Thetapad Template Gallery: Start Your Document in Seconds

The Problem with Starting from Scratch

Opening a blank LaTeX document is daunting. Before writing a single word of content, you need to:

• Choose the right document class for your purpose
• Add essential packages for math, graphics, and formatting
• Set up page margins, fonts, and spacing
• Create the document structure with proper sectioning
• Configure bibliography and citation styles
• Handle front matter, back matter, and appendices

For a simple one-page document, this setup might take 10 minutes. For a thesis or journal submission, you could spend hours getting the formatting right before touching your actual content.

Templates eliminate this friction entirely. Instead of building from scratch, you start with a professionally configured foundation and focus immediately on what matters: your writing.

Understanding the Template Gallery

Thetapad's template gallery is a curated collection of starting points for common document types. Each template includes proper package configuration, professional styling, and placeholder content that guides you on what goes where.

How Templates Are Organized

Templates are grouped by category for easy discovery:

Academic Papers Journal articles and conference papers formatted for specific venues. These include IEEE, ACM, Springer, and generic academic formats. Each template matches the exact specifications of the target publication.

Theses & Dissertations Graduate-level documents with multi-chapter structure, proper front matter (title page, abstract, acknowledgments, table of contents), and back matter (appendices, bibliography). These templates handle the complex pagination requirements that theses demand.

Presentations Beamer slides with multiple theme options. These templates demonstrate how to create title slides, content slides, two-column layouts, and speaker notes. Theme variations let you match your institution's branding.

CVs & Resumes Professional documents using packages like moderncv and europecv. These templates show how to structure education, experience, publications, and skills sections with consistent formatting.

Letters Formal correspondence templates with proper letterhead positioning, salutation formatting, and signature blocks. Useful for cover letters, recommendation letters, and official communications.

Reports Technical and business reports with executive summaries, section numbering, figure and table lists, and professional layouts. These work for lab reports, project documentation, and business analyses.

Books Multi-chapter documents with part divisions, chapter headings, indexes, and front/back matter. These templates demonstrate the book document class and its specific requirements.

Assignments Homework and problem set templates with numbered questions, answer spaces, and clean formatting. Perfect for instructors creating assignments or students formatting solutions.

Step-by-Step Template Usage

Step 1: Access the Gallery

1. Open Thetapad in your browser
2. Click "New Project" in the dashboard
3. Select "From Template" to open the gallery
4. Browse categories or use the search bar

The search function recognizes document types, package names, and keywords. Searching "IEEE" finds all IEEE-formatted templates. Searching "math" finds templates with strong math support.

Step 2: Preview Before Committing

Click any template card to see a detailed preview:

• Live PDF preview showing exactly how the output looks
• Template description explaining the use case
• Package list showing what's included
• Customization notes highlighting what you'll need to change

The preview helps you verify that a template matches your requirements before using it. Some IEEE templates target different paper types (conference vs. journal), and the preview reveals these differences.

Step 3: Create Your Project

Once you've found the right template:

1. Click "Use This Template"
2. Enter a project name (this becomes your folder name)
3. Optionally add a description
4. Click "Create"

The template files are copied to your new project. You own this copy completely—modifying it doesn't affect the original template, and you can restructure it however you want.

Template Deep Dives

IEEE Conference Paper Template

The IEEE template is one of our most popular. It produces documents that match IEEE conference specifications exactly:

\documentclass[conference]{IEEEtran}
 
% Essential packages
\usepackage{cite}
\usepackage{amsmath,amssymb,amsfonts}
\usepackage{algorithmic}
\usepackage{graphicx}
\usepackage{textcomp}
\usepackage{xcolor}
 
\title{Your Paper Title Here}
\author{
  \IEEEauthorblockN{First Author}
  \IEEEauthorblockA{Department\\University\\City, Country\\email@example.com}
  \and
  \IEEEauthorblockN{Second Author}
  \IEEEauthorblockA{Department\\University\\City, Country\\email@example.com}
}
 
\begin{document}
\maketitle
 
\begin{abstract}
Your abstract goes here. Aim for 150-200 words summarizing your contribution.
\end{abstract}
 
\begin{IEEEkeywords}
keyword1, keyword2, keyword3
\end{IEEEkeywords}
 
\section{Introduction}
Start your introduction here. Explain the problem and your contribution.
 
