Undefined escape sequence in the first line of the document

Question

\documentclass{book}

\usepackage{amsmath}
\usepackage[german]{babel}
\usepackage{amssymb}
\usepackage{amsxtra}
\usepackage[dvips]{epsfig,psfrag}
\usepackage{listings}

\newcommand{\refchapter}[1]{Kapitel~\ref{#1}}
\newcommand{\refsec}[1]{Sektion~\ref{#1}}
\newcommand{\refeqn}[1]{Gleichung~(\ref{#1})}
\newcommand{\reffig}[1]{Abbildung~\ref{#1}}

\title{\bf Grundz\"uge der Softwareentwicklung \\
{\small Analyse- und Entwurfsdokument} \vspace{1cm}\\
\centering
\epsfig{file=figures/logo.eps,width=.4\textwidth}
}

\author{Uschi Musterfrau, Detlef Mustermann und Ralf Auchmustermann}
\date{Matr.-Nr. 0815, 0816 und 0817 \\
email: {\tt [uschi|detlef|ralf]@rwth-aachen.de} 
}

\begin{document}

\lstloadlanguages{[ISO]C++}
\lstset{basicstyle=\small, numbers=left, numberstyle=\footnotesize,
  stepnumber=1, numbersep=5pt, breaklines=true, escapeinside={/*@}{@*/}}


\pagestyle{headings}

\maketitle

\tableofcontents

\include{vorwort}
\include{analyse}
\include{entwurf}
\include{nutzerdoc}
\include{entwicklerdoc}

\bibliographystyle{plain}
\bibliography{analyse_entwurf}

\appendix

\include{quellcode}


\end{document}

so my file begins. I didn’t even edit it, I got it like this. However, if I want to make a PDF, it gives me an undefined control sequence error in the first line ... What is wrong ??

Answer 1

I assume that you are trying to use TeX instead of LaTeX. TeX does not recognize the \ documentclass command. Make sure you are using LaTeX.

Answer 2

It is possible that one of the tools in your tool chain is annoyed by the Byte-Order Mark (BOM), which is a special Unicode character to indicate the limb used in your file.

, .

, .

Answer 3

try getting rid of \usepackage[dvips]{epsfig,psfrag}if you are using pdflatex.

Answer 4

Perhaps TeXshop does not recognize your file as a LaTeX file and launches it with a simple TeX or ConTeXt. If you can post your log file (start) here, we can help you.