This reference provides a comprehensive guide to LaTeX commands organized by category. Each command includes syntax, options, and practical examples.
Quick tip: Use Ctrl/Cmd + F to search for specific commands. Commands are organized alphabetically within each category.
Document Structure Commands
Document Class and Packages
% Document class
\documentclass[options]{class}
\documentclass[12pt,a4paper]{article}
\documentclass[11pt,twoside]{report}
\documentclass[letterpaper,draft]{book}
% Package loading
\usepackage[options]{package}
\usepackage{amsmath}
\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}
\usepackage[margin=1in]{geometry}
Sectioning Commands
| Command | Level | Numbered | Example |
|---|
\part{} | -1 | Yes | \part{Part Title} |
\chapter{} | 0 | Yes | \chapter{Chapter Title} |
\section{} | 1 | Yes | \section{Section Title} |
\subsection{} | 2 | Yes | \subsection{Subsection} |
\subsubsection{} | 3 | Yes | \subsubsection{Subsubsection} |
\paragraph{} | 4 | No* | \paragraph{Paragraph} |
\subparagraph{} | 5 | No* | \subparagraph{Subparagraph} |
*Can be numbered by adjusting secnumdepth
% Unnumbered sections
\section*{Introduction}
\subsection*{Background}
% With short title for TOC
\section[Short Title]{Long Descriptive Title for the Document}
% Adjusting numbering depth
\setcounter{secnumdepth}{3} % Number up to subsubsection
\setcounter{tocdepth}{2} % TOC up to subsection
Document Parts
% Title commands
\title{Document Title}
\author{Author Name \and Second Author}
\date{\today} % or specific date
\maketitle
% Abstract
\begin{abstract}
Abstract content...
\end{abstract}
% Table of contents
\tableofcontents
\listoffigures
\listoftables
% Appendix
\appendix
\chapter{First Appendix}
% Bibliography
\bibliographystyle{plain}
\bibliography{references}
% or with biblatex
\printbibliography
Text Formatting Commands
Font Styles
| Command | Effect | Example | Alternative |
|---|
\textbf{} | Bold | \textbf{bold text} | {\bfseries text} |
\textit{} | Italic | \textit{italic text} | {\itshape text} |
\textsl{} | Slanted | \textsl{slanted text} | {\slshape text} |
\textsc{} | Small Caps | \textsc{small caps} | {\scshape text} |
\texttt{} | Monospace | \texttt{monospace} | {\ttfamily text} |
\textrm{} | Roman | \textrm{roman text} | {\rmfamily text} |
\textsf{} | Sans Serif | \textsf{sans serif} | {\sffamily text} |
\emph{} | Emphasis | \emph{emphasized} | {\em text} |
Font Sizes
{\tiny tiny text}
{\scriptsize scriptsize text}
{\footnotesize footnotesize text}
{\small small text}
{\normalsize normalsize text}
{\large large text}
{\Large Large text}
{\LARGE LARGE text}
{\huge huge text}
{\Huge Huge text}
% As commands
\tiny
This text is tiny
\normalsize
Back to normal
Text Alignment
% Environments
\begin{center}
Centered text
\end{center}
\begin{flushleft}
Left-aligned text
\end{flushleft}
\begin{flushright}
Right-aligned text
\end{flushright}
% Commands
\centering
Centered paragraph
\raggedright
Left-aligned paragraph
\raggedleft
Right-aligned paragraph
Spacing Commands
Horizontal Spacing
| Command | Space Type | Width |
|---|
~ | Non-breaking space | Normal space |
\, | Thin space | 3/18 em |
\: | Medium space | 4/18 em |
\; | Thick space | 5/18 em |
\! | Negative thin space | -3/18 em |
\ | Normal space | Normal space |
\quad | Em space | 1 em |
\qquad | 2 em space | 2 em |
\hspace{length} | Custom space | Specified |
\hfill | Stretchable space | Fill available |
Vertical Spacing
% Fixed vertical space
\vspace{1cm}
\vspace*{1cm} % Not removed at page breaks
% Relative vertical space
\smallskip % About 3pt
\medskip % About 6pt
\bigskip % About 12pt
% Fill vertical space
\vfill
% Page breaks
\newpage % Start new page
\clearpage % Clear floats and start new page
\cleardoublepage % For two-sided documents
% Line breaks
\\\\ % New line
\\\\[1cm] % New line with extra space
\\linebreak % Suggests line break
\\newline % Forces new line
