How to make PDFs with Vulgar and Overleaf.com
Vulgar outputs your dictionary in a LaTeX file, which can be uploaded to Overleaf to generate a PDF download.
What's LaTeX?
LaTeX is a typesetting code for creating professional documents, frequently used for typesetting books and academic papers. Overleaf is a free online compiler (generator) of LaTeX files. Vulgar creates a LaTeX dictionary template which automatically formats everything, including creating page headers with first and last word entries. Overleaf allows you to upload this file and output it as a PDF, and edit the dictionary.
Quick steps:
1. Make an account at Overleaf.com
2. Navigate to the Vulgarlang PDF Template link (this template contains font files required for displaying phonetic symbols)
3. Click Menu
4. Copy Project to your profile
5. Using Vulgar, generate your langauge and Save language as... PDF (.tex) file
6. Back in Overleaf, click Upload
7. Select and upload the .tex file from your computer
8. Click into the file on the side panel, then press Recompile
9. Download PDF
How to Edit your Overleaf Project
Lines of code that start with the percentage sign
Editing entries
If you scroll down to around line 161 you will start to see the entry code. This code matches the beginning of your dictionary at sthe letter A (unless your language doesn't have the letter A). The following code
creates
The code
Feel free to alter any of the content inside these curly brackets, and even insert a whole new conlang entry (
How to change font styles of colors
The font styling begins on line 28. (The first few lines call some packages that are required for working with Unicode symbols and imported fonts. You can ignore this.) On line 32, the document sets the main font of the document. The PDF will default to this font if no other font are specified in the code:
Note that NotoSans-Regular.ttf has already been uploaded to the template. Without this uploaded the PDF will not compile properly. If you have a different font that you want to use in the project, you first need to upload it to your Overleaf project, under the Menu heading, then change the font in the command to exactly what it has been uploaded as.
Let's examine the font style for the English translation:
This translates to: create a new font command, call it
The conlang word command,
This sets the color to "wordColor", which is actually a custom color name, which is defined on line 22:
This translates to: Define a new color, called it wordColor, and give it the RGB color value of 29, 119, 168. You can use this page to pick RGB colors.
(Be aware that this style of LaTeX formatting is using the
Custom conlang fonts
If you have a custom conlang font, something like Tolkien's Tengwar, you'll first need to upload it to the project. Next you'll need to change the fonts for conlang word (
Your custom font may not match the size of the other fonts. To change the font size you add
If it already has color settings, add inside the brackets, comma separated.
Chapter headings and sections
If you go to line 150, you'll see comments that say CONLANG to ENGLISH, a chapter heading and a section heading (probably for A).
% CONLANG to ENGLISH
%-------------------
\
\
\
\
You can add a new chapter by writing
You can add a new section by writing
Just above this, the template has an Introduction, Phonology and Grammar chapter commented out. Feel free to uncomment these and begin writing information on your language.
% Write book introduction here.
%\chapter{Phonology}
% Write Phonology information here.
%\chapter{Grammar}
% Write grammar information here.
Writing paragraphs
Writing basic paragraphs in LaTeX is normally straight forward: you simply separate your paragraphs by two lines and LaTeX automatically does paragraph indenting. However, the Vulgar template has paragraph indenting turned off so that the word entries stay flush against the left side of the columns. I recommend using quadruple backslash
This is paragraph. This is paragraph. This is paragraph. This is paragraph. This is paragraph. This is paragraph. This is paragraph.
This technically creates a new paragraph, but does not indent.
\
Creates
Note that
Another way to achieve paragraph spacing is to manually set the paragraph spaces to 1 line using
Bold text
To make some text bold, wrap it in curly brackets and use
Making grammar tables
The following code
& Masculine & Feminine
Singular & el & la
Plural & los & las
creates this:
In the