LaTeX Figure and Table Layout

Expert guidance for positioning figures and tables in LaTeX documents. This skill handles float placement, subfigure arrangements, side-by-side layouts, and cross-column positioning.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

• Adjusting figure/table position parameters ([h], [t], [b], [p])
• Arranging multiple figures/tables in subfigures
• Creating side-by-side figure or figure+table layouts
• Fixing float positioning issues (drifting, page alone)
• Working with cross-column figures (figure*, table*)

NOTE: This skill does NOT modify sizes, column widths, or scaling. Only positioning.

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Float Position Parameters

Position Specifiers

Parameter	Meaning	Priority
[h]	Here (exact location)	Highest
[t]	Top of page	Medium
[b]	Bottom of page	Medium
[p]	Separate float page	Lowest
[!]	Override LaTeX defaults	-

Recommended Order

\begin{figure}[htbp]  % Recommended: try here, then top, bottom, then float page
\end{figure}

Strong Recommendations

\begin{figure}[!htbp]  % Force LaTeX to respect your order
\end{figure}

Best Practice: Use [htbp] or [!htbp] for most cases. Avoid single [h] which can cause float to drift.

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Subfigure Layout with subcaption

Basic Subfigures (2 side-by-side)

\usepackage{subcaption}

\begin{figure}[htbp]
  \centering
  \begin{subfigure}[b]{0.45\textwidth}
    \includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{figure1.pdf}
    \caption{First figure}
    \label{fig:first}
  \end{subfigure}
  \hfill
  \begin{subfigure}[b]{0.45\textwidth}
    \includegraphics[width=\filename]{figure2.pdf}
    \caption{Second figure}
    \label{fig:second}
  \end{subfigure}
  \caption{Main caption for both figures}
  \label{fig:both}
\end{figure}

Subfigures in Grid (2x2)

\begin{figure}[htbp]
  \centering
  \begin{subfigure}[t]{0.45\textwidth}
    \includegraphics[width=\filename]{fig1.pdf}
    \caption{Caption A}
  \end{subfigure}
  \hfill
  \begin{subfigure}[t]{0.45\textwidth}
    \includegraphics[width=\filename]{fig2.pdf}
    \caption{Caption B}
  \end{bmatrix}
  \\
  \begin{subfigure}[t]{0.45\textwidth}
    \includegraphics[width=\filename]{fig3.pdf}
    \caption{Caption C}
  \end{subfigure}
  \hfill
  \begin{subfigure}[t]{0.45\textwidth}
    \includegraphics[width=\filename]{fig4.pdf}
    \caption{Caption D}
  \end{subfigure}
  \caption{Main caption for all four}
  \label{fig:grid}
\end{figure}

Subtables

\begin{table}[htbp]
  \centering
  \begin{subtable}[t]{0.45\textwidth}
    \centering
    \begin{tabular}{cc}
      \toprule
      A & B \\
      \midrule
      1 & 2 \\
      \bottomrule
    \end{tabular}
    \caption{First table}
    \label{tab:first}
  \end{subtable}
  \hfill
  \begin{subtable}[t]{0.45\textwidth}
    \centering
    \begin{tabular}{cc}
      \toprule
      C & D \\
      \midrule
      3 & 4 \\
      \bottomrule
    \end{tabular}
    \caption{Second table}
    \label{tab:second}
  \end{subtable}
  \caption{Main caption}
  \label{tab:both}
\end{table}

---

Side-by-Side: Figure + Table

Using minipage

\begin{figure}[htbp]
  \centering
  \begin{minipage}[c]{0.45\textwidth}
    \centering
    \includegraphics[width=\filename]{figure.pdf}
    \caption{My figure}
    \label{fig:minipage}
  \end{minipage}
  \hfill
  \begin{minipage}[c]{0.45\textwidth}
    \centering
    \begin{tabular}{lc}
      \toprule
      Method & Acc \\
      \midrule
      A & 85.2 \\
      B & 92.1 \\
      \bottomrule
    \end{tabular}
    \caption{My table}
    \label{tab:minipage}
  \end{minipage}
  \caption{Combined figure and table}
  \label{fig+tab}
\end{figure}

