Handy software for a researcher

Mendeley, Zotero

Evernote, OneNote

IrfanView

pdfsam

7-zip

TeamViewer

For first year economics PhD students

“Programming Languages and Protocols” on this website: http://byumcl.bitbucket.org/bootcamp2013/economics/intro.html.

Matlab Boot Camp:  http://people.brandeis.edu/~pmherb/MatlabBootCamp/.

Beginner Intro to TeX/LaTeX/LyX – How to set it up in Windows 7/8.1

One way to easily install LaTeX and the editor LyX in Windows:

1. Install MiKTeX. Run the update wizard to get the latest updates.
2. Add your favorite document classes (e.g., Elsevier journal articles) to the path C:\Users\AppData\Roaming\MiKTeX\2.9\tex. [AppData does not appear in my pc because it’s hidden. Check by launching Windows Explorer then click on the View menu on the ribbon, now tick ‘Hidden items’.].
3. Rehash by running texhash, or /miktex/bin/texhash.exe (on Windows this may be in C:\Programs).
4. Install LyX. Click Tools > Reconfigure, and restart it.

convert latex to rtf (doc, odt)

Download latex2rtf: http://latex2rtf.sourceforge.net/

1. run LaTex first to get .aux file

2. run latex2rtf to get rtf and open it in Word

Note:

Many templates’ commands cannot be recognized. latex2rtf default set: \documentclass{article}. Delete \begin{article} and \end{article} in the template if there is errors during compiling.

Insert matlab code into LaTex

1. Download “M-code LaTeX Package” from Mathworks webpage
2. Copy mcode.style to the folder C:\Program Files\MiKTeX 2.9\tex\latex\xcolor.
3. Add the following in the preamble:\usepackage{listings}
   \usepackage{xcolor}
   \usepackage{textcomp}
   \usepackage[numbered,framed]{mcode}

In LyX, insert a TeX code box.

Insert m-code inline: \mcode{for i=1:3, disp(‘cool’); end;}

Insert m-code blocks: (% it’s a mess when copy and paste. prefer the 3rd approach)

\begin{lstlisting}
% Plot expected state and policy path
a = [a; c(:)’];
r = a’;
\end{lstlisting}

Insert a  m-code file:

\lstinputlisting[firstline=110, lastline=117]{/weed.m}

Break long formulas in a cell of “cases environment”

\begin{split}

…..\\

….

\end{split}

Insert the formula between the two commands.  Wherever you want to break the line, insert ‘\\’ (without the quotes)

dvipdfm vs. ps2pdf vs. pdflatex

If a figure is pdf file, use psflatex (zooming does not affect the figure quality)

If a figure is eps file, any compiling route works.

Adding .cls file to Lyx in Windows 7

Reference: http://www.paulkiddie.com

This assumes version 2.9 of Miktex and version 2.0 of Lyx. If you are using an earlier or later versions, replace with the correct version numbers where I’ve used them.

1. Get a copy of the class file, and copy it into a folder with the same name into C:\Users\\AppData\Roaming\MiKTeX\2.8\tex. So, for eethesis.cls, you should have a folder called eethesis within C:\Users\\AppData\Roaming\MiKTeX\2.8\tex. [AppData does not appear in my pc… Search for “AppData” and find the folder]
2. Create a new file and paste the following into it:

   #% Do not delete the line below; configure depends on this
   # \DeclareLaTeXClass[xxx]{article (xxx)}
   # Input general definitions
   Input stdclass.inc

   replacing xxx with the class name (without the .cls extension). In my case, xxx is eethesis, and the code above becomes:

   #% Do not delete the line below; configure depends on this
   # \DeclareLaTeXClass[eethesis]{article (eethesis)}
   # Input general definitions
   Input stdclass.inc

   Thanks goes out to http://wastedmonkeys.com/2007/09/27/adding-a-new-class-in-lyx-windows for this.

