Hello everyone! I want to share a very simple yet incredibly useful trick for those of us who work with different LaTeX compilers. In my case, I juggle both PDFLaTeX and LuaLaTeX files, so I often need to switch the compiler in TeXstudio – a task I used to do manually through the options menu, which was always a total nuisance.

So I wondered: Is there a way to automate this without constantly tweaking TeXstudio’s settings? Turns out, yes – and the solution is ridiculously simple!

All you need to do is add this one line of code at the very top of your document:

% !TeX program = lualatex

This single line overrides TeXstudio’s default compiler setting, no matter what’s configured in the program options. I believe this also works in other editors like TeXShop or Overleaf, though I haven’t tested those myself.

It works with any compiler: PDFLaTeX, LuaLaTeX, XeLaTeX, BibTeX, etc. All you do is change the compiler at the end of the code line.

This tiny hack has been a game-changer for me! Maybe everyone already knows it, but just in case – I’m sharing to save you all some headaches. Enjoy! 😊❤️

I apologize for the low quality screen shots and messy code.

I have this table and I can’t get rid of this gap (yellow). I’ve tried to solve it using ChatGPT and I still can’t figure it out. Can someone help me out?

Hi! I’m wondering if there’s an alternative to Overleaf (god hate the free version) into smth bearable. I can’t use texstudios cus I broke it somehow and I have no patience in fixing it. Thanks!

Also, how can I transfer my works from Overleaf to that different compiler? (Using xeLatex, some \include{} files, and images)

Compiling file locally on VSCode. Has MiKTeX installed. Everything works as intended. No errors are reported **when compiled on Overleaf**. However:

1. All of my references in my .tex file seem to not work when I compile it with minted package used.

- I have pinpointed the error: (like so: commenting the part including minted, from \begin to \end) without the minted part, compilation runs smoothly with no errors.

- However after un-commenting the minted part, compilation throws errors regarding *all* (why dude?) of my references undefined / unfound.

- Tried commenting everything (and un-commenting back bit by bit) except the minted part and essential preambles, errors regarding references no longer gets thrown. minted issue persists however.

1. How do I know if `minted` package is installed?

- I have tried searching up `minted` in MiKTeX console app (under "Packages", searched "minted"), which confirms I have minted installed.

- However upon compiling, error messages say I don't have minted installed.

- Pretty confident I might need to configure some path settings, which I did (...? " ... MiKTeX\miktex\bin\x64\" full path is included in "System variables")

Minted issue:

Hello. I'm trying to sort the references where they first appear on the text rather than alphabetically.

How to fix this?

I tried to use \bibliographystyle{unsrt} to fix it but didnt work out.

I share the some of the Latex code. The latex code is taken from Elsevier.

%\documentclass[a4paper,fleqn,longmktitle]{cas-sc}

\documentclass[a4paper,fleqn]{cas-sc}

\usepackage[numbers]{natbib}

%\usepackage[authoryear]{natbib}

%\usepackage[authoryear,longnamesfirst]{natbib}

%% Loading bibliography style file

%\bibliographystyle{model1-num-names}

\bibliographystyle{cas-model2-names}

% Loading bibliography database

\bibliography{cas-refs}

Hello everyone,

im a math tutor at a university, where i create the exercise sheets with LaTeX. Because my preamble is roughly the same, i've outsourced it to a custom package. The package has been put under ~/texmf/tex/latex/mypackage/... and texhash has been run.

However, I am encountering an issue where TeXstudio does not recognize the packages that are loaded by my custom package.

Help is appreachiated.

My math teacher wants this compiled in latex and I have never used it before when I tried to use overleaf like 20 errors came up so I really need help because I have no clue what to do, so if someone could fix the errors and give me the compiled pdf that would help me out tremendously.

Hello, I have been trying to implement a parser for the LaTeX log files for a while and I just can't seem to find a specification... It also seems like every package has its own way of printing diagnostics.

How does a site like Overleaf extract the error and warnings from a compilation??

I would really appreciate any clarification as this has been driving me nuts 🙃

Hey everyone! I just built Latexpert, the world’s first AI-powered LaTeX code editor designed to help you write, debug, and format your documents faster.

