So here is what I did:

As filesystem I used Fat32. I installed System RescueCD so I have a bootable linux distro with a lot of useful utilities like Partimage, GNU Parted, TestDisk, kernel for i386 and also for x86-64, … The instructions to install it on fat32 filesystem are here: Installation On USB Memory Stick, I used “Instalation from Windows” part.

Next step was to install Truecrypt for windows in portable mode, a step by step guide how to do it, is available here, to be able to open my encrypted volume.

Now I can create an encrypted volume, using truecrypt, where we store all my personal files, let’s say 2 giga.

In that encrypted volume I also installed PortableApps Suite and beeing a LaTeX user I also included USBTeX.

Ok, now I still have space to store some useful small iso images, like Clonezilla, Hiren Boot CD, Acronis True Image BootCD.

That’s my setup for USB Memory Stick, I have it with me all the time, I can use it on any system, mac, windows, linux, I have a bootable linux disto on it, and also my personal files encrypted with some useful software. Maybe I should mention that Portable Apps Suite works well also with wine on linux.

I did a dd copy of my complete usb stick configuration/setup, immediately after I finished to install everything I needed, because if I will lose it, then to be able to recover everything quickly.

For OpenSUSE there is the last version here:
http://software.opensuse.org/ymp/home:mrdocs/openSUSE_11.0/scribus.ymp

but I don’t want to replace 1.3.3.12 stable version, so I will install the latest development version in my home directory

Warning: The documents saved in 1.3.5 will not be back compatible with the other versions, more here: http://scribus.info/svn/Scribus/trunk/Scribus/README

Let’s install the last development of Scribus (it is very stable for what I need, I didn’t have any problems with it):

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$ mkdir ~/aplic/scribus_135
$ mkdir ~/tempsrc
$ cd ~/tempsrc
$ svn co svn://scribus.info/Scribus/trunk/Scribus
$ cd Scribus
$ cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX:PATH=~/aplic/scribus_135

I obtained an error during the compilation because I didn’t have “libqt4-devel” so:

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$ zypper install libqt4-devel

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$ make
$ make install
$ ~/aplic/scribus_135/bin/scribus

Here are two screenshots, the main window and scribus latex editor:

That’s all.

References:

• http://wiki.scribus.net/index.php/Building_SVN_versions_with_CMake
• http://scribus.info/svn/Scribus/trunk/Scribus/README
• http://wiki.scribus.net/index.php/Working_with_latex_frames
• http://wiki.scribus.net/index.php/Embedding_other_external_tools_into_a_TeX_frame

Below I will post a lot of tips, tricks and useful stuff which helps me when I am using LaTeX, for details check the documentation of coresponding package name, or Google .

Customize your header and footer

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\pagestyle{fancy}
\lhead{}
% \chead{}
\rhead{\leftmark}
% \lfoot{}
% \cfoot{}
% \rfoot{}

More packages

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\usepackage{latexsym} % use \Box, \Join
\usepackage{setspace}
\usepackage{subfigure} % include subfigures
\usepackage{amsmath} % equation
% table of contents, list of figures
\usepackage[titles,subfigure]{tocloft} 
\usepackage{lastpage} % total page count
\usepackage{makeidx} % create index

Old Makefile which I used, you can modify it for your needs

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dvi: poster.tex
	latex poster.tex
bib: 
	bibtex poster
view:
	kdvi poster.dvi
ps:
	dvips poster.dvi -o poster.ps
pdf:
	ps2pdf poster.ps poster.pdf
mp:
	psnup -9 -l -d2 poster.ps multpage.ps
a4:
	psresize -H118.9cm -W91.4cm -pa4 poster.ps a4.ps
	ps2pdf a4.ps poster_a4.pdf
.PHONY: clean
clean:
	@echo Cleaning...
	$(RM) *.log *.aux *.dvi *.bbl *.blg *~
	@echo Cleaning... done

Indexes and Glossaries

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% first include the makeidx command in the preamble
\usepackage{makeidx}
\makeindex

To index something, use the command:

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\index{Index Entry}

When the document has been processed through LaTeX, it will create a .idx file. You will then need to run the .idx file through the makeindex program:

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makeindex filename

No file extension for the name. The program will look for the .idx file and will output a .ind file. This file is used by the command:

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\printindex

Glossaries simply use the commands:

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\makeglossary (used in the preamble, like the \makeindex command)
\glossary (used for the particular entries, like the \index command)

Include/Rotate/Reflect images

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\includegraphics{image.png}
\includegraphics[angle=45]{image.png}
\includegraphics*[viewport=30 30 120 120]{image.png}
\includegraphics[scale=0.25]{image.png}
\includegraphics[width=5in,height=1in]{image.png}
% no explicit size for image
\includegraphics[width=0.88\hsize]{image.png}
% horizontally reflect a image
\reflectbox{\includegraphics{myimage.png}}
% strange text behaviour
\scalebox{2}{\rotatebox{60}{\reflectbox{Check this text!}}}

