Work with tables and TikZ

About this guide

These instructions describe the desktop application and its configured services. For the hosted browser editor, start with the AtruhaTeX Web guides above. Desktop menu names and service settings may differ from Web.

Start with a small table

In the desktop app, open the Table Editor from its toolbar button. Choose a small number of rows and columns, enter cell content, and review the generated source. Insert adds a new table; Apply updates an existing table opened for editing. Compile the main document to check spacing and placement in context. You can also paste this ordinary LaTeX table into Source.

\begin{table}[ht]
  \centering
  \caption{Manuscript structure}
  \begin{tabular}{ll}
    Section & Purpose \\
    Introduction & Research question \\
    Methods & Study design \\
  \end{tabular}
\end{table}

Import data and choose its structure

The dedicated Table Editor accepts CSV, TSV, Markdown, HTML, supported LaTeX, and workbook sheets. For an XLSX, XLSM, XLSB, or ODS workbook, select the worksheet, inspect the preview, and choose how to treat the first row before importing. Workbook import reads cell values; it does not execute formulas or change the original workbook. Read any truncation warning: the editor accepts at most 500 rows and 20 columns.

Build a grouped header

Select adjacent cells and choose Merge to make a spanning heading. A clean starting example is one populated heading cell beside empty cells. Merge combines nonempty contents into the first cell with spaces; Unmerge leaves that combined text in the first cell. Apply Header style to add bold text, a fill, and a rule below, then choose Center separately if needed. Review borders explicitly: Booktabs removes vertical rules and converts the horizontal rules you selected; it does not design the whole table automatically.

Review before replacing source

Use number formatting, row sorting, or duplicate removal on compatible tables and review the result. For a multi-page longtable, configure repeated header sections deliberately. Request a compiled preview to check TeX output; it requires your desktop TeX tools and is not run on every keystroke. Keep the original document active when applying. If its source changed while the editor was open, review the main document and reopen the Table Editor. A failed apply keeps the draft open.

Create a focused diagram

Open the TikZ editor from its toolbar button and create a small drawing. Review the generated code, then use Insert for a new figure or Apply for an existing one. For a source-first example, load the tikz package in the preamble and place this picture in the document body. Compile the full document to verify the result with its fonts and packages.

% In the preamble:
\usepackage{tikz}

% In the document body:
\begin{tikzpicture}
  \node[draw] (source) at (0,0) {Source};
  \node[draw] (pdf) at (4,0) {PDF};
  \draw[->] (source) -- (pdf);
\end{tikzpicture}

Adjust a scientific construction

For a thin-lens construction, select the object and adjust object distance or focal length in its properties. The rays, image position, and magnification update together. For example, with focal length 2, object height 1, and axis extent 12, changing object distance from 6 to 3 changes image distance from 3 to 6 and magnification from −0.5 to −2. This is a paraxial thin-lens construction. At the focal plane the editor reports an image at infinity, rather than a finite image.

Arrange objects and plot data

Use alignment and distribution controls to arrange selected objects, then group related parts or lock a layer before continuing. Connectors can attach to named ports and remain attached when objects move. The graph tools accept Cartesian, parametric, polar, implicit, and data series; choose the series type and review its parameters or column mapping before committing it. Supply your own uncertainty values for error bars. Tangents, intersections, and shading are numerical constructions, not mathematical proofs or a guarantee of every intersection.

Respect unsupported syntax

An existing TikZ picture may use syntax the visual editor cannot represent fully. In that case, the original source is preserved and Apply is disabled. Continue in Source and compile to inspect the figure. A preview requires the desktop toolchain and the same execution permission as its project; opening an editor alone does not make an untrusted project safe to run.