Biblatex option

[twsh]

I would like to use pandoc's --biblatex option. I though that the following 'style.yaml' file would do it:

########################################################################
#                     Base - parent of all styles                      #
########################################################################

Base:
    all:
        metadata:
            bibliography: /Users/thomas/Library/texmf/bibtex/bib/bibliography.bib
    latex:
        preflight:
            - run: tmp_out.py
        postflight:
            - run: latexmk.py
            - run: open_pdf.py
        cleanup:
            - run: tmp_back.py
            - run: rmlatex.py

########################################################################
#                               Paper                                #
########################################################################

Paper:
    parent:
        - Base
    all:
        metadata:
            numbersections: true
    latex:
        metadata:
            biblatex: true
        template: default.latex

But when I do $ panzer --output foo.tex foo.txt it's clear that the biblatex option hasn't been called: my cite keys haven't turned to citations commands, and biblatex hasn't been called. I do get numbered sections, so it's not that panzer doesn't see my files or anything like that.

By the way, doing this works fine: $panzer --biblatex --output foo.tex foo.txt. Have I failed to set something up right in my style file?

[msprev]

Currently, the only way to do this currently is to pass --biblatex on the command line as you do.

panzer does not allow arbitrary pandoc command line options to set via metadata. I have been thinking of implementing this, but haven't thought of a good metadata syntax to express it. There are some use cases, like the one you mention, --smart, and --standalone.

Over time pandoc has moved some command-line only options to permit them to be set via metadata (e.g. --bibliography can be set via setting the bibliography field). I do not know if there are plans to move any more options to make them settable via metadata. If this happened in pandoc, it would solve the problem.

[msprev]

I've figured out a way to do this. I will implement it. All command line options, with the exception of reader and writer, will be settable via a metadata field. I'll push the changes once the feature is implemented.

[twsh]

That's great. I think panzer is going to be a lot more convenient than my current setup with make files.

On 23 May 2015, at 04:33, Mark Sprevak notifications@github.com wrote:

I've figured out a way to do this. I will implement it. All command line options, with the exception of reader and writer, will be settable via a metadata field. I'll push the changes once the feature is implemented.

—
Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub.

[msprev]

It's now implemented in the latest commit. I've added a new style definition field, commandline; documentation here: https://github.com/msprev/panzer#setting-pandoc-command-line-options. This allows one to set arbitrary pandoc command line options in metadata. Thanks for prompting me to do this.

Your new style definition should be:

Paper:
    parent:
        - Base
    all:
        metadata:
            numbersections: true
    latex:
        commandline:
            biblatex: true
        template: default.latex

Let me know if there are any problems.

[twsh]

It's working for me. Thanks!

On 23 May 2015, at 17:19, Mark Sprevak notifications@github.com wrote:

It's now implemented in the latest commit. I've added a new style definition field, commandline; documentation here: https://github.com/msprev/panzer#setting-pandoc-command-line-options. This allows one to set arbitrary pandoc command line options in metadata. Thanks for prompting me to do this.

Your new style definition should be:

Paper:
parent:
- Base
all:
metadata:
numbersections: true
latex:
commandline:
biblatex: true
template: default.latex

Let me know if there are any problems.

—
Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub.

[twsh]

For some reason I haven't been able to figure out yet, adding commandline: smart to my styles doesn't work. I see this in the terminal:

----- style definitions -----
global:
 Base  Paper      
----- document style -----
style:
 Paper
full hierarchy:
 Base, Paper
writer:
 docx
----- run list -----
 empty
----- pandoc -----
running pandoc with options:
 --smart

So the option is being passed, and adding it explicitly to the call to panzer works fine. My style.yaml looks like this:

Paper:
    parent:
        - Base
    all:
        metadata:
            numbersections: true
    docx:
        commandline:
            smart: true
    latex:
        commandline:
            biblatex: true
        template: default.latex

The same thing happens with HTML(5).

[twsh]

I've noticed something else: LaTeX output should be 'smart' by default, but now it is as if the --no-tex-ligatures option had been set. Adding --smart to the call to panzer fixes it.

[msprev]

Can you describe the issue more accurately? I don't follow.

commandline: smart is not a valid construct. To set --smart you need

commandline:
    smart: true

pandoc's LaTeX writer is not 'smart' by default; you need to explicitly pass --smart on the command line if you want -- to be an en-dash etc. Currently, with your style definition, you are only passing --smart when the docx writer is selected.

I don't follow the comment on --no-tex-ligatures. This option would only be passed to pandoc if you explicitly require it. Can you give an minimal working example where panzer and pandoc latex output differs on same options?

[twsh]

Sorry, 'commandline: smart' was a typo; I have been doing correctly as in the style file in the above post. Here's an MWE for the problem.

This is the 'styles.yaml':

Base:
    docx:
        commandline:
            smart: true
    html:
        commandline:
            smart: true

This is a markdown file:

---
style: Base
...

'Hello world'

That should set the --smart option for the docx and html writers, and do nothing else, right?

I run the following commands and get three files where the quotes aren't 'smart':

• $ panzer -o mwe.docx mwe.md
• $ panzer -o mwe.html mwe.md
• $ panzer -o mwe.tex mwe.md

These with Pandoc do give me 'smart' quotes:

• $ pandoc --smart -o mwe.docx mwe.md
• $ pandoc --smart -o mwe.html mwe.md
• $ pandoc -o mwe.tex mwe.md

The interesting thing with LaTeX is the default would be smart, and --no-tex-ligatures would have to be called to suppress it. (I know it's a bit more complicated than that because there are two issues i.e. ligatures and quotes and they come apart with the LaTeX writer.) The output I get from my latex panzer call is identical to what I get from:

• $ pandoc --no-tex-ligatures -o mwe.tex mwe.md

[msprev]

I've worked out what is going on. The current implementation only sets pandoc writer options. --smart is a reader option, so it isn't being set. Serves me right for trying to implement a major change in one day. I need to rethink the implementation so that it will set the reader options. I've re-opened this issue. I have some ideas on how to implement it. However, for the moment, you need to pass options like --smart as a command line arguments to panzer. Writer options like --bibtex still work ok with commandline.

The latex writer issue is an interesting edge case. It is an instance when a pandoc reader option (--smart) is set by pandoc conditional on the writer (latex). panzer does not currently pick up on this as panzer works like a filter -- it gets pandoc to produce an ast, which is passed to the appropriate writer (i.e. like pandoc - -t json | pandoc -f json -t latex). My view is that this should always be equivalent to pandoc - -t latex; the writer shouldn't be affecting the reader. But this is case where that doesn't happen. I can add a tweak to reproduce this behaviour: automatically invoke --smart for the reader if the latex writer is selected. I'll check the pandoc documentation for similar cases too.

[msprev]

Both issues -- setting reader options and automatically setting --smart for latex writer -- fixed in latest commit. Let me know if there are any problems.