Creating Custom Latex Commands And Environments For Repeated Structures
Defining the Problem
LaTeX documents often contain structural elements that are repeated many times throughout a document, such as theorem-like environments, formatting for special paragraphs, citations, and references. Defining these repeated structures from scratch each time requires repetitive LaTeX coding of the same structure in multiple places. This can be time-consuming, tedious, and error-prone.
Custom LaTeX commands and environments allow researchers to define abstract representations for commonly reused document structures. These abstractions can then be invoked wherever needed in the document using their defined names. This eliminates the need to rewrite the LaTeX code for that structure multiple times. Custom commands and environments promote reuse, save time, reduce errors, and make documents more maintainable.
Constructing Custom Commands
LaTeX provides the \newcommand and \renewcommand directives to create custom keyword-like commands. These perform substitutions, expansions, assignments, conditionals, or other operations each time they are invoked. The basic syntax is:
\newcommand{<cmd>}[<num>][<default>]{<definition>}
Where <cmd> is the desired name for the new command, <num> is an optional integer specifying the number of arguments the command takes, <default> is an optional default value for an argument, and <definition> contains LaTeX code defining the operation of the command on its arguments.
For example, a custom command for an emphasized paragraph could be defined as:
\newcommand{\emphpara}[1]{\begin{center}\emph{#1}\end{center}}
Which center aligns and emphasizes its argument in italics. This can then be invoked using \emphpara{Text}
wherever needed. The \renewcommand
variant redefines existing commands if necessary.
Building Custom Environments
LaTeX environments encapsulate common structures like figures, tables, theorems, proofs, listings, etc. which often span multiple lines or paragraphs. The \newenvironment and \renewenvironment directives allow users to abstract these structures into reusable custom environments.
The syntax for \newenvironment is:
\newenvironment{<name>}[<numargs>][<default arg>]{<beg-def>}{<end-def>}
Where <name> specifies the environment name, <numargs> and <default arg> are optional arguments, <beg-def> defines LaTeX code to execute at the start, and <end-def> defines code for the end.
For example, a emphasized boxed environment could be defined as:
\newenvironment{emphbox}[1]
{\begin{center}\fbox{\begin{minipage}{0.9\textwidth}\emph{#1}}
{\end{minipage}\end{fbox}\end{center}}
The environment content would appear emphasized and framed in a centered mini page. This can then be used as:
\begin{emphbox}{Text}
Content goes here
\end{emphbox}
Structuring Documents with Custom Commands
Custom LaTeX commands and environments enable imposing logical, meaningful structure on documents that transcends physical formatting. For example, theorem-like environments abstract mathematical statements from their visual styling like italics or bold.
Custom formatting commands can also provide consistent styling rules across an entire document. By changing the command definition in one place, updates propagate everywhere it is used. This improves maintainability compared to individually formatting elements across a document.
Used judiciously, custom abstractions complement LaTeX's layout capabilities to produce documents with logical, reusable structures that also possess concise visual styling instructions. This improves readability of the LaTeX source and eases future editing or maintenance.
Best Practices
When leveraging custom LaTeX commands and environments to reduce repetition, improve consistency, and ease document maintenance, adhering to several best practices will optimize these benefits:
- Name commands and environments based on their semantic purpose rather than physical styling
- Limit scope and side effects of custom elements only where needed
- Provide explanatory comments for complex command or environment code
- Use conditionals and optional arguments to make custom definitions adaptable
These practices ensure custom LaTeX structures enhance readability, flexibility, and maintainability.
Example Document
Below demonstrates defining and applying custom LaTeX commands and environments to structure a research paper excerpt and impose consistent styling:
\newcommand{\keyterm}[1]{\textbf{#1}}
\newenvironment{result}[1]
{\begin{quotation}\noindent\emph{#1:}\ }
{\end{quotation}}
\begin{document}
\begin{result}{Theorem 1}
This states a key result: \keyterm{P = NP}
\end{result}
This paragraph discusses the above \keyterm{theorem}. Key terms are consistently \keyterm{formatted} via custom command.
Structural elements like theorems are formatted and highlighted using custom environments, improving document structure.
\end{document}
The example demonstrates using a custom command \keyterm for visually identifying key terminology. The custom result environment consistently styles theorem-like elements. This improves maintainability and visual structure while reducing LaTeX coding.