Complet environment with two images left-right

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\begin{figure}[htbp]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.8\hsize]{image}\\
\includegraphics[width=0.8\hsize]{image}
\caption{image caption}
\label{fig:mylabel}
\end{figure}

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\begin{figure*}[t]
\centerline{\includegraphics[width=0.8\textwidth]{figures/image}}
\caption{Caption title. {\it Caption text.}}
\label{fig:image}
\end{figure*}

Labeling sections in the document

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\section{Introduction}
\label{sec:intro}
.....
% reference to section 
\ref{sec:intro}

Adding external files to the document

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\section{Introduction}
\label{sec:intro}
\input{sections/intro}

Math

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\[...\] % produces an unnumbered formula
\(...\)
$...$
\begin{math} ... \end{math}

Type properties

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\bf % bold
\sf % sans serif
\sc % small caps
\tt % typewriter
\tiny
\normalsize
\large
\Large
\LARGE

Lists

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\begin{enumerate}
   \item First item
   \item Second item
\end{enumerate}
%
\begin{itemize}
   \item First item
   \item Second item
\end{itemize}
%
\begin{description}
   \item[first] A definition for the first item.
   \item[second] A definition for the second item.
\end{description}

Columns

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\begin{tabbing}
text \= some text \\
   \> text  \= text,
   \>       \> text; \\
   \> text  \> text. \\
endif 
\end{tabbing}
%
\begin{tabular}{|l|c|c|}
   \hline
   {Row 1,Col1} & {Row1,Col2} & {Row1,Col3} \\
   \hline
   {Row 2,Col1} & {Row2,Col2} & {Row2,Col3} \\
   \cline{2-3}
   {Row 3,Col1} & {Row3,Col2} & {Row3,Col3} \\
   \hline
\end{tabular}
%
\begin{tabular}{|l|c|c|}
   \hline
   {Row 1,Col1} & {Row1,Col2} & {Row1,Col3} \\
   \hline
   {Row 2,Col1} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{Row2,Col2-3} \\
   \cline{2-3}
   {Row 3,Col1} & {Row3,Col2} & {Row3,Col3} \\
   \hline
\end{tabular}

Tables

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{\protect
   \begin{table}[t]
      % Table body
      \caption{Caption title. {\it The caption text.}}
      \label{tab:schema}
   \end{table}
}
%
{\protect
   \begin{table}[t]
      \centering
      \footnotesize
      \begin{tabular}{|l|c|c|}
         \hline
         {Row 1,Col1} & {Row1,Col2} & {Row1,Col3} \\
         \hline
         {Row 2,Col1} & {Row2,Col2} & {Row2,Col3} \\
         \cline{2-3}
         {Row 3,Col1} & {Row3,Col2} & {Row3,Col3} \\
         \hline
      \end{tabular}
      \caption{Caption title. {\it The caption text.}}
      \label{tab:schema}
   \end{table}
}

References:

• LaTeX Project WebSite
• LaTeX on Wikipedia
• Latex Makefile by Google
• Makefile: Rubber
• The TeX Catalogue Online has a very comprehensive list of all the LaTeX packages out there
• Latex Tutorial
• Header and Footer in LaTeX – Explained
• Latex Explained
• Installing and Using LaTeX Packages
• Noeckel: Computer Notes (LaTeX and useful stuff)

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\documentclass[a4paper,12pt]{article}
 
% let's use some nice packages
\usepackage{times}
\usepackage{amssymb}
\usepackage{amsmath}
% set all margins to 2.5 cm
\usepackage[margin=2.5cm]{geometry}
% for fancy and easy modification of header and footer
\usepackage{fancyhdr}
% include hyperlinks in pdf file
\usepackage{hyperref}
% decide if run PdfTeX or LaTeX
\ifx\pdfoutput\undefined
% we are running LaTeX, not pdflatex
\usepackage{graphicx}
\else
% we are running pdflatex, so convert .eps files to .pdf
\usepackage[pdftex]{graphicx}
\usepackage{epstopdf}
\fi
 
% also include colors
\usepackage{color}
% define bottom line of paper, for DRAFT option
\usepackage{prelim2e}\usepackage[none,bottom]{draftcopy}
\draftcopyName{preprint / }{1.2}
\renewcommand{\PrelimWords}{Draft%
 -- contact: user@mail.yoursite.com -- www.yoursite.com}
 
% define a path for your images
\graphicspath{{.},{../images/},,{../../images/}{../../anotherdir/}}
 
% define a new command
\newcommand{\mylab}[1]{\label{#1}}
 
\title{Your Title}
\author{Your Name}
\date{\today}
 
\begin{document}
% show the title, author and date
\maketitle
 
% article's abstract
\begin{abstract}
body of abstract
\end{abstract}
 
\section{Section Name}
\subsection{Subsection Name}
 
% include the bibliography but using bibtex
\bibliographystyle{plain}
\bibliography{bibfile1,bibfile2,bibfile3}
 
\end{document}

Next step is to look at this nice book. That’s all. Bye!

