A Beginner’s Guide to LaTeX #

All examples can be used directly on texpage.com, an online LaTeX compilation platform — no local installation required. texpage.com supports XeLaTeX, LuaLaTeX, pdfLaTeX, and other common compilation engines, and automatically handles multi-pass compilation (table of contents, cross-references, bibliographies, etc., are all resolved in a single click).

Table of Contents #

1. Chapter 1: LaTeX Basics and Your First Document
2. Chapter 2: Typesetting Text
3. Chapter 3: Document Elements — Sections, Lists, Tables, Figures, and Floats
4. Chapter 4: Typesetting Mathematical Formulae
5. Chapter 5: Customising Your Document — Fonts, Page Layout, and Headers

Chapter 1: LaTeX Basics and Your First Document

1.1 What is LaTeX? #

LaTeX is a set of macros for the TeX typesetting engine. You can think of it as a layer on top of TeX that lets you focus on the logical structure of your document rather than fiddling with layout details. Unlike “What You See Is What You Get” (WYSIWYG) word processors such as Microsoft Word, LaTeX works by compiling plain-text source code into a beautifully typeset PDF.

Key advantages of LaTeX:

• Professionally crafted layouts that make documents look as if they were printed by a publisher.
• Outstanding mathematical formula typesetting — unmatched by any other system.
• Automatic numbering, cross-references, tables of contents, and bibliographies.
• A massive ecosystem of free, open-source packages for nearly any typographical task.
• Cross-platform and free.

Key disadvantages:

• Steeper learning curve than WYSIWYG tools.
• Errors can be harder to diagnose than in programming languages.
• You must compile to see results, rather than editing visually.

1.2 Using texpage.com #

texpage.com is an online LaTeX compilation platform. No local TeX installation is required. To get started:

1. Open your browser and go to https://texpage.com.
2. Register / log in and create a new project.
3. Type your LaTeX source code in the editor.
4. Click the Compile button. The generated PDF appears in the preview pane.

Key features of texpage.com:

• Supports XeLaTeX, LuaLaTeX, pdfLaTeX, and more. You can switch engines in the project settings.
• Automatically handles multi-pass compilation — table of contents, cross-references, and bibliography are all resolved in one click.
• Most common packages are pre-installed and ready to use.

1.3 Your First LaTeX Document #

Enter the following code and compile:

\documentclass{article}
\begin{document}
``Hello world!'' from \LaTeX.
\end{document}

You will see the output:

“Hello world!” from LaTeX.

Line-by-line explanation:

1.4 LaTeX Commands and Code Structure #

Commands #

LaTeX commands begin with a backslash \ and come in two forms:

• Letter commands: \LaTeX, \section, \textbf — terminated by a space, number, or non-letter.
• Symbol commands: \$, \%, \\ — a backslash followed by exactly one non-letter character.

Important: LaTeX commands are case-sensitive. \LaTeX works; \Latex causes an error.

Letter commands ignore all spaces that follow them. To preserve a space after a command, add {}:

\TeX users       % outputs "TeXusers" — the space is swallowed
\TeX{} users     % outputs "TeX users" — space preserved

Parameters #

• Mandatory parameters are enclosed in braces {}, e.g. \textbf{bold text}.
• Optional parameters are enclosed in square brackets [], e.g. \documentclass[12pt]{article}.

Environments #

Environments apply an effect to a block of content:

\begin{center}
This text is centred.
\end{center}

Overall Structure #

\documentclass{...}    % Specify document class
% ====== Preamble ======
% Load packages, set global options
\usepackage{...}

\begin{document}
% ====== Body ======
% Your content goes here
\end{document}
% Anything after this is ignored

• Preamble (between \documentclass and \begin{document}): load packages, configure settings.
• Body (between \begin{document} and \end{document}): the actual document content.

1.5 Document Classes and Packages #

Document Classes #

The class is specified with \documentclass[options]{class}.

Common options:

Example: A4 paper, 11pt base font:

\documentclass[11pt, a4paper]{article}

Packages #

Packages extend LaTeX’s capabilities. Load them in the preamble:

\usepackage[options]{package-name}

Multiple packages can be loaded at once (when no options are needed):

\usepackage{graphicx, amsmath, hyperref}

On texpage.com, the vast majority of common packages are pre-installed.

