PSU Thesis LaTeX Class Files and Tips for Astro Users

PSU Thesis Links

• PSU Thesis Home
• BibTeX
• IncludeFile
• Definitions
• Table of Contents
• Figures
• Long Tables
• Making PDFs

Grads Links

• Grads' Web Resources
• Grad Bios
• Grad Calendars
• Committees
• Grunch
• South Park Gallery

Validation

The LaTeX files:

• Download all class and style files (gziped tar file: psuthesis.tar.gz) - right click to save to disk
• To unpack psuthesis.tar.gz:
  1. save gziped tar file to disk (I'm assuming it's a unix or linux computer) by right-clicking on the download link above
  2. to uncompress, run: "gunzip psuthesis.tar.gz"
  3. to unpack files, run: "tar xvpf psuthesis.tar"
• The tar file contains the following files (if you are a glutton for punishment, you could download each of these files individually instead of the tar file, but be warned, I added ".txt" to the end of each file name so it would display in the web browser):
  • ayphdthesis_mod.bst - BibTeX bibliography format file which makes bibs that look like the psuthesis.bst format, however it allows the (Author year) citation style**
  • deluxetable.sty - allows use of AASTeX deluxetables
  • doublespace.sty - this has something to do with allowing the thesis to be double spaced, it is called by psuthesis.cls (double spacing is not necessary for an eTD, but it is necessary for a paper thesis [2004 guidelines], it is also used for formatting the title page)
  • mythesis.tex - "example" thesis file
  • psuthesis.bst - the "original" bibliography format file (I never actually used this because the alternate one ayphdthesis_mod.bst allowed the "(author year)" citation style, while this one does not)**
  • psuthesis.cls - the actual class file to format everything properly*

    ** = according to the grad school thesis guide, there is no special formating required for the bibliography: "you will need to follow a scholarly style manual in your field or perhaps a recent issue of a leading journal as a guide in compiling this section of the thesis". So, instead of using either of these two bibliography styles, it is perfectly OK to just use "apj" to get citations which we are all familiar with (i.e., enter "\bibliographystyle{apj}" in place of either of the two styles listed above, apj should be already known to latex so you won't have to download it specially). The apj style is currently the one included in the example thesis file (although the ayphdthesis_mod is written in there, but commented out, so it is easy to switch between them). If for some reason your computer doesn't know about "apj.bst", then save the file apj.bst (right click, save using the name "apj.bst") into your working directory.

    Actually, I had problems with the version of apj.bst installed on my work computer: it could not deal with two first-author papers published in the same year. I found a slightly altered version which actually works much better. The altered version is what I have made available by the link (apj.bst).

    * = I found an apparent "bug" in psuthesis.cls which might have something to do with using apj.bst instead of the original bst file. Anyway, psuthesis tries to change "Bibliography" to "References" in both the TOC and at the end. However, it did not work for me -- it only changed in the TOC. So, I changed the commands in psuthesis.cls back to print "Bibliography" everywhere. The version currently in the big tar file has the original version, the version I updated is available to download separately (psuthesis.cls).

• Be sure to read through mythesis.tex, there are a lot of useful comments and directions written into there.
• Notes: The psuthesis.cls file includes a "committee page", per the instructions of the Thesis Guide. This version passed format review (June 1, 2005).
• Book Format - I also hacked a version of psuthesis.cls to have the twoside book format (so the left-right margins alternate between odd-even pages, and the page number appears on opposite sides on odd-even pages). THIS FORMAT IS NOT AN ACCEPTABLE FORMAT TO SUBMIT A FINAL PSU THESIS! However, it is a lot nicer for making double-sided, printed/bound copies for your own personal use. The file name is psuthesis2side.cls (so call that new name if you want to use it).

Some useful tips and directions:

• A short BibTeX primer
• Including Chapter Files
• Writing and Including a Definitions File (with a few words about hyphenations)
• Table of Contents, Lists of Figures/Tables
• Including Figures
• Tips for including multiple-page tables in psuthesis
• Making PDF from LaTeX on the department computers (or your own PC!)
• LaTeX error: "Too many unprocessed floats."

Other Useful Links:

• Grad School website
• Grad School Thesis Information
• Grad School Thesis Guide
• eTD website
  • eTD using TeX/LaTeX info
  • PSU specific TeX/LaTeX classes and info
• Thesis Office Calendar

These files were assembled in Fall 2005 by M. Stark (original files written by Stephen G. Simpson, Math Dept., and are available to download from http://cac.psu.edu/etd/howto/tex/index.html). Some of the files in this tared version were modified from the original versions specifically for Astronomy Dept. use, and others were modified to include new Thesis Office requirements (i.e., inclusion of a "Committee Page" in the eTD in place of a "Signature Page", but keeping the "Signature Page" around to be printed, signed, and turned into the Thesis Office to keep on record).