% Paragraph indentation
\setlength{\parindent}{0pt} % No indent
\setlength{\parindent}{1cm} % 1cm indent
\noindent % No indent for one paragraph
% Paragraph spacing
\setlength{\parskip}{1em}
% Line spacing
\usepackage{setspace}
\singlespacing
\onehalfspacing
\doublespacing
\setstretch{1.5} % Custom
% Manual spacing
\par % End paragraph
\indent % Force indent
List Commands
Itemize, Enumerate, Description
% Itemize (bullets)
\begin{itemize}
\item First item
\item Second item
\item[$\diamond$] Custom bullet
\end{itemize}
% Enumerate (numbered)
\begin{enumerate}
\item First item
\item Second item
\item[3a.] Custom label
\end{enumerate}
% Description
\begin{description}
\item[Term] Description of term
\item[Another term] Its description
\end{description}
% Nested lists
\begin{enumerate}
\item First level
\begin{enumerate}
\item Second level
\begin{enumerate}
\item Third level
\end{enumerate}
\end{enumerate}
\end{enumerate}
List Customization
\usepackage{enumitem}
% Customize itemize
\begin{itemize}[label=$\star$, itemsep=0pt]
\item Starred item
\end{itemize}
% Customize enumerate
\begin{enumerate}[label=\alph*), start=5]
\item Fifth item (labeled 'e)')
\end{enumerate}
% Inline lists
\begin{itemize*}[label=\textbullet]
\item One \item Two \item Three
\end{itemize*}
% Resume numbering
\begin{enumerate}[resume]
\item Continues from before
\end{enumerate}
Math Commands
Math Environments
% Inline math
$E = mc^2$
\(E = mc^2\)
\begin{math}E = mc^2\end{math}
% Display math
$$E = mc^2$$
\[E = mc^2\]
\begin{displaymath}E = mc^2\end{displaymath}
% Numbered equation
\begin{equation}
E = mc^2
\end{equation}
% Aligned equations
\begin{align}
a &= b + c \\
d &= e + f
\end{align}
% Cases
\begin{cases}
x, & \text{if } x \geq 0 \\
-x, & \text{if } x < 0
\end{cases}
Common Math Commands
| Command | Output | Usage |
|---|
\frac{a}{b} | a/b | Fractions |
\sqrt{x} | √x | Square root |
\sqrt[n]{x} | ⁿ√x | nth root |
x^{2} | x² | Superscript |
x_{i} | xᵢ | Subscript |
\sum_{i=1}^{n} | ∑ᵢ₌₁ⁿ | Summation |
\int_{a}^{b} | ∫ₐᵇ | Integral |
\lim_{x \to 0} | lim x→0 | Limit |
\prod_{i=1}^{n} | ∏ᵢ₌₁ⁿ | Product |
Greek Letters
% Lowercase
\alpha \beta \gamma \delta \epsilon \zeta \eta \theta
\iota \kappa \lambda \mu \nu \xi \pi \rho
\sigma \tau \upsilon \phi \chi \psi \omega
% Uppercase
\Gamma \Delta \Theta \Lambda \Xi \Pi
\Sigma \Upsilon \Phi \Psi \Omega
% Variants
\varepsilon \vartheta \varpi \varrho \varsigma \varphi
Table Commands
Basic Tables
% Tabular
\begin{tabular}{lcr}
Left & Center & Right \\
1 & 2 & 3 \\
\end{tabular}
% Table float
\begin{table}[htbp]
\centering
\caption{Table caption}
\label{tab:label}
\begin{tabular}{|l|c|r|}
\hline
A & B & C \\
\hline
1 & 2 & 3 \\
\hline
\end{tabular}
\end{table}
Table Commands
| Command | Purpose | Example |
|---|
& | Column separator | A & B & C |
\\ | Row end | A & B & C \\ |
\hline | Horizontal line | Full width |
\cline{i-j} | Partial line | \cline{2-3} |
\multicolumn{n}{align}{text} | Span columns | \multicolumn{2}{c}{Centered} |
\multirow{n}{width}{text} | Span rows | \multirow{2}{*}{Text} |
Including Graphics
% Basic inclusion
\includegraphics{image}
\includegraphics[width=5cm]{image}
\includegraphics[height=3cm]{image}
\includegraphics[scale=0.5]{image}
% Figure environment
\begin{figure}[htbp]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.8\textwidth]{image}
\caption{Figure caption}
\label{fig:label}
\end{figure}
% Subfigures
\usepackage{subcaption}
\begin{figure}
\begin{subfigure}{0.45\textwidth}
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{image1}
\caption{First}
\end{subfigure}
\hfill
\begin{subfigure}{0.45\textwidth}
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{image2}
\caption{Second}
\end{subfigure}
\caption{Main caption}
\end{figure}
Reference Commands
Labels and References
% Creating labels
\label{sec:intro}
\label{fig:diagram}
\label{tab:results}
\label{eq:einstein}