1.6 A Complete Starter Template #

Copy this into texpage.com and compile:

\documentclass[11pt, a4paper]{article}

% === Preamble: load packages ===
\usepackage{geometry}
\geometry{left=2.5cm, right=2.5cm, top=2.5cm, bottom=2.5cm}
\usepackage{amsmath}
\usepackage{graphicx}
\usepackage{hyperref}
\hypersetup{colorlinks=true, linkcolor=blue}

% Title information
\title{My First \LaTeX{} Document}
\author{Jane Doe}
\date{\today}

\begin{document}

\maketitle            % Generate title
\tableofcontents      % Generate table of contents

\section{Introduction}
This is my first document written with \LaTeX{}.

\section{Body}
\LaTeX{} produces beautiful mathematics:
\[
  E = mc^2
\]

\section{Conclusion}
\LaTeX{} is powerful!

\end{document}

A single click of the Compile button on texpage.com will produce a document with a title page, table of contents, numbered sections, and a displayed equation.

Chapter 2: Typesetting Text

2.1 Spaces, Line Breaks, and Paragraphs #

Spaces #

• Multiple consecutive spaces are treated as a single space.
• Spaces at the beginning of a line are ignored.

Multiple     spaces   equal  one.
   Leading spaces are ignored.

Output: Multiple spaces equal one. Leading spaces are ignored.

Paragraphs #

• A blank line (two consecutive newlines) starts a new paragraph.
• A single newline is treated as a space — it does not start a new paragraph.
• The \par command also starts a new paragraph.

This is the first paragraph.
This is still part of the first paragraph.

This is the second paragraph.

Comments #

Everything after % on a line is a comment and is ignored:

This text is visible. % This comment is not.

2.2 Special Characters #

The following characters have special meaning in LaTeX:

# $ % & { } _ ^ ~ \

To print them literally, use escape sequences:

2.3 Quotation Marks #

In LaTeX, quotation marks are not entered with the " key on your keyboard. Instead:

``Please press the `x' key.''

Output: “Please press the ‘x’ key.”

For context-aware quotation marks that adapt to language, load the csquotes package and use \enquote{text}.

2.4 Dashes and Ellipsis #

Dashes #

Ellipsis #

Use \ldots (or \dots) instead of typing three periods:

one, two, three, \ldots{} one hundred.

2.5 Line Breaking and Page Breaking #

Manual Line Breaks #

\\ or \\[length] forces a line break within a paragraph (without starting a new paragraph).

First line here \\
Second line, same paragraph.

Note: \\ does not start a new paragraph — it just breaks the line. Use a blank line for a proper paragraph break.

Manual Page Breaks #

• \newpage — start a new page.
• \clearpage — start a new page and flush all pending floats.

2.6 Simple Custom Commands #

If you find yourself typing the same text repeatedly, define a command:

\NewDocumentCommand{\lshort}{}{%
The Not So Short Introduction to \LaTeX%
}

I am reading \lshort{}.

Output: I am reading The Not So Short Introduction to LaTeX.

This is especially useful for names, logos, or strings you might change later. If you need to redefine an existing command, use \RenewDocumentCommand instead.

Chapter 3: Document Elements — Sections, Lists, Tables, Figures, and Floats

3.1 Sections and Table of Contents #

LaTeX provides a hierarchy of sectioning commands that automatically number headings and write them into the table of contents:

Variants:

• Unnumbered: \section*{Title} — no number, not listed in the table of contents.
• Short title for TOC: \section[Short]{A Very Long Title Shown in the Text}

To generate a table of contents, place \tableofcontents where you want it to appear. texpage.com automatically handles the required multiple compilation passes.

3.2 Cross References #

Label any numbered element with \label{marker}, then refer to it with \ref{marker} (for the number) or \pageref{marker} (for the page):

\section{Introduction}\label{sec:intro}

As discussed in Section~\ref{sec:intro} on page~\pageref{sec:intro} \ldots

3.3 Footnotes #

An interesting fact.\footnote{This is a footnote.}

3.4 Lists #

Numbered (enumerate) #

\begin{enumerate}
  \item First item
  \item Second item
\end{enumerate}

Bulleted (itemize) #

\begin{itemize}
  \item Apples
  \item Bananas
\end{itemize}

Description #

\begin{description}
  \item[LaTeX] A document preparation system.
  \item[Python] A programming language.
\end{description}

Lists can be nested up to four levels deep.

