[texhax] Organizing A Big LaTeX File

[David C. Walden]

At 12:37 AM 3/18/2006, you wrote:
>I'm writing a report for a project, which is about 30 pages or so.  It
>would be good if I could split up things into several different folders.
>I'm thinking of one folder for my TeX files, another for my EPS files.
>When I compile with LaTeX, I run through every single file.  Is it
>possible to arrange things in such a way that I only compile those files
>which have changed?  That I can glue the files together in some way at the
>end?

Read about \include and \includeonly, e.g.,

\documentclass...

%\includeonly{file-1}
%\includeonly{file-2}
%\includeonly{file-1,file-3}

\begin{document}

\include{file-1}
\include{file-2}
...
\include{file-n}

\end{document}

If all of the \includeonly statements are commented out, you compile
everything. By un-commenting an \includeonly line you compile only
the files listed in the command.  I put my .eps files in a subfolder
called figures in the folder where my LaTeX files are.  Then, I can
say \includegraphics{figures/figure-i} in any of my LaTeX files.  There is
no need to ever put all the LaTeX files together in one file; you just
comment out all \includeonly commands.

The above doesn't take care of automatically deciding whether to compile
files that have changed; I have to comment and uncomment the \includeonly
command for the file I am currently editing and recompiling.  If you compile
that whole first draft first, LaTeX remembers about cross-references
to files you are not currently compiling.

[I don't keep up on what is denigrated practices, so I don't know
about the propriety of the above, but that is what I do.]