Customizing Templates

Templates are starting points, not finished products. Here's how to customize them for your needs.

Safe Customizations

These changes are always safe and encouraged:

Update Metadata

Always update these fields with your information:

\title{Your Paper Title}
\author{Your Name}
\affiliation{Your Institution}
\email{you@example.com}
\date{\today}

Modify Content

Replace example content with your own:

\section{Introduction}
% Delete the placeholder text and write your content
Your introduction goes here...

Add Packages

Include additional packages you need:

% Add in the preamble, before \begin{document}
\usepackage{algorithm2e}  % For algorithms
\usepackage{subfig}       % For subfigures
\usepackage{url}          % For URLs

Add new packages near the existing \usepackage commands. Order can matter for some packages.

Common Customizations

Changing Fonts

With pdfLaTeX, use font packages:

% Serif fonts
\usepackage{times}       % Times
\usepackage{palatino}    % Palatino
\usepackage{charter}     % Charter

% Sans-serif
\usepackage{helvet}      % Helvetica

With XeLaTeX, use system fonts:

\usepackage{fontspec}
\setmainfont{Times New Roman}
\setsansfont{Arial}
\setmonofont{Courier New}

Remember to switch compiler to XeLaTeX in project settings.

Adjusting Margins

\usepackage{geometry}
\geometry{
    margin=1in,
    top=1.5in,
    bottom=1in
}

Be careful with margins in publisher templates — journals often have strict requirements.

Custom Commands

Define shortcuts for frequently used content:

% In preamble
\newcommand{\eg}{e.g.,\ }
\newcommand{\ie}{i.e.,\ }
\newcommand{\R}{\mathbb{R}}
\newcommand{\N}{\mathbb{N}}
\newcommand{\bm}[1]{\boldsymbol{#1}}

Colors

Add custom colors for highlights:

\usepackage{xcolor}

% Define custom colors
\definecolor{linkblue}{RGB}{0, 102, 204}
\definecolor{citegreen}{RGB}{0, 128, 0}

% Use in hyperref
\hypersetup{
    colorlinks=true,
    linkcolor=linkblue,
    citecolor=citegreen
}

Template Structure

Understanding the structure helps you customize safely:

Preamble

Everything before \begin{document}:

\documentclass{...}      % Document type (don't change for publishers)

% Package imports
\usepackage{...}

% Custom commands
\newcommand{...}

% Document metadata
\title{...}
\author{...}

\begin{document}

Document Body

The main content:

\begin{document}

\maketitle               % Generate title

\begin{abstract}         % Abstract environment
...
\end{abstract}

\section{...}            % Main sections
\subsection{...}
...

\bibliography{refs}      % Bibliography
\end{document}

Multi-File Projects

For larger documents, split into multiple files:

Create Section Files

Create separate .tex files for each section:

sections/
├── introduction.tex
├── methods.tex
├── results.tex
└── conclusion.tex

Use Input Commands

Include them in your main file:

\section{Introduction}
\input{sections/introduction}

\section{Methods}
\input{sections/methods}

Compile from Main

Always compile the main file — PaperPilot handles the rest.

The Writing Agent can help split large files into sections. Just ask!

What NOT to Change

Be careful modifying these in publisher templates:

Element	Risk
`\documentclass` options	May break required formatting
Page geometry	Publishers have strict requirements
Required packages	Templates depend on specific packages
Style file contents	Break compatibility
Citation style	Publishers require specific formats

Always check publisher guidelines before submitting. Some changes that look fine locally may cause rejection.

Troubleshooting

Template Not Compiling

Check if you accidentally deleted required content
Ensure all \begin{} have matching \end{}
Look for missing package imports
Ask the AI to diagnose the error

Formatting Looks Wrong

Compare with the original template preview
Check if you changed document class options
Verify margin/geometry settings
Clear compilation cache and re-compile

Package Conflicts

Some packages don't work well together:

Conflict	Solution
`caption` + `subfig`	Use `subcaption` instead
`hyperref` loading order	Load `hyperref` last
`tikz` + `beamer`	Load `tikz` after `beamer`

When adding packages, compile after each addition to catch conflicts early.

Customizing Templates

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