3.5 Tables #

Basic Table #

The tabular environment typesets tables. Column alignment is specified in the {colspec} argument: l (left), c (centre), r (right), p{width} (paragraph with fixed width).

\begin{tabular}{lcr}
  left & centre & right \\
  1    & 2      & 3     \\
\end{tabular}

Professional Three-Line Tables (with booktabs) #

Load booktabs and use \toprule, \midrule, \bottomrule:

\usepackage{booktabs}  % in preamble

\begin{tabular}{lcc}
  \toprule
  Name  & Math & English \\
  \midrule
  Alice & 95   & 88 \\
  Bob   & 82   & 91 \\
  \bottomrule
\end{tabular}

Golden rules for professional tables: (1) Never use vertical lines. (2) Never use double lines.

Merging Cells #

• Horizontal merge: \multicolumn{ncols}{colspec}{text}
• Vertical merge: requires the multirow package — \multirow{nrows}{width}{text} (use * for natural width).

3.6 Including Graphics #

Load the graphicx package:

\usepackage{graphicx}  % in preamble

\includegraphics[width=0.6\textwidth]{myimage}

Common options:

On texpage.com: Upload image files (PDF, PNG, JPG) via the file panel on the left, then reference them by filename in your code.

3.7 Floating Bodies #

Large elements like figures and tables are placed inside float environments. LaTeX determines the best position for them, avoiding large gaps of white space.

Figure Float #

\begin{figure}[htbp]
  \centering
  \includegraphics[width=0.6\textwidth]{myimage}
  \caption{An interesting figure}
  \label{fig:myfig}
\end{figure}

Table Float #

\begin{table}[htbp]
  \centering
  \caption{Student scores}
  \label{tab:scores}
  \begin{tabular}{lcc}
    \toprule
    Name & Math & English \\
    \midrule
    Alice & 95 & 88 \\
    Bob   & 82 & 91 \\
    \bottomrule
  \end{tabular}
\end{table}

Placement specifiers ([htbp]):

LaTeX always evaluates placement in the order h → t → b → p, regardless of the order you write them.

Key points:

• \centering centres the content (preferred over the center environment inside floats — it avoids extra spacing).
• \caption generates the caption and auto-number. \label must come after \caption.
• Reference with Figure~\ref{fig:myfig} or Table~\ref{tab:scores}.

Chapter 4: Typesetting Mathematical Formulae

4.1 Getting Started #

Load the following two packages in your preamble for the best experience:

\usepackage{mathtools}
\usepackage{unicode-math}

mathtools loads amsmath internally and adds improvements. unicode-math enables modern OpenType math fonts.

4.2 Inline and Display Mathematics #

Inline Maths #

Enclose formulae between \( and \):

The Pythagorean theorem: \(a^2 + b^2 = c^2\).

Display Maths (unnumbered) #

Enclose between \[ and \]:

\[
  a^2 + b^2 = c^2
\]

Display Maths (numbered) #

Use the equation environment:

\begin{equation}
  E = mc^2 \label{eq:energy}
\end{equation}
See Equation~\eqref{eq:energy}.

\eqref automatically adds parentheses around the equation number.

4.3 Common Mathematical Symbols #

Superscripts and Subscripts #

Remember: When the super-/subscript contains more than one character, wrap it in {}.

Fractions and Roots #

\(\frac{a+b}{c+d}\)   % fraction
\(\sqrt{x}\)           % square root
\(\sqrt[3]{8}\)         % cube root

• \dfrac forces display-style fractions; \tfrac forces text-style.

Brackets and Delimiters #

Parentheses () and brackets [] are entered directly. Braces require escaping: \{, \}.

Use \left and \right for auto-sizing delimiters:

\[
  \left( \frac{a}{b} \right)^2 \qquad
  \left. \frac{\partial f}{\partial x} \right|_{x=0}
\]

If only one delimiter is needed, use \left. or \right. for the invisible side.

