392 lines
18 KiB
Plaintext
392 lines
18 KiB
Plaintext
A (very) quick introduction to Latex-Suite
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*latex-suite-quickstart.txt*
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Srinath Avadhanula <srinath AT fastmail DOT fm>
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Abstract
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========
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Latex-Suite is a comprehensive set of scripts to aid in editing, compiling and
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viewing LaTeX documents. A thorough explanation of the full capabilities of
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Latex-Suite is described in the user manual. This guide on the other hand,
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provides a quick 30-45 minute running start to some of the more commonly used
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functionalities of Latex-Suite.
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*latex-suite-quickstart.txt-toc*
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|lq_1| Using this tutorial
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|lq_2| Inserting a template
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|lq_3| Inserting a package
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|lq_4| Inserting an Environment
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|lq_5| A few keyboard shortcuts
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|lq_6| Folding in Latex-Suite
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|lq_7| Inserting a Reference
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|lq_8| Compiling a document
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|lq_8_1| Debugging LaTeX source files
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|lq_9| Viewing DVI files
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|lq_9_1| Performing forward searches
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|lq_9_2| Performing inverse searches
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|lq_10| Conclusions
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================================================================================
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Using this tutorial *lq_1* *lq_a_bc*
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*lsq-using-tutorial*
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This tutorial assumes that you have vim version 6.1+ installed on your machine.
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To check, open vim and type >
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:ver
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You will see the version in the first line of the output. Get the latest vim
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version from http://vim.sf.net |lq_u_1|.
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Assuming you have Vim 6.1+ already up and running, follow the instructions here
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|lq_u_2| to set up Latex-Suite.
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Good, now you are all set to start the tutorial. Since this tutorial aims to
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explain the newbie-friendly version of Latex-Suite, it needs some GUI
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functionality. Therefore, at least for this tutorial, open the gui version of
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vim. (On MS windows, this is the default). Open up this help file in either the
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same gvim session in a split window or in a different session and follow the
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(friendly) instructions.
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================================================================================
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Inserting a template *lq_2* *lq_a_bd*
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*lsq-inserting-template*
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Start up gvim and begin editing a new file. >
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e newfile.tex
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If the installation went well, you should see a new set of menus appear. Goto
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Tex-Suite > Templates. You will see a number of templates to choose from. For
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now, choose to insert a template for an article. You should get the following in
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the main vim window (after possibly a hit-enter prompt). >
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1 % File: sample.tex
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2 % Created: Sun Jun 22 04:00 PM 2003 P
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3 % Last Change: Sun Jun 22 04:00 PM 2003 P
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4 %
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5 \documentclass[a4paper]{article}
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6 \begin{document}
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7
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8 \end{document}
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9
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10 ~
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11 ~
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12 ~
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13 ~
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-- INSERT -- 7,1 All
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The cursor is left on line 7 (just after the \begin{document} line) from where
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you can start typing straight away. Trying to lessen movement is a recurring
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theme in Latex-Suite.
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================================================================================
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Inserting a package *lq_3* *lq_a_be*
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*lsq-lsq-inserting-package*
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Assume that we are writing a mathematical paper and we want to use the popular
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amsmath package. We will use some functionality which Latex-Suite provides
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specifically for including LaTeX packages, providing options etc. Navigate to
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before the \begin{document} line (The portion of the document before the
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\begin{document} is called the _preamble_ in LaTeX). On an empty line in the
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preamble, type the single word amsmath and then press <F5> in normal mode. The
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line will change to >
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\usepackage[]{amsmath}<++>
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with the cursor positioned conveniently between the []'s. For now, do not worry
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about the trailing <++> at the end of this line. Assume we want to provide the
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sumlimits options to amsmath. You can either type in this option manually, or
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choose from a menu of package options which Latex-Suite automatically creates
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when you insert a package using <F5>. With the cursor still placed between the
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[], goto TeX-Suite > Packages > amsmath Options. Choose the sumlimits option.