% Basic references
\ref{sec:intro} % 1.1
\pageref{sec:intro} % 5
% With packages
\usepackage{hyperref}
\autoref{sec:intro} % Section 1.1
\usepackage{cleveref}
\cref{sec:intro} % section 1.1
\Cref{sec:intro} % Section 1.1
\cref{fig:a,fig:b} % figures 1 and 2
Citations
% With natbib
\cite{key} % [1]
\citep{key} % (Author, Year)
\citet{key} % Author (Year)
\citeauthor{key} % Author
\citeyear{key} % Year
% With biblatex
\cite{key}
\parencite{key}
\textcite{key}
\footcite{key}
\fullcite{key}
% Multiple citations
\cite{key1,key2,key3}
Special Characters
Escaped Characters
| Character | Command | Output |
|---|
# | \# | # |
$ | \$ | $ |
% | \% | % |
& | \& | & |
_ | \_ | _ |
{ | \{ | { |
} | \} | } |
~ | \textasciitilde | ~ |
^ | \textasciicircum | ^ |
\ | \textbackslash | \ |
Quotes and Dashes
% Quotes
`single quotes'
``double quotes''
\textquoteleft text\textquoteright
\textquotedblleft text\textquotedblright
% Dashes
- % Hyphen
-- % En dash (ranges)
--- % Em dash (punctuation)
% Special spaces
Non~breaking~space
Thin\,space
Box Commands
Text Boxes
% Horizontal boxes
\mbox{unbreakable text}
\makebox[5cm][c]{centered in 5cm}
\fbox{framed text}
\framebox[5cm][r]{right-aligned frame}
% Vertical boxes
\parbox{5cm}{Paragraph in 5cm box}
\parbox[t]{5cm}{Top-aligned}
\parbox[b]{5cm}{Bottom-aligned}
% Minipage
\begin{minipage}{0.5\textwidth}
Content in half-width box
\end{minipage}
% Save boxes
\newsavebox{\mybox}
\savebox{\mybox}{Saved content}
\usebox{\mybox}
Color Commands
Using Colors
\usepackage{xcolor}
% Text color
\textcolor{red}{Red text}
\textcolor{blue}{Blue text}
\textcolor[RGB]{255,128,0}{Orange text}
% Background color
\colorbox{yellow}{Highlighted}
\fcolorbox{red}{yellow}{Framed}
% Define colors
\definecolor{myblue}{RGB}{0,114,189}
\definecolor{mygreen}{HTML}{00A86B}
% Page/text color
{\color{blue} Blue paragraph}
\pagecolor{gray!10}
Length Commands
Setting Lengths
% Define new length
\newlength{\mylength}
\setlength{\mylength}{2cm}
\addtolength{\mylength}{1cm}
% Common lengths
\setlength{\parindent}{0pt}
\setlength{\parskip}{1em}
\setlength{\textwidth}{15cm}
\setlength{\textheight}{25cm}
% Calculations
\setlength{\mylength}{0.5\textwidth}
\setlength{\mylength}{\textwidth-2cm}
% Using calc package
\usepackage{calc}
\setlength{\mylength}{\widthof{Sample text}+1cm}
Counter Commands
Using Counters
% New counter
\newcounter{mycounter}
\setcounter{mycounter}{0}
\stepcounter{mycounter}
\addtocounter{mycounter}{5}
% Display counter
\arabic{mycounter} % 1, 2, 3
\roman{mycounter} % i, ii, iii
\Roman{mycounter} % I, II, III
\alph{mycounter} % a, b, c
\Alph{mycounter} % A, B, C
% Page numbering
\pagenumbering{roman}
\setcounter{page}{1}
Environment Commands
Custom Environments
% Define environment
\newenvironment{myenv}
{\begin{center}\bfseries} % Begin
{\end{center}} % End
% Usage
\begin{myenv}
Bold centered text
\end{myenv}
% With arguments
\newenvironment{mybox}[1]
{\begin{center}\fbox{\begin{minipage}{#1}}}
{\end{minipage}}\end{center}}
\begin{mybox}{5cm}
Content in 5cm box
\end{mybox}
Useful Macros
Common Custom Commands
% Simple macros
\newcommand{\R}{\mathbb{R}}
\newcommand{\vect}[1]{\mathbf{#1}}
\newcommand{\norm}[1]{\left\|#1\right\|}
% With optional arguments
\newcommand{\myitem}[1][\textbullet]{#1~}
% Renewing commands
\renewcommand{\thesection}{\Roman{section}}
\renewcommand{\arraystretch}{1.5}
% Conditional commands
\newcommand{\ie}{\textit{i.e.}}
\newcommand{\eg}{\textit{e.g.}}
Quick Reference Card
Essential Commands
| Category | Commands |
|---|
| Structure | \section, \subsection, \chapter |
| Formatting | \textbf, \textit, \emph |
| Math | $...$, \[...\], \frac, \sqrt |
| Lists | itemize, enumerate, description |
| References | \label, \ref, \cite |
| Spacing | \\, \vspace, \hspace |
| Special | \%, \&, \_, \# |
Next: Explore essential LaTeX packages to extend functionality and add features to your documents. 