4.4 Multi-line Equations #

Aligned Equations (align) #

Use & to mark the alignment point (usually before =) and \\ to break lines:

\begin{align}
  a &= b + c       \\
    &= d + e + f
\end{align}

Use align* for the unnumbered version. Use \notag to suppress the number on a specific line.

Gathered Equations (gather) #

Centre multiple equations without alignment:

\begin{gather}
  a = b + c \\
  x^2 + y^2 = z^2
\end{gather}

Piecewise Functions (cases) #

\[
  |x| =
  \begin{cases}
    -x & \text{if } x < 0, \\
     0 & \text{if } x = 0, \\
     x & \text{if } x > 0.
  \end{cases}
\]

4.5 Matrices #

amsmath provides several matrix environments (no column specifiers needed):

\[
  \mathbf{A} = \begin{pmatrix}
    a_{11} & a_{12} & \cdots & a_{1n} \\
    a_{21} & a_{22} & \cdots & a_{2n} \\
    \vdots & \vdots & \ddots & \vdots \\
    a_{n1} & a_{n2} & \cdots & a_{nn}
  \end{pmatrix}
\]

Dots: \cdots (horizontal), \vdots (vertical), \ddots (diagonal).

4.6 Theorems and Proofs #

Define theorem-like environments in the preamble:

\usepackage{amsthm}

\newtheorem{theorem}{Theorem}[section]
\newtheorem{lemma}[theorem]{Lemma}

Use in the body:

\begin{theorem}[Pythagorean Theorem]\label{thm:pyth}
  For a right triangle, \(a^2 + b^2 = c^2\).
\end{theorem}

\begin{proof}
  Trivial. \qedhere
\end{proof}

The proof environment adds a QED symbol (□) at the end automatically.

4.7 Comprehensive Example #

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{mathtools, amssymb, amsthm}

\newtheorem{theorem}{Theorem}

\begin{document}

\section{Mathematics Showcase}

Euler's identity: \(e^{i\pi} + 1 = 0\).

The Gaussian integral:
\[
  \int_{-\infty}^{+\infty} e^{-x^2}\,\mathrm{d}x = \sqrt{\pi}
\]

Maxwell's equations:
\begin{align}
  \nabla \cdot  \mathbf{E} &= \frac{\rho}{\varepsilon_0}  \\
  \nabla \cdot  \mathbf{B} &= 0                            \\
  \nabla \times \mathbf{E} &= -\frac{\partial \mathbf{B}}{\partial t} \\
  \nabla \times \mathbf{B} &= \mu_0 \mathbf{J}
    + \mu_0 \varepsilon_0 \frac{\partial \mathbf{E}}{\partial t}
\end{align}

A determinant:
\[
  \det \begin{vmatrix} a & b \\ c & d \end{vmatrix} = ad - bc
\]

\begin{theorem}[Fermat's Last Theorem]
  For integer \(n > 2\), the equation
  \[ x^n + y^n = z^n \]
  has no positive integer solutions.
\end{theorem}

\end{document}

Chapter 5: Customising Your Document — Fonts, Page Layout, and Headers

5.1 Font Styles and Sizes #

Font Style Commands #

LaTeX provides argument commands (preferred) and switch commands:

Switch commands need braces to limit their scope: {\bfseries bold text}.

Font Size Commands #

Use braces to limit scope: {\Large Large text} normal text.

Custom Fonts (fontspec) #

With XeLaTeX or LuaLaTeX, the fontspec package lets you use any system font:

\usepackage{fontspec}
\setmainfont{Source Serif Pro}
\setsansfont{Source Sans Pro}
\setmonofont{Source Code Pro}

On texpage.com, common fonts are pre-installed. The defaults work well out of the box.

5.2 Text Decoration and Emphasis #

Underline — LaTeX’s built-in \underline cannot break across lines. Use the ulem package:

\usepackage{ulem}  % in preamble
Some \uline{underlined text that wraps properly}.

Emphasis — \emph toggles between italic and upright automatically when nested:

This is \emph{emphasised, and \emph{double emphasis} reverts}.

5.3 Paragraph Formatting and Spacing #

Paragraph Indentation #

\setlength{\parindent}{2em}  % first-line indent

• \noindent — suppress indentation for the current paragraph.
• The indentfirst package makes the first paragraph after a heading indented too.