3. Save this file to C:\Program Files\LyX16\Resources\layouts, naming it eethesis.layout.
4. In a command prompt (type cmd in start menu), type texhash. What you will now see it doing is iterating through several folders for new classes, one of which (C:\Users\AppData\Roaming\MiKTeX\2.8\) is where we copied the eethesis.cls class file into.
5. Within Lyx, hit Tools > Reconfigure, then restart Lyx.
6. Open a document and click Document > Settings. Click on ‘Document Class’, expand the drop down menu and you should see ‘article (xxx)’ is visible, and usable, (like below) within the drop down menu.

UCR Thesis Templates in Lyx

1) Copy and paste these into the Preamble

default page size – letter: 8.5in [1.5+6+1]*11in [1.5+8.5+1]

\textwidth = 6.00in
\textheight = 8.50in
\topmargin = 0.75in

2) I get an error when using \thebibliography: \newblock undefined.

Check the following in ucr.cls. Move it to the beginning of the bibliography section.
\def\newblock{\hskip .11em plus .33em minus .07em}

3)I got a LaTeX Error when using \subfig: No counter ‘subfigure@save’ defined.

Delete \usepackage{subfigure} in the Preamble

4) Bibliography/Table/Figure Caption is double-spacing

Add  ssp and dsp ( into a Tex Code box) before and after the BibTex Generated Bib box. Note that ssp and dsp have been defined in ucr.cls.

\ssp
BibTex Generated Bib
\dsp

5) Generate bookmarks in the PDF file

Document→Settings→PDF properties: check the boxes under Hyperlinks and Bookmarks dialog

6) Bibliography and Appendix do not appear in the table of contents (TOC)

use the package tocbibind from CTAN, i.e. add \usepackage{tocbibind} to the Preamble

7) Add additional entries to TOC

The following LaTeX command: \addcontentsline{toc}{chapter}{APPENDIX}  will add ‘APPENDIX’ to TOC and refer to the page where you have inserted this command. So this line should be added as ERT to the “page” of the document that you want to appear listed in the table of contents. This can also be used to include unnumbered sections to the TOC. Just insert the line immediately below the section header.

8) Table/Figure caption left-justified and bold

add \usepackage[nooneline, font={bf}]{caption} to the Preamble

9) Footnote spacing

space between footnotes: \setlength{\footnotesep}{2mm}
space between the text body and the footnotes: \setlength{\skip\footins}{1cm}

10) How to stop equation auto numbering in TeX code?

\begin{equation*} … \end{equation*}

11) How to modify Tex code from Mathematica so that it fits the thesis document class?

copy and paste into Notepad, replace \begin{doublespace} and \pmb with blank, replace \end{doublespace} with \par\vspace{5mm}. Break long lines in Mathematica before generating Tex code. In Mathematica, do not write comments in equations.

reading this link for inserting child document: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/5310409/how-to-add-a-large-code-appendix-in-latex-lyx

Method I use: save the code in a plain text file. create a Tex code box, Insert –> file –> Plain Text…

[http://www.sethi.org/utils/mynotes/public_notes/latex_notes]

Got the template from Kara; also available online at: http://www.math.ucr.edu/~jason/latextemplate/

• Copy the following files to C:\Program Files\MiKTeX\tex\latex\ucr
  • sw20uctd.sty, thmsupp.tex, ucr.cls, uct10.clo, uct11.clo, uct12.clo
• Next run MikTex ’s Settings and then Refresh FNDB
• Create the following layout file, ucr.layout, in C:\Program Files\LyX16\Resources\layouts:

    #% Do not delete the line below; configure depends on this
    # \DeclareLaTeXClass[ucr]{article (ucr)}
    # Input general definitions
    Input stdclass.inc
  
    # Input lyx algorithm definitions (only if you've installed the algorithm package for Lyx from: http://bgu.chez-alice.fr/)
    Input algorithm.inc