\section{Related Work}
Review relevant prior research.
 
\section{Methodology}
Describe your approach.
 
\section{Results}
Present your findings.
 
\section{Conclusion}
Summarize and discuss future work.
 
\bibliographystyle{IEEEtran}
\bibliography{references}
 
\end{document}

What's included:

• Two-column layout with proper IEEE margins
• Author block formatting for multiple authors
• Keywords section after abstract
• IEEEtran bibliography style for consistent citations
• Section structure matching IEEE expectations

Thesis Template

The thesis template handles the complex requirements of graduate documents:

\documentclass[12pt,twoside,openright]{report}
 
% Page layout
\usepackage[margin=1in,inner=1.5in]{geometry}
\usepackage{setspace}
\doublespacing
 
% Essential packages
\usepackage{amsmath,amssymb}
\usepackage{graphicx}
\usepackage{hyperref}
\usepackage{natbib}
 
% Custom commands
\newcommand{\chapterheader}[1]{%
  \chapter{#1}
  \thispagestyle{plain}
}
 
\begin{document}
 
%% Front matter
\frontmatter
\include{frontmatter/titlepage}
\include{frontmatter/copyright}
\include{frontmatter/abstract}
\include{frontmatter/dedication}
\include{frontmatter/acknowledgments}
 
\tableofcontents
\listoffigures
\listoftables
 
%% Main matter
\mainmatter
\include{chapters/introduction}
\include{chapters/literature}
\include{chapters/methodology}
\include{chapters/results}
\include{chapters/discussion}
\include{chapters/conclusion}
 
%% Back matter
\backmatter
\bibliographystyle{plainnat}
\bibliography{references}
 
\appendix
\include{appendices/supplementary}
\include{appendices/code}
 
\end{document}

What's included:

• Multi-chapter file organization
• Proper frontmatter/mainmatter/backmatter divisions
• Roman numerals for front matter, Arabic for main content
• Lists of figures and tables
• Appendix support
• Double spacing and binding margins

Beamer Presentation Template

Create professional academic presentations with Beamer:

\documentclass{beamer}
 
% Theme selection
\usetheme{Madrid}
\usecolortheme{default}
 
% Optional: custom colors
\definecolor{MyBlue}{RGB}{0,102,153}
\setbeamercolor{structure}{fg=MyBlue}
 
\title{Your Presentation Title}
\subtitle{Conference or Event Name}
\author{Your Name}
\institute{Your Institution}
\date{\today}
 
\begin{document}
 
% Title slide
\begin{frame}
  \titlepage
\end{frame}
 
% Outline slide
\begin{frame}{Outline}
  \tableofcontents
\end{frame}
 
% Content sections
\section{Introduction}
 
\begin{frame}{Problem Statement}
  \begin{itemize}
    \item First point about the problem
    \item Second point with more detail
    \item Third point emphasizing importance
  \end{itemize}
\end{frame}
 
\begin{frame}{Our Approach}
  \begin{columns}
    \column{0.5\textwidth}
    \begin{itemize}
      \item Method step one
      \item Method step two
    \end{itemize}
    \column{0.5\textwidth}
    \includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{diagram.png}
  \end{columns}
\end{frame}
 
\section{Results}
 
\begin{frame}{Key Findings}
  \begin{block}{Main Result}
    Our approach achieves X\% improvement.
  \end{block}
 
  \begin{alertblock}{Important Note}
    This requires certain conditions.
  \end{alertblock}
\end{frame}
 
\section{Conclusion}
 
\begin{frame}{Summary}
  \begin{enumerate}
    \item We proposed a novel approach
    \item Results show significant improvement
    \item Future work will explore extensions
  \end{enumerate}
\end{frame}
 
\begin{frame}
  \centering
  \Large Thank you!
 
  \vspace{1em}
  Questions?
\end{frame}
 
\end{document}

What's included:

• Multiple theme options (Madrid, Berlin, Copenhagen, etc.)
• Color customization examples
• Two-column layouts
• Block environments for emphasis
• Table of contents generation
• Standard academic presentation structure

Customizing Templates Effectively

Personalizing Document Information

Every template includes placeholder text for your information:

\title{Your Paper Title Here}      % Replace with your title
\author{Your Name Here}            % Replace with your name
\date{\today}                      % Or specific date
\institution{Your University}      % If applicable

Search for "Your" or "TODO" in templates to find all placeholders that need replacement.

