Skip to main content

How to create a simple article in Latex - basic latex structure explained and a minimal document created

This is the first tutorial in the video tutorial series on how to learn Latex. In this tutorial I will show you how to create a very basic Latex document.

In order to get started you need to download Latex on your machine (Windows, Mac, Linux). You can download the right package for you from this page.

Here is the code from the tutorial. The video is attached with explanation. Hope this will come handy to you.


\documentclass[8pt,letterpaper]{article}
%\usepackage[left=12mm, top=0.5in, bottom=5in]{geometry}
\begin{document}
\title{A sample /Latex/ article by 5 minutes of Latex}
\maketitle
\section{Introduction}
This is a smaple introduction section.\\
This is a second line in the introduction.\\
This is a third line.
\section{Motivation}
\end{document}
The motivation behind this tutorial is to share the knowledge for the benefit of everyone who wants to start using Latex.

Labels:

Comments

  1. DavisJanuary 22, 2012 at 12:48 PM

    Thanks for posting this video. Is there a LaTeX reference guide that provides with a comprehensive list of document classes and their associated commands, as well as a list of different packages and an explanation on how they can be incorporated into different document classes, somewhere on the internet?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dinesh AgarwalJanuary 22, 2012 at 3:57 PM

      Dear Davis,

      I am afraid there is no such comprehensive website. Everything is available in bits and pieces here and there.

      Regards,
      Dinesh Agarwal

      Delete
  2. DavisJanuary 22, 2012 at 2:10 PM

    Thanks! I guess I will have to resign to a slow trial-error learning process then. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dinesh AgarwalJanuary 22, 2012 at 3:57 PM

      I know, it sucks bad. That is one of the reasons why I started this as a way to fall back to what I have learnt when I myself need it.

      Delete
  3. DavisJanuary 22, 2012 at 6:01 PM

    I've actually managed to find a good .pdf manual with LaTeX document classes, commands etc. Here is a link:
    http://www.tex.ac.uk/tex-archive/info/latex4wp/latex4wp.pdf

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dinesh AgarwalJanuary 22, 2012 at 7:05 PM

      Awesome, this will be a great resource for anyone looking for a comprehensive LaTeX document. Thank you.

      Delete
  4. AnonymousFebruary 2, 2012 at 7:21 PM

    Great videos, learning lots (and quickly!).

    Had a warning about the 8pt when I used it; from what others have wrote seems like {article} only supports 10, 11, and 12 pt. Just in case others run into the same warning as I did.

    Keep up the great work Denish and thanks again for the videos.

    Martin

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dinesh AgarwalFebruary 3, 2012 at 6:15 PM

      Thank you Martin for those nice words. I am glad my efforts are useful to you all.

      Regards,
      Dinesh Agarwal

      Delete
  5. AnonymousJune 28, 2012 at 10:52 PM

    Hi
    Could some pass me the link for complete latex.i had downloaded latex with texworks and then latex with winedit.All seem to work with editing but there is never a run option or the run option never generates d pdf i require.Could some one advice.
    Thanks
    Sonia

    ReplyDelete
  6. newmanJuly 12, 2013 at 3:18 AM

    anyone please share link to download free latex software

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Comments on QuickLatex are strictly moderated. As much as I hate moderation, I must fight spam. Please rest assured that if your comment is relevant I will approve it and answer.

Popular posts from this blog

Latex Tutorial: How to Create Images, Diagrams, and Flow Charts Using Latex

This tutorial is an extension of previous video tutorial on how to use tikz for image creation in Latex . In this video I explain how to set up your document for flow chat design. This equally applies to any other image that uses similar structure. Specifically, in this video I talk about following things: How to create a flow chart How to setup styles for reusable components of an image How to draw arrows from one component to other How to change the styles of components How to change the arrowhead for Latex arrows How to align components left, right, top, and below of each other The code use:d in the video is here: \documentclass{article} \usepackage{tikz} \usetikzlibrary{shapes,shadows,arrows} \begin{document} \tikzstyle{decision} = [diamond, draw, fill=blue!50] \tikzstyle{line} = [draw, -stealth, thick] \tikzstyle{elli}=[draw, ellipse, fill=red!50,minimum height=8mm, text width=5em, text centered] \tikzstyle{block} = [draw, rectangle, fill=blue!50, text width...
6 comments
Read more

LaTeX Video Tutorial: How to Create a Resume or CV (Curriculum Vitae) using LaTeX

One of the most frequent questions my colleagues ask me is how to create a Resume or Curriculum Vitae (CV), if you will, in LaTeX . I have a style file that was passed to me by a friend who found it on Internet. Since this looked good I used it and, thanks to the original contributor, I am going to share it with you all today. You will be able to download these files and create a professional Resume for yourself.  The files can be download from the linked locations: The Resume.tex file (main document) The Class file res.cls (for page setting) In the video tutorial , attached below, I have explained how to change the text for your needs. The structure of the Resume (or CV) is highly flexible and once you get hold of the basics it will be pretty straight forward for you to tweak it for your own use.  I have tried to add the basic sections that are present in most of the Resumes but you will most probably add more depending on your requirements. I am prett...
23 comments
Read more

How to draw Reddit Alien in LaTeX using Tikz - Video tutorial and code

If you are not a Redditor you are a lucky person. It's a one way traffic scenario with no dead end. Once you subscribe to Reddit there is no way back and it is no good being there. I am expecting my colleagues to have an intervention for my Reddit addiction soon but till then I am all here to invest (read:waste) my precious time. Since we got that out of our way, let us get back to business. Today, we are going to see how to draw a cartoon figure using LaTeX. The motivation behind this post is /r/latex on Reddit as I wanted that subreddit to have its logo drawn in LaTeX. I did not know it already was in LaTeX but it seems my work is appreciated there so I am going to contribute my 2 cents to the community. Specifically, we will learn following things in this tutorial: How to work with Colors - defining RGB colors in LaTeX. How to use multiple layers to set order of document objects (send to back, bring forward like functionality). How to use Arcs in an effective way....
3 comments
Read more