Going further

When you need this page: Optional

For a thesis or dissertation that already compiles: share drafts, back up, update the formatting file, get technical help, or change a setting. Pick the task you need; Git, AI, and the extra packages are optional. Still setting up? Get started. For the bigger picture, see the suggested workflow.

Common situations

Pick the situation; each opens with its steps. Bringing in a draft written elsewhere? See Bring your draft.

Use your computer and Overleaf

The one rule: only one copy is the source of truth at a time. Edit there; treat the other as a backup.

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In words: download a ZIP to move to your computer, upload a ZIP to move to Overleaf, and edit in only one place.

1. Save and compile where you are.
2. Move the whole project by ZIP (to your computer or to Overleaf).
3. Rename the old copy, e.g. thesis-OLD-2027-02-10, so you don't edit it by accident.

On some plans, Overleaf's Git and GitHub sync (opens in a new tab) can skip the ZIPs.

An advisor reviews a PDF

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In words: send a PDF → your advisor marks it up → you edit the source → recompile → repeat.

1. Send a PDF with the date in its name, e.g. thesis-2027-02-10.pdf, and keep a copy.
2. Your advisor comments on paper or in a PDF reader.
3. Find each spot in your .tex files (search a few words, or click in the PDF to jump there) and make the change.
4. Recompile and send the next dated PDF. After big revisions, add a changes PDF.

mkdir build

pandoc chapters/01-introduction.tex --from=latex --to=docx --citeproc --bibliography=references.bib --resource-path=. --output=build/chapter-review.docx

latexdiff --flatten ../old/main.tex main.tex > build/changes.tex

latexmk -norc -pdf -no-shell-escape -outdir=build build/changes.tex

\pagenumbering{roman}
\begin{titlepage}
  \centering
  \MakeUppercase{Your proposal title}\par
  \vspace{2\baselineskip}
  Your Full Name\par
  \vspace{2\baselineskip}
  Doctoral Candidacy Proposal\par
  Department of Your Department\par
  Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute\par
  \vspace{2\baselineskip}
  May 2027\par
\end{titlepage}
\setcounter{page}{2}

Back up your work

Keep your thesis in two places, one off your computer, so a lost laptop costs you an afternoon, not a thesis. Pick what suits you:

• A cloud-synced folder (OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, or iCloud): keep your thesis folder inside it.
• A private GitHub repository (set one up). Never public.
• Overleaf: use its History, and download the source ZIP regularly and before big changes. On some plans, Git or GitHub sync also works.
• Your computer's own backup (Time Machine, File History, an external drive) is a good extra layer.

Watch for these:

• Sync is not backup. A deleted or damaged file syncs everywhere, so learn where your service keeps version history.
• Keep files on your computer. Mark the thesis folder "Always keep on this device"; OneDrive and iCloud can leave files online only, and LaTeX then cannot find them.
• Edit on one computer at a time, and let sync finish before switching, or you get conflict copies such as main (1).tex.
• Zotero: keep its data folder out of cloud-sync folders (details).
• Sensitive data (IRB-approved interviews, export-controlled data, data under a data-use agreement) follows RPI's rules and your agreement, not personal cloud storage.

Also keep each dated PDF you send and the scripts and data behind your figures. At submission, archive the final source, the submitted PDF, and your permission documents in two places. Git's ignore rules leave out compiled PDFs and the downloaded seal: keep a separate final archive that includes them. Now and then, extract a backup and compile it to prove it works. If a tool reports a missing file and your folder path has spaces or unusual characters, try a simple path like ~/thesis.

Use a private GitHub repository

Optional: you need neither Git nor GitHub to finish your thesis. Git saves snapshots (commits) of your folder on your computer. GitHub stores Git projects online; uploading is a push, and Git history on the same disk is not a backup until you push it. Keep a thesis in a private repository (only you and people you invite can see it): unpublished research doesn't belong in public.

Instead, create a new repository and choose Private (GitHub: creating a new repository (opens in a new tab)). Then add the files from the starter ZIP with Add file → Upload files. The toolkit's own repository holds scripts and website code that a thesis does not need.

Without a terminal: to save later work, open the repository's page. GitHub's uploader puts each file in the folder you are viewing, so an uploaded chapter lands at the top level unless you first open the matching folder.

