Writing a thesis or dissertation in LaTeX without coding

A thesis typeset with LaTeX does not have to be written in LaTeX. In Texifine you write it in blocks — chapters, formulas, figures, references — and the LaTeX source and the PDF are produced for you. This guide goes through what a thesis needs, in the order you will meet it, and says plainly what Texifine does not do yet.

What you write, and what is written for you

The only LaTeX you type yourself is inside formulas — \frac{a}{b}, \int_0^1 — with a live preview and a library of symbols that writes the commands for you. Everything else is done with blocks, and you can read the generated source at any time in the LaTeX tab.

Before you start: check the layout you are asked for

Every Texifine document has the same page layout: A4 paper, 1-inch margins, 11 pt Latin Modern, one column, on LaTeX's report class. It cannot be changed, and no other class or package can be loaded.

That suits a dissertation or a report whose rules are about content. If your institution imposes its own LaTeX class or template, or precise margins and fonts, Texifine cannot follow them: check the requirements first. The full list is on Limits and what is not supported.

Step 1 — Start from a structure

Two ways to begin:

• From a template. In the dashboard, open Templates and choose Report, then New document with template. You get a document of your own with an abstract, a table of contents, sections, an equation, a table, a figure to fill in and a bibliography — each with a short text that says what to put in its place.
• From an empty document. A document skeleton that fits most work builds the same shape in a few minutes: title page, abstract, table of contents, an unnumbered introduction, numbered chapters, a conclusion, the bibliography.

Step 2 — The front pages

Click the empty margin of the page so that no block is selected. The Document panel on the right holds the settings of the whole document:

• Language — English or French. LaTeX then prints "Chapter" or "Chapitre", "Table" or "Tableau", with that language's typography.
• Abstract — written at the top of the page, printed on a page of its own.
• Table of contents — built from your headings, with page numbers and links in the PDF.

At the top of the page, type the title, add the authors and choose the date. See Document settings.

Step 3 — Chapters and sections

A Heading block has four levels: Chapter, H1 (section), H2 (subsection) and H3. A chapter starts a new page and gives its number to what it contains: section 2.1, Figure 2.3, equation (2.4).

Mark the introduction, the conclusion and the acknowledgements Plain: they keep the look of a chapter, without a number. See Heading.

Step 4 — Formulas

• On its own line: an Equation block. It is numbered, and the number you see in the editor is the one the PDF prints.
• Inside a sentence: type the formula between dollar signs, $x^2$, or press Ctrl+M.

If you are new to the syntax, three pages cover what a thesis uses most: fractions, sums, integrals and limits, matrices and aligned equations. For definitions, theorems and proofs, see Writing a mathematics course or paper.

Step 5 — Figures and tables

Insert a Figure, drop a PNG or JPEG image on it (up to 5 MB) and type its caption: the caption is what gives it a number. Set its width in the right column. A Table is an editable grid, with a caption above it.

LaTeX may move a figure to the top or the bottom of a page to fill the pages well; choose here to keep it where the block is. See Figure and Table.

Step 6 — References inside the text

Never type a number by hand. Write "see Figure ", press Ctrl+Alt+R and choose the figure: the reference points at the block, so it follows the figure when a chapter moves or a figure is added before it. The same goes for chapters, sections, tables, equations and theorems. See Numbering and references.

Step 7 — The bibliography

Switch Bibliography on in the Document panel. At the bottom of the page, add each source by filling in its fields — authors, title, journal, year, DOI. Cite with Ctrl+Alt+C; one citation can name several sources, printed "[1, 3]".

The list is printed in the order you give it, in one consistent style, and is listed in the table of contents. See Citing sources.

Step 8 — The PDF, and a copy that is yours

The PDF is compiled as you write; Ctrl+Enter compiles at once. Download it from the button next to the editor's tabs.

Export (.zip), under the same button, gives you the document outside Texifine: the LaTeX source, its images and code listings, the PDF and the document itself. Your work is not locked in: the archive compiles as it is with Tectonic, the engine Texifine uses (other LaTeX engines have not been tested), and its source is LaTeX that anyone who writes LaTeX can read and carry on from. See Compiling.

What a thesis may need that Texifine does not do yet

Better to know now than in the last week:

• A layout of your own: margins, font, line spacing, headers and footers, a custom title page, a university class.
• Appendices numbered A, B, C, and Roman page numbers for the front pages.
• A list of figures or of tables, an index, a glossary.
• Importing a .tex file, a BibTeX file or a Word document: references are entered by hand, up to 200 per document.
• Other citation styles: citations are numbers in square brackets, in the order of your list.
• Diagrams drawn with TikZ, plots, sub-figures, and PDF or SVG images.
• Writing with others: no sharing, comments or version history.

Each of them is on Limits and what is not supported. If one is a requirement of your thesis, the export keeps a way out: it gives you the LaTeX source of everything you wrote, to continue outside Texifine.

See also

• Getting started
• A document skeleton that fits most work
• Quick answers