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https://github.com/latextemplates/uni-stuttgart-dissertation-template

Unofficial LaTeX template for a PhD thesis at University of Stuttgart, Germany
https://github.com/latextemplates/uni-stuttgart-dissertation-template

latex-template phd-thesis-template

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Unofficial LaTeX template for a PhD thesis at University of Stuttgart, Germany

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# University of Stuttgart PhD Thesis Template



> Unofficial LaTeX template for PhD theses at the University of Stuttgart, Germany.



## Example PDFs



- Thesis 🇩🇪: [thesis-example.pdf](http://latextemplates.github.io/uni-stuttgart-dissertation-template/thesis-example.pdf)

- Thesis 🇺🇸: [thesis-example-listings-en.pdf](http://latextemplates.github.io/uni-stuttgart-dissertation-template/thesis-example-listings-en.pdf)

- Thesis (minted) 🇩🇪: [thesis-example-minted-de.pdf](http://latextemplates.github.io/uni-stuttgart-dissertation-template/thesis-example-minted-de.pdf)

- Thesis (minted) 🇺🇸: [thesis-example-example-minted-en.pdf](http://latextemplates.github.io/uni-stuttgart-dissertation-template/thesis-example-example-minted-en.pdf)

- Book cover: [cover.pdf](http://latextemplates.github.io/uni-stuttgart-dissertation-template/cover.pdf)

- Spine of the book cover: [spine.pdf](http://latextemplates.github.io/uni-stuttgart-dissertation-template/spine.pdf)



## Usage



- `thesis-example.tex` is the main document

- Use "lualatex + biblatex" in your TeX editor or `latexmk thesis-example` / `make` in the command line



### Using `latexmk`



[latexmk] is a very smart tool for latex compilation.

It executes the latex tools as often as needed to get the final PDF.

(More information about why `latexmk` is great can be found at .)



To build the whole document, execute following command.

Note that this requires a working perl installation.



```bash

latexmk thesis-example

```



To enable latexmk, please move `_latexmkrc` to `latexmkrc`.



If you want automatic compilation use following command:



```bash

latexmk -pvc thesis-example

```



This will also open a [Sumatra PDF] and only works with the supplied configuration.



#### latexmk configuration



This repository ships a `.latexmkrc` which is read by latexmk.

In case there is a `_latexmkrc` file, you need to rename it to `.latexmkrc`.

It is configured for Windows and especially sets Sumatra PDF as default PDF viewer.

You can make this local configuration a global configuration, when you put it at [the right place](http://tex.stackexchange.com/a/41149/9075).



If you want to add more packages, configure it there.

For instance, for support of makeglossaries see .



### Debugging LaTeX errors



In case something goes wrong, you can instruct the LaTeX compiler to stop at the first error:



```bash

lualatex --synctex=1 --shell-escape thesis-example

```



Run `biber thesis-example` to get the bibliography rendered (execute `lualatex` afterwards).



### Advanced usage



On the command line, there are additional features:



- `latexmk -C` or `make clean` for cleaning up

- `make format` to reformat the `.tex` files (one sentence per line and indent)

- `make aspell` for interactive spell checking

- `make stand`: Creates a new PDF with the current status of the thesis.

- `make view`: Opens the configured viewer

- `make mrproper`: Cleans up and removes also editor backup files.



## Benefits



Following features are enabled in this template:



- Output format is A5

- Title page

- Nice chapter headings

- Most recent LaTeX packages and package configuration based on long-time experience.

- (Optional) Typesetting of listings using advanced highlighting powered by the [minted] package.

  `minted` provides better output than [listings], but requires [pygments] to be installed.

- Generated PDF allows for copy and paste of text without getting words with [ligatures](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typographic_ligature) such as "workflow" destroyed.

  This is enabled by `glyphtounicode`, which encodes ligatures (such as fl) using unicode characters.

- Ligatures are removed if they are typeset at the wrong place.

  This is enabled by the [selnolig](https://tex.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/2884/new-package-selnolig-that-automates-suppression-of-typographic-ligatures) package.

- Support of hyperlinked references without extra color thanx to [hyperref].

- Better breaking of long URLs.

- Support for `\powerset` command.

