LaTeX Ref Sheet - Reference Sheet for a Thesis - with LATEX2e and KOMA-Script

Oct 13, 2026

Reference Sheet for a Thesis provides practical LaTeX guidance centered on LATEX2e and KOMA-Script. It compiles tested commands and package usage, including compilation steps, reserved character handling, document class setup via preamble, and key encoding/language settings. The sheet also covers layout control (geometry), page header/footer, line spacing, and document structure commands for headings, justification environments, and list customization, enabling consistent, reproducible thesis formatting.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryPaper Templates

FormatPDF

Pages4

Reading Time2 min

AccessFree to download

A. LATEX Basics

A.1. Units

A.2. Reserved Characters

B. Preamble

B.1. Documentclass

B.2. Loading Packages

B.3. Encoding Settings

B.4. Language Settings with babel

C. Layout

C.1. Changing Page Layout with geometry

C.2. Header and Footer of Page

C.3. Linespread with setspace

D. Document Structure

D.1. Start Document

D.4. Headings

D.5. Justification

D.6. Lists

D.7. Enhanced Lists with enumitem

Reference Sheet for a Thesis with LATEX2e and KOMA-Script ß All examples were tested with pdflatex. ß The package mentioned in the headings has to be included (see B.2) .ß Compile three times after last change (esp. docs with references) . A. LATEX Basics A.1. Units ß Available units for length and dimensions: bp point (typographic) mm millimeter in inch em width of M px pixel (1=72in) cm centimeter pc pica ex height of x ß Document dependent units z\textwidth , z\linewidth , z\columnwidth , z\textheight with z a percentage value, e .g. 0 . 55\textwidth means 55% of the actual width of the text.ß \baselineskip minimum vertical space between the bottom of two successive lines in a paragraph. ß Amounts like \smallskipamount , \medskipamount , \bigskipamount. A.2. Reserved Characters (see also E.2, cf. H) | \ | introduces a command | \textbackslash | | --- | --- | --- | | { } | embraces arguments, creates logical parts | \{ \} | | [ ] | embraces optional arguments | [ ] | | % | comments: code after % will be ignored. | \% | | & | separates columns in tabular-like environments | \& | | \# | parameter for own command declarations | \\# | | $
^ | text style math mode (abbr . for $ . . . $)
index/exponent only valid in math mode, e.g. a21 | \$
see E.2 | B. Preamble (before \begin{document}) | B.1. Documentclass (necessary)
Use: \documentclass[opt,opt, ]{class}
Recommended classes: scrartcl , scr reprt , scrbook , scrlttr2 Non-KOMA-Script classes: beamer , koma-moderncvclassic | | --- | | Common options with default Values available (subtotal) | | fontsize=11pt 10pt | 12pt (e.g. 12.5pt also valid)
paper=a4 , paper=portrait a3 | a5 | b4 | letter , landscape
parskip=no half | full
headings=big small | normal
chapterprefix=false true
open=right (scrbook) any (scrartcl, scrreprt) | left captions=oneline nooneline
captions=tablebelow , figurebelow tableabove , figureabove toc=nolistof listof | listofnumbered
bibliography=totoc | totocnumbered nottotoc
twoside=true (scrbook) false (scrartcl, scrreprt) twocolumn=false true
draft=false true (show overfull boxes) | | ß Options of document class are passed to every loaded package.
ß Set or change options later in ﬁle, e .g. \KOMAoptions{twoside=true} | B.2. Loading Packages \usepackage[options]{package} \PassOptionsToPackage[options]{package} | B.3. Encoding Settings
􀀇 | | | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | | \usepackage[utf8]{inputenc} | % | most | IDEs use UTF8 | | | | \usepackage[T1]{fontenc} | % | most | fonts needs T1 | | | | | | | | | 􀀆 􀀅 | B.4. Language Settings with babel
Load: \usepackage[ngerman, main=english]{babel}
Use: \selectlanguage{language} \foreignlanguage{language}{text}

􀀇 | | --- | | \documentclass[italian]{scrbook} % global option \usepackage[british,main=italian]{babel} % package option \usepackage{csquotes} % package csquotes knows italian
~~􀀆 􀀅~~ | | | C. Layout | C.1. Changing Page Layout with geometry
ß Let KOMA-Script know of geometry by option usegeometry=true.􀀇 | | --- | |
\usepackage[left=2cm, right=2, top=3cm, bottom=4cm, bindingoffset=1cm, inlcudeheadfoot]{geometry}
􀀆~~ ~~􀀅 | | ß Auto-completion determines unspeciﬁed dimensions (under or over speciﬁed as well), here width and height of text (see I.9) .
ß Other options: paper=a4paper , landscape|portrait , includehead , includefoot , includeheadfoot , twocolumn
ß Changing page layout mid document: \newgeometry{ opt, opt, ... } | C.2. Header and Footer of Page (aka running heading) 􀀇 ~~􀀆 􀀅~~ % delete default settings and define your own C.3. Linespread with setspace Load: \usepackage[onehalfspacing]{setspace} for 1 .5 line spacing. D. Document Structure (see also L) D.1. Start Document \begin{document} Complete document contents. \end{document} D.4. Headings | \part{title}\section{title}
\paragraph{title} | \chapter{title}\s

FAQs

What compilation workflow does the sheet recommend after changes?

It recommends compiling three times after the last change, especially for documents with references.

Which LaTeX document classes are recommended for KOMA-Script?

The sheet lists recommended classes such as scrartcl, scrreprt, scrbook, and scrlttr2, and notes non-KOMA classes like beamer and koma-moderncvclassic.

How are reserved characters and special meanings handled in LaTeX?

It provides a mapping of characters like backslash, braces, brackets, percent, ampersand, hash, and math-mode symbols, explaining their roles (commands, arguments, comments, column separators, and math-mode behavior).

Oct 13, 2026

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