Here is how a bibliographic manager works. An author creates a document and cites his document with entries form a bibliographic database created earlier. After the author completed writing the paper he passes the document and the database through some application and the application incorporates all the references cited in the document from the database. This produces a final version of the document containing the text, graphics, etc. the author created along with the references he cited in a specific format.

I will not try here a comparison of free and non-free software available, just I would like to point some interesting links which I found when I started to use bibliographic management software. So here are the links:

• Reference management software from Wikipedia
• A comparison of management software
• Comparison of free bibliographic managers
• Finding the right bibliographic/reference tool
• Bibliography Management Software with a Detailed Analysis of Some Packages
• Evaluation of Reference Management Software (comparing Papyrus with ProCite, Reference Manager, Endnote, Citation, GetARef, Biblioscape, Library Master, Bibliographica, Scribe, Refs

I hope that the above links will be useful.

What do I prefer? I am using LaTeX for everything (presentations, posters, reports, letters, … ) and BibTeX, so I need something which can use plain bibtex file. I am searching and download references from ISI Web of Knowledge. The naming convention for citation key (for the bib-keywords) which I am using (thanks to my supervisor for the suggestion) is the following:

• One author: First four letters AND last two digits of publication year (Prot08)
• Two authors: First two letters of both authors AND last two digits of publication year (TePr05)
• Three or four authors: First letter of each author AND last two digits of publication year (TRPS07)
• More than four authors: First four letters of first author AND last two digits of publication year
• If a key already exists: the next entries get a small letter behind the publication year, starting with b. (RoTe07b, RoTe07c)

I’ve been using KBibTex and KBib for a while now since I use linux. For me it’s quite useful because it has a simple, no bloat GUI that does one thing – let’s you add and maintain references. The minor point here is that they are available just for linux/bsd. Now, I played in the last weeks with Jabref (it is writen in Java and it can run on every platform: bsd/linux/mac/win). I still didn’t find how to use it in order to search in ISI Web of Knowledge, but I thing I will change to it anyway, to have the same software on all platforms.

That’s all and good luck in managing your bibliographic database.

Of course that I need to include animations in my presentations (for example some simulations movies). I use all the time .avi files so here are just two methods to include them in pdf.

I saw that a lot of people included as well swf, mpeg, wmv, mpg, but in my case doesn’t work with the second method, avi worked in both cases. Adobe Acrobat Reader (version 8.1.0) doesn’t want to play this kind of movies (file unsuported). I couldn’t include gif file. So, here are the methods:

• using “movie15″ package:

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%include the package
\usepackage{movie15}
....
....
Click bellow to start the movie:\\
% we can use also: mpeg wmv mpg swf
\includemovie[poster]{5cm}{5cm}{movie.avi}

• using “multimedia” package:

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%include the packages
\usepackage{multimedia}
\usepackage{hyperref}
....
....
Click bellow to start the movie:\\
\movie[height=5cm,width=5cm,loop]{}{movie.avi}

If you know how to include gif in pdf files and to work in Acroread on Linux, then, please let me know.

I am also a LaTeX user and under Windows I am using MikTeX. More about which applications I am using in a next post.

As text editors, of course you can use vim/gvim (with vim-latex plugin), emacs (with AucTeX), TexnicCenter (a free windows application) or Kile (KDE aplication on Linux/Unix). There are many editors but what I pointed here I think are the most suitable for latex from my experience.

What I missed all the time was version control system (cvs, svn). Version control is very well integrated in Eclipse so I decided to give a try to Texlipse plugin which adds LaTeX publishing support. Also you can add spell checking support using Aspell.

So, I downloaded Miktex, I installed it on Windows Vista, so I played a bit with LaTeX to be sure that it is working fine, and after that I added Texlipse plugin to Eclipse, I started by play arround with it.

Trying to compile an article didn’t work, I got an error: “The file system path could not be retrieved”.

At the beginning I didn’t know if it is a miktex instalation/configuration problem or is something strange with Texlipse configuration.

After spending some time fighting with it, I found that is a Vista problem, so here is the solution:

Open a command prompt and type:

set > pdflatex.bat

edit pdflatex.bat and put at the first line:

@echo off

because we don’t want to see every time these commands on screen.

On the last line in that file, put your magic command to process the latex file, pdflatex.exe or latex.exe, depends what you want to have as output, .dvi file or .pdf file:

pdflatex.exe %*   or   latex.exe %*

Now, we go back in Texlipse configuration and point the build command to this batch file instead of the normal pdflatex.exe or latex.exe.

Everything should be fine and working now. I am sorry that I didn’t add the links for every plugin/application but using google is very easy to find them if you want to play with.