Reference

Last updated on 2026-07-24 | Edit this page

Glossary

Introduction to the LaTeX Workflow

LaTeX source files use the .tex extension.
Documents are compiled (e.g., with LuaLaTeX) to produce output such as PDFs.
You can write LaTeX in editors like TeXstudio or online platforms, e.g., Overleaf.

Basic LaTeX Document Components

LaTeX commands begin with a backslash \.
Every document must declare a document class using \documentclass{...} (common options: article, report, book).
Environments are defined using \begin{...} and \end{...} and must always be properly paired.
The body of the document is enclosed between: \begin{document} and \end{document}.
Everything before \begin{document} is called the preamble.
Comments are created using %, everything following this symbol on the same line is ignored by the compiler.
A new paragraph is created by leaving a blank line or by using \par.
Special characters in LaTeX include: \, {, }, $, %, &, #, ^.
- To display these characters in text, escape them with a backslash (e.g. \#). he exception is \ itself, which can be produced using \textbackslash.

Error Handling

Errors are often cascading, one initial error can trigger many others. Always fix the first error first.
The error ! Undefined control sequence indicates an unknown or misspelled command.
Messages like l.2 indicate the line number where LaTeX detected the error.
Types of messages:
- Error: prevents the document from compiling
- Warning: may affect output but compilation continues
- Information: additional helpful details

The Structure of a Document

\section{...} & \subsection{...} create a new (sub-) section, which is automatically numbered.
- The starred variants \section*{...} & \subsection*{...} is used for unnumbered headings, which are also excluded from the table of content.
Similarly, \paragraph{...}, \chapter{...}, and other sectioning commands work like \section{...}. Which commands are available typically depends on the document class.
A table of contents can be generated with \tableofcontents, placed wherever you want it to appear in the document.
Unordered list (itemize):

LATEX

\begin{itemize}
  \item ...
  \item ...
\end{itemize}

Ordered list (enumerate):

LATEX

\begin{enumerate}
  \item ...
  \item ...
\end{enumerate}

Custom bullet symbols can be specified using the optional argument \item[...] (e.g., \item[(a)] to label an item with (a)).

Using Document Classes

Document classes set global options \documentclass[<options>]{<class>}
- e.g.\documentclass[12pt]{article}, \documentclass[a4paper]{article}, \documentclass[a4paper,12pt,twocolumn]{article}.
Standard classes are: article, report, book, letter and slides.
Modern (function-rich) classes:
- AMS classes: amsbook, amsart and amsproc.
- beamer for creating (modern) presentations with support for themes, overlays, and animations.
- KOMA-Script (scrartcl, scrreprt, scrbook, scrlttr2) modern, highly customizable replacements for standard classes.
- memoir a flexible class for books, reports, and articles, with many built-in formatting tools.

Extending LaTeX

New packages are loaded in the preamble using \usepackage{<package_name>}, e.g. geometry, booktabs or xcolor. The package is applied during the next compilation.
- If a package is not installed, use tlmgr install <package_name> in the terminal to install it.
- All installed packages can be updated at once with tlmgr update --self --all.
Many packages accept additional options inside square brackets: \usepackage[<options>]{<package_name>}.
- For example, \usepackage[width = 6cm]{geometry} sets the text block width to six cm.
Custom commands can be defined using: \newcommand{<\command_name>}[<number_of_arguments>][<default_value_first_argument>]{<definition>}.
- If a command with this name already exists, use \renewcommand instead, which has the same syntax.
- This allows document-wide formatting changes from a single definition.

Fonts, Formatting and Spacing

To change the font for the entire document use \renewcommand{\familydefautl}{<font>}
The packages tgtermes or fontspec can be used for font management. Note that fontspec requires LuaLaTeX or XeLaTeX.
- With fontspec, you can set fonts using \setmainfont{...}, \setsansfont{...} and \setmonofont{...}.
With \lipsum from the lipsum package placeholder text can be generated.
The package parskip helps controlling spaces between paragraphs. \usepackage[parfill]{parskip} removes the indentation and adds spacing between paragraphs.
- With KOMA-Scripts this option is also available in the class options, e.g. \documentclass[parskip=full]{scrbook}
A global option can also be change in the document class \documentclass[parskip=full]{scrbook}.
\\ forces a new line.
Explicit spacing commands:
- \. for a “dot” space.
- \: for a “colon” space.
- \; for a “thick” space.
- \! for a “negative” space.
- \, for a “thin” space.
- \hspace{1cm} for a horizontal space.
- \vspace{1cm} for a vertical space.
- \vfill for fill the remaining space on a page.
Explicit text formatting commands:
- Bold: \textbf{...}, italic \textit{...}, roman text \textrm{...}, san serif text \textsf{...}, typewriter text \texttt{...}, small caps text \textsc{...}.
Font sizes are: \huge, \large, \normalsize, \small and \footnotesize.
- For custom sizes, use: {\fontsize{14}{16}\selectfont <text>}, where $14$ is the font size and $16$ the line spacing.
Text alignment: \centering, \raggedright and \raggedleft.
Create a title page using the titlepage environment: \begin{titlepage} \centering ... \vfill \end{titlepage}.