Using subcaptionbox

\begin{figure}[htbp]
  \centering
  \subcaptionbox{Figure label\label{fig:subcap}}
    {\includegraphics[width=0.45\textwidth]{figure.pdf}}
  \qquad
  \subcaptionbox{Table label\label{tab:subcap}}
    {\begin{tabular}{lc}
      \toprule
      A & B \\
      \midrule
      1 & 2 \\
      \bottomrule
    \end{tabular}}
  \caption{Combined caption}
  \label{fig:subcap:combined}
\end{figure}

---

Cross-Column Figures (twocolumn)

Cross-Column Figure

\begin{figure*}[htbp]
  \centering
  \includegraphics[width=0.8\textwidth]{wide-figure.pdf}
  \caption{Wide figure spanning both columns}
  \label{fig:wide}
\end{figure*}

Cross-Column Table

\begin{table*}[htbp]
  \centering
  \begin{tabular}{lcccc}
    \toprule
    Method & A & B & C & D \\
    \midrule
    Baseline & 85.2 & 86.1 & 87.3 & 88.0 \\
    Ours & \textbf{92.1} & \textbf{91.5} & \textbf{93.2} & \textbf{94.1} \\
    \bottomrule
  \end{tabular}
  \caption{Wide table spanning both columns}
  \label{tab:wide}
\end{table*}

---

Common Float Issues and Solutions

Issue: Figure drifts to end of document

Cause: Using [h] alone or figure is too large

Solution:

% Before (problematic)
\begin{figure}[h]

% After (recommended)
\begin{figure}[htbp]
% Or force placement
\begin{figure}[!htbp]

Issue: Figure takes entire page alone

Cause: [p] triggers float page, or figure is large

Solution:

% Add stretch to push other content
\begin{figure}[htbp]
  \centering
  \includegraphics[width=0.7\textwidth]{figure.pdf}
  \caption{Caption}
  % Add space to encourage text to flow around
\end{figure}

Issue: Figure separated from text reference

Cause: Float placement rules

Solution:

1. Use [!htbp] to force earlier placement
2. Place figure closer to its reference in source
3. Use \FloatBarrier from placeins package:

\usepackage{placeins}
\section{My Section}
Text reference to \figurename~\ref{fig:myfig}.

\begin{figure}[htbp]
  \centering
  \includegraphics[width=0.8\textwidth]{figure.pdf}
  \caption{My figure}
  \label{fig:myfig}
\end{figure}
\FloatBarrier  % Prevents floats from crossing this barrier

Issue: Subfigures not aligned

Cause: Different heights, missing alignment option

Solution:

% Use [t], [b], or [c] for vertical alignment
\begin{subfigure}[t]{0.45\textwidth}  % [t] = top alignment
\begin{subfigure}[b]{0.45\textwidth}  % [b] = bottom alignment

Issue: Captions not centered under subfigures

Cause: Missing width specification

Solution:

\begin{subfigure}[t]{0.45\textwidth}
  \centering
  \includegraphics[width=\filename]{fig.pdf}
  \caption{Caption text}
\end{subfigure}

---

Best Practices

1. Use [htbp] by default - gives LaTeX flexibility while respecting order
2. Use [!htbp] for important figures - overrides some float constraints
3. Place floats near their reference - in source order, not necessarily final position
4. Use booktabs for tables - professional look, but this skill doesn't handle formatting
5. Use subcaption package - modern replacement for subfig
6. Consider \FloatBarrier - for strict float control in sensitive locations

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Required Packages

The following packages are referenced in the examples above:

\usepackage{subcaption}  % For subfigure/subtable
\usepackage{booktabs}    % For professional tables (not positioning)
\usepackage{placeins}    % For \FloatBarrier

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Example Tasks

Request	Approach
"Figure 1 always goes to next page"	Change [h] to [htbp] or [!htbp]
"Arrange 4 figures in 2x2 grid"	Use subfigure with line break \\
"Put figure and table side by side"	Use minipage or subcaptionbox
"Figure 2 is far from Section 2.2"	Use [!htbp] or add \FloatBarrier
"Wide table spans both columns"	Use table* instead of table