Hoi,

the following might be useful in the daily struggle.

  // ----------------------------------------------------------------------
  // I include this in my rootlogon.C (see e.g. ~ursl/rootlogon.C): 

  gROOT->SetStyle("Plain");


  // ----------------------------------------------------------------------
  // axes labelling is 'short' with the following. There is something
  // similiar in recoilAnalysis.cc (recoilAnalysis::setTitles)

  void SetTitles(TH1 *h, char *sx, char *sy, float size = 0.05, 
                 float xoff = 1.1, float yoff = 1.0, 
                 float lsize = 0.05, 
                 int font = 62) {
    h->SetXTitle(sx);                  h->SetYTitle(sy); 
    h->SetTitleOffset(xoff, "x");      h->SetTitleOffset(yoff, "y");
    h->SetTitleSize(size, "x");        h->SetTitleSize(size, "y");
    h->SetLabelSize(lsize, "x");       h->SetLabelSize(lsize, "y");
    h->SetNdivisions(508, "X");
    //  h->SetLabelFont(font, "x");        h->SetLabelFont(font, "y");
    //  h->GetXaxis()->SetTitleFont(font); h->GetYaxis()->SetTitleFont(font);

  }


  // ----------------------------------------------------------------------
  // For a legend: I usually define in global scope

  TLegend *leg;
  TLegendEntry *entry;

  // and then use in a function (where h1 and h2 are TH1D*): 

  leg = new TLegend(0.5,0.74,0.9,0.89);
  leg->SetFillStyle(0); leg->SetBorderSize(0.); leg->SetTextSize(0.06);  leg->SetFillColor(0); 
  leg->SetHeader("No depletion");
  entry = leg->AddEntry(h1," Data","p");  entry->SetTextColor(kBlack);
  entry = leg->AddEntry(h2,"Cocktail","f"); entry->SetTextColor(kBlack);
  leg->Draw();


  // ----------------------------------------------------------------------
  // For lines, in global scope: 

  TLine *pl = new TLine();

  // and then usage ad libitum with (x is some float here)
  pl->SetLineColor(kRed); pl->SetLineWidth(2); pl->DrawLine(x, -5., x, max);


  // ----------------------------------------------------------------------
  // For texts, in global scope: 

  TLatex tl;

  // and then, e.g.
  
  char line[100]; sprintf(line, "normalized to %3.1f/fb", scale);
  c4->cd(11); tl.SetTextSize(0.1); tl.DrawLatex(0., 0.7, line); tl.SetTextSize(bla);
  tl.DrawLatex(0.1, 0.92, "Background Box, no PID, all other cuts");

  // you can also include most (many) of the usual LaTex symbols when
  // preceded with '#'. If the margin at the bottom of a pad is too
  // small, the subscript will not show up. It is (often) necessary,
  // to put the exponent into braces:   GeV^{2} 

  // Note:  you can  set the coordinate  system to  either 'normalized
  // coordinates'  (so  that a  pad  extends  from 0  ..  1),  or to  the
  // histogram coordinates (so  that the values on the  axes are taken as
  // reference system):
  
  tl.SetNDC(kTRUE);  // sets to normalized coordinates


The separation betwen  global scope and local scope  is useful against
CINT's limitations.


Another  useful class  if you  do not  like the  verbosity of  root is
~ursl/macros/FsxUtil/hpl.cc. Still under development, ...


I tried to  remember most of the stumbling blocks,  please let me know
if you run into other problems.

Cheers,
--U.