Introduction

LaTeX (pronounced lay-tek) is a typesetting program designed to produce books, reports, and articles. It works by combining text files (containing document text and typesetting instructions) and picture files according to a sophisticated algorithm. The output is a document usually in pdf format. It can also be used for posters, and presentations, and other document types, but this gets a bit messy and is not to everyone's taste.

This odd and rather old-fashioned way of doing things will quickly appeal to you if you are a programmer, if you have had previous problems with the shortcomings of word-processors, if you are of a very systematic and organised frame of mind, or if you love printed pages as things of beauty. If you are none of these things then you are going to struggle to see the point - but if you stick with it you might still be rewarded.

It is very simple to use after you have installed the applications you need and mastered the basics. Unfortunately these two steps take a little time and effort and not everyone can be bothered. There is a great deal of help available for new and experienced users on the web if you get in to the habit of finding and using it for yourself.

FAQ

I often get asked for help with LaTeX and some of my more lucid answers are in the list above this text in no particular order. However I cannot routinely get involved in solving problems on an individual basis.

Feel free to drop me an email if you want to talk about consultancy, arranging a course, or one-to-one tuition. I will be teaching courses on LaTeX all this year and next in various places. This page will remain the place for notes and links related these courses.