In GO site some feature are supported more and this is also required for making the GO PDFs look nice. Main one here is Latex which can be accessed from the "fx" button in the toolbar or if you are already familiar with it (most Good colleges do follow Latex) then you can simply type latex content with in \$-\$. Some other points are

  1. Do not use subscript-superscript option. This is only for naive users. Others can use Latex like \$x_n\$ or \$x^n\$ which will be rendered as $x_n$ and $x^n$ respectively.
  2. For images you can take screenshot of the actual source or draw in PowerPoint and upload them. For graphs (for DFA and others) you can use this site. Mathpix is a nice tool to convert image to Latex

  3. For tables, there is a Table option in editor. Table border can be hidden by Right-click on the created table - Properties and then make Border 0. If you’re comfortable with latex arrays, that’s the best option for Table. 

  4. Never use space for aligning - instead use Tables, Lists etc.

  5. Never user subscript/superscript - they are for naive users. Instead type \$x_2\$,\$x^2\$ which will render as $x_2$ and $x^2$ respectively. These are latex commands and render nicely. For multiple chars do with {} like \$x_{small}\$.

  6. For equations also use latex. There is fx button in the editor which is useful if you do not know Latex commands.

  7. Most symbols can be used just by typing the symbol name preceded by "\" like \sin for $\sin$, \exp for $\exp$, \log for $\log$, \alpha for $\alpha$, \delta for $\delta$, \Delta for $\Delta$,\theta for $\theta$, \Theta for $\Theta$,\sigma for $\sigma$,\Sigma for $\Sigma$, \sum for $\sum$,\implies for $\implies$, \because for $\because$,\therefore for $\therefore$,\forall for $\forall$, \exists for $\exists$, \times for $\times$, \to for $\to$, \subset for $\subset$, \neq for $\neq$ etc. 

  8. Some of the other useful symbols are \vee for $\vee$, \cup $\cup$, \cap for $\cap$, \wedge for $\wedge$, \neg for $\neg$, \; for single space, More symbols

  9. For options (A, B, C, D) in MCQs, use numbered lists and then right click-> Properties -> select Upper Alpha Style.

  10. Even for any other lists either use the Bulleted List or Numbered Lists from the Editor.

  11. Use fx for whole equation and not just for symbols -- i.e., use like $n^{th}$ and not n$^{th}$ and \$E=x^2\$ and not E=\$x^2\$

  12. In fx \sin, \cos, \min, \max, \ln, \log etc. are to be used for math function names.

  13. In fx, to get space we can do \; or type inside \text{my text}. \quad. \qquad can be used for extended space. But use this only when strictly needed.

  14. Try to avoid -> and instead use $:$ or \implies.  Also instead of A) try using A. or (A)

  15. For numbering any equation you can use \qquad \to (1) which should give $\qquad \to (1)$

  16. Anything between $$ is taken as equation (fx). So, to type \$, do enter \\.$

  17. The words between any numbers, equations, matrices etc should be in \text{} or should be out of $-$. Words are not allowed inside $$.

  18. Never use \underline{+} for $\pm$. It should be \pm always.

  19. For C and SQL codes one can use the <> option in the Editor. It supports alignment with tabs and does syntax highlight. After selecting a tab size please use CTRL+Z to restore the previous alignment.

  20. Install Grammarly browser plugin to ensure your sentences are grammatically correct. At least after every “Hence”, “Therefore”, “So” etc. please add a comma.

  21. To align equations using Latex you can also use  \ begin{align} ... \end{align} environment inside \$-\$ or \$\$-\$\$ and align using '&'. For example:
    \$\$ \ begin{align} \text{Total} &= n + (n -1) + (n - 2) + (n - 2) +\cdots+ 1\\&= \frac{n(n+1)}{2}\end{align}\$\$
    will be rendered as $$\begin{align} \text{Total} &= n + (n -1) + (n - 2) + (n - 2) +\cdots+ 1\\&= \frac{n(n+1)}{2}\end{align}$$

In GATE Overflow we make use of MathJax library for Latex. So we do not have the full feature of Latex, but it supports whatever we need. You can see here for more nice Latex options.

