Text Formatting ⇒ Types of Macros

[LaTexLearner]

The StackExchange thread on macros for beginners recommends the following be learned first.

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\newcommand
\newcommand*
\renewcommand
\renewcommand*
\providecommand
\providecommand*
\newenvironment
\newenvironment*
\renewenvironment
\renewenvironment*

I'm a beginner, though, and have already needed to learn other macros that never would have occurred to me, such as:

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\newcolumntype
\let
\newlength

Is there a comprehensive directory of macro commands out there? Or maybe a slightly longer list of macro commands I should learn first?

[LaTexLearner]

p.s. What is the best way to insert links into these posts?

[Johannes_B]

This is a question with no clear answer, sorry.

We have TeX, which comes with \def. def defines stuff, no matter what.

Then, there was LaTeX2e, which give somehow a fail-back mechanism. f a command is already defined, an error, or a warning is issued.

Later, there was LaTeX3, coming with even more commands.

What to choose? Depends ... Suppoters sometimes use what they need, just to get the job done. It is not always the best solution.

Stuff like \newcolumntype build on top of def, and newcommand and ...

What to choose when and where, almost impossible to know for a newcommer. No, sorry, impossible to know. Best way is to read and learn, just as i am doing right now.

[Stefan Kottwitz]

What is the best way to insert links into these posts?

I usually type the text for the link (or copy the text from the title of a page), double click it so it's highlighted, and click the [b]URL[/b] button above the edit field. Then I add the actual link by inserting =http://.. so in the edit field a link looks like:

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[url=http://texample.net/]TikZ gallery[/url]

I like it because I can make the link text fit to my own text flow.

You can also click the [b]URL[/b] button, to get the bbcode

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[url][/url]

and complete. I prefer the double click way, usually. Anyway, it's a bit clicking (but quickly becomes routine) and I like well written forum posts.

Stefan

[Stefan Kottwitz]

recommends the following be learned first
\newcommand

Yes, it should be one of the first macros. LaTeX beginners are usually authors, not programmers. An author should learn how to use a document class, and how to customize the document using class settings. With KOMA-Script classes, very many things can be customized by class options already. Then, an author may add his or her own macros for text pieces and especially for certain markup / formatting. This is not yet the hacking or programming stage, so you don't need \newlenght or such. Then \renewcommand can be useful in addition, to redefine something existing which you would like to modify for your document requirements.

Stefan

[LaTexLearner]

What is the best way to insert links into these posts?

I usually type the text for the link (or copy the text from the title of a page), double click it so it's highlighted, and click the [b]URL[/b] button above the edit field. Then I add the actual link by inserting =http://.. so in the edit field a link looks like:

Code: Select all

[url=http://texample.net/]TikZ gallery[/url]

I like it because I can make the link text fit to my own text flow.

You can also click the [b]URL[/b] button, to get the bbcode

Code: Select all

[url][/url]

and complete. I prefer the double click way, usually. Anyway, it's a bit clicking (but quickly becomes routine) and I like well written forum posts.

Stefan

Got it!

I think I "fixed" it in my original post, too.

[LaTexLearner]

recommends the following be learned first
\newcommand

Yes, it should be one of the first macros. LaTeX beginners are usually authors, not programmers. An author should learn how to use a document class, and how to customize the document using class settings. With KOMA-Script classes, very many things can be customized by class options already....

What are KOMA Script classes?

[Johannes_B]

The standard classes like article, report and book (and letter) come with some options the user can set.
KOMA has equivalent classes, but heavily, heavily extended. Most of the options can be changed mid-document without much effort using a pretty simple key-value interface.

It will be worth taking a look, though the manual (scrguien) is huge. It has to be huge due to the many many predefined and changeable settings.