formatter

name	formatter
description	LaTeX formatting checker and corrector. Ensures figure placement, equation alignment, table formatting, cross-references, and units comply with thesis conventions.
allowed-tools	["Read","Write","Edit","Bash"]

Formatter

Overview

This skill checks and corrects LaTeX formatting in thesis documents. It applies the formatting rules defined in the thesis conventions without changing the content or meaning of the text.

Formatting Rules

Figure and Table Placement

1. Use [tb] placement specifiers (never [h!] or [H])
2. Floats should appear immediately after their first reference where possible
3. Related figures may use subcaption for subfigures

\begin{figure}[tb]
    \centering
    \includegraphics[width=\columnwidth]{graphics/example}
    \caption{Descriptive caption.}
    \label{fig:example}
\end{figure}

Equation Alignment

Multi-line equations must align on the equals sign using align (never eqnarray):

\begin{align}
    y &= mx + b \\
    z &= ax^2 + bx + c
\end{align}

Every equation is numbered, with its variables defined immediately after ("where $x_i$ is the $i$th sample").

Use \left and \right for scalable delimiters:

\left( \frac{a}{b} \right)

Units with siunitx

All units must use siunitx:

\SI{5}{\kilo\hertz}
\SI{3.2}{\milli\volt}
\si{\meter\per\second}
\num{1.23e-4}

Citations

IEEE numeric style: single [1]; multiple [1], [4], [7]; range [1]-[3]; with author, "Smith et al. [5] showed...".

Cross-References with cleveref

All cross-references must use cleveref:

\cref{fig:example}      % figure 1
\Cref{fig:example}      % Figure 1 (sentence start)
\cref{eq:rms}            % equation (1)
\cref{tab:results}       % table 1
\cref{sec:methods}       % section 2.3

Tables with booktabs

Use \toprule, \midrule, \bottomrule (never \hline):

\begin{table}[tb]
    \centering
    \caption{Caption above table.}
    \label{tab:example}
    \begin{tabular}{lcc}
        \toprule
        Parameter & Group A & Group B \\
        \midrule
        Mean & 0.42 & 0.38 \\
        SD & 0.05 & 0.07 \\
        \bottomrule
    \end{tabular}
\end{table}

Font Size

• Never reduce font size in tables or figures (\small, \footnotesize etc.)
• Let LaTeX handle equation sizing automatically
• Follow document class defaults for captions

Subfigures

\begin{figure}[tb]
    \centering
    \begin{subfigure}[b]{0.48\columnwidth}
        \centering
        \includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{graphics/fig_a}
        \caption{First subfigure.}
        \label{fig:sub_a}
    \end{subfigure}
    \hfill
    \begin{subfigure}[b]{0.48\columnwidth}
        \centering
        \includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{graphics/fig_b}
        \caption{Second subfigure.}
        \label{fig:sub_b}
    \end{subfigure}
    \caption{Main figure caption.}
    \label{fig:main}
\end{figure}

Formatting Checklist

Before completing:

• All figures use [tb] placement
• All floats appear near their first reference
• Multi-line equations use align and align on =
• Every equation numbered and its variables defined immediately after
• Delimiters use \left and \right where appropriate
• No font size reductions in tables or figures
• All units use \SI{}{} or \si{}
• All cross-references use \cref{} / \Cref{}
• Tables use booktabs rules
• No eqnarray environments
• No [h!] or [H] float specifiers
• Consistent styling throughout document

Workflow

1. Read the target .tex file(s)
2. Scan for each formatting rule violation
3. Make corrections directly to the LaTeX source
4. Add % TODO: comments for issues requiring author decision (e.g., ambiguous figure sizing)
5. Report a summary of changes made

What This Skill Does NOT Do

• Does not change content, wording, or meaning
• Does not restructure sections
• Does not add or remove citations
• Does not verify reference accuracy (that's reviewer)
• Does not compile the document (user handles this)

LaTeX Style and Packages

Document Class

The thesis uses a custom or institutional document class. Chapter files use subfiles for standalone compilation:

\documentclass[../main.tex]{subfiles}
\begin{document}
% chapter content
\end{document}

Required Packages

Package	Options	Purpose
graphicx		Figure inclusion
tikz		Figure markup and overlays
overpic	percent	LaTeX annotations on figures
amsmath		Mathematics environments
amsfonts		Mathematical fonts
amssymb		Mathematical symbols
upgreek		Upright Greek letters (e.g., \upmu)
siunitx		Units and numbers
hyperref		Hyperlinks and PDF metadata
cleveref	capitalise	Smart cross-references
subfiles		Standalone chapter compilation
booktabs		Professional table rules
subcaption		Subfigures
multirow		Table multirow cells
placeins		Float barriers (\FloatBarrier)
float		Float placement control

Package Usage Notes

• cleveref must be loaded last (after hyperref)
• hyperref should be loaded near-last, before cleveref
• siunitx: Use \SI{value}{unit} for all quantities, \si{unit} for standalone units
• overpic: Use percent option so coordinates are 0–100 regardless of image size
• upgreek: Use \upmu not \mu for unit prefixes (micro)
• placeins: Insert \FloatBarrier before new sections to prevent floats drifting past section boundaries
• subfiles: Each chapter .tex can compile standalone with \documentclass[../main.tex]{subfiles}

Integration

• Receives from: figure-generator skill (LaTeX prose with generated figures placed)
• Produces: Formatted LaTeX files
• Hands off to: reviewer skill for content and reference verification