LaTeX packagesLaTeXCustomizing the LaTeX page layoutIncluding graphics in LaTeX documents

Including graphics in LaTeX documents

One of the advantages of using LaTeX for preparing documents is that LaTeX is highly portable: it is easy to transfer LaTeX files to another computer system, and the files will produce just about the same printed output on different machines. Unfortunately, there is no standard format for graphics, and so LaTeX files that contain embedded graphics may not be completely portable.

LaTeX has a built-in picture environment that is machine-independent, but this environment is suitable only for simple pictures made of lines, circles, and spline curves. For more sophisticated graphics, you need to use the add-on graphics package by putting the command \usepackage{graphics} in the preamble of your LaTeX document. (There is an alternative package graphicx that has the same functionality but a different syntax.)

The effects you can achieve with the graphics package depend on your printer. The following discussion assumes that you are using a PostScript printer. You should then invoke the graphics package with the dvips option, like this: \usepackage[dvips]{graphics}.


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LaTeX packagesLaTeXCustomizing the LaTeX page layoutIncluding graphics in LaTeX documents