1. Open the folder that matches where the file lives on your computer (for chapters/02-research.tex, open chapters on GitHub first). Choose Add file → Upload files, drag in the changed file, and commit.
2. Check the path shown above the file (for example chapters/02-research.tex, not 02-research.tex at the top) and open the file to confirm the content is your latest.
3. Renamed or deleted files are not updated by an upload. Open the old file on GitHub, delete it there (the pencil or … menu), and upload the new one.
4. Check that your commit appears in the commit list (the Commits link on the repository page).

The first upload of the whole project can be large: GitHub's browser upload is limited to 100 files at a time, so upload folders in batches, or use GitHub Desktop (opens in a new tab) or a cloud-synced folder instead (GitHub: adding a file (opens in a new tab)).

To get back an older chapter, open that file on GitHub, choose History, open the older version, and download it. Do not work in your real folder: copy your whole project, put the old chapter in the copy, compile, and compare the PDF with your current one. Only then replace the file in your real project. For ongoing backups, the simpler cloud-synced folder is easier to keep up.

git init

git add .

git commit -m "Start my thesis from the starter"

Update the formatting safely

Formatting fixes arrive in one file, rpi-thesis.cls. Updating usually means replacing that file; your chapters, metadata.tex, and references.bib stay as they are (why). Before version 1.0, anything may change, and the changelog says what to do.

1. Read the changelog entries newer than your version (below), and note any edit they ask for besides the class.
2. Download the newest class: rpi-thesis.cls (it is also inside every new starter ZIP).
3. Replace yours. On your computer, save it over the rpi-thesis.cls next to main.tex. On Overleaf, click Upload, choose the file, and confirm that it replaces the old one. Make any other edit the changelog named.
4. Recompile and look at your PDF, especially the title page, contents, and page numbers.

Which version do you have? The quickest way: drop your PDF into Check your PDF; it names the version that made it and says whether a newer one exists. Your compile log also has a line of the form rpi-thesis YYYY/MM/DD vX.Y.Z, and the website's footer shows the newest. The changelog lists what each version changed, starting with Changes your PDF?

Close to a deadline, update only if a change fixes something that affects you. To hear about updates, use Watch → Custom → Releases on the toolkit's GitHub page (needs an account).

Use AI for technical help

An AI chat (a tool that explains problems and suggests changes) can make LaTeX and terminal steps much easier. It is optional, one route beside web search, official documentation, and community help. Use a tool you already have; nothing here needs a subscription or an AI account. It is for technical parts, not for writing your thesis.

Four good uses:

• Explain an error, or find a missing brace or wrong command (a prompt to copy).
• Edit a table, equation, or figure: turn a screenshot or sketch into editable code, resize an image, or fix a caption (prompts to copy).
• Convert a file (below).
• Run terminal steps such as Pandoc, latexdiff, or build commands. Give it your operating system and goal, and ask for the exact commands and what to check. Ask it to explain each one if you want to learn.

To stay in control:

1. Share your goal, your operating system, and one small example or the first error. Never paste confidential material, such as unpublished data or participant details.
2. Try one suggested change, and keep the original.
3. Compare the result: compile and look at the affected pages.
4. If it doesn't help, undo it.

An AI assistant that can edit files can apply fixes for you: work on a backup, keep the task small, and review every change.

Prompts to copy

Use these in an AI chat or an assistant that can edit files. Replace the parts in [brackets], and leave out unpublished data, participant details, and anything else confidential.

Set up:

I am setting up the RPI Thesis Toolkit, an unofficial, community-made LaTeX starter for RPI theses and dissertations. Its guide is https://diyanko.github.io/rpi-thesis-toolkit/guide/get-started.html. I use [Overleaf / my computer with Windows, macOS, or Linux]. Walk me through [installing LaTeX / opening the starter] one step at a time, following that guide. Do not change rpi-thesis.cls, and do not invent OGE rules: say when I should check OGE's own pages.

Convert a section with AI:

I am using the RPI Thesis Toolkit, an unofficial LaTeX starter for RPI theses. Convert this [Word section / Markdown text / table / equation] into LaTeX for a chapter file of that starter: [paste it or attach the file]. Preserve every word, value, and symbol, and flag anything unclear instead of guessing. Use plain LaTeX commands, add no formatting packages, leave rpi-thesis.cls untouched, and do not invent OGE rules.

The prompt for an error is in fixing problems, and the one for suggesting a change to the toolkit is on the Contribute page. For a section or a table, try Convert to LaTeX first: it converts in your browser.