- Support todos as pdf annotations. This is enabled by the [pdfcomment] package.

- [microtypographic extensions](https://www.ctan.org/pkg/microtype) for a better look of the paper.

- Modern packages such as [microtype], [cleveref], [csquotes], [paralist], [hyperref], [hypcap], [upquote], [booktabs].

- LaTeX compilation using the modern [lualatex] compiler.

  For older systems, [pdflatex](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PdfTeX) is still supported.

- [biblatex]+[biber] instead of plain [bibtex] to have a more intuitive `.bib` file:

  Unicode (UTF-8) is fully supported and commands such as `\citeauthor{...}` work out of the box. See also .

- [latexmk] for easy compilation of the LaTeX document.

- Ready-to-go configuration for [latexindent].

- Proper hyphenation and microtype for English texts.

- Hints on writing an abstract and thesis by Dirk Fahland.



## Disabled features



Following features were not activated for this template.

You can run the [latex template generator] to enable the features.



Congratulations. You chose to use all available features.



## Tool hints



### Prerequisites



- Windows: Recent [MiKTeX](http://miktex.org/). MiKTeX installation hints are given at .

- Mac OS X: Recent [TeX Live](https://www.tug.org/texlive/) (e.g. through [MacTeX](https://tug.org/mactex/)) - Try `sudo tlmgr update --all` if you encounter issues with biblatex

- Linux: Recent TeX Live distribution



See [docs/latex-setup](docs/latex-setup) for refined installation instructions.



### Usage of `minted`



To have minted running properly, you have to do following steps on Windows:



1. Install python: `choco install python` - that uses [chocolatey](https://chocolatey.org/) to install Python

2. Install [pygments]: `pip instal pygments` - that uses the Pyhton package manager to install the pygments library

3. When latexing, use `-shell-escape`: `pdflatex -shell-escape thesis-example`.

   You can also just execute `latexmk thesis-example`.



### VSCode configuration



Currently, following extensions are recommended:



- [LaTeX Workshop](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=James-Yu.latex-workshop) to support LaTeX in VSCode and

- [LaTeX Utilities](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=tecosaur.latex-utilities) to enhance LaTeX Workshop

- [LTeX+] to have a nice spell checker that also identifies grammar issues



Then, change the setting of LaTeX Workshop to use biber:



Press Shift+Ctrl+P to open the command palette.

Then type "JSON" and select "Preferences: Open Settings (JSON)" to open `settings.json`.



Update the following lines in VSCode's `settings.json` to contain:



```javascript

    "latex-workshop.latex.recipes": [

        {

            "name": "lualatex ➞ biblatex ➞ lualatex × 2 🔃",

            "tools": [

                "lualatex",

                "biblatex",

                "lualatex",

                "lualatex"

            ]

        },

    ],

    "latex-workshop.latex.tools": [

        // ...

        {

            "name": "biblatex",

            "command": "biblatex",

            "args": [

                "%DOCFILE%"

            ],

            "env": {}

        },

        // ...

    ],

```



The following settings are additionally recommended:



```javascript

{

    "editor.wordWrap": "on",                              // enable soft line breaks

    "latex-workshop.view.pdf.viewer": "tab",              // display the generaded PDF in a separate tab

    "latex-workshop.view.pdf.backgroundColor": "#cccccc", // use a darker background in de PDF viewer to lift of the pages from it

    "latex-workshop.latex.autoBuild.run": "never",        // never automatically build; alternative: "onSave" (on saving .tex files)

    "editor.renderWhitespace": "all",                     // display all whitespaces

}

```



Alternatively, just copy and paste the contents of the [vscode.settings.json](vscode.settings.json) file to your VSCode settings file.



You can manually trigger compilation by hitting the green button in the extension or using other methods provided by LaTeX Workshop.



Please remove the magic comments (`% !TeX program ...`) at the top of the `main-....tex` file.

Although [LaTeX-Workshop supports magic comments](https://github.com/James-Yu/LaTeX-Workshop/blob/master/README.md#magic-comments), it currently does not work reliably.

Without the magic comments, compilation works.



### LTeX+ tips and tricks



[LTeX+] is an offline grammar and spell checker with support for LaTeX and Markdown.



