11.7.5 Using CDLaTeX to enter math

CDLaTeX mode is a minor mode that is normally used in combination with a major LaTeX mode like AUCTeX in order to speed-up insertion of environments and math templates. Inside Org mode, you can make use of some of the features of CDLaTeX mode. You need to install cdlatex.el and texmathp.el (the latter comes also with AUCTeX) from http://www.astro.uva.nl/~dominik/Tools/cdlatex. Don’t use CDLaTeX mode itself under Org mode, but use the light version org-cdlatex-mode that comes as part of Org mode. Turn it on for the current buffer with M-x org-cdlatex-mode RET, or for all Org files with

(add-hook 'org-mode-hook 'turn-on-org-cdlatex)

When this mode is enabled, the following features are present (for more details see the documentation of CDLaTeX mode):

• Environment templates can be inserted with C-c {.
• The TAB key will do template expansion if the cursor is inside a LaTeX fragment¹³¹. For example, TAB will expand fr to \frac{}{} and position the cursor correctly inside the first brace. Another TAB will get you into the second brace. Even outside fragments, TAB will expand environment abbreviations at the beginning of a line. For example, if you write ‘equ’ at the beginning of a line and press TAB, this abbreviation will be expanded to an equation environment. To get a list of all abbreviations, type M-x cdlatex-command-help RET.
• Pressing _ and ^ inside a LaTeX fragment will insert these characters together with a pair of braces. If you use TAB to move out of the braces, and if the braces surround only a single character or macro, they are removed again (depending on the variable cdlatex-simplify-sub-super-scripts).
• Pressing the backquote ` followed by a character inserts math macros, also outside LaTeX fragments. If you wait more than 1.5 seconds after the backquote, a help window will pop up.
• Pressing the single-quote ' followed by another character modifies the symbol before point with an accent or a font. If you wait more than 1.5 seconds after the single-quote, a help window will pop up. Character modification will work only inside LaTeX fragments; outside the quote is normal.