md2ltx 0.0.16

Convert Markdown (.md) files to PDF ...

md2ltx

A command-line tool for converting Markdown to PDF via Pandoc and LaTeX. Requires a pip virtual environment in Ubuntu/ Debian based OS.

1. Installation

pip install md2ltx; md2ltx --install_dependencies

Usage

md2ltx [source.md] [output.pdf] [--open] [--help]

Positional Arguments

• source_file
Path to the input Markdown (.md) file.

• output_pdf (optional)
Path to the output PDF file. If omitted, a default name is derived from the source file, and the working directory is assumed to be the path.

Optional Switches

• --open
Open the resulting PDF in the system’s default viewer.

• --template <template_name>
Specify a built-in templates by name. Available templates: “two-column”).

• --help
Show this help message and exit.

2. Templates

md2ltx supports injecting Markdown content into a LaTeX “template” that defines the overall look and structure of the PDF.

You can choose one of the built-in templates: "two-column". Using the “--template” flag tells Pandoc to load and apply that LaTeX template. Inside the template, Pandoc replaces special variables like $title$, $author$, $date$, and $body$ with metadata and the converted Markdown content.

Specifying Title, Author, and Date

Pandoc reads title, author, and date from the YAML metadata block at the top of your Markdown file. For example:

---
title: "My Awesome Title"
author: "John Doe"
date: "October 4, 2023"
---

# Sample Document

This is a **Markdown** document to test `compile_markdown_to_pdf` from `main.py`.

## Advantages of Markdown

- Easy to write
- Human-readable
- Widely supported

## Conclusion

Markdown is fantastic!

Pandoc will inject your Markdown content where $body$ is defined, and the YAML metadata (title, author, date) will appear in your final PDF, as below.

\documentclass[twocolumn]{article}
\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}
\usepackage[T1]{fontenc}
\usepackage{lmodern}

\usepackage[unicode=true]{hyperref}
\providecommand{\tightlist}{
  \setlength{\itemsep}{0pt}\setlength{\parskip}{0pt}
}

\title{$title$}
\author{$author$}
\date{$date$}

\begin{document}
\maketitle

$body$

\end{document}

---

3. General Pandoc Tranformations

md2ltx uses Pandoc to transform Markdown files into LaTeX, which pdflatex then uses to generate a final PDF. This workflow supports most of Markdown’s core syntax plus many Pandoc extensions. Below is a high-level overview of how Pandoc typically converts various Markdown constructs into LaTeX. For full details, refer to Pandoc’s official documentation.

---

3.1. Headings

• Markdown

# Heading 1  
## Heading 2  
### Heading 3

• Pandoc → LaTeX

\section{Heading 1}  
\subsection{Heading 2}  
\subsubsection{Heading 3}

Pandoc chooses \section, \subsection, etc. based on the heading level. It also supports underline-style Markdown headings with “===” or “---” for level-one and level-two headings.

---

3.2. Emphasis & Strong Emphasis

• Markdown

*emphasis* or _emphasis_  
**strong emphasis** or __strong emphasis__

• Pandoc → LaTeX

\emph{emphasis}  
\textbf{strong emphasis}

---

3.3. Inline Code

• Markdown

`inline code`

• Pandoc → LaTeX

\texttt{inline code}

---

3.4. Code Blocks

• Markdown (fenced)

```  
a = 1  
b = 2  
```

• Pandoc → LaTeX (by default)

\begin{verbatim}  
a = 1  
b = 2  
\end{verbatim}

With certain options, Pandoc can use different LaTeX environments (e.g., listings).

---

3.5. Lists

• Unordered (Markdown)

- item 1  
- item 2  
- item 3

• Pandoc → LaTeX

\begin{itemize}  
\item item 1  
\item item 2  
\item item 3  
\end{itemize}

• Ordered (Markdown)

1. item 1  
2. item 2

• Pandoc → LaTeX

\begin{enumerate}  
\item item 1  
\item item 2  
\end{enumerate}

---

3.6. Links & Images

• Link (Markdown)

[Pandoc](https://pandoc.org)

• Pandoc → LaTeX

\href{https://pandoc.org}{Pandoc}

• Image (Markdown)

![Alt text](image.png)

• Pandoc → LaTeX

\includegraphics{image.png}

By default, \includegraphics is placed without floats. You can add captions or figure environments using extended syntax or metadata.

---

3.7. Blockquotes

• Markdown

> This is a blockquote.

• Pandoc → LaTeX

\begin{quote}  
This is a blockquote.  
\end{quote}

---

3.8. Horizontal Rules

• Markdown

---  
***  
___

• Pandoc → LaTeX

\hrule

---

3.9. Footnotes (Pandoc Extension)

• Markdown

This is some text with a footnote.[^1]

[^1]: This is the footnote text.

• Pandoc → LaTeX

This is some text with a footnote.\footnote{This is the footnote text.}

---

3.10. Tables

• Markdown (simple pipe table)

| Column1 | Column2 |  
|---------|---------|  
| Val1    | Val2    |  
| Val3    | Val4    |

• Pandoc → LaTeX

\begin{table}  
\centering  
\begin{tabular}{ll}  
\hline  
Column1 & Column2 \\  
\hline  
Val1    & Val2    \\  
Val3    & Val4    \\  
\hline  
\end{tabular}  
\end{table}

---

3.11. Math & LaTeX Blocks

• Inline Math

$E = mc^2$

• Pandoc → LaTeX

\(E = mc^2\)

• Display Math

$$  
E = mc^2  
$$

• Pandoc → LaTeX

\[  
E = mc^2  
\]

---

3.12. Citations & Bibliographies

Pandoc can handle citations if you provide a bibliography file. A reference like [@smith2009] can become \cite{smith2009} or \autocite depending on the style and Pandoc’s command-line options.

---

3.14. Raw LaTeX

Pandoc passes raw LaTeX through if you’re converting to LaTeX or PDF. For example:

\newpage

remains \newpage in the output.

---