Talk:LaTeX/Tips and Tricks

An alternative to converting eps files for use with pdftex or pdflatex, is to have Gnuplot produce SVG files, and then use rasterizer from the Batik project convert them into PDF.

Regarding a new oiint command
Why recommend a home brewed symbol when there is a font that contains the symbol and matches in appearance with the cm fonts? The proposed definition is wrong on many fronts. First, it should use \intop rather than \int. Second it should do subscript correction if intlimits is active (or if the user explicitly types a \limit). For this purpose you could borrow some code from the definition of \iint and \iiiint defined in ams packages. Thirdly, the definition should not use an explicit \displaystyle. The macro may be used in $...$ in which case \int and the proposed \oiint will look different. Fourthly, the whole symbol should be wrapped in a \mathop, otherwise there might be a linebreak between the two ints.

First tip
Thanks for that first tip about LaTeX in Roman font. It's a kludge, but a very flexible one that makes it possible to "personalize" any of the built-in macros. What I needed was a way to stick \ensuremath and \xspace on the \pi symbol so I could use it in text without switching modes, and this did the job nicely.

Spell Checker Preferences
I am fine with people suggesting that hunspell is preferable to ispell or aspell, but then there should be a reason given, not just an argument from dubious authority.