Add a magic comment to your files to tell LTeX+ which language to use:



```latex

% LTeX: language=de-DE

```



If you want to use different languages in the text, use the `\foreignlanguage{language}{text}` command.

LTeX+ will detect these elements and automatically switch the spell checker's language.

For example:



```latex

\foreignlanguage{english}{Therefore, our proposed approach will change the world.}

```



## Usage with docker



The generated `Dockerfile` is based on the [Dockerfile by the Island of TeX](https://gitlab.com/islandoftex/images/texlive#tex-live-docker-image).



```cmd

docker run --rm -v "c:\users\example\latex-document:/workdir" ltg latexmk

```



Following one-time setup is required:



```cmd

docker build -t ltg .

```



## Contained Directories and Files



### Directories



- [figures](graphics/) Directory containing the figures.

  By using LuaLaTex/PDFLaTeX it is possible to use PDFs, JPGs, PNGs, ... We recommend to use PDFs to enable smooth scaling.



### Files



- `thesis-example.tex` - The main `.tex` file loading all LaTeX packages and their configurations.

  - Add text here

  - Adjust title etc. here

- [bibliography.bib](bibliography.bib) - Bibliography. [biblatex] format. Manage it with [JabRef].

- [abbreviations.tex](abbreviations.tex) - Acronyms and abbreviations.

- [commands.tex](commands.tex) - Example LaTeX macros.



Following additional files are included, which do not need to be adapted:



- [localSettings.yaml](localSettings.yaml) - Settings for [latexindent](https://ctan.org/pkg/latexindent)

- [Makefile](Makefile) - The Makefile. Builds on latexmk.

- [Texlivefile](Texlivefile) - List of packages required for a minimal TeXLive installation.



## FAQs



### Q: How to rename `thesis-example.tex`?



You probably don't want your document to be named `example`. In order to change this,

replace the term `thesis-example` by e.g., `thesis-topic-name` in the following locations:



| location                         | occurrence                                |

|----------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|

| `print-version--cover/cover.tex` | `\includegraphics{../thesis-example.pdf}` |

| `.gitignore`                     | `thesis-example.pdf`                      |

| `.gitignore`                     | `thesis-example*.png`                     |

| `Makefile`                       | `MASTER_TEX = thesis-example.tex`         |



### Q: I get the error `Reload initiated (formats: otf,ttf,ttc); reason: Font "Inconsolatazi4" not found.`



Install package `inconsolata`



### Q: How can I synchronize updates from the template to my repository?



1. Initialize your git repository as usual

2. Add this repository as git remote: `git remote add template https://github.com/latextemplates/{template}.git`

3. Merge the branch `template/main` into your `main` branch: `git merge template/main`.



After that you can use and push the `main` branch as usual.

Notes on syncing with the upstream repository [are available from GitHub](https://help.github.com/articles/syncing-a-fork/).



### Q: I get the error `! pdfTeX error (font expansion): auto expansion is only possible with scalable fonts.`



Install the `cm-super` package using the MiKTeX package manager. Then, run `initexmf --mkmaps` on the command line. (Long description: )



### Q: I get `Package csquotes Error: Unbalanced groups or invalid nesting.` What can I do?



A: You have activated `\MakeOuterQuote{"}` and used some special babel command to allow hyphenation at other places as a dash. One example is writing `application"=specific`.

Now, you have to decide whether you want keep using plain quotes to enquote a word or use the special hyphenation command.

In other words: Do you want `"quote"` and `app\-lication\-specific` or `\enquote{quote} and  application"=specific`?



Note that this should not happen when the template is generated as the setting `tweakouterquote` ensures that these two options are mutually exclusive.



### Q: I need more space. What can I do?



The most simple solution to get more space is to exchange the font.



### Q: How can I reformat my `.tex` files?



Execute `latexindent -l -s -sl -w thesis-example.tex`



Alternatively, execute `make format`.



### Q: How I want to obey the one-sentence-per-line rule. How to do?



See "How can I reformat my `.tex` files?"



### Q: I want to use minted, because I think its syntax highlighting seems to be better.



You can re-generate the template and choose `minted` as listings environment.

