Posts Tagged “latex”

Oct 06 2006

Bibtex tip

Posted by: Neil in General

This problem crops up every so often with my Bibtex files:

This is BibTeX, Version 0.99c (Web2C 7.5.4)
The top-level auxiliary file: oss07.aux
The style file: plainnat.bst
Database file #1: neilernst.bib
Sorry---you've exceeded BibTeX's buffer size 5000
Aborted at line 14636 of file neilernst.bib
(That was a fatal error)

Now, I initially thought this meant my bibtex file was too long (15k lines). But really, the issue is that one line of the file — identified by the parser above as line 14636 — is over 500 characters. Once I’d trimmed this (an abstract from Amazon) everything worked as it should.

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Oct 21 2003

Assorted LaTeX tidbits

Posted by: Neil in personal

This entry will be updated periodically to reflect my experiences and tips for people using LaTeX.

I switched to LaTeX recently to format my thesis and large papers. The chief advantage is that you can do diffs and use CVS with it, which is very handy for backups and collaboration. The other advantage is that it seems to scale much better than Word. I’ve never had a need for mathematical symbols or equations, but I’m told this is another big advantage. Finally, there are numerous pregenerated styles for bibliographies and papers available, most at CTAN, the comprehensive TeX archive.A disadvantage is that it has a not-so-gentle learning curve (but is really just like writing HTML), and it’s difficult to coordinate journal writing with non-LaTeX folks. Also, it can be tricky to do custom formats such as complex tables or figures. My recommendation is to do these figures and complex graphics in something like Illustrator, and then insert it into the file as a PDF image.

    First, I use the WinEDT (pronounced Wine Dit or Win ee-dee-tee or Win Edit) program as a front-end. It’s definitely not at the same level as Word (probably because there’s one person working on it, which makes you wonder how many people it takes to make Word), but it can handle simple spellchecking, word counts, syntax highlighting, hotkeys, macros, etc. I’ve never found it a hindrance. It also has a neat table macro which can help you generate tables, which can be tricky.
    MikTex - a LaTeX distribution for windows, comes with a good GUI installer and update program. Pretty painless really.
    Hyperref (included in MikTeX distribution) - this package allows you to start at a specific page when compiling to PDF, which is very handy. eg package[pdftex, pdftitle=..., pdfstartpage=20]{hyperref}. You can also use it to add hyperlinks to references in the PDF, which is nice. Good docs reside here.

[Listening to: Suite- Judy Blue Eyes (Radio Paradise - eclectic intelligent rock - music info & listener community at radioparadise.com) - Crosby Stills & Nash - (0:-1)]

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