Here’s just a running list of how to get special characters (e.g., the less-than-or-equals to sign) and certain formatting (e.g., superscript, italics, etc.) in LaTex.
First, I’ll make a running list of links where others have already listed out a number of these things:
- https://www.stevesque.com/symbols/
- https://www.overleaf.com/learn/latex/List_of_Greek_letters_and_math_symbols
- https://artofproblemsolving.com/wiki/index.php/LaTeX:Commands
Next, here are examples of my most commonly-used commands:
% Thirty percent
Thirty 30\%
# number of hours
\# of hours
% mm squared (superscript)
mm$^2$
% subscript the word GABA
$ON_{GABA}$
% gamma symbol
$\gamma$
% chi squared
$\chi^2$
% underscore in text
GSH.ConcIU\_TissCorr
% greater than 20%
$>$20\%
% greater than equal to 20%
$\geq$20\%
% plus/minus
$\pm$
% italics
\emph{this is in italics}
% bold
\textbf{this is bold}
% Make text look like code
\texttt{GannetLoad.m}
% Quotes (correctly)
``This is my quotation."
Characters that don’t need any special treatment in LaTex — here’s a list of characters that just worked fine as they were when I copy-pasted them from my previously published paper:
% Eight degrees
8°
% Less than
< For demonstrating edits to text (e.g., strikethrough or change the color of certain text). Note, however, as discussed here, \st doesn’t play well with BibTex citations, i.e., you’ll (probably) need to use a different command to strike through citations.
% Strikethrough text
\usepackage{soul}
\st{TEXT TO STRIKE THROUGH WITH SINGLE HORIZONTAL LINE}
% Change text color
\textcolor{blue}{TEXT TO CHANGE COLOR}Levels of section headings:
\section{Results}
\subsection{Behavioral Results}
\subsubsection{Behavior-1 Results}
\emph{Behavior-1a Results} Various ways to force a blank line:
\newline
\leavevmode\newline
\medskip Make your own list using \noindent:
\noindent \textbf{Thing1:} XXXXXXX
\noindent \textbf{Thing2:} XXXXXXXI’ll keep adding to this list with more tips as I continue working on my dissertation.