Frequently asked questions

  1. Can I typeset equations using \begin{align} or other LaTeX/AMS-LaTeX constructs?

    Yes. When "text" mode is selected the contents of the text window are copied in their entirety between a \begin{document}...\end{document} pair. Hence, any arbitary LaTeX or AMS-LaTeX environment can be used in "text" mode. To typeset an aligned equation, simply use the appropriate environment:

            	
                     \begin{eqnarray*}
                     f(x) &=& x^2 - 4\\
                          &=& (x-2) (x+2)
                     \end{equnarray}
        

  2. How can I get the fonts to match those in Keynote?

    This is a much harder question to answer than most people think it should be.

    Mathematics requires many more fonts to typeset correctly than ordinary text. As a result, there exist very few sets of full math fonts. There are essentially six choices for TeX:

    • Computer Modern Roman. These are the default fonts used by TeX. I find these look pretty good with Hoefler Text, a font used by some of Keynote's themes.
    • Math Times. A full set of Math Times fonts is available from Y&Y. Once purchased, these will need to be installed where your TeX distribution can find them.
    • Lucida Bright, Lucida New Math. Another font set available from Y&Y.
    • Concrete. These fonts were designed by Knuth for typesetting Concrete Mathematics. They are simple and look like mathematics written on a blackboard. I find they look pretty good with Monaco, a font used by some of Keynote's themes.
    • txfonts, pxfonts. These are variants which give math an times-like or palatino-like appearance.



  3. The previewed graphic in the pane is clipped too much at the bottom. Why?

    The PDF display routine relies on code from NSImageView, one of Apple's Cocoa classes. The clipping is a bug within NSImageView. It shouldn't affect the appearance of the PDF when dragged into Keynote or other applications. However, it if bothers you, add a couple of points to the bottom margin of the bounding box in the Preference pane.