Latex Formatting Help for Maths Coursework - Ryan

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around formatting issues in LaTeX for a mathematics coursework project. Participants share their experiences and solutions regarding cosmetic formatting problems, specifically related to paragraph indentation and figure placement.

Discussion Character

  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Ryan expresses difficulties with indentation under figures and the placement of figures in relation to section headings.
  • One participant suggests using \noindent to prevent indentation for specific paragraphs.
  • Another participant notes that indents are standard for new paragraphs and mentions that extra newlines in the source can cause unexpected indentations.
  • A participant advises against using the displaymath environment, suggesting alternatives like $$ code $$ and \[ code \].
  • Ryan acknowledges the effectiveness of the \noindent suggestion and expresses confusion about paragraph indentations.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the use of \noindent to address indentation issues, but there is a lack of consensus on the best practices for using displaymath versus other environments.

Contextual Notes

Some participants mention that formatting issues can arise from specific LaTeX behaviors, such as recognizing new paragraphs or the effects of extra newlines, but do not resolve these complexities.

Who May Find This Useful

Individuals new to LaTeX, particularly those working on mathematics coursework or similar projects, may find the shared experiences and solutions beneficial.

ryan88
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Hi,

I am quite new to latex but have a piece of maths coursework to do so decided that I would use that in order to learn the basics of latex. So far things have gone OK, as I have managed to fine the answers to most of my questions on various latex tutorial web pages and on this forum. However, I am having some trouble with a couple of cosmetic things.

I have attached a copy of my tex file (in txt format because this forum doesn't seem to allow uploading tex files) and also a copy of my pdf file to this post.

My trouble I am having is:
  1. The first line underneath figure 3.1 on page 9 is indented
  2. The first line underneath figure 3.2 on page 10 is indented
  3. Figure 3.3 on page 11 should be underneath the heading for section 3.2.2

These are only minor cosmetic things, but I would like to know why they have happened and change them if possible.

Thanks,

Ryan
 

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Hi ryan88!

I'm quite new to latex too. But I hope this can help.

For Problems # 1 and 2, try to write \noindent before the paragraph. That is,

"\noindent The number of unknown variables in this problem ..."

"\noindent For $j=1$ and $i=1$"


Unfortunately I can't provide solution to problem # 3 since I do not have the figures (files in that matter). But i think [ht] means here top. Try [h] instead of [ht].

I hope that helps.
 
Thanks dude! That worked great.
 
Those indented things are deemed starts of paragraphs so they should be indented. But the \noindent thing works around this feature as noted. There are other times this can occur, such as after a displaymath environment, and then it is normally because of an extra newline in the source.

In fact I'm just posting to say 'stop using displaymath'! No one uses that. There are two schools of thought as to what you should use. Some prefer

Code:
$$ code $$

and others

Code:
\[ code \]

as the standard.

Getting floats right is a notorious black art - good luck to you.
 
I guessed they were indented because it was recognizing them as new paragraphs. It's just never indent new paragraphs, i just leave a blank line and then start the new paragraph so it looked inconsistent.

Thanks for the tip about displaymath.
 

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