For quick start to learn Latex completely any do your reports and thesis in Latex, please see https://www.sharelatex.com/learn/Learn_LaTeX_in_30_minutes


Some common mistakes while using Mathjax

  1. Using \sum – $\sum$ for \Sigma – $\Sigma$
  2. Should never write x \$ + \$ y. It must be \$x + y \$ (Symbols and equations together)
  3. Should not write large sentences under \$\text{} \$. It must be used only for a word or a couple of words maximum. 
  4. \$\mid \$ must be used for $\mid$ split and not | because that automatically adds the required spaces around
  5. using \mathbb for $\mathbb P$, as $P$ is not a Alphabet.
  6. using \left\{  \right\} for  braces $\left\{  \right\}$
  7. For limits we should use \$\displaystyle \lim_{x \to 0} x+1\$ which will render as $\displaystyle \lim_{x \to 0} x+1$
  8. Need to use \displaystyle for alingment \displaystyle\sum^{\infty} _{k=0} – $\displaystyle\sum^{\infty} _{k=0}$
  9. Need to use \leq – $\leq$ and \geq – $\geq$ but not \underline < – $\underline <$ or \underline > – $\underline >$
  10. Instead of … we need to use \dots in between $$ – $\dots$ 
  11. There is a difference between \int\limits_{-\infty }^{\infty } and \int_{-\infty }^{\infty }
  12. Any text in italic can be added using the editor, rather than using \textit{}, as it creates the line breaks

Conventions we follow:

 Conventions are the rules which we follow but not necessarily standard. Some are

  1. No \bigg usage for large braces but \left before and \right at end to get the correct brace size
  2. No headings in answers or questions
  3. Bulleted list for giving grammars or multi line points so that they look better
  4. The words between any numbers, equations, matrices etc should be in \text{} or out of $$.
  5. Always the Upper and Lower Romans should be in \text{i} i.e. $\text{(i)}$
  6. Inside the $-$ Mathjax environment, bold text should not be used due to a PDF render issue. Inside Matchjax, $\textbf{}$ can be used for bold text.
  7. We can use \frac and \dfrac for fractions. \dfrac should be used for equations in questions and \frac should be used for options.
  8. Other than \text we have \textit, \textrm, \textsf, \textsm etc which can be used accordingly.

This PGFPLOT manual can be used for drawing Tikz images which is used for most of the GATE questions.

posted in From GO Admins Nov 14, 2017 edited Aug 7, 2022 by
by
3,762 views
10
Like
2
Love
0
Haha
1
Wow
0
Angry
0
Sad

12 Comments

12 Comments

Like
1
thanks for the guidelines. Today I learned how to use latex. :P
I always used to wonder how those special symbols in answers of other guys used to come. Now I know the secret. :P
Like
4
You are welcome :) During my B.Tech. one of our Professor one day told about Latex for submitting report -- we were like we have MS Word. But once we reached IISc. came to know the difference. The experience we get from good college includes the usage of such nice tools which improves our productivity and thus improves our career.
Like
Sir how to start with learning use of latex. Please guide.
Like
Actually whatever we need to post content, I already added in the post. And for equations the editor does the support with "fx" button. I have added a link at end, if one needs to learn Latex in detail -- and that also takes 30 minutes only :)
Like
Thank You Sir !!
Like

For creating automatas you can also use: http://madebyevan.com/fsm/

edited Nov 17, 2017 by
Like
1

Hi @Arjun ji,

First of all thanks for providing this valuable guideline. I have some knowledge of LaTeX. I can correct old answers. But currently i do not have edit permission. If Edit permission could be provide then i can correct some Q & A. 

 

PS: Just some motivational information for Novice users. For writing Research papers, Resume and making good presentation LaTeX is widely used.  So if you will write in LaTeX then it will be beneficial for you as well. :)

Like
This is a good tutorial thanks, sir
Like
1
What is the purpose of learning LaTeX ?
Like
92
To write professionally. In IITs and most good universities Latex is used for reports and even assignments. Almost all top publications in CS field requires Latex. But many people are waiting for Latex coaching institutes to start :)
Like

@ sir

Thank you so much, sir 

Like
Basic LaTeX guide: https://gateoverflow.in/blog/5810/basic-latex-guide
Quick search syntax
tags tag:apple
author user:martin
title title:apple
content content:apple
exclude -tag:apple
force match +apple
views views:100
score score:10
answers answers:2
is accepted isaccepted:true
is closed isclosed:true