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Scenes from the University of Rhode Island

Step 4: Verify the Setup

Now that you have LATEX , an appropriate editor, and the template files, we will now verify that you have a functioning setup. The way we will verify the setup is to have you generate the thesis from the example files included in the template files.

You should not go any further in this guide until you confirm that your setup is correct.

If the document generated using the unmodified template files looks like this this, you are done. Check the following list to make sure your generated thesis is correct.

  • The document should contain exactly six pages.
    • There should be no page numbers on the first three pages
    • The fourth page should be numbered iii
    • The fifth and sixth pages should be numbered 1 and 2 respectively
  • The list of references should appear at the end of Chapter 1, and contain two entries.
  • The bibliography should be the last page of the thesis and contain three entries. It should also be listed in the table of contents as being page 2.

Configuring the editor to use PDFLATEX

Throughout this guide, will assume that you are using PDFLATEX to generate your thesis. To make sure this is the case, in Texmaker:

  • Select Options → Configure Texmaker from the menu (this is texmaker → Preferences... on MacOS)
  • Select the Quick Build icon on the left
  • Select PdfLaTeX + ViewPDF for the Quick Build Command.

Generating the Thesis using Texmaker

In Texmaker open the file thesis.tex

Under the Options menu select Define Current Document as 'Master Document'. This will allow you to click on the different build icons on the toolbar no matter which file you are editing.

The steps to generate the thesis are:

  • Press the arrow to the left of Quick Build
  • Select Tools → BibTeX from the menu
  • Press the arrow to the left of Quick Build
  • Press the arrow to the left of Quick Build again

and you should see this document.

What is Going on

The first time you run PDFLATEX, it generates .aux files which contain the information needed to create the bibliography and lists of references, as well as information needed to create the table of contents, list of figures, and list of tables. It also creates the script genbib.txt, which is used to run BIBTEX on all of the necessary .aux files to create .bbl files, which are the actual bibliography and lists of references. Finally, PDFLATEX is run two more times, the first time includes the bibliography and lists of references, and the second time resolves bibliographic citations to their entry in the list of references.

Getting Started

  1. Introduction
  2. Install LATEX and an Editor
  3. Get the Template Files
  4. Setup BIBTEX Wrapper
  5. Verify the Setup
  6. Initial Configuration

Template Reference

Help With Latex

Graduate School Resources