LaTex with Vim

What is LaTeX

• LaTex is a document preparation system for high-quality typesetting

• It can also introduce as a document markup language

• LaTeX is based on Tex

• More info - http://www.latex-project.org/

What is TeX?

• TeX is a very powerful typesetting language that can be used to write almost anything

• It was designed and developed by Donald Knuth, a professor at Stanford University

• TeX is used heavily in the academic and scientific world

How to install LaTex

• LaTeX version available for Mac is MacTex

• Please note that, I'm using MacTeX on rest of this protip

• Installation details are below

1. Mac OS - http://www.tug.org/mactex/
2. Linux - http://linuxandfriends.com/install-latex-in-ubuntu-linux/
3. Windows - http://www.tug.org/protext/
4. http://latex-project.org/ftp.html

LaTeX and Vim

• I'm gonna use Vim as the LaTex file editing IDE

• There is a vim plugin call vim-latex-live-preview
  https://github.com/xuhdev/vim-latex-live-preview#readme

• This plugin provides a live preview of the output PDF of your LaTeX files

Install vim-latex-live-preview

• I have installed the plugin by using vim pathogen (I have already configured/synchronized my vim plugin with git submodule and pathogen)

• More information about installing vim plugins with pathogen
  http://vimcasts.org/episodes/synchronizing-plugins-with-git-submodules-and-pathogen/

• Following is the plugin installation commands

cd ~/.vim
git submodule add https://github.com/xuhdev/vim-latex-live-preview.git bundle/vim-latex-live-preview

• You have to specify vim-latex-live-preview plugin related configurations in your ~/. vimrc file

vimrc configurations

• Following are the ~/. vimrc configurations

• Set the vim option updatetime to a smaller value, which is the frequency that the output PDF is updated

autocmd Filetype tex setl updatetime=1

• Set the PDF viewer. I'm using Preview viewer here

let g:livepreview_previewer = 'open -a Preview'

• More information about PDF viewer setting can be find from here
  https://github.com/xuhdev/vim-latex-live-preview/wiki/Known-Working-PDF-Viewers

• Following is a screenshot of my ~/. vimrc configuration file

Working example

• First goto your workspace and create a LaTeX document (LaTeX document should be with .tex format)

cd ~/Documents/senzors
touch introduction.tex

• Add following sample text to the introduction.tex

\documentclass{article}

\title{SenZors}
\author{Sustainable Computing Research}
\date{October 2014}
\maketitle

\begin{document}

\section{Introduction}

Real time communication platform for sensor devices

\subsection{What is SneZors}

Secured platform to share your sensor data

\subsection{Why SneZors}

Keep sharing your sensors

\section{Technologies}

\begin{enumerate}
\item Websockets 
\item Android
\item IOS
\end{enumerate}

\section{Downloads}

\hyperref{''https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.score.senzors&hl=en''}

\end{document}

• Use following command to get the PDF preview of the document

:LLPStartPreview

• This command will generates the PDF preview of you LaTeX document

• Now when you changing the text in your LaTeX document, you can see the live update of the changes (in PDF document)

• Following is an example preview

References

• http://computers.tutsplus.com/tutorials/the-beginners-guide-to-using-tex-in-os-x--mac-45177
• http://www.topbug.net/blog/2013/06/13/live-preview-of-latex-in-vim/
• https://github.com/xuhdev/vim-latex-live-preview#readme
• https://github.com/xuhdev/vim-latex-live-preview/wiki/Known-Working-PDF-Viewers
• LaTeX templates - http://www.latextemplates.com/
• Online LaTeX editor - https://www.writelatex.com/

Related protips:

Basic Vim commands - For getting started