main LaTeX page miscellaneous LaTeX references

# LaTeX FAQ

(1) When I convert my LaTeX-generated PostScript file to PDF (ps2pdf, or dvipdf), the fonts look terrible.
By default, TeX/LaTeX uses bitmapped fonts instead of Type1 or TrueType ones. These bitmapped fonts are generated at the printer's resolution, typically 300 or 600 dpi. Changing the resolution of bitmapped fonts is no easy task and therefore the PDF reader produces terrible results when displaying these fonts on the screen. Furthermore, printing quality can be quite deceiving if the printer's resolution does not match the one of the bitmapped font.

The solution to the problem is to force TeX/LaTeX to use Type1 fonts in the PostScript(TM) output (PS). Since these fonts are scalable then the PDF file will display and print well at all resolutions.

The easiest way to force ghostscript (which creates the PostScript file) to use Type1 fonts is to use the ``-Ppdf'' option with your dvips command, e.g.,

```unix>  dvips -Ppdf MyDoc.dvi
unix>  ps2pdf MyDoc.ps```
The PostScript file produced by the first command will use Type1 fonts, which in turn will behave nicely when converted to PDF. (See more details online at High quality PDF output from LaTeX and TeX or search the web for keywords dvips font quality.)

(2) Why does my document get printed 0.7" too high on the page?
A4 paper is the metric paper size used widely around the world. It is common for TeX/LaTeX software to assume A4 paper size -- when you install TeX you must be careful to choose "letter paper" explicitly or else A4 is assumed during compilation and during conversion to PostScript. A4 paper size is approximately 8.3×11.7", which is slightly narrower and 0.7" taller than letter paper (8½×11"), so when your stuff gets inexplicably printed 0.7" too high on letter paper, it's almost certainly due to metric (A4) vs. letter paper size. What to do about it...

(3) Is there a way to print my thesis double-sided?
Your final copy must be single-sided, according to the guidelines of the Graduate School. But for rough drafts you can use the thesis2side class; download the file ``thesis2side.cls'' and change only the top line of your dissertation's LaTeX file from \documentclass{thesis} to \documentclass{thesis2side}.

(4) Why can't I use figures with slide class?
There are five base classes in LaTeX. Not all the environments which are defined for article and report class are defined for slide class; in particular, figure and table environments are not defined in the slides and letter classes. This doesn't mean that they can't have figures or tables, just that they can't be labelled/captioned as part of a figure (table) environment, such as ``Figure 2.17: Gold Prices 1800-1999''.

(5) How can I change the bibliography style?
The question of how BibTeX works is independent of whether you use thesis or article class. You can use any of several bibliography styles depending on how you want your citations to appear and how references should be ordered and presented.

(6) How can I make a sideways table?
Use the ``rotating'' package -- \usepackage{rotating}

(7) How can I get LaTeX for my own computer?
TeX and LaTeX are free, in the public domain. You can download the TeX/LaTeX system appropriate for your computer from the Web.