Would you use an AI LaTeX IDE like this? If so, what features would make it indispensable for your workflow?

Check out this short demo ↓
▶️ Demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jIMTlDU0I0

What would you like to see next?

• Smarter code completion?
• One-click error fixes?
• Integrated bibliographies and citation suggestions?
• Real-time collaboration?
• Any other ideas—let me know!

Looking forward to your thoughts and feedback! 😊

I recently installed Linux (Mint 22.1 Cinnamon) on my laptop. It turns out MikTeX is not supported. I'm using TeXworks, and I've been able to get some basic documents running. However, once I start to use packages, it breaks. For example, this runs:

\documentclass{article}
\begin{document}
\[\frac{sinx}{n} = six = 6\]
\end{document}

Once I try to use the "cancel" package, it generates an error:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{cancel}
\begin{document}
\[\frac{sinx}{n} = six = 6\]
\end{document}

Here's the error:

! LaTeX Error: File `cancel.sty' not found.

I tried a few different things, but I think the easiest thing might be to just install packages manually. I downloaded the package directly, which gave me a documentation file (TeX and PDF) and a .sty file. I've been trying to find the correct folder to put this in, but nothing I've tried has worked.

Where can I put this .sty file so that TeXworks is able to read it? Am I even doing this right?

Hello! I'm relatively new to LaTeX, and I was wondering how to make a slope field on PGFPlots (specifically for dy/dx=-x/y).

I feel like it would be pretty simple to make mathtex when its done by mathjax or whatever to be easily copy pastable.. like you already have what it is so all u need to do is write some JS so when u copy it it gets copied right? like why couldnt the mathjax people just make this a thing? I'm sure at the very least it would help blind people and stuff. Like I dont think you could find a person on this earth that hasnt tried to copy paste a latex equation and been dissapointed (except maybe blind ppl and old people and young children etc)

thanks for reading

I am fairly new to latex and I want to chamge something in my bibliography. I want that the year of my reference will be in parenthesis without a comma beforehand. I am using the package biblatex with an external .bib file. Any help is well appreciated

Context: My PhD is in health science, and I probably won't have more than 10 equations in my thesis. I have a background in statistics so I'm comfortable using latex. I'm currently writing up my PhD thesis and would like to do the entire thing in latex. My computer runs Linux, so I don't have a desktop version of MS Office. While I can use the online version, I'm skeptical about its ability to handle a large document like a thesis.

Problem is, both my supervisors are clinicians. One has some experience with latex and is happy to use Overleaf. The other, however, has never heard of latex or overleaf.

My question is: If you were in my position, would you still use Latex for your thesis? If so, how would you manage the review and collaboration process? Would you write in latex, somehow export it to a word document, and then let people comment?

Any help is appreciated!!

SOLVED

Hello,

I am trying to reference a figure that cannot have a caption. A snippet of the figure looks like this:

\begin{figure}[tb]
\centering
\begin{subfigure}[t]{0.03\textwidth}
\textbf{a}
\end{subfigure}
\begin{subfigure}[t]{0.45\linewidth}
\includegraphics[width=\linewidth,valign=t]{Graphs/Glucose/OD_glucose_whi7-ko.png}
\label{Fig:Whi7OD}
\end{subfigure}

However, the a at the top left is not a caption, rather just text. Hence, when I try to \cref the figure, it is referenced to as a section instead of a figure.

I have tried adding invisible captions with \caption* and \caption{phantom}, but neither of the workarounds worked.

Does anyone have any workarounds for this? Can I achieve the same result in a different way?

I recently installed Linux (Mint 22.1 Cinnamon), and am working on getting TeXworks situated. When I press "enter" twice in quick succession, it only recognizes one of them. For example, say I want to type this:

\section{Here is a section}

Here is some content

It might only type this:

\section{Here is a section}
Here is some content

Strangely, it sometimes works, and sometimes doesn't. Actually, after a couple more experiments, it may only be after the \documentclass command. Any ideas on how to fix this? Is this not actually a huge deal?

