Learn LaTeX — From Zero to Document

Article Library

Go deeper on any topic with one of these dedicated guides.

What is LaTeX?

LaTeX (pronounced lah-tech or lay-tech) is a professional typesetting system used worldwide to produce beautifully formatted documents. Unlike Microsoft Word or Google Docs — where you see your formatted output as you type — LaTeX works by writing plain text with markup commands that describe how the document should look.

Think of it like HTML for the web, but for printable documents. You write source code, and LaTeX compiles it into a perfectly typeset PDF.

\documentclass{article}
\begin{document}
Hello, world!
\end{document}

This tiny snippet produces a complete, properly formatted PDF page with “Hello, world!” on it. Everything — font choice, margins, page numbers, section headings — is handled automatically by LaTeX based on the document class you choose.

Why use LaTeX?

Word processors are great for short everyday documents. But the moment your document grows — with equations, references, multi-column layouts, figures, or strict journal formatting — Word starts to fight you. LaTeX was designed for exactly these situations.

Getting Started

Skozin is a free browser-based LaTeX editor — no installation, no setup. Here is how to go from zero to a compiled PDF in under two minutes.

1. 1

   Open the editor

   Click Start Writing in the navigation bar or New Document from your dashboard. The editor loads with a sample document ready to compile.

2. 2

   Write or paste your LaTeX

   The left panel is your source editor with syntax highlighting. Type your LaTeX code here. If you are starting from scratch, pick a template from the template gallery on the home page.

3. 3

   Compile to PDF

   Press Ctrl+S (or Cmd+S on Mac) to compile. Your PDF appears in the right panel within a few seconds. If there are errors, the error panel shows the exact line and message.

4. 4

   Save and share

   Documents auto-save every 2 seconds after you stop typing. Use the Share button to generate a read-only link anyone can view — no account required to view.

5. 5

   Download your PDF

   Click the Download button to save a high-quality PDF file. You can also download the .tex source file at any time.

Your First Document

Copy the following into the editor and press Ctrl+S to compile. This covers the most important LaTeX building blocks:

\documentclass[12pt, a4paper]{article}

% Packages
\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}
\usepackage{amsmath}
\usepackage{graphicx}
\usepackage{hyperref}

% Document metadata
\title{My First LaTeX Document}
\author{Your Name}
\date{\today}

\begin{document}

\maketitle          % Generates the title block

\section{Introduction}
This is my first LaTeX document. LaTeX makes it easy to write
\textbf{bold text}, \textit{italic text}, and
\underline{underlined text}.

\section{Mathematics}
Inline math: $a^2 + b^2 = c^2$

Display math:
\[
  \int_0^\infty e^{-x^2}\,dx = \frac{\sqrt{\pi}}{2}
\]

\section{Lists}
An unordered list:
\begin{itemize}
  \item First item
  \item Second item
  \item Third item
\end{itemize}

A numbered list:
\begin{enumerate}
  \item Step one
  \item Step two
\end{enumerate}

\section{Conclusion}
You have written your first LaTeX document!

\end{document}

This document will compile into a properly formatted A4 PDF with a title, author, date, section headings, formatted text, a math equation, and two lists.

Common Commands Reference

A quick reference for the commands you will use most often.

Using Templates

Starting from a blank page is daunting. Skozin includes 14 ready-to-use templates that you can open, customise, and compile immediately — no LaTeX knowledge required to get started.

To use a template, go to the home page, browse the template gallery, hover over a template to see its preview thumbnail, then click to open it in the editor.

Use Cases

Tips & Tricks

• Read the error log carefully — LaTeX errors always include a line number (e.g., l.42). The error panel in Skozin highlights the exact line. The most common error is a missing closing brace } or a typo in a command name.
• Use % for comments — Anything after % on a line is ignored by the compiler. Use comments to leave notes or temporarily disable lines: % \usepackage{problematic-package}
• Escape special characters — Characters like & % $ # _ { } ~ ^ \ have special meaning in LaTeX. To print them literally, escape them: \& \% \$ \# \_ \{ \} \textasciitilde \textasciicircum
• Use \usepackage sparingly at first — Start with the minimum packages (inputenc, amsmath, graphicx). Add more as you need them. Conflicting packages are a common source of cryptic errors.
• Non-breaking spaces with ~ — Use ~ where you do not want a line break: Figure~\ref{fig:chart} or Dr.~Smith. This prevents awkward breaks in the middle of references or titles.
• AI Assistant for errors — If you get a compilation error you cannot understand, paste the error message into the Skozin AI chat panel and ask it to explain and fix the issue. It reads the full error log and suggests a corrected version of your code.
• Version history — Every time you save a document on Skozin, a version snapshot is created. If you accidentally delete content, open the Version History panel from the toolbar to restore any previous save.

Frequently Asked Questions