Using Graphics

The graphicx package enables working with jpeg, png, svg, pdf and eps file formats.
Use \graphicspath{{<folder>/}} to specify a default folder where LaTeX will search for images.
Use \includegraphics[<options>]{<file_name>} to include graphics in your document. Available options include height, width, scale, angle, clip, trim and draft among others.
- The width can be set relative to the line width using \linewidth, e.g. `\includegraphics[width=0.5\linewidth]{<file_name>}.
Centering environment \begin{center}...\end{center}.
Floating figure environment \begin{figure}...\end{figure}.
- Control position:
  - h: “here”.
  - t: top of the page.
  - b: bottom of the page.
  - p: on an own page.
  - ht: combination of the first two.
- \centering to center the image inside the environment.
Add a caption below an image with \caption{...}.
A list of all Graphics can be generated with \listoffigures, if they have a caption.

Tables

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Adding Cross References

Use \label{<label_name>} to mark an element and reference it with \ref{<label_name>}.
- To keep references organized, use the following prefixes before thefor the label names: fig: (figures), tab: (tables) and sec: (Section).
cleveref provides advanced cross-referencing capabilities. Use \cref{<label_name>} instead of \ref{<label_name>} to automatically add the reference type before the number in the text.
With the hyperref package you can make the references linked by clicking.
- Recommendation: load hyperref last in your preamble as it could lead to issues with other packages. But cleveref should be loaded after hyperref.

Mathematics

The amsmath package extends the mathematical expression support.
Inline math mode with $...$ or $...$.
Display math mode, rebders centered on own line, with $$...$$ or \[...\].
Math symbols & expressions:
- Superscript and subscript: x^{<expression>}, x_{<expression>} .
- Greek letters: \alpha, \beta, …
- Operators: \times, \sin, \log, \sum, \int, ` …
- Fractions: \frac{numerator}{denominator}.
- Brackets: (), \{ \} (need backslash since else used as LaTeX-Operator), [], \big, \left(... \right), \langle, …
Math environment with numbered equations \begin{equation} ... \end{equation}, refereed by \ref{eq:...} (eq not obligated). Wrap in a figure environment to add a caption.
Aligned math environment \begin{align} ... \end{align}, & as an anchor point for alignement.
- Writing align* ignores numbering.
The siunitx package provides consistent formatting of numbers and units.
Write scientific with units, e.g. \qty{934.54}{\m}.
Number formatting:
- \num{...} (a numbers), \numlist{...} (list of numbers), \numproduct{...} (product of numbers).
Unit parsing:
- \qty{9.81}{\metre\per\second\squared}, \qty[per-mode = symbol]{1}{kilo\gram\metre\per\second\squared}, …
Uncertainties, lists and ranges:
- \qty{1.23(4)}{\metre}, \qtylist{0.13;0.67;0.80}{\milli\metre}, \qtyrange{20}{25}{\celsius}, …
Decimal-aligned columns in tables:
- \begin{tabular}{S[table-format=3.2] c}

Citations and References

Use the biblatex package for citation and reference management: \usepackage[<option>]{biblatex}.
- Common options include the citation style and sorting method, e.g.: \usepackage[style=authoryear, sorting=nyt, backend=biber]{biblatex}
biblatex requires a bibliography backend to process and sort entries. The recommended backend is Biber. You may need to configure your LaTeX editor.
References are usually stored in a BibTeX file (.bib). Each entry follows this format: @<type>{<cite_key>, <key> = {<value>}, ...}
- Common entry types: article, book, online, misc, manual, proceedings, …
- Common fields: author, title, journal, date, pages, publisher, …
Link your .bib file in the preamble with \addbibresource{<file_name>.bib}.
Citing a reference with \cite{<cite_key>}
- Granular citation commands allow you to reference specific parts of a citation: \citeauthor{<cite_key>}, citetitle{<cite_key>} and \citeyear{<cite_key>} we can control apparence in the document
Smart citation commands automatically adapt the citation style: \autocite{} and \smartcite{}.

Context Sensitive Quotations

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Structuring Sources

Use \input{<filename>} or \include{<filename>} to insert content from external .tex files into your main document. input includes your content directly, while include start a new page before inserting the content.
Use \includeonly{<filename>} in the preamble to restrict which files are compiled.
The following commands help organize the structure of a document and automatically adjust formatting such as page numbering: \frontmatter, \mainmatter, \backmatter, and \appendix.

Loading and Manipulating Data

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