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# Configuring LATEX

Since one of the main aims of the new standard LATEX is to give all users the freedom provided by a reliable document processing system linked to a highly portable document format, the number of configuration possibilities is strictly limited. The reasons for this are explained in more detail in the article Modifying LATEX in the file `modguide.tex`. An important consequence of this is that any document that relies on any extension package must declare this package within the document file; this helps to ensure that the document will work at a different site, where the LATEX system may be configured differently.

Local configuration options are, by convention, placed in `configuration files', which have extension `.cfg`. This document describes the possibilities for configuration in this release of LATEX; it also explains how to configure the font definition files to take advantage of the available fonts.

The last section considers briefly how to proceed if you require further customisation of the formatter.