LaTeX Frequently Asked Questions

This page contains frequently asked questions and proposed solutions about the ISU LaTeX template for theses and dissertations. Please note that the proposed solutions are not definite. However, they will likely fix your formatting issues if your original deviations from the standard instructions, commands, and packages in the given template are minimal.

If your settings have diverted extensively from the given template, these proposed solutions may not work. If that is the case, you may need to reach out for assistance. You can schedule a LaTeX Formatting Consultation.

Another way of getting help is to contact Overleaf. Email support@overleaf.com from your ISU email with your project URL or use the Contact Us links within Overleaf projects. 

  1. I only have one appendix in my document. How do I remove the letter “A” from my file?
  2. The spacing between my page number and my chapter title is not consistent. How do I fix this?
  3. The template shows a left-justified alignment, but my file doesn’t look like the template. What should I check for?
  4. How do I add the word “Table” or “Figure” in front of the number in the List of Tables or List of Figures?
  5. How do I truncate the name of a figure/table that appears in the List of Tables or List of Figures?
  6. Why is my font size 11 in LaTeX? The guidelines say that I need a 12-point font size.
  7. I have a single reference that is split across two pages. How can I modify it so that the single reference is moved to the new page?
  8. My tables and figures never stay where I put them. What am I doing wrong?
  9. Is there a way to get two tables in LaTeX to appear side-by-side rather than one on top of the other?
  10. I am using the isuthesis package and I have a really long table (or figure) that extends longer than a single page. I tried breaking my table up into two separate tables but that creates two entries in my “List of Tables”. What can I do?
  11. How do I produce an uppercase greek bold letter in LaTeX?
  12. How do I produce a lowercase greek bold letter in LaTeX?
  13. How do I underline items in LaTeX?
  14. Why does the journal style template not compile when downloaded on my PC?
  15. How do I stop my figure numbering from skipping numbers?

 

1.  I only have one appendix in my document. How do I remove the letter “A” from my file?

In the Overleaf Template, use the following command for documents containing a single appendix. Open the thesis.tex file, in the code section for the appendix, you will find the following commands. Remove the second command if you want to include just a single appendix:

\include{Appendix/appendix1}
\include{Appendix/appendix2}

Now, to remove the letter A, go to the appendix folder in the template, open file appendix1.tex and include the following commands:

\unappendixtitle
\singleappendixtitle

Recompile the document, and you should find the changes applied.

 

2.  The spacing between my page number and my chapter title is not consistent. How do I fix this?

Make sure the following piece of code is present in the thesis.tex file; it should be present if you download the template from CCE website. Make sure the code is not commented out. This will ensure that extra space between page number, and the chapter title is automatically removed.

\usepackage{etoolbox}
\makeatletter
\patchcmd{\@makechapterhead}{50\p@}{0pt}{}{}
\patchcmd{\@makeschapterhead}{50\p@}{0pt}{}{}

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3.  The template shows a left-justified alignment, but my file doesn’t look like the template. What should I check for?

Check if the following commands are present:

\raggedright
\parindent 0.25 in

Also, make sure in the thesis.tex file, you have \raggedright inserted before the commands for including all chapters. [ \include {Body/chapter1} ]

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4.  How do I add the word “Table” or “Figure” in front of the number in the List of Tables or List of Figures?

For short captions of figures and tables, use:  \isucaption []

For long captions of figures and tables, use:  \isucaption{}

This will automatically format and include the word table/figure as necessary when used under the appropriate section.

If you are using the package tocloft, use the following code:

\usepackage[titles]{tocloft}
\renewcommand{\cftchapleader}{\cftdotfill{\cftdotsep}}
\renewcommand{\cftchapfont}{\mdseries}
\renewcommand{\cftchappagefont}{\mdseries}
\renewcommand{\cftchappresnum}{CHAPTER }
\renewcommand{\cftchapnumwidth}{7em}
\renewcommand{\cftsecleader}{\cftdotfill{\cftdotsep}}

\begin{singlespace}
{
\pdfbookmark[1]{TABLE OF CONTENTS}{table}
\tableofcontents
}

%% The line below adds the word "Page" over the page numbers in TOC, LOT, LOF
\addtocontents{toc}{~\hfill\textbf{Page}\par}
\addtocontents{lot}{~\hfill\textbf{Page}\par}
\addtocontents{lof}{~\hfill\textbf{Page}\par}
%%
\addtocontents{toc}{\def\protect\@chapapp{}}
\cleardoublepage \phantomsection
\pagebreak

% For List of Tables
\renewcommand{\cfttabpresnum}{Table }
\setlength{\cftbeforetabskip}{10pt}
\setlength{\cfttabnumwidth}{6.5em}
\addcontentsline{toc}{chapter}{LIST OF TABLES}
\listoftables
 

% For List of Figures
\cleardoublepage
\phantomsection
\renewcommand{\cftfigpresnum}{Figure }
\setlength{\cftfignumwidth}{6.5em}
\setlength{\cftbeforefigskip}{10pt}
\addcontentsline{toc}{chapter}{LIST OF FIGURES}
\listoffigures
\end{singlespace}

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5.  How do I truncate the name of a figure/table that appears in the List of Tables or List of Figures?

