Physics Department LaTeX Templates

TeX and LaTeX are powerful typesetting tools, developed by Donald Knuth, that are used to create publication--quality documents. There are a number of advantages to learning and using LaTeX, not the least of which is that a number of scientific journals prefer that manuscripts be submitted in LaTeX. In fact, the majority of journals and text books I have run across are typeset in TeX or LaTeX. Included on this page are some TeX/LaTeX installation hints for Mac OSX, and resources for getting more help. If you hack this template to meet your needs, I'd like to hear from you. This is a work in progress, so community input is very much appreciated.


LaTeX Templates

Some browsers may automatically expand the tar/gzipped archives in this section. Stuffit should do the trick on most Macs. If you run into trouble, you can unpack the distribution from the command line. To do this in MacOS, launch the "Terminal" application and find the file you have just downloaded (say `woothesis_1.1.0.tar.gz` for example). Then type `tar -zxf woothesis_1.1.0.tar.gz`. This will create a directory called `woothesis_1.1.0`, which will contain the distribution.

Package	Version	Released	Description
UE Report	1.1.0	08/20/07	A generic style for coursework reports. This is the report style I use for my courses.
CoW IS Temmplate	2.1.1	07/20/05	A Senior Independent Study template for physics at The College of Wooster. This template is no longer being maintained, but it should work as is.


TeX Installation Tips for Mac OSX

The TeX Users Group maintains a distribution of MacTeX, a `dmg` file that contains all the software listed in the step--step instructions below and more. The really nice thing about this package is that it requires only one install instead of a list of installations. I did run into a few minor problems during the install on some older iMacs (G4). On these machines, TeXShop does not find the TeX installation unless you make the following symbolic links: In /usr/local: texlive/2007 needs to be soft-linked to teTeX. Become root and change into /usr/local. Then issue the command `ln -s texlive/2007 teTeX` In /usr/local/teTeX/bin: powerpc-darwin needs to be soft-linked to powerpc-apple-darwin-current (for non-intel macs). Become root and change into /usr/local/teTeX/bin. Then issue the command `ln -s powerpc-darwin powerpc-apple-darwin-current` However, on 10.5x (Leopard), the installation works seamlessly. Alternatively, full instructions for installing TeX and TeXShop on the mac from scratch can be found at Richard Koch's site. Users are encouraged to use that site for all downloads and instructions as it is probably more current that this page. However, some instructions and downloads are listed here. These are cribbed from Koch's site and are included here in the interest of encapsulation. Check to see if TeX is on your system. The quick (and relatively complete) way to do this is to boot the Terminal program (usually in Applications under Utilities), and type `which tex` at the prompt. If it responds with `command not found`, then you probably need to install TeX. Get Gerbin Wierda's `iInstaller2` from the TUG Mirror, and drop the application into your Utilities folder (in Applications). Double click on the installer and select “Known Packages i-Directory” from the “i-Package” menu. Then install the following packages in order by selecting them from the menu and clicking the “Open i-Package” button, followed by the “Install” button (on the next screen). It will take a little while to install all these packages, so budget a little time. FreeType 2 libwmf Ghostscript 8 ImageMagick GNU gettext libraries FontForge gwTeX When installing the TeX package, I'd recommend selecting the “Full” version and the most recent “Stable” version when prompted. Download the TeXShop dmg from Koch's site, and drag the TeXShop application into your Applications folder. Note that there are currently two versions: 1.x for Panther, and 2.x for Tiger. You will also want to copy the `texmf` folder from the “To Your Library” directory into your “Library” directory.


Where to Get More Help/Information

The following are a few links I've picked up (or searched out) that might be of help or interest to those trying to learn more about TeX and LaTeX. If you find a particularly useful link that is not included below, please let me know and I'll add it to the list. LaTeX users might also consider checking out LaTeX: A Document Preparation System, by Leslie Lamport. I use A TeX Primer for Scientists, by Stanley A. Sawyer and Steven G. Krantz. This book does not cover LaTeX, but it does give an excellent introduction to the basics of TeX. The TeX Users Group is the gold-standard for TeX information and software. A handy list of TeX primitive control sequences. The not so short guide to LaTeX from the TeX Users Group. This guide appears to be the preferred reference for Wooster IS students. A general guide to document preparation with LaTeX. The (La)TeX Navigator online encyclopedia of information on both TeX and LaTeX. BibDesk is a utility for managing and creating BibTeX entries and/or databases. This is especially handy for learning to format non-standard entries. The LaTeXiT is an excellent utility that converts LaTeX/TeX equations into PDF files. These integrate seamlessly with Keynote. Be warned that the LaTeX Equation Editor, which I have previously endorsed, seems to break the fonts on OS 10.5x (Leopard). See this blog for help recovering from the distruction visited by the LaTeX Equation Editor. There is a GUI interface to the equation editor. I have not used it, but it looks like a nice idea for learning TeX. There are also some instructions for its use and installation.