LaTeX 8.5 Minipage Layouts

• Suppress indentation before box: \noindent
• Declare left minipage for figure: \begin{minipage}{0.48\textwidth} ... \end{minipage}
• Use \captionof{figure}{...} inside minipage to caption without a floating figure
• Place mathematical derivation in right minipage: \hfill \begin{minipage}{0.48\textwidth}

The minipage environment builds a self-contained miniature page box. This allows placing a diagram directly beside text or equations without allowing them to float to other pages. Using \captionof{figure}{...} from the caption package generates standard figure numbering inside minipages.

• Nest two minipages inside a single figure float
• Use top alignment option: \begin{minipage}[t]{0.47\textwidth}
• Provide each minipage with its own complete \caption{...}

Unlike subfigures which share a single parent Figure number (e.g. Figure 1a, 1b), two minipages inside a figure float can each have an independent \caption{...} command, creating distinct Figure 1 and Figure 2 side by side while consuming minimal vertical page height.