Ask for a file conversion

Describe the result in ordinary words: a LaTeX chapter as a Word review copy, a Word draft as Markdown, or an image in a format LaTeX accepts. A conversion program (such as Pandoc) or the original app's export does the work; AI helps you choose and run it. Give the input, the output you want, your operating system, and a small example of the target layout. One prompt to adapt:

I have [input file] and need [output format] for [purpose]. I use [Windows/macOS/Linux] and prefer [steps without a terminal / help running the conversion]. Keep the original unchanged. Preserve the content and flag anything that cannot transfer exactly. Return a converted file if your tool supports it, or explain the shortest steps. Tell me what to compare before I use the result.

Try one section or image first. Compare wording, values, equations, citation keys, and image quality with the original; not everything transfers. For an image, ask it to convert the supplied file without redrawing it.

Routes without AI: bring a draft into LaTeX, make a Word review copy, or export a chart or image. Keep one working source; a Word review copy does not update your LaTeX chapter.

Where customizations belong

Which file changes which part of the PDF is drawn in how it works.

Extra geometry, spacing, caption, or heading packages in preamble.tex can silently break a requirement; prefer the documented settings. Also:

• Class options are rejected. \documentclass[11pt]{rpi-thesis} stops with "Unsupported class option". The class always uses 12pt, US letter, one-sided.
• hyperref is already loaded by the class (with hidelinks,unicode). Don't load it again; use \hypersetup{...} in preamble.tex. Packages that must load before hyperref need a class change.

All thesis settings

Settings go inside \thesissetup{...} in metadata.tex. Names and values are case-sensitive: degree = doctoral and graduation-month = May work, Doctoral and may stop the compile with a message naming them, as does a setting name the class does not know.

Math in the title: write it as \texorpdfstring{$\alpha$}{alpha}. The first part is printed; the second is the plain text the PDF's title property shows (PDF readers and library catalogs read that).

List committee members outside \thesissetup, one per line, in order:

• \committeemember[Chair]{Name} or \committeemember[Co-Chair]{Name}: at least one is required.
• \committeemember{Name} for everyone else. Text in the optional brackets prints after the name, following a comma.

There is no fixed committee size. Check the title page with long titles, department names, or large committees.

Other class commands:

• \frontchapter{Title}: an unnumbered front-matter section listed in the contents.
• \thesisfrontmatter: copyright page, contents, and lists.
• \thesismainmatter: switches to Arabic page 1.
• \chapterattribution{...}: an unnumbered note at the foot of the page; place it right after \chapter (see writing basics).
• \thesisreferences: the reference list, single-spaced, titled REFERENCES, and listed in the contents (needs biblatex, which preamble.tex loads).
• \referencesname: the reference list's title; change it with \renewcommand{\referencesname}{...} in preamble.tex.
• \appendicesname: the APPENDICES line the contents shows before the first appendix.

degree-name does not make the toolkit suitable for undergraduate theses or other document types; those need their own requirements check. For a proposal or qualifying exam, see write a proposal or qualifying exam.

Build commands

Optional: no step in this guide needs a terminal (a text window for commands). Your editor or Overleaf compiles when you save or click Recompile. These commands are for anyone who prefers typing them, or who wants the build helper's setup check and pre-submission hints.

Overleaf, VS Code (with the recipe in .vscode/), and the build helper use latexmk, a tool that runs the engine and the bibliography step (Biber) as often as needed. For TeXShop, TeXworks, or TeXstudio, see other editors.

Run these from the folder containing main.tex. The plainest is

latexmk -norc -pdf main.tex

which puts main.pdf next to main.tex. Or use the build helper below. An AI assistant can explain or adapt any command for your system: give it your operating system and the command or its error output, then check the result (more on AI help).

The helper needs Python 3.9 or newer (no extra packages) and TeX Live 2022 or newer with latexmk, your engine, and Biber. On Windows, prefer TeX Live, which includes the Perl that latexmk needs; with MiKTeX, install Perl too.

The commands below use python3, which works on macOS and Linux. On Windows, type py instead of python3: py scripts/build.py. If python3 is not recognized or opens the Microsoft Store, close the Store and use py. On macOS, the first python3 may offer to install developer tools; accept, or use latexmk instead.

Check the installed tools and see the next steps:

python3 scripts/build.py --doctor

Compile with pdfLaTeX; the PDF goes in build/main.pdf:

python3 scripts/build.py

Recompile everything from scratch:

python3 scripts/build.py --fresh

After a successful build, the helper prints non-fatal pre-submission hints, such as .bib entries with a url but no urldate, \caption[...] short captions, a missing seal, and figures or tables too large for a page.

