I saw somewhere that this forum can use LaTex format for drawings, which I gather is all the rage in universities these days.

Since it is at least 200 years since I set foot in one, I would appreciate some instructions on how to get Latex and use it to do better drawings to upload.

 

Google led me to this site ... http://www.latex-project.org/

 

LaTeX has a very primitive picture environment. I would not use it for drawing.

LaTeX is a set of macros for TeX. TeX is a typesetting program.
The TeX users group is at http://www.tug.org. If you are on Linux download
the TeXLive CD and use that. If you are on Windows look for the MiKTeX
package.

Two good references on LaTeX are

The Latex Companion
by Michel Goossens, Frank Mittelbach (Contributor),
Alexander Samarin (Contributor)
Paperback - 528 pages (January 1994)
Addison-Wesley Pub Co; ISBN: 0201541998

The LaTex Graphics Companion:
Illustrating Documents With Tex and Postscript
by Michel Goossens, Sebastian Rahtz (Contributor), Frank Mittelbach
Paperback (April 1997)
Addison-Wesley Pub Co; ISBN: 0201854694

(* jcl *)

 

You can use latex and pigments for body paint. You can use it on canvas as well. It can be applied repeatedly to make thicker areas. Don't use it if you're allergic to latex.


LaTex is probably very difficult to draw with. It can be done. I also know people who write postscript because they consider most programs lacking when it comes to manipulation of their documents. That to me is very painful.

 

I saw somewhere that this forum can use LaTex format for drawings, which I gather is all the rage in universities these days.

Since it is at least 200 years since I set foot in one, I would appreciate some instructions on how to get Latex and use it to do better drawings to upload.

When we added the LaTex add-on the referenced source for the LaTex typesetting is as described in the FAQ (the UoC link - please note this is a PDF).

I am always looking for better resources to help people and it is my intention to write a detailed blog entry on using the LaTex functions here at AAC.

Dave

 

I have MathCad and Circuitmaker, but haven't figured how to incorprate their output into a post?

they can produce HTML pages or graphics formats.

 

I have MathCad and Circuitmaker, but haven't figured how to incorprate their output into a post?

they can produce HTML pages or graphics formats.

You won't be able to use HTML as it is disabled for security reasons.

What are the "graphics formats"?

Dave

 

Do you mean "graphics formats" like .BMP, .PNG, .JPG ?

I usually just do a screen print by Ctrl+PrtScrn, then start MS Paint, paste the image, and save as a .png - then use the Advanced mode to upload an attachment.

It's very seldom that I hit the forum's file size limits by doing it that way - if I do, it's a simple matter to re-crop the image.

The biggest advantage of that method is that it works no matter what program you're using.

Many older programs (like Circuitmaker Student) only export .BMP image files, which are far too large to attach to a post.

 

Such formats do take a larger share of the server space so it is logical that I encourage people to use the LaTeX formatting where possible.

The other option is to use the [ IMG ] [ /IMG] (without spaces) tags which will place the images in-line. However, there is a settings issue at the moment which means it will remain as a clickable text link. I would ideally like to sort this out so that we have in-line thumbnails, but my efforts thus far have gone unsuccessful.

Dave

 

My Circuitmaker also exports to .wmf vector format which makes pretty small files.

However it is not the graphics format that is at issue, I can easily optimise and transcode - I do that anyway now.

I can post a clickable thumbnail without problem, but would like to get some math and sketches inline in the post rather than this way. Some posters seem to achieve this now.

I am still looking into LaTex but haven't yet found a dummies 1,2,3 guide.

 

Have you played around with the LaTeX editor built into the forums?

It is a case of press the button and fill the brackets; i.e. these -> {}

Dave

 

4\(^{2}\)=16

This is what I've been looking for, no more posts I'm too busy playing,

Thanks Dave.

 

It takes a bit of getting used to, but is a very powerful tool. Remember the primitive LaTeX tags [ tex ] [ /tex ] (without spaces) which you can put round any text -

\(This would be an example without spaces!!!\)

Perhaps we should have a "Practice your LaTeX" thread!

Have fun.

Dave