Paragraph Spacing #

\setlength{\parskip}{0.5em}  % space between paragraphs

Line Spacing #

\linespread{1.5}  % set in the preamble

5.4 Page Layout #

The geometry package provides a convenient interface:

\usepackage{geometry}
\geometry{
  a4paper,
  left   = 2.5cm,
  right  = 2.5cm,
  top    = 2.5cm,
  bottom = 2.5cm
}

More examples:

% Word-style defaults
\geometry{a4paper, hmargin=1.25in, vmargin=1in}

% Uniform margins
\geometry{margin=1.25in}

% Book layout: narrower inner margin
\geometry{inner=1in, outer=1.25in}

5.5 Page Headers and Footers #

Basic Page Styles #

\pagestyle{style}

Custom Headers with fancyhdr #

\usepackage{fancyhdr}
\pagestyle{fancy}

\fancyhf{}                              % Clear defaults
\fancyhead[L]{\leftmark}                % Left header: section title
\fancyhead[R]{\thepage}                 % Right header: page number
\fancyfoot[C]{My Document}              % Centre footer
\renewcommand{\headrulewidth}{0.4pt}    % Header rule thickness
\renewcommand{\footrulewidth}{0pt}      % No footer rule

5.6 Colours #

Load xcolor:

\usepackage{xcolor}

{\color{red} Red text.}
\textcolor{blue}{Blue text.}
\colorbox{yellow}{Yellow background.}
\fcolorbox{red}{yellow}{Red border, yellow background.}

Define custom colours:

\definecolor{myblue}{RGB}{0, 102, 204}
\textcolor{myblue}{Custom blue text.}

Mix colours:

\textcolor{red!60!blue}{60\% red + 40\% blue}

5.7 Hyperlinks #

Load hyperref (conventionally the last package in the preamble):

\usepackage{hyperref}
\hypersetup{
  colorlinks  = true,
  linkcolor   = blue,
  citecolor   = green,
  urlcolor    = cyan
}

Visit \url{https://texpage.com}.
Visit \href{https://texpage.com}{TeXPage}.
See Section~\ref{sec:intro}.        % auto-hyperlinked

To remove all link styling: \hypersetup{hidelinks}.

5.8 Complete Styling Example #

\documentclass[11pt, a4paper]{article}

% === Page layout ===
\usepackage{geometry}
\geometry{left=3cm, right=3cm, top=2.5cm, bottom=2.5cm}

% === Line spacing ===
\linespread{1.3}

% === Maths ===
\usepackage{mathtools, amssymb}

% === Figures and tables ===
\usepackage{graphicx}
\usepackage{booktabs}

% === Colours and hyperlinks ===
\usepackage{xcolor}
\usepackage{hyperref}
\hypersetup{colorlinks=true, linkcolor=blue,
            citecolor=red, urlcolor=cyan}

% === Headers and footers ===
\usepackage{fancyhdr}
\pagestyle{fancy}
\fancyhf{}
\fancyhead[L]{\leftmark}
\fancyhead[R]{\thepage}
\renewcommand{\headrulewidth}{0.4pt}

% === Title ===
\title{\textbf{A Beginner's \LaTeX{} Document}}
\author{Jane Doe}
\date{\today}

\begin{document}

\maketitle
\tableofcontents
\newpage

\section{Introduction}\label{sec:intro}
This document demonstrates common \LaTeX{} features.
Visit \href{https://texpage.com}{TeXPage} for more.

\section{Mathematics}
Euler's identity:
\begin{equation}
  e^{i\pi} + 1 = 0
\end{equation}

\section{A Table}
See Table~\ref{tab:scores}.

\begin{table}[htbp]
  \centering
  \caption{Student Scores}
  \label{tab:scores}
  \begin{tabular}{lcc}
    \toprule
    Name  & Maths & English \\
    \midrule
    Alice & 95    & 88 \\
    Bob   & 82    & 91 \\
    Carol & 90    & 85 \\
    \bottomrule
  \end{tabular}
\end{table}

\section{Conclusion}
As discussed in Section~\ref{sec:intro}, \LaTeX{} is a powerful tool.

\end{document}

Appendix #

\section*{Acknowledgements}
\addcontentsline{toc}{section}{Acknowledgements}

\usepackage{float}
\begin{figure}[H]
  ...
\end{figure}