phd_thesis_latex_trail_template

The PhD Thesis LaTeX Template for TRAIL, The Netherlands

Overview

This LaTeX template is designed for PhD students of the Trail Research School in the Netherlands to easily organize their PhD theses using LaTeX. The format is checked and confirmed by Trail. If you’re a PhD student facing challenges with LaTeX for your thesis, this is exactly what you need!

💡 Enjoy using it? Give us a “like” in your theis if possible, and give us a ⭐ in Github.

Last update: 13th April 2025

Online Overleaf Demo (Read-only)

Access the demo here

Download the LaTeX Template

You can download the LaTeX source files via GitHub (recommended) or Overleaf.

• On Github

  1. Visit the Github repository.
  2. Click the green Code button.
  3. Select Download ZIP.

• On Overleaf

  1. Visit Overleaf demo
  2. Click the Menu (top-left corner).
  3. Select Source under the Download section.

Usage

Use it on your local laptop:

1. Download the project (as a ZIP file or by cloning it via Git).
2. Compile it using your preferred LaTeX tool,
   • TeX Live or miKTex for Windows
   • MacTex with Texifier for Mac users.

Use it online (Overleaf) (Recommended):

Set up your thesis on Overleaf in two ways:

• Option 1: Upload the ZIP File
  1. Download the zip file of this template to your local computer folder.
  2. In your Overleaf project page, click New Project -> Upload Project
  3. Select the zip file of this LaTeX template on your local folder and upload it.
  4. Recompile it.
• Option 2: Link to GitHub (Advanced user only)
  1. Fork this project to your own GitHub repositories.
  2. On Overleaf, click New Project -> Import from GitHub.
  3. Ensure your Overleaf account is linked to a GitHub account. It’s easy.
  4. Select your forked repository from your GitHub repositories and import it to your Overleaf.
  5. Compile the project (default mode pdfLaTex, important!).

Important, please compile this project using: pdfLaTex

Quick info

I reorganised the folder structure for the latest update (2nd version). It is clearer and easier to use. It is strongly recommended to finish reading all the following points before diving into the LaTeX files. It only takes you 5 minutes.

• Main File: thesis.tex in the root folder. The output is thesis.pdf.
• Chapters: Located in ch-n-xxx folders (e.g., ch-1-introduction), with images stored in images subfolders.
• Supporting Chapters: Found in ch-x-others (i.e. title page, dedication, preface, bibliography, glossary, summary, author introduction and trail thesis series).
• Appendices: Stored in the appendix folder. Add multiple .tex files as needed.
• User Configurations: Add custom LaTeX packages in config/defs_user.tex.

Now, open thesis.tex and start editing your thesis!

Optional Customizations

• Add/Remove Base Packages: Edit config/defs_base.tex.
• Adjust Margins: Modify \geometry{left=1cm,right=1cm} in thesis.tex (line 43).
• Crop Lines: Change color in lib/trailthesis.cls (line 167) from “white” to “black”. Only if you need.
• Header line length on even page: Change value in lib/trailthesis.cls (line 15). only if necessary.
• Core Files: Located in the lib folder. Modify only if necessary.

History

• 2007–2009: Original version by Rudy Negenborn.
• 2019: Updated to meet TRAIL’s new requirements; first GitHub release.
• 2024: Major updates to folder structure, styles, and usability.
• 2025: Minor updates to styles and usability.

It is the most updated version of TRAIL now. It can be compiled directly without any changes.

Rudy README.txt has been archived in the folder of historical. Note, most of the configuration has been changed to make the template as simple as possible.

Credits

Thanks Rudy Negenborn for the original version.

Thanks Conchita van der Stelt from the Trail Research School for reviewing this template.

Thanks Bellows Wang for testing this project.

Thanks Arjan de Ruijter for checking the crop-line setting in more than 10 Trail theses and updating this setting.

Contact

Feel free to let me know if you have any questions.

💌 vincent.gong7 [at] gmail.com

🌳 www.Gong.im