environment with column alignment and borders. Column specifiers and \hline commands form the foundation of all LaTeX tables.

Lesson 3 • Side-by-Side Figures and Subfigures

Places multiple images in one float using minipage and the subcaption package. Subfigure labels allow independent cross-referencing of each panel.

Lesson 4 • Float Environments: figure and table

Wraps tabular and image content in float environments with captions and labels. Float placement specifiers control where LaTeX positions content on the page.

Lesson 1 • Citation Commands and Styles

Applies \cite, \citep, and \citet commands with natbib for author-year and numeric styles. Style selection is driven by the target journal or institution requirements.

Lesson 2 • BibLaTeX and Biber Backend

Replaces BibTeX with BibLaTeX and the Biber backend for Unicode and advanced sorting. BibLaTeX offers richer customization than legacy BibTeX styles.

Lesson 3 • Introduction to BibTeX Workflow

Explains the four-step compile cycle required to resolve citations with BibTeX. Understanding the workflow prevents unresolved reference errors in the final PDF.

Lesson 4 • Managing .bib Files Efficiently

Organizes large bibliographies using reference managers that export BibTeX format. Clean .bib files reduce duplicate entries and field inconsistencies.

Lesson 1 • Multi-Column Layouts

Implements two-column and multi-column layouts using class options and the multicol package. Column balancing and column breaks give fine control over content flow.

Lesson 2 • Color, Hyperlinks, and PDF Metadata

Adds color to text and backgrounds and creates clickable hyperlinks with hyperref. PDF metadata set in the preamble improves document accessibility and searchability.

Lesson 3 • Headers and Footers with fancyhdr

Designs custom headers and footers using the fancyhdr package's field commands. Consistent headers improve navigation in multi-chapter documents.

Lesson 4 • Footnotes, Endnotes, and Margin Notes

Inserts footnotes, endnotes, and margin annotations using standard and package commands. Proper note placement avoids page-break and overflow issues in dense documents.

Lesson 1 • Working with Existing Packages

Loads and configures third-party packages and resolves common package conflicts. Understanding package loading order prevents option clash and redefinition errors.

Lesson 2 • Multi-File Projects with \input and \include

Splits large documents into chapter files using \input and \include commands. Selective compilation with \includeonly speeds up editing in book-length projects.

Lesson 3 • Creating a Personal Style File

Packages custom commands and settings into a reusable .sty file. A personal style file standardizes formatting across multiple documents and projects.

Lesson 4 • Version Control and Collaboration

Applies Git-based version control to LaTeX source files for team collaboration. Diff-friendly plain-text source makes LaTeX ideal for version-controlled workflows.