Adding and Removing Sections

LaTeX section commands are straightforward to modify:

\section{Introduction}           % Keep as is
\section{Background}             % Keep as is
\section{My Custom Section}      % Add new sections
% \section{Optional Section}     % Comment out to remove

The numbering updates automatically when you add or remove sections.

Adjusting Visual Style

Common style modifications include:

% Document class options
\documentclass[12pt,letterpaper]{article}  % Font size and paper
 
% Page margins
\usepackage[margin=1in]{geometry}
\usepackage[top=1in,bottom=1in,left=1.25in,right=1.25in]{geometry}
 
% Line spacing
\usepackage{setspace}
\singlespacing      % Default
\onehalfspacing     % 1.5 spacing
\doublespacing      % Double spacing
 
% Custom colors
\usepackage{xcolor}
\definecolor{linkblue}{RGB}{0,102,204}
\hypersetup{colorlinks=true,linkcolor=linkblue}

Extending Functionality with Packages

Add packages before \begin{document} to enable new features:

\usepackage{booktabs}      % Professional tables
\usepackage{listings}      % Code listings with syntax highlighting
\usepackage{subcaption}    % Subfigures
\usepackage{tikz}          % Diagrams and drawings
\usepackage{algorithm2e}   % Algorithm pseudocode

Best Practices for Template Usage

1. Read Before You Edit

Before making changes:

• Skim the entire template to understand its structure
• Compile it once to see the default output
• Identify the sections you'll modify vs. leave alone
• Note any TODO comments or placeholder markers

2. Make Incremental Changes

Don't restructure everything at once:

• Make one change
• Compile to verify it works
• Move to the next change
• Repeat

This approach isolates problems. If compilation fails, you know exactly which change caused it.

3. Preserve a Clean Copy

Before major modifications:

• Create a project snapshot in Thetapad
• Or duplicate the project as "ProjectName-original"
• You can always return to the working state

4. Know When to Switch Templates

If you're fighting a template constantly, consider switching:

• Templates should help, not hinder
• Sometimes a different template fits better
• It's faster to switch early than to force-fit late

5. Save Your Customizations

Made a template configuration you'll reuse?

• Strip out content, keeping structure
• Add placeholder text as guides
• Save as your personal template
• Share with collaborators for consistency

Troubleshooting Common Template Issues

Template Won't Compile

Missing packages: Check that all required packages are available. The error log will name the missing package.

Version incompatibility: Some templates require specific LaTeX distribution versions. Check the template documentation.

Placeholder content errors: Some placeholders need valid content. Empty required fields can cause compilation errors.

Output Looks Different Than Preview

Reference resolution: Compile twice to resolve cross-references and citations.

Font availability: Some templates use specific fonts. Substitute if unavailable.

Package versions: Different package versions can produce slightly different output.

Customizations Break the Template

Backup before experimenting: Always have a clean copy to return to.

Isolate changes: If something breaks, comment out recent additions to identify the problem.

Check package conflicts: Some packages don't work together. Search for known conflicts if you see strange errors.

Creating Your Own Templates

Once you've perfected a document setup, save it as a reusable template:

1. Remove content: Delete the actual text while keeping structure
2. Add placeholders: Mark where content should go with clear labels
3. Document customizations: Add comments explaining your setup
4. Test the template: Create a new project from it and verify it works

Share custom templates with your team to ensure everyone starts from the same foundation—consistent formatting across all your group's documents.

Conclusion

Templates transform the LaTeX experience from "fighting with formatting" to "focusing on content." Instead of spending the first hour of every project on setup, you spend the first minute selecting a template and the rest of your time writing.

The template gallery covers academic papers, theses, presentations, CVs, reports, and more. Each template is professionally configured and includes the packages you need. Customization is straightforward—change what you need, keep what works, and compile with confidence.

Start with a template. Focus on your ideas. Let LaTeX handle the typography.

Browse Thetapad's complete template gallery and launch your next project in seconds. Every template is optimized for fast compilation and includes inline documentation.