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The package line should get converted to: >
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\usepackage[sumlimits,]{amsmath}<++>
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with the cursor before ]. Press <C-j> in insert mode. You will see the cursor
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jump to the end of the package line and the trailing <++> will disappear. What
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just happened?! You had your first taste of _Placeholders_. Read more about them
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(later) here |lq_u_3|. In short, pressing <C-j> in insert mode takes you to the
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next <++> in the text.
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================================================================================
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Inserting an Environment *lq_4* *lq_a_bf*
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*lsq-insert-environment*
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Now let us type in a simple formula in LaTeX. Move back to the body of the
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document (The portion of the document between \begin{document} and
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\end{document} is called the body). Type in a few simple sentences and then on
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an empty line, type the single word equation. Escape to normal mode and press
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<F5>. (Remember: <F5> is very useful!) This time, the line will change to: >
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\begin{equation}
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<+content+>
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\label{<+label+>}
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\end{equation}<++>
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<with the cursor on the <+content+>.
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================================================================================
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A few keyboard shortcuts *lq_5* *lq_a_bg*
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*lsq-keyboard-shortcuts*
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Now to type in the famous Euler formula. Our aim is to type >
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e^{j\pi} + 1 = 0
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Instead of typing this blindly, let us use a few shortcuts to reduce movement.
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Start out by typing e^. Now instead of typing {, type another ^. You will see
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the e^^ change instantly to e^{}<++> with the cursor on <+content+>. (The ^^
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changed to ^{}<++>.) Continue with the following sequence of letters: j`p. This
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will change instantly to j\pi. (The `p changed to \pi.) Having typed in all we
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need to type between the {}'s, press <C-j>. You will pop back out of the
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curly-braces. Continue typing the rest of the formula. Latex-Suite provides a
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large number of shortcuts which should making typing much more fun and fast if
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you get acquainted with them. A list is provided here |lq_u_4|. Definitely spend
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some time getting a feel for them. Most of them are pretty intuitive like `/ for
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\frac{}{}, `8 for \infty etc.
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Now enter a label. Press <C-j> to jump to <+label+>. We will use eqn:euler.
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After typing in eqn:euler, press <C-j>. This will take you outside the
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curly-braces. Another time you used a Placeholder!
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In order to understand the next section better, it will be helpful to have one
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more \label. Lets use the handy <F5> key to insert another equation. This time
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something simple like the following will do: >
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\begin{equation}
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\label{eqn:simple}
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1 + 1 = 2
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\end{equation}
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================================================================================
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Folding in Latex-Suite *lq_6* *lq_a_bh* *lsq-folding*
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Okay, we have typed enough. At this stage, hopefully, your file is looking
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something like this: >
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1 % File: sample.tex
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2 % Created: Sun Jun 22 04:00 PM 2003 P
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3 % Last Change: Mon Dec 15 07:00 PM 2003
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4 %
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5 \documentclass[a4paper]{article}
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6
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7 \usepackage[sumlimits,]{amsmath}
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8
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9 \begin{document}
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10 \begin{equation}
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11 \label{eqn:euler}
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12 e^{j\pi} + 1 = 0
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13 \end{equation}
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14 This is the famous euler equation. I
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15 will type another equation, just as
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16 true:
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17 \begin{equation}
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18 \label{eqn:simple}
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19 1 + 1 = 2
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20 \end{equation}
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21 This is my contribution to mathematics.
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22 \end{document}
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In normal mode, press \rf. This will fold up the entire file and you should see
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the file looking as below: >
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1 % File: sample.tex
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2 % Created: Sun Jun 22 04:00 PM 2003 P
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3 % Last Change: Mon Dec 15 07:00 PM 2003
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4 %
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5 +-- 4 lines: Preamble: \documentclass[a4paper]{article} -----
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9 \begin{document}
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10 +-- 4 lines: equation (eqn:euler) \label{eqn:euler} -----------
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14 This is the famous euler equation. I
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15 will type another equation, just as
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16 true:
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10 +-- 4 lines: equation (eqn:simple) \label{eqn:simple} ---------
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21 This is my contribution to mathematics.
