md2ltx 0.0.19

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. Quickstart

1.1. Installation

pip install md2ltx; md2ltx --install_dependencies

1.2. Usage

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

• 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.

• --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: Access documentation.

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2. Templates

md2ltx can inject Markdown content into a LaTeX “template” that defines the overall look and structure of the PDF. You can choose from these built-in templates:

• "two-column"
• "one-column"
• "report"
• "slides"
• "letter"

When you run md2ltx (or Pandoc directly), you can specify the template with the “--template” flag. Pandoc then loads that template, replacing special variables like $title$, $author$, $date$, and $body$ with metadata and the converted Markdown content.

2.1. Common Fields in the YAML Metadata

• two-column / one-column / report:

• title: Title of your document
• author: Author name(s)
• date: Date displayed below the author(s)

• slides (Beamer presentations):

• title: Presentation title
• subtitle: (Optional) subtitle for your presentation
• author: Presenter name(s)
• date: Date (often included on the title slide)

• letter:

• author: Sender’s name (also used in \signature)
• address: Sender’s address
• date: Date displayed in the letter
• recipient: Recipient name or address
• greeting: Opening phrase (e.g., “Dear John,”)
• closing: Closing phrase (e.g., “Regards,”)

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2.2. Using the Templates

Pandoc reads these fields from a YAML block at the top of your Markdown file. For example:

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

When you run md2ltx:

md2ltx my_document.md --template=two-column

Pandoc loads the chosen “two-column” template, substitutes $title$, $author$, $date$, and $body$, and then compiles a PDF. The same process applies to any of the provided templates.

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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.

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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.

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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).

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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.

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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.}

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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}

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3.11. Math & LaTeX Blocks

• Inline Math

$E = mc^2$

• Pandoc → LaTeX

\(E = mc^2\)

• Display Math

$$  
E = mc^2  
$$

• Pandoc → LaTeX

\[  
E = mc^2  
\]

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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.

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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.

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