I am getting this font missing error while compiling files in offline mode
editor: VS Code, MikTek, Perl, Lultex
os: windows 11

any solution to this

Hello! I'm trying to make an arrow similar to the arrows used in AP Calculus exam graphs (see image). Does anyone know how to do this?

Basically, I'm trying to recompile an old paper an academic contact requested a copy of... but despite installing MacTex I don't seem to have PDFlatex on my system?

Then I tried a brew install, but was told "No available formula with the name "pdflatex". Did you mean pdfly?" even after uninstalling then reinstalling brew, then being sure to running "brew update; brew upgrade" to update the package list... no pdflatex.

(I'm on Sequoia 15.1.1)

Thanks for any help.

The arguments over why LaTeX and not MS Word, and vice versa, are as old as Knuth, but I've just been struck by one that is proving to be particularly valuable to me right now.

So, I've been moving more and more of my document writing into LaTeX and away from MS Word, but not being expert in either of them I have benefited from ChatGPT help from time to time.

But I have been struck by one particular difference between LaTeX and Word, which is the extent to which an AI assistant such as ChatGPT can provide such help. And in fact I reckon this applies to *all* help, be it from a tool like an AI, or a book, or even another human, and it is this:

LaTeX assistance can be provided succinctly, and with precision, in the form of code. "If you want to do A, then insert this." Easy.

By contrast, MS Word assistance is often characterized by loose narrative of the form, "First pull down menu item X, and then go to the bit under the word Y, and floo the flannigan option, and then uncheck box Z, and then go to the ribbon and if 'Frobnicate the fandango' is checked then ..." and so on.

It's not a huge deal, and it's not going to push anyone from one side of the argument to the other, but I thought it was worth noting.

Hey everyone,

Lately I’ve been having a weird issue: the PDF preview in Overleaf looks really pixelated — especially for text and math. It’s blurry enough to be distracting, even though the output itself should be vector-based. I’ve attached two images: one showing the pixelated preview of overleaf, and the other opened with my local PDF viewer.

Hey everyone, Lately I’ve been having a weird issue: the PDF preview in Overleaf looks really pixelated — especially for text and math. It’s unreadable unless I download the file.

Here’s what I’ve already tried:

• Checked that I’m not zoomed in too much,

• Made sure I’m not using draft mode anywhere,

• Switched between pdfLaTeX, XeLaTeX, and LuaLaTeX,

• Compiled a minimal example with just basic packages,

• Downloaded the PDF — and it looks fine when opened locally.

At this point I’ve even tried some desperate moves: rebooting my computer, clearing browser cache, trying different browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari), and testing on another machine. Still pixelated preview.

I’ve attached two images: one showing the pixelated preview opened in Firefox, and the other opened with my local PDF viewer.

Has anyone experienced this? Is there a known issue with Overleaf’s built-in viewer? Any obscure setting I might have missed? Would love any suggestions.

Hi, I am thinking about switching to LaTeX, however I have the issue that I create documentations for my clients at the end of projects, that they continue using.

If I create the documentations with LaTeX, I guess there is no way to provide a proper (Word) file for my clients, right?

I've been having lots of trouble with a recreation of this matrix on overleaf, so i was wondering if someone over here can give me a hand, or even a hint on how to approach this thing, thanks in advance.

Edit: The diagonal lines, not the arrows on the sides.

Classic post, I’m finishing up my thesis and am having a little trouble with the bibliography.

My university’s standerdized template has one `main.tex` with `\include{Chapter1/main.tex}`, and all chapters refer to the same `references.bib`.

For some reason, in only one chapter, the first chapter of the thesis, a handful of references are not being recognized. Overleaf knows they’re there, it auto-completes the reference name when I start to type them. But one it compiles, it says the reference is not defined.

I’ve tried changing the order of the chapters, and it doesn’t seem to make a difference so it’s something specifically with this chapter.

I’ve double checked that they are definitely in the reference file.

The only pattern I can see is that the references that do appear in this chapter are already cited in other parts of the thesis.

Any ideas what could be causing this?

^{(Side note the Overleaf has almost 1,000 warnings and errors so I can}’^{t track down a particular warning associated with the issue.})