Introduction to LaTeX

Tired of Word shifting your images the moment you insert a footnote? Then join us for the first of two LaTeX courses – a system for producing technical documents where such problems are a thing of the past.

This course is for those who have never worked with LaTeX before. We’ll start from the very beginning and go through the most important building blocks in LaTeX, so you can quickly produce your own reports and presentations – both locally and online with Overleaf. If you’d like to learn more, make sure to also sign up for LaTeX for Intermediate Users.

Hands-on examples will be based on a structured presentation, and we’ll provide practical templates to help you get started quickly – whether you’re working on code-heavy documents, long assignments, or presentations.

Contents

• Why LaTeX at all – and when is it worth it?
• Basic formatting: text, paragraphs, references, figures, and tables
• Adding footnotes, margin notes, and code snippets
• Index, table of contents, lists, and bibliographies
• Using Make and Git to support LaTeX workflows
• Templates for different document types: reports and presentations
• And much more

Target Group

Beginners with no prior experience in LaTeX – or those who have only tried it briefly. If you’d like to learn more, also join LaTeX for Intermediate Users.

The courses are offered as two independent yet connected sessions:

• Course 1: Introduction to LaTeX – For complete beginners
• Course 2: Intermediate LaTeX – For those who want to move forward and work efficiently with their workflow

You can attend one or both, depending on your level and needs. If you’re completely new, the first course will qualify you for the second. For the latter, it’s an advantage if you have some programming experience.

About the Instructor

Aslak Johansen works at SDU’s Software Engineering Section and teaches object-oriented programming and Internet of Things. He has a background in computer science and research in everything from information models to distributed systems. And he has been using LaTeX for more than 25 years.

This course will be in English, but the instructor also speaks Danish.