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22 \end{document}
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What has happened is that Latex-Suite folded away blocks of LaTeX code into
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folded regions. You can open and close folds by using the command za in normal
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mode.
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================================================================================
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Inserting a Reference *lq_7* *lq_a_bi*
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*lsq-inserting-reference*
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A necessary part of LaTeX editing is referencing equations, figures,
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bibliographic entries etc. This is done with the \ref and the \cite commands.
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Latex-Suite provides an easy way to do this. Somewhere in the body of the
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document, type in the following sentence >
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This is a reference to (\ref{}).
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With the cursor between the {} press <F9> in insert mode. Your vim session will
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sprout a new windows showing all the \labels found in all the .tex files of your
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current project. To insert the reference, just position the cursor on the
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relevant line and press <enter>. The line which you were editing will change to: >
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This is a reference to (\ref{eqn:euler})
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and the bottom window closes automatically.
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The <F9> key also works for inserting \cite commands to reference bibliographic
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entries, inserting file names for the \inputgraphics command and just plain
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searching for words. Click here |lq_u_5| for more information.
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================================================================================
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Compiling a document *lq_8* *lq_a_bj*
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*lsq-compiling*
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|lq_8_1| Debugging LaTeX source files
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Great! We have just created a small latex file. The next step is to make the
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latex compiler create a .dvi file from it. Compiling via latex-suite is simple.
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Goto normal mode and press \ll (replace \ with whatever mapleader setting you
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have). This will call the latex compiler. If all goes well, then the focus
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should return to the vim window.
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Nothing happend? Ouch! You might need to do some additional settings as
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described here. |lq_u_6|
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Debugging LaTeX source files *lq_8_1* *lq_a_bk*
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*lsq-debugging*
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To illustrate the debugging procedure, let's create a few mistakes in the file.
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Insert the following ``mistakes'' in the file: >
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This is a $\mistake$.
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And this is $\another$
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Now press \ll again. This time you will notice that after compilation finishes,
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the cursor automatically lands on $\mistake$. In addition, 2 new windows will
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appear as shown here:
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The middle window is an _Error List_ window showing you the errors which the
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latex compiler found. The bottom window is a _Log Preview_ window, which shows
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you the context of the error made by displaying the relevant portion of the .log
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file created during the latex compilation procedure. Jump to the _Error List_
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window and try scrolling around in it using either the j, k keys or the arrow
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keys. You will notice that the _Log Preview_ window scrolls automatically to
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retain the context of the error you are currently located on. If you press
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<enter> on any line, you will see the cursor jump to the location of the error.
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Latex-Suite tries to guess the column location as best as it can so you can
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continue typing straight away.
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Having got a taste for compiling, proceed by deleting the erroneous lines and
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re-compiling.
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The Latex-Suite compiler is capable of much more including selectively filtering
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out common errors which you might want to ignore for the moment, compiling parts
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of a document, setting levels of verbosity in the compiler output etc. See here
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|lq_u_7| for more.
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================================================================================
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Viewing DVI files *lq_9* *lq_a_bl*
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*lsq-viewing-dvi*
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|lq_9_1| Performing forward searches
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|lq_9_2| Performing inverse searches
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Now that you have compiled your first latex source, its time to view it. Again,
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this should be pretty simple. Press \lv in normal mode. Depending on your
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platform, a DVI viewer program should open up and display the dvi file generated
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in compilation step previously.