• Finally, run Tools → Reconfigure in Lyx
• Next, Import the file uctest.tex into Lyx
  • Remove the Title and Author and, instead, add all the lines from \title to \maketitle into an ERT (a Tex Code box) since the \maketitle command Lyx inserts right after Title or Author causes a premature compilation error where it says \maketitle was not def ’ed; solution was as per here
  • Also, had to add \setlength\headsep{-0.5in} to the Latex Preamble in order to ensure the top margin isn ’t too large, as per: http://www.math.ucr.edu/~jason/latextemplate/
  • Also, had to change textheight to \textheight = 8.50in in the Latex Preamble from 8.25in
  • Had to comment out \newtheorem{algorithm}[theorem]{Algorithm} in the Latex Preamble, as well, in order to avoid errors when I include algorithms in the paper (since I add the algorithm style msyelf)
  • Finally, Kara wanted me to change to a darker font so I added \usepackage{palatino} to the Latex Preamble, as per http://www.image.ufl.edu/help/latex/fonts.shtml
    • Instead, to change fonts, check here: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/877597/how-do-you-change-the-document-font-in-latex

Export all charts from a Calc spreadsheet to EPS_Macro

Calc spreadsheet: Tool -> Macro -> Organize Dialogues… -> New -> copy and paste the macro you have

Code

Sub Main 
   Dim oDoc, oDocCtrl, oDocFrame, oDispatchHelper 
   oDoc = ThisComponent 
   oDocCtrl = oDoc.getCurrentController() 
   oDocFrame = oDocCtrl.getFrame() 
   oDispatchHelper = createUnoService( “com.sun.star.frame.DispatchHelper” ) 

   Dim storeUrl 
   storeUrl = oDoc.getURL() 
   storeUrl = Left( storeUrl, Len( storeUrl ) – 4 ) 

   nCharts = 0 

   ‘ Search the draw page for the chart. 
   Dim oSheets, oSheet, oDrawPage, oShape 
   oSheets = oDoc.getSheets() 
   For i = 0 to oSheets.getCount() – 1 
      oSheet = oSheets.getByIndex( i ) 
      oDrawPage = oSheet.getDrawPage() 
      For j = 0 to oDrawPage.getCount() – 1 
         oShape = oDrawPage.getByIndex( j ) 
         ‘ Can’t call supportsService unless the com.sun.star.lang.XServiceInfo is present. 
         If HasUnoInterfaces( oShape, “com.sun.star.lang.XServiceInfo” ) Then 
            If oShape.supportsService( “com.sun.star.drawing.OLE2Shape” ) Then 
               ‘ Is it a Chart? 
               If oShape.CLSID = “12DCAE26-281F-416F-a234-c3086127382e” Then 
                  ‘ Select the chart shape. 
                  oDocCtrl.select( oShape ) 
                  oDispatchHelper.executeDispatch( oDocFrame, “.uno:Copy”, “”, 0, Array() ) 
                  ‘ export the chart 
                  nCharts = nCharts + 1 
                  ExportSelection( storeUrl + “_chart” + nCharts + “.eps”, “image/x-eps” ) 
               EndIf 
            EndIf 
         EndIf 
      Next 
   Next 
End Sub 

Sub ExportSelection(url As String, mediaType As String) 
   ‘ Create a new Draw document 
   Dim aArgs(1) As New com.sun.star.beans.PropertyValue 
   aArgs(0).Name = “Hidden” 
   aArgs(0).Value = True 
   oDrawDoc = StarDesktop.loadComponentFromURL( “private:factory/sdraw”, “_blank”, 0, aArgs() ) 

   ‘ Past current selection 
   Dim oDrawDocCtrl, oDrawDocFrame, oDispatchHelper 
   oDrawDocCtrl = oDrawDoc.getCurrentController() 
   oDrawDocFrame = oDrawDocCtrl.getFrame() 
   oDispatchHelper = createUnoService( “com.sun.star.frame.DispatchHelper” ) 
   oDispatchHelper.executeDispatch( oDrawDocFrame, “.uno:Paste”, “”, 0, Array() ) 

