Creating a minimal example
The best way to get help from someone is by handing the problem to them on a silver platter. They'll have no need to ask for further details and no need to guess, and the work won't be too boring. Describe the problem with a code example that meets these criteria:
- It should be complete, so we can try to compile it
- It should actually show the problem
- It should be as small as possible
This usually makes the problem easy to solve. It's handy enough for posting in a forum and the readers can easily try it out.
How to do it...
A good strategy is "divide and conquer". This refers to a technique of solving a problem by splitting it recursively into smaller problems until just simple problems remain. In our case, we repeatedly divide and simplify until we narrow it down, so we see the solution ourselves or cannot simplify it anymore, so it's ready to be shown to others.
Follow these steps to isolate the cause of a problem:
- Create a copy of your document...