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Nothing happend? Ouch! You might need to do some additional settings as
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described here. |lq_u_8|
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Performing forward searches *lq_9_1* *lq_a_bm*
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*lsq-quick-forward-searching*
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If you are using a modern DVI viewer, then it is possible to do what is called
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forward and inverse searching. However, you will need to customize the standard
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Latex-Suite distribution in order to utilize this functionality. Type in the
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following on the command line: >
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:let g:Tex_CompileRule_dvi = 'latex -src-specials -interaction=nonstopmode $*'
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:TCTarget dvi
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Now recompile the latex file by pressing \ll. This time, instead of pressing \lv
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to view the file, press \ls from within the tex file. If the DVI viewer supports
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forward searching (most of them do), then the viewer will actually display the
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portion of the DVI file corresponding to the location where you were editing the
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tex file.
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NOTE: The reason Latex-Suite does not have this setting by default is that on
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some systems this causes unpredictable results in the DVI output. If you
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find the DVI output satisfactory, then you can insert the first of the 2
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lines above into your $VIM/ftplugin/tex.vim file. $VIM is ~/vimfiles for
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windows and ~/.vim for *nix machines.
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Performing inverse searches *lq_9_2* *lq_a_bn*
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*lsq-quick-inverse-searching*
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Most DVI viewers also support inverse searching, whereby you can make the DVI
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viewer ask vim to display the tex source corresponding to the DVI file being
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shown. This is extremely helpful while proofreading large documents.
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Simply double-click anywhere in the viewer window. If the viewer supports it,
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then it will attempt to open an editor window at the location corresponding to
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where you double-clicked. On *nix platforms, Latex-Suite attempts to start the
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viewer program in such a way that it already knows to use vim to open the tex
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source. Thus you should see a vim window open up showing the tex file. However,
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if there is an error, or some other program is used, you will need to tell the
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viewer program to use gvim as the editor. On windows platforms, if you use the
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commonly available yap viewer (available as part of the miktex distribution),
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then this option can be set from View > Options > Inverse Search. In the Command
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line: window, write >
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"C:\Program Files\vim\vim61\gvim" -c ":RemoteOpen +%l %f"
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(Customize the path according to where you have installed gvim). If you double
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click in the view pane now, you will see gvim start up and take you to the
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relevant portion of the tex file.
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================================================================================
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Conclusions *lq_10* *lq_a_bo*
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*lsq-conclusions*
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Thats all folks! By now, you should know enough of the basic functions of
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latex-suite. Ofcourse, latex-suite is capable of much, much more such as
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compiling files multiple times to resolve changed labels, compiling
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dependencies, handling user packages and more. To get a feel for that, you will
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need to take a look at the Latex-Suite user manual. |lq_u_9|
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================================================================================
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URLs used in this file
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*lq_u_1* : http://vim.sf.net
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*lq_u_2* : http://vim-latex.sourceforge.net/index.php?subject=download&title=Download
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*lq_u_3* : http://vim-latex.sourceforge.net/documentation/latex-suite/latex-macros.html
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*lq_u_4* : http://vim-latex.sourceforge.net/documentation/latex-suite/auc-tex-mappings.html
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*lq_u_5* : http://vim-latex.sourceforge.net/documentation/latex-suite/latex-completion.html
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*lq_u_6* : http://vim-latex.sourceforge.net/index.php?subject=faq&title=FAQ#faq-2
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*lq_u_7* : http://vim-latex.sourceforge.net/documentation/latex-suite/latex-compiling.html
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*lq_u_8* : http://vim-latex.sourceforge.net/index.php?subject=faq&title=FAQ#faq-3
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*lq_u_9* : http://vim-latex.sourceforge.net/index.php?subject=manual&title=Manual#user-manual
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================================================================================
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About this file
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This file was created automatically from its XML variant using db2vim. db2vim is
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a python script which understands a very limited subset of the Docbook XML 4.2
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DTD and outputs a plain text file in vim help format.
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db2vim can be obtained via anonymous CVS from sourceforge.net. Use
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cvs -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.vim-latex.sf.net:/cvsroot/vim-latex co db2vim
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Or you can visit the web-interface to sourceforge CVS at:
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http://cvs.sourceforge.net/cgi-bin/viewcvs.cgi/vim-latex/db2vim/
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================================================================================
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