An Introduction to Using LaTeX for Academic Publishing: Key Points

Introduction to the LaTeX Workflow

We can use the TeXworks editor to write and compile LaTeX documents.
The TeXworks interface is divided into three main sections: the editor, the preview pane, and the menu bar.
We can compile a LaTeX document by clicking the “Typeset” button in the TeXworks editor.
We can also compile a LaTeX document from the command line using the pdflatex or lualatex command.

The % character is used to add comments to a LaTeX document.
LaTeX documents are a mixture of text and commands.
Commands start with a backslash \ and sometimes have arguments in curly braces {}.
We can view errors by either clicking on the “Logs and output files” or hovering over the red circle in the text editor.

Errors are common! Don’t be discouraged by them.
The first error message is usually the most important one to fix.
Read the error messages carefully, they often tell you exactly what the problem is.

LaTeX documents are structured using section commands.
There are many different section commands in LaTeX, including \subsubsection{...}, \paragraph{...}, \chapter{...}, and more.
Lists in LaTeX are created using the enumerate and itemize environments.

LaTeX document classes set the general layout of the document
The base document classes are article, report, book, letter, and slides
Third-party classes can provide additional features

The graphicx package allows us to include images in our LaTeX document.
We can adjust the appearance of images using options in the \includegraphics command.
We can position images manually or automatically using environments like center and figure.
Floating images can move around the page as text is added or removed.
We can control the position of floating images using parameters in the figure environment.
We can add captions to floating images using the \caption command.

Tables in LaTeX are created using the tabular environment.
The array package provides additional functionality for creating tables.
The booktabs package provides commands for creating horizontal lines in tables.
The \multicolumn command can be used to merge cells in a table.
The \multirow command in the multirow package can be used to merge rows in a table.

Inline math mode is marked with $ ... $ or $...$
Display math mode is marked with \[ ... \]
Use \qty{}{} or \unit{} for properly writing numbers with their scientific unit.

References are stored in a reference database, seperate from the LaTeX document.
BiBTeX files are used to store references in a processing-friendly format and have the extension .bib.
There are multiple libraries available to manage references in LaTeX documents, including natbib and biblatex.
We can use the \cite command or one of its variants to cite references in our document.

Use \enquote{…} for semantic, language-aware inline quotes.
Use \blockquote{…} for automatic block formatting and citation.
Integrate with biblatex inside quotes for full bibliographic support.
Switch quote styles per language with \foreign(c)quote.
Customize nesting, spacing, and thresholds to match publisher or style-guide requirements.

LaTeX projects can contain many files that reference each other
The \input{filename} and \include{filename} commands allow you to include the contents of other files in your document
The \frontmatter, \mainmatter, \backmatter, and \appendix commands help structure your document

The datatool package allows us to load and manipulate data in LaTeX documents.
We can load data from a CSV file using the \DTLread command.
We can display data in a table using the \DTLdisplaydb command.
We can filter data using the \DTLforeach command and conditions.
We can aggregate data using commands like \DTLmeanforkeys, \DTLsumforkeys, etc.