Univ-Master

LaTeX sources for a Master's thesis manuscript and its defense presentation.

Repository Layout

manuscript/          Main thesis document
├── thesis.tex       Entry point (includes all chapters via \include)
├── title.tex        Title page
├── abstract.tex     Abstract
├── acknowledgements.tex
├── introduction.tex
├── chapter1.tex     Content chapters
├── chapter2.tex
├── chapter3.tex
├── conclusion.tex
├── bibliography.tex Bibliography definitions
├── custom.tex       Custom commands and package configuration
├── img/             Images organized by chapter
│   ├── ch1/         Chapter 1 figures (PDF)
│   ├── ch2/         Chapter 2 figures (PDF)
│   ├── ch3/         Chapter 3 figures (PDF)
│   └── *.pdf        Logos and shared resources
└── [thesis.pdf](manuscript/thesis.pdf) Generated output

presentation/        Defense presentation (Beamer slides)
├── defense.tex      Entry point for Beamer
├── custom.tex       Beamer theme and package customization
├── img/             Presentation images and diagrams
├── movscan.mp4      Embedded video animation
└── [defense.pdf](presentation/defense.pdf) Generated output

Makefile             Build orchestration (supports make all, manuscript, presentation, clean, distclean, help)
README.md            This file
configure            Automated dependency installer script

Requirements

• make - build automation
• pdflatex - LaTeX engine (included in most TeX distributions)
• Optional: biber or bibtex for bibliography processing

Install dependencies on macOS, Debian/Ubuntu, Arch, Fedora/RHEL, and other supported systems:

./configure

This script automatically detects your system and installs required packages.

Quick Start

Build both documents:

make

Build only the thesis manuscript:

make manuscript

Build only the defense presentation:

make presentation

View results:

• manuscript/thesis.pdf - Thesis PDF
• presentation/defense.pdf - Presentation PDF

Build Process

The build system compiles LaTeX documents in multiple passes to resolve cross-references and citations:

1. LaTeX compilation: Initial document processing
2. Bibliography (if configured): Process bibliography database (optional)
3. LaTeX compilation (pass 2): Update citations and references
4. LaTeX compilation (pass 3): Finalize all references

Three-pass compilation ensures:

• ✓ All cross-references are resolved
• ✓ Table of contents is accurate
• ✓ Citations and bibliography are properly formatted
• ✓ Page numbers in references reflect final layout

Cleaning Up

Remove temporary LaTeX files (keeps generated PDFs):

make clean

Remove temporary files AND generated PDFs:

make distclean

Temporary files cleaned: *.aux, *.log, *.toc, *.nav, *.out, *.bbl, etc.

Configuration

Override default settings from the command line:

make VAR=value target

Manuscript variables

• MS_FILE - Main source file without .tex extension (default: thesis)
• MS_TEX - LaTeX engine command (default: pdflatex)
• MS_TEXFLAGS - Compiler flags (default: -interaction=nonstopmode -file-line-error)
• MS_BIB - Bibliography processor: biber, bibtex, or leave empty for none (default: empty)

Presentation variables

• PR_FILE - Main source file without .tex extension (default: defense)
• PR_TEX - LaTeX engine command (default: pdflatex)
• PR_TEXFLAGS - Compiler flags (default: -shell-escape -interaction=nonstopmode -file-line-error)
• PR_BIB - Bibliography processor (default: empty)

Examples

Build manuscript with Biber bibliography:

make MS_BIB=biber manuscript

Build with different source file names:

make MS_FILE=mainThesis PR_FILE=presentation

List all available targets:

make help

Project Structure Details

Manuscript Organization

The main thesis file (manuscript/thesis.tex) uses \include commands to import chapters modularly:

\include{title}
\include{abstract}
\include{introduction}
\include{chapter1}
\include{chapter2}
\include{chapter3}
\include{conclusion}

This modular structure allows:

• Selective compilation of individual chapters during editing
• Easy reordering of chapters
• Clean separation of concerns

Custom Commands

Both documents include custom.tex for:

• Common package imports
• Custom command definitions
• Document-specific configurations

Image Management

Images are organized by chapter to maintain clarity:

• Chapter-specific images in img/ch1/, img/ch2/, etc.
• Shared resources (logos) in img/
• All images use lowercase filenames for consistency across platforms

Troubleshooting

"Make: command not found"

• macOS: brew install make
• Ubuntu/Debian: apt install build-essential
• Other systems: See your package manager

"pdflatex: command not found"

• Install a TeX distribution: ./configure or manually install TeX Live

Bibliography not appearing

• Ensure MS_BIB or PR_BIB is set to biber or bibtex
• Example: make MS_BIB=biber manuscript

PDF not updating

• Run make distclean to remove all cache, then make to rebuild

Outputs

Generated files:

• manuscript/thesis.pdf - Full thesis document
• presentation/defense.pdf - Presentation slides