Moreover, ensure that python and [pygments](https://pygments.org/) are installed properly:



- `choco install python`

- `pip install pygments`



### Q: I have troubles with minted on Windows.



Try out following command to update `latexminted`.

See [minted#425](https://github.com/gpoore/minted/issues/425) for details.



```shell

py -m pip install --force-reinstall latexminted

```



### Q: Can I also write in German?



Yes. You can regenerate the template and choose "German" as language.



### Q: I was recommended the Harvard style



This template uses the alphabetic style.

That style is explained at the [biblatex documentation](http://texdoc.net/texmf-dist/doc/latex/biblatex/biblatex.pdf) on page 60:



> The alphabetic labels resemble a compact author-year

> style to some extent, but the way they are employed is similar to a numeric citation

> scheme. For example, instead of “Jones 1995” this style would use the label “[Jon95]”.

> “Jones and Williams 1986” would be rendered as “[JW86]”.



We are aware that the University of Stuttgart [recommends to use the Hardvard style](https://ilias3.uni-stuttgart.de/ilias.php?ref_id=12257&from_page=11895&obj_id=11896&cmd=layout&cmdClass=illmpresentationgui&cmdNode=dn&baseClass=ilLMPresentationGUI).

However, this style is not common in natural sciences and information science.



### Q: `ngerman-x-latest` is reported missing



Install the package `dehyph-exptl`.



### Q: I get ``! I can't find file `clmr28t10+20'.``



You seem to use `latexmk` locally.

Please move `_latexmkrc` to `latexmkrc` to get `latexmk` working.

If you don't do this, `latexmk` tries to execute `latex`, which tries to produce a DVI file (and not a PDF file).



### Q: I get `Font "LatinModernMath-Regular" not found.`. What can I do?



Error message:



```text

luaotfload | db : Reload initiated (formats: otf,ttf,ttc); reason: Font "LatinModernMath-Regular" not found.

luaotfload | resolve : sequence of 3 lookups yielded nothing appropriate.



! Package fontspec Error: The font "LatinModernMath-Regular" cannot be found.

```



Install the package `lm-math` manually.



### Q: I get `! Package fontspec Error: The font "LinuxLibertineO" cannot be found.`. What can I do?



Install the package `libertine` manually.



### Q: I get `! Package fontspec Error: The font "TeXGyreTermes" cannot be found.`. What can I do?



Install the package `tex-gyre` and `tex-gyre-math` manually.



### Q: I get `! error:  (type 1): cannot find encoding file 'ntx-ot1-tlf.enc' for reading`. What can I do?



See : Install the packages `newpx` and `newtxsf` manually.



### Q: I get `! TeX capacity exceeded, sorry [main memory size=3000000].`. What can I do?



Follow the steps at 



Try with following command



```bash

lualatex -shell-escape --extra-mem-top=10000000 --synctex=1 thesis-example.tex

```



See  for details.



### Q: There is an output that biber/biblatex too old



See installation hints of how to update them at different systems.



### Q: MiKTeX complains about missing `.sty` files.



Use the [MiKTeX console](https://miktex.org/howto/miktex-console) to refresh the package index.

Then, automatic installation should work again.



### Q: I cannot get minted to run. There is this `-shell-escape` warning.



Please ensure that your compilation command includes `-shell-escape`.

E.g., `lualatex -shell-escape -synctex=1 main-minted-german.tex`.

When compiling `main-minted-german.tex` with TeXStudio, you will see a dialog warning about overriding the compilation command.

Just answer "(a) allow for this document" and it will work.



### Q: How to include Excel charts properly?



1. Select the Excel chart you want to use.

2. Print to PDF with the option "Print Selected Chart".

3. Remove empty space of the created PDF page with `pdfcrop chart.pdf chart_cropped.pdf` (install via MikTeX first, if not available; check via `pdfcrop --version`).

4. Use [pdfscissors](https://sites.google.com/site/pdfscissors) to crop the borders and title (maybe you have to allow  in the Java security center in the control panel).

5. Include the PDF in LaTeX via `\includegraphics{chart_cropped.pdf}`.



### Q: How do I change the appearance of chapter headings?



Look for `% Code for my fancy chapters.` in your main `.tex` file and play around with parameters.