\isucaption{}

For long captions of figures and tables. This will truncate the name.

 

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6.  Why is my font size 11 in LaTeX? The guidelines say that I need a 12-point font size.

In the Overleaf/LaTeX template, the font size is 11-point because the sizing ratio between LaTeX and Word is approximately 1.25-1.4: 1.5. Consequently, a 10 or 11 point setting in LaTeX is equal to a 12-point setting in Word.

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7.  I have a single reference that is split across two pages. How can I modify it so that the single reference is moved to the new page?

\bibliographystyle{apa}\interlinepenalty=10000       %adjust or increase the number 10000 if needed\bibliography{master_bib}

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8.  My tables and figures never stay where I put them. What am I doing wrong?

If your tables and figures continue to float on to where you don’t want them to be, you can use the \clearpage command in your document. \clearpage stops any additional text from being placed on the page until after all your previously defined tables and figures, which are floating or waiting for a spot, have been printed. Keep in mind, however, that the overuse of the \clearpage command will create a large amount of white space in your document, and that leads to a different formatting issue.

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9.  Is there a way to get two tables in LaTeX to appear side-by-side rather than one on top of the other?

The easiest way to get two tables to appear side-by-side is to not make them into two tables. Instead, create one table environment with many minipage tables (or mini-tables) inside of it. For example, the following example would make four mini-tables across the width of the page when using the isuthesis package:

\begin{table}[h!tb]
\begin{minipage}{1.5 in}
\setlength{\captionwidth}{2 in}
\isucaption{Hello}
\begin{tabular}{ccc}
one & two & three \\
a & b & c \\
day & be & dog
\end{tabular}
\end{minipage}
\begin{minipage}{1.5 in}
\setlength{\captionwidth}{2 in}
\isucaption{Jello}
\begin{tabular}{ccc}
one & two & three \\
a & b & c \\
day & be & dog
\end{tabular}
\end{minipage}
\begin{minipage}{1.5 in}
\setlength{\captionwidth}{2 in}
\isucaption{Mello}
\begin{tabular}{ccc}
one & two & three \\
a & b & c \\
day & be & dog
\end{tabular}
\end{minipage}
\begin{minipage}{1.5 in}
\end{minipage}
\begin{minipage}{1.5 in}
\setlength{\captionwidth}{2 in}
\isucaption{Yello}
\begin{tabular}{ccc}
one & two & three \\
a & b & c \\
day & be & dog
\end{tabular}
\end{minipage}
\end{table}

Each mini-table gets its own caption and appears to be its own full-sized table even though they are all contained in one table environment. There is a further example of this using the epsfig package in “The LaTeX Companion”.

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10.  I am using the isuthesis package and I have a really long table that extends longer than a single page. I tried breaking my table up into two separate tables but that creates two entries in my “List of Tables”. What can I do?

Keep your first table the way it is, but use the \isucontinuecaption command in place of the \isucaption command in your second table. The \isucontinuecaption command marks the table or figure as a continuation of the previous table or figure and thus doesn’t increment the table or figure counter for that table or figure.

Similarly, to split long captions across pages:

\begin{figure}
\centering
\includegraphics[width= 0.8\textwidth]{<insert figure name>} %edit the width scaling accordingly
\isucaption{<insert your caption>}
\label{ }
\end{figure}
%
\begin{figure}
   \raggedright
   \isucontinuecaption{<insert rest of the caption here>}
\end{figure}

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11.  How do I produce an uppercase greek bold letter in LaTeX?

You simply have to use:

$\mathbf{2^{ft}
\Psi
\psi}$

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12.  How do I produce a lowercase greek bold letter in LaTeX?

To get bold lowercase bold greek letters, use:

\boldmath $2^{ft}
\Psi
\psi$
\unboldmath

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13.  How do I underline items in LaTeX?

Do not underline items in LaTeX. Use emphasis instead:

\emph{item}

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14.  Why does the journal style template not compile when downloaded on my PC?

The steps to compile are a little different when you download to your local machine.

The individual .tex files must be compiled first, and then the thesis.tex main file is compiled next. To keep most of the formatting intact, we recommend using overleaf and compiling the document online.


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15.  How do I stop my figure numbering from skipping numbers?

Figures comprised of multiple subfigures that use the subcaption package can cause figure numbering to skip. To correct this, add a decrement command before the caption of any figure that contains a subcaption.

\addtocounter(figure){-1}