The helper ignores personal latexmkrc files, disables shell escape, and creates the output subfolders (build/chapters/, …) a first pass needs. If you type latexmk -outdir=... yourself, create those subfolders first, or let latexmk retry after "I can't write on file".

Choose a compile engine

pdfLaTeX uses New TX fonts; LuaLaTeX and XeLaTeX use TeX Gyre Termes via fontspec/unicode-math. Switch for characters pdfLaTeX can't handle, then check glyphs and pagination. Other writing systems are untested.

• Overleaf: Settings (the gear icon), then under Compiler, pick LuaLaTeX or XeLaTeX.
• VS Code: open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P, or Cmd+Shift+P on macOS), run LaTeX Workshop: Build with recipe, and pick RPI Thesis Toolkit: LuaLaTeX + Biber (Unicode) or XeLaTeX + Biber (Unicode). Pick it again after you reopen VS Code.

Optional, with the build helper, from the folder containing main.tex (on Windows, py scripts/build.py --engine lualatex):

python3 scripts/build.py --engine lualatex

For XeLaTeX, replace lualatex with xelatex.

Compile selected chapters

After one full compile, uncomment the \includeonly line in preamble.tex. Inside its braces, list the chapter files you want, without .tex; the sample line selects chapters/02-research. Compile main.tex as usual. Comment out \includeonly and compile the whole thesis before sharing or submitting.

Recipes for common extras

Each recipe was compiled with pdfLaTeX, LuaLaTeX, and XeLaTeX in a copy of the sample. To use one, uncomment its lines under "Optional extras" in preamble.tex, add the snippet, compile, and check the pages it changes. OGE has not reviewed these recipes; where the OGE Dissertation and Thesis Manual says nothing, the requirements map lists the point under "Needs OGE confirmation".

\begin{figure}[htbp]
  \centering
  \begin{subfigure}{0.45\linewidth}
    \includegraphics[width=\linewidth]{figures/front.png}
    \caption{}\label{fig:sample-front}
  \end{subfigure}\hfill
  \begin{subfigure}{0.45\linewidth}
    \includegraphics[width=\linewidth]{figures/side.png}
    \caption{}\label{fig:sample-side}
  \end{subfigure}
  \caption{Two views of the sample: (a) from the front; (b) from the side.}
  \label{fig:sample}
\end{figure}

\begin{theorem}\label{thm:sum}
For every integer $n \ge 1$,
\[
  \sum_{k=1}^{n} k = \frac{n(n+1)}{2}.
\]
\end{theorem}
\begin{proof}
Use induction on $n$. \ldots
\end{proof}

\begin{algorithm}[htbp]
  \caption{Euclid's algorithm for the greatest common divisor.}
  \label{alg:euclid}
  \begin{algorithmic}[1]
    \Function{Gcd}{$a, b$}
      \While{$b \neq 0$}
        \State $(a, b) \gets (b, a \bmod b)$
      \EndWhile
      \State \Return $a$
    \EndFunction
  \end{algorithmic}
\end{algorithm}

\begin{lstlisting}[language=Python,
    caption={A Python function that computes the mean of a list of numbers.},
    label={lst:mean}]
def mean(values):
    return sum(values) / len(values)
\end{lstlisting}

\frontchapter{NOMENCLATURE}
\begin{longtable}{@{}p{1in}p{5.3in}@{}}
$c$   & Speed of light in vacuum \\[10pt]
$k_B$ & Boltzmann constant \\[10pt]
FEM   & Finite element method \\
\end{longtable}

Use another case for chapter titles

The starter writes chapter, appendix, and built-in titles (CONTENTS, REFERENCES) in capitals. To use another consistent case (OGE manual §2.3), redefine the built-in names in preamble.tex (\renewcommand{\contentsname}{Contents}, likewise \listtablename, \listfigurename, \appendicesname, and \referencesname), then match every chapter, appendix, and front-matter title.

Not yet covered

Publication-based theses need a dedicated, tested example and are on the roadmap (opens in a new tab). Until then, try the usual LaTeX packages in preamble.tex and check the PDF against the manual. Want to help add one? See how to contribute.

The PDF is not validated as tagged or PDF/UA accessible. Use descriptive captions, meaningful headings, and legible figures.

Something wrong or unclear on this page? Tell the maintainer (opens in a new tab), no account needed.