### Q: Aren't there other templates?



Sure. The [Hagenberg Thesis Document Collection](https://github.com/Digital-Media/HagenbergThesis) seems to be the most promising.

However, they currently do not support microtype and not the cover of the University of Stuttgart.



We are collecting alternatives at the issue [#25](https://github.com/latextemplates/scientific-thesis-template/issues/25) and plan to add a comparison to each other template.



### Q: Do I have to do something special for the final version?



- If you included some version control statements, please remove them. Currently, the template does not support any, but it used to support SVN.

- By using `\largepage` and `\shortpage`, single lines at the bottom or at the top of the page can be manually fixed.

- Search the PDF for "TODO" or similar things. Remove `\usepackage{todonotes}` in your main `.tex` file.

- Ensure that you run `lualatex` at least three times and that there are no "undefined references".

- The margins are intended for good screen reading. **Do not change them** (or do exactly know what you are doing).

## Further information



- Other templates: 

- For German users, go to .

- Frank Mittelbach with Ulrike Fischer: [The LaTeX Companion](https://www.latex-project.org/news/2023/03/17/TLC3/) is the ultimate guide for LaTeX: The authors went through all packages offered by [CTAN](https://ctan.org/), selected the most promising ones, described them, and provide minimal working example for each of it.

- Lutz Hering, Heike Hering: [How to Write Technial Reports](https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-69929-3), Springer, 2010; also available in German [Technische Berichte - verständlich gliedern, gut gestalten, überzeugend vortragen](https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-8348-8317-9). - Highly recommended, because it guides through all aspects of a report (such as a Master Thesis).

- Marcus Deininger et al.: [Studienarbeiten - Ein Leitfaden zur Erstellung, Durchführung und Präsentation wissenschaftlicher Abschlussarbeiten am Beispiel Informatik](https://vdf.ch/studienarbeiten.html?author_id=2877), vdf. - Recommended as guideline for planning and working on the whole thesis.

- Charles Lipson, [Cite Right, Second Edition: A Quick Guide to Citation Styles--MLA, APA, Chicago, the Sciences, Professions, and More](http://www.press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/C/bo10702043.html), Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing, 2011. - Recommended in case you are unsure about how to correctly cite something.



## License



The license of this work is [0BSD](https://spdx.org/licenses/0BSD.html) which corresponds to "public domain".

Any derived work can freely be relicensed and can omit original copyright and license information.



### Exceptions



- `ustutt-logo.pdf` is restricted. See section "Verwendung des Logos bei Abschlussarbeiten wie Dissertationen, Bachelor- und Masterarbeiten sowie Hausarbeiten" at  for details.



[biber]: https://www.ctan.org/pkg/biber

[biblatex]: http://tex.stackexchange.com/tags/biblatex/info

[bibtex]: https://www.ctan.org/pkg/bibtex

[booktabs]: https://ctan.org/pkg/booktabs

[cleveref]: https://ctan.org/pkg/cleveref

[csquotes]: https://www.ctan.org/pkg/csquotes

[hypcap]: https://www.ctan.org/pkg/hypcap

[hyperref]: https://ctan.org/pkg/hyperref

[latexindent]: https://ctan.org/pkg/latexindent

[latexmk]: http://tex.stackexchange.com/tags/latexmk/info

[listings]: https://ctan.org/pkg/listings

[lualatex]: http://www.luatex.org/

[microtype]: https://ctan.org/pkg/microtype

[minted]: https://ctan.org/pkg/minted

[natbib]: https://ctan.org/pkg/natbib

[paralist]: https://www.ctan.org/pkg/paralist

[pdfcomment]: https://www.ctan.org/pkg/pdfcomment

[upquote]: https://www.ctan.org/pkg/upquote



[JabRef]: https://www.jabref.org

[LanguageTool]: https://languagetool.org/

[latex template generator]: https://www.npmjs.com/package/generator-latex-template

[LTeX+]: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=ltex-plus.vscode-ltex-plus

[pygments]: https://pygments.org/

[Sumatra PDF]: https://www.sumatrapdfreader.org/free-pdf-reader