Session 1

Unless you have prior experience, you should probably follow these links in order. (Use your browser's "back" button to return to this page)

• If you are completely new to LaTeX or to the system you are using, you should start with something quite simple. Click on small2e to look at small2e.tex. This requires you to download and process a LaTeX file.
• (Using LaTeX is very like programming and Birmingham students should all have seen how to open an editor, command window and run programs from that on the sun machines. There is a very old handout on how to do this available as local.pdf. This may be out-of-date now. If you are feeling brave, you could even look at the source file for this handout, local.tex.)
• Help! what am I trying to do?
• For a second example document (a possible template for a journal article) with detailed notes describing the source file and a link to the formatted output, try latexart.
• If, after working through small2e and/or latexart, you feel you need some more background information on what typesetting programs (and LaTeX in particular) are about, click here.
• Here is a useful beginners' document on using LaTeX, Essential LaTeX2e, modified from "Essential LaTeX" by Jon Warbrick, that revises all the points we have seen so far and goes further in some directions. It is worth printing out and reading, even if you don't bother to check how the ouput was produced against the source code. You can download the pdf file or the source file here: pdf file or Source file.

Finally, if (as a result of these tasters) you are keen on LaTeX, and want to get LaTeX for your PC at home, click here to find out more.