   ‘ Get an export filter object 
   Dim exportFilter 
   exportFilter = createUnoService( “com.sun.star.drawing.GraphicExportFilter” ) 

   ‘ get first draw page 
   Dim oDrawPages, oDrawPage, oShape 
   oDrawPages = oDrawDoc.getDrawPages() 
   oDrawPage = oDrawPages.getByIndex( 0 ) 
   oShape = oDrawPage.getByIndex( 0 ) 
   exportFilter.setSourceDocument( oShape ) 

   ‘ Set the filter data 
   Dim aFilterData(5) As New com.sun.star.beans.PropertyValue 
   aFilterData(0).Name = “Level” ‘1=PS level 1, 2=PS level 2 
   aFilterData(0).Value = 2 
   aFilterData(1).Name = “ColorFormat” ‘1=color, 2=grayscale 
   aFilterData(1).Value = 1 
   aFilterData(2).Name = “TextMode” ‘0=glyph outlines, 1=no glyph outlines, see ooo bug 7918 
   aFilterData(2).Value = 1 
   aFilterData(3).Name = “Preview” ‘0=none, 1=TIFF, 2=EPSI, 3=TIFF+EPSI 
   aFilterData(3).Value = 0 
   aFilterData(4).Name = “CompressionMode” ‘1=LZW, 2=none 
   aFilterData(4).Value = 2 

   Dim aProps(2) As New com.sun.star.beans.PropertyValue 
   aProps(0).Name = “MediaType” 
   aProps(0).Value = mediaType 
   aProps(1).Name = “URL” 
   aProps(1).Value = url 
   aProps(2).Name = “FilterData” 
   aProps(2).Value = aFilterData() 

   exportFilter.filter( aProps() ) 
End Sub

/**************************************************************************
*
* Copyright 2007 Jose Fonseca
* All Rights Reserved.
*
* Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a
* copy of this software and associated documentation files (the
* “Software”), to deal in the Software without restriction, including
* without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish,
* distribute, sub license, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to
* permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to
* the following conditions:
*
* THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED “AS IS”, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
* IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
* FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL
* THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS, AUTHORS AND/OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM,
* DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR
* OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE
* USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
*
* The above copyright notice and this permission notice (including the
* next paragraph) shall be included in all copies or substantial portions
* of the Software.
*
**************************************************************************/

Add space between the lines in multiline formulas

In LATEX additional line space is specified as optional argument of the new line command. This is not yet possible in LYX33, therefore the whole formula must be inserted in TEX-mode. To add in our example space, the command \\[3mm] is inserted at the end of the first line.

1. select the part you’re interested, View -> View Source, copy the TeX code

2. go to .lyx, Insert -> Tex code (Ctrl+L), paste the code into the redbox, and add \\[3mm] at the end of the first line

 

To set the line separation for all lines in a formula, the length \jot is changed.

1. load the LATEX-package calc in LATEX-preamble with the line

\usepackage{calc}

2. insert the command
\setlength{\jot}{3mm+3pt}

in TEX-mode before the formula

Break long formulas in a parenthesis in LyX

Lyx has an “Insert -> Math -> AMS multiline environment” control, but does not work in the middle of a parenthesis.

How to break lines in the middle of a parenthesis?

In AMS multiline environment,

\left[… \right.

(line break here) \left. … \right]

Do not use Alt+M to get a parenthesis. Follow the way above. Close with ‘\right.’ before line-break and reopen with ‘\left.’

\left[…\left[… \right.\right.

(line break here) \left.\left. … \right] … \right]

This can lead to parentheses of different size. Size them yourself using ‘\big(‘, ‘\Big(‘, ‘\Bigg(‘, etc. or use \vphantom.