How to Arrange a Figure in LaTeX

LaTeX is a free document creation program meant specifically for technical or scientific material that contains several figures and scientific notations and equations. Documents in LaTeX are text-based, with only a very simple graphical user interface. To position elements such as figures, you need to know the proper argument to use to place your graphic exactly where you want it. In LaTeX, you use the {figure} command to insert and position graphics.

Instructions

1. Open your LaTeX document.

2. Position the cursor where you want to place the figure.

3. Type the following, omitting the quotation marks:
   "\begin{figure} h figure name \end{figure}"
   The "h" represents the where argument; it is where you want the figure to appear on the page. In this case, "h" means here—your figure will appear at this particular position in the graphic. Other options are: "t," which places the graphic at the top of the page; "b," which puts the graphic at the bottom of the page; "p," placing the image on a special page for graphics only; or "!," which overrides built-in positioning parameters and is used with one or more of the other letters to position the picture. For example, "!tp" will place the graphic at the top of the special graphics page.
   "Figure name" is the file name of the figure. Replace this with the appropriate file name.

References

• Guide to LaTex, 4/e; Helmut Kopka and Patrick W. Daly
• Andrew Roberts; Getting to Grips With LaTeX: Floats, Figures and Captions