LaTeX figure placement: [h], [t], [H] and floats

In an ordinary document Scissor LaTeX keeps every figure and table where you write it in the source, whatever placement letters you give; only the conference layouts move floats to the top or bottom of a page.

What a float is

A float is a figure or table environment. In a TeX installation LaTeX may move it away from where you wrote it, to the top or bottom of a page or to a page of its own, so that pages fill up evenly. The letters in square brackets after \begin{figure} say where it may go.

A figure float with a caption

LaTeXCopyOpen in editor (opens in a new tab)

Some text before the figure.

\begin{figure}[ht]
  \centering
  \begin{tikzpicture}
    \draw[thick] (0,0) rectangle (3,1.5);
    \draw (0,0) -- (3,1.5);
  \end{tikzpicture}
  \caption{A rectangle with one diagonal.}
  \label{fig:rect}
\end{figure}

Figure~\ref{fig:rect} sits right where it was written.

Where floats go in Scissor LaTeX

Scissor LaTeX handles floats in two ways, depending on the layout of the document.

In both cases ! is ignored, and so is p (a page of floats). Without any letters, a float in a conference layout may go to the top or the bottom.

The next example asks for the bottom of the page with [b]. In an article the figure stays between the two paragraphs:

[b] in an article: the figure stays in place

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The paragraph before the figure.

\begin{figure}[b]
  \centering
  \begin{tikzpicture}
    \fill[gray!30] (0,0) circle (0.6);
    \draw (0,0) circle (0.6);
  \end{tikzpicture}
  \caption{A circle that asked for the bottom.}
\end{figure}

The paragraph after the figure.

In a conference layout the same letters move the float. Here [t] sends the figure to the top of the first column, above the text that comes before it in the source. The Problems tab notes which conference layout is used.

[t] in an IEEEtran document: the figure goes to the top

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\documentclass[conference]{IEEEtran}
\begin{document}
\section{Introduction}
This paragraph comes first in the source. The figure below asks for the
top of the column, so the layout moves it above this text.

\begin{figure}[t]
  \centering
  \begin{tikzpicture}
    \draw[thick] (0,0) rectangle (3,1.2);
    \node at (1.5,0.6) {Erika Mustermann};
  \end{tikzpicture}
  \caption{A figure placed with [t].}
\end{figure}

This paragraph follows the figure in the source.
\end{document}

Problems tab: Layout in the style of the IEEE conference format (final mode). Not official. To compile elsewhere, add IEEEtran.cls from ctan.org/pkg/ieeetran.

Captions and numbers

\caption{...} numbers the float and prints "Figure 1:" or "Table 1:" before the text. A \label after the caption lets you refer to the number with \ref (see Labels and cross-references).

There are two details to know:

• The kind comes from the content. A figure that holds only a tabular is numbered as a table ("Table 1"), and a table that holds an image or a picture is numbered as a figure. If you want "Figure" on a table of data, put it in a figure with something else, or keep it a table.
• The caption position is fixed. Table captions are always set above the table and figure captions below the figure, wherever you write \caption.

\begin{figure}[h]
  \centering
  \caption{Points per round.}
  \begin{tabular}{lr}
    Erika & 44 \\
    John  & 38 \\
  \end{tabular}
\end{figure}

Wide and special floats

Several environments from other packages are read as ordinary floats:

wrapfigure becomes a normal figure

LaTeXPreamble: \usepackage{wrapfig}CopyOpen in editor (opens in a new tab)

\begin{wrapfigure}{r}{0.4\textwidth}
  \centering
  \begin{tikzpicture}
    \draw[->] (0,0) -- (1.5,0);
    \draw[->] (0,0) -- (0,1.2);
  \end{tikzpicture}
  \caption{Two axes.}
\end{wrapfigure}
In a TeX installation this text would flow around the figure on its right.
Here the figure takes its own line and the text continues below it.

Making it work in both places

If your document must also compile in a TeX installation, write floats the usual way: [htbp] or [t] for most figures, \centering inside, and \caption before \label. Scissor LaTeX keeps them in place and a TeX installation floats them as usual. Commands that control floating, such as \FloatBarrier from placeins or \clearpage, are accepted: \FloatBarrier does nothing here, and \clearpage starts a new page.

What differs from a TeX installation

For the details of the float packages, see float, wrapfig and rotating. The manuals are on CTAN: float, wrapfig and rotating.

Every example on this page is typeset by Scissor LaTeX when the site is built. Last updated 2026-11-06.