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This reference covers the fundamental LaTeX commands you’ll use in almost every document. Commands in LaTeX start with a backslash \ and can take optional and required arguments.

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Command Syntax

LaTeX commands follow this general pattern:
Note: Commands are case-sensitive. \Section is different from \section.

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Text Formatting Commands

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Font Styles

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Font Sizes

Commands for changing text size (from smallest to largest):
Font size commands affect all text until the end of the current group. Always use braces {} to limit their scope.

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Text Alignment

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Spacing Commands

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Horizontal Spacing

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Vertical Spacing

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Line Breaks and Page Breaks

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Special Characters

Some characters have special meaning in LaTeX and need to be escaped:

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Accents and Special Letters

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Document Structure Commands

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Sectioning

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Title Commands

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Reference Commands

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Labels and References

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Footnotes

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List Commands

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Item Commands

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Box Commands

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Text Boxes

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Margin Notes

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Utility Commands

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Counters and Numbering

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Conditional Text

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Common Command Combinations

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Emphasized Quotations

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Centered Title

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Custom Spacing

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Best Practices

Command usage tips:
  1. Use semantic commands - \emph{} for emphasis, not \textit{}
  2. Group formatting - {\large Some text} to limit scope
  3. Non-breaking spaces - Use ~ between references: Figure~\ref{fig:1}
  4. Consistent style - Define custom commands for repeated formatting
  5. Check package requirements - Some commands need specific packages

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Quick Reference Table

Next: Learn about Document Structure components or explore Text Formatting in detail.