misc_latex

where to find "latex developers"?
teTeX is installed by default on all linux machines we manage, so there is a latex compiler there. I would recommend using kile to edit and compile your tex documents.

As for windows, you have admin privileges, so you can install a tex compiler on your windows machine.

I would recommend installing miKTeX as a backend compiler:

http://miktex.org/2.7/Setup.aspx

and WinShell as a frontend editor:

http://www.winshell.org/modules/ws_download/

Latex Tutorials, References
[|Handy FAQ] for miscellaneous questions [|LaTex Book] for semi-official documentation

Latex Tips and Tricks
1. Start with a template file (where to get it? google it. IEEE has template for IEEE Journals and conference preceedings) 2. use 1 as an example file to play with the above tools. 3. Remember to google it whenever you need something that is new to you.

A nice how-to on footnotes [|here]

Ways to Dig Up BibTex Formatted References
[|Google Scholar] — Google's system for searching scholarly literature provides BibTeX format citations if you enable the option in 'Scholar Preferences'.

Convert ISBN to BibTex: [|here]

IEEE [|Xplore] will provide BibTex references (a drop down menu in the Abstract Plus view)

Creating Figures from Microsoft Products
LaTeX is great at working in pdf format. Just print your image to pdf using free software such as [|PrimoPDF]. There are a few settings that will make things go smoother:

//Microsoft Excel// 1. Get your plot as you want it, but don't worry about resizing the text. 2. In Page Setup, reduce all the margins and header/footer to 0. 3. Make sure PrimoPDF is the selected printer. 4. Go to Page Setup -> Options -> Advanced 5. Select PostScript Custom Page size for the paper size. I like width=5, length=3 6. Now go to print preview and make sure its what you want. You may have to change the page layout to/from Portrait / Landscape 7. Print!

//Microsoft PowerPoint// 1. Get your diagram as you want it. I like 10pt font and 1pt lines. 2. Now we need to resize the page under File -> Page Setup so that there's no extra white space around the edges. 3. When you change the page size in PPT, sometimes it resizes things. -> To get around this, Select All -> Cut -> [now resize the page] -> Paste 4. Go to Print -> Properties -> Advanced 5. Select PostScript Custom Page size and size the same as you set it for File -> Page Setup 6. From my experience, length must be greater than width, which means you usually have to print landscape style. Its easy to fix this in LaTeX with "angle=-90" in the figure settings. 7. Check print preview that things look as you want. 8. Print!

Univ. of WA Thesis Template Issues
If you have 10 or more chapters, and there are 10 or more numbered items (figures, tables, or sections), the TOC, LOF, or LOT (table of contents, list of figures, or list of tables) can have alignment issues. Specifically, the spacing between the numbers and the items is insufficient. Paste this before the \begin{document}: code format="latex" % List of Figures needs more space between numbers and labels % Note: tocloft trashes UW style sheet. I haven't tried titletoc. \makeatletter \renewcommand*\l@figure{\@dottedtocline{1}{1.5em}{3.0em}} \makeatother code Play around with the spacings (1.5em and 3.0em) to adjust the effective tab stop / spacing.

Trouble Shooting:
Winshell can not find [| ‘fancyhdr.sty] ’ When ‘Executing’ the demo file that comes with Winshell using ‘LaTeX’ an error occurs. Some thing to the effect: can not find [| ‘fancyhdr.sty] ’ You can install the missing files by using the MiKTeX Package Manager (Start -> Programs -> MiKTeX -> Browse Packages). Find the ‘fancyhdr’ entry and click the add symbol.