[Tex/LaTex] Standalone compilation of sources intended for \input{} or \include{}

include

My LaTeX workflow involves frequent recompiles (good ol' C-c C-c in AucTeX). Right now I'm working on a large document that's composed of chapters, each in an individual file. I would like to use the \input{} or \include{} mechanism to compile the final document, however that involves stripping the chapters sources from the preamble.

I could create a "main" file (a chapter-main.tex for every chapter.tex) with the preamble and \include{chapter.tex}, but this means that as I'm editing an individual chapter, I need to switch to a different file for a recompilation, which breaks my workflow.

Are there any ways to use the \include{} mechanism that don't get in the way of editing files individually?..

Best Answer

There are several solutions for working with multiple files; I prefer subfiles. If you merely want to indicate which file is the "master", insert the following at the top of the file (and replace "rootfile" as appropriate):

% Local Variables: 
% TeX-master: "rootfile"

Related Solutions

[Tex/LaTex] Using relative paths for \include commands

It is best to use relative paths, that way if you move the entire directory tree things will still work. So use

\newcommand*{\MyPath}{../thesis}%
\input{\MyPath/chap1/ch1.tex}

So assuming that you have your files as:

<some path>/thesis/thesis.tex
<some path>/thesis/chap1/ch1.tex
<some path>/thesis/chap2/ch2.tex

All the files are input relative to where they are with respect to the thesis directory.

I am pretty sure that you'll need to update all of your \input statements, but this way it is flexible in case you decide to change the top level directory, or move it somewhere.

[Tex/LaTex] Using minitoc in included chapters

I should have set the mtc counter to correspond with the included chapters! Adding:

\setcounter{mtc}{*corresponding previous section number*}

before the \include{Chapters/introduction}

fixed the problem!

Best Answer

Related Solutions

[Tex/LaTex] Using relative paths for \include commands

[Tex/LaTex] Using minitoc in included chapters

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