graphicx — Image Inclusion & Manipulation

CTAN: https://ctan.org/pkg/graphicx
Manual: texdoc graphicx

Setup

\usepackage{graphicx}

% Set default search paths for images
\graphicspath{{images/}{figures/}{./}}

\includegraphics Options

\includegraphics[options]{filename}

Option	Example	Description
`width`	`width=0.8\textwidth`	Scale to width
`height`	`height=5cm`	Scale to height
`scale`	`scale=0.5`	Scale factor
`angle`	`angle=90`	Rotate (counterclockwise, degrees)
`trim`	`trim=1cm 2cm 1cm 0cm`	Crop: left bottom right top
`clip`	`clip`	Must accompany `trim` to actually crop
`page`	`page=3`	Page of multi-page PDF
`keepaspectratio`	`keepaspectratio`	Maintain ratio when both width+height set
`draft`	`draft`	Show filename box instead of image
`bb`	`bb=0 0 100 100`	Bounding box (EPS)
`viewport`	`viewport=50 50 200 200`	View sub-region (with `clip`)
`resolution`	`resolution=300`	DPI for bitmap without natural size

% Common patterns
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{photo}
\includegraphics[width=0.48\textwidth]{fig1}
\includegraphics[height=4cm, keepaspectratio]{diagram}
\includegraphics[angle=90, width=0.5\textwidth]{landscape}
\includegraphics[trim=10mm 5mm 10mm 5mm, clip, width=\linewidth]{screenshot}
\includegraphics[page=2, width=\textwidth]{multipage.pdf}

Supported Formats by Engine

Engine	Vector	Raster
pdfLaTeX	PDF, EPS (auto-converted)	PNG, JPG
XeLaTeX	PDF, EPS	PNG, JPG, BMP
LuaLaTeX	PDF, EPS	PNG, JPG
LaTeX→DVI	EPS	(none natively)

Best practice: Use PDF for vector graphics, PNG for screenshots/diagrams with transparency, JPG for photos.

Scaling & Rotating Commands

% Scale content (text or images)
\scalebox{2}{Doubled}
\scalebox{0.5}[1.5]{Stretched}  % [horizontal]{vertical}

% Resize to exact dimensions
\resizebox{3cm}{!}{Content}     % ! = keep aspect ratio
\resizebox{!}{2cm}{Content}
\resizebox{3cm}{2cm}{Content}   % exact (may distort)

% Rotate
\rotatebox{45}{Rotated text}
\rotatebox[origin=c]{90}{Centered rotation}
% origin: l, r, c, t, b, lt, rb, etc.

Figure Environment

\begin{figure}[htbp]   % placement: here, top, bottom, page
  \centering
  \includegraphics[width=0.8\textwidth]{plot.pdf}
  \caption{Experimental results showing growth over time.}
  \label{fig:results}
\end{figure}

% Reference: See Figure~\ref{fig:results}.

Placement Specifiers

Spec	Meaning
`h`	Here (approximately)
`t`	Top of page
`b`	Bottom of page
`p`	Separate float page
`!`	Override internal limits
`H`	Exactly here (requires `float` package)

Tip: Use [htbp] as default. Avoid [H] unless necessary.

Subfigures

\usepackage{subcaption}  % preferred over subfig/subfigure

\begin{figure}[htbp]
  \centering
  \begin{subfigure}[b]{0.48\textwidth}
    \centering
    \includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{fig_a.pdf}
    \caption{First result}
    \label{fig:sub_a}
  \end{subfigure}
  \hfill
  \begin{subfigure}[b]{0.48\textwidth}
    \centering
    \includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{fig_b.pdf}
    \caption{Second result}
    \label{fig:sub_b}
  \end{subfigure}
  \caption{Comparison of results. (a) shows X, (b) shows Y.}
  \label{fig:comparison}
\end{figure}

Three Subfigures in a Row

\begin{figure}[htbp]
  \centering
  \begin{subfigure}[b]{0.32\textwidth}
    \centering
    \includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{a}
    \caption{A}
  \end{subfigure}
  \hfill
  \begin{subfigure}[b]{0.32\textwidth}
    \centering
    \includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{b}
    \caption{B}
  \end{subfigure}
  \hfill
  \begin{subfigure}[b]{0.32\textwidth}
    \centering
    \includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{c}
    \caption{C}
  \end{subfigure}
  \caption{Three results side by side.}
\end{figure}

Overlays with overpic

\usepackage{overpic}

\begin{overpic}[width=0.8\textwidth, grid, tics=10]{photo.jpg}
  % Coordinates are percentages (0-100)
  \put(20,80){\color{red}\Large\textbf{Label A}}
  \put(70,30){\vector(-1,1){15}}
\end{overpic}

Remove grid, tics=10 after positioning. Coordinates are percentage-based.

Wrapfigure (Text Wrapping)

\usepackage{wrapfig}

\begin{wrapfigure}{r}{0.4\textwidth}  % r=right, l=left
  \centering
  \includegraphics[width=0.38\textwidth]{small_fig}
  \caption{Side figure.}
\end{wrapfigure}
Text flows around the figure here...

Common Pitfalls

Problem	Cause	Fix
"File not found"	Wrong path or extension	Check `\graphicspath`, omit extension
"Unknown graphics extension .eps"	pdfLaTeX can't use raw EPS	Use `epstopdf` package (auto-converts) or switch to PDF
Blurry images	Low resolution raster	Use ≥300 DPI or vector format
Figure floats away	LaTeX float algorithm	Use `[htbp!]`, add `\FloatBarrier` (placeins pkg)
Overfull hbox with subfigures	Widths sum > \textwidth	Ensure widths + gaps < 1.0\textwidth
`trim` not cropping	Missing `clip`	Always pair `trim` with `clip`
Image upside down	Camera EXIF rotation	Pre-rotate or use `angle=180`
Subfigure numbering wrong	Using deprecated `subfigure` pkg	Switch to `subcaption`

Tips

Omit file extensions — LaTeX picks the best format automatically
Use \linewidth inside minipages/columns, \textwidth at top level
For publication: vector (PDF/EPS) for plots, high-DPI PNG/JPG for photos
\DeclareGraphicsExtensions{.pdf,.png,.jpg} to set search priority
draft option on \documentclass replaces